Concrete and Clay

One of my favorite songs I first heard via Rushmore is the Brazilian-inflected hit by Unit 4+2, a 1960s British band. Though I have seen and enjoyed Rushmore, I forgot about the song until I went on a fun but insane drive to New York City from the Midwest. My friend, who actually knows how to drive and therefore went crazy near the end of the long journey, brought several CDs for our musical enjoyment since he forgot his Ipod charger. Since his and my own CDs were not the best, we ended up listening to our favorite songs most of the time, such as "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye and "My Favorite Things" from Coltrane. Another song I grew to love and replay as much as possible was "Concrete and Clay" from my friend's Rushmore soundtrack album. The song's Afro-Latin beat spoke to me, the lyrics were clever and cute, and the melody infectious. As an aficionado of samba, bossa nova, and MPB, the familiar and recognizable rhythm ensured the hit's entry into my coveted "favorite songs of all time" list. The influence of baião music from Northeastern Brazil is self-evident in the triangle, evoking the agogo, güiro, or other bells and rattles of much African-derived rhythms of Brazilian music. The song utilizes an additional percussionist to provide what is unmistakably a samba rhythm to accentuate the song's Brazil sound, which, in the context of the 1960s samba and bossa nova craze, ensured it would be a hit for American audiences fresh from "Girl from Ipanema" and other bossa nova smashes in the middle years of the decade. With a deliciously catchy and adorable chorus, the song also fit well with Wes Anderson's quirky Rushmore and the protagonist's love for an older woman:

The sidewalks in the street

The concrete and the clay beneath my feet

Begins to crumble

But love will never die

Because we'll see the mountains tumble

Before we say goodbye

My love and I will be

In love eternally

That's the way

Mmm, that's the way it's meant to be

This is indeed a wondrous song, despite the band's relative obscurity today. It was released at the right time and the right place, nodding to the bossa nova craze while also thoroughly rooting itself in the pop and folk origins of Unit 4+2. The guitarist does a nice job, too, in this short composition under 2 and a half minutes, adding in folksy, earthy touches while at times alluding to the song's Latin origins with pseudo-Spanish flourishes. The vocalists are harmonizing quite well, too, sounding mellifluous and emotionally-charged. I can listen to this song on repeat, but now I have to re-watch Rushmore.