100 Greatest Songs of the 2010’s #81 – Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

Released : 2010

In a world where the truth long became the war’s first victim, Pumped Up Kicks can mean anything you want it to; creepy psycho drama, suburban revenge fantasy, ode to the American people to remove the tools of mass destruction from their own hands.

This is of course the cross that any performer has to bear, that once a song has been released into that bear pit which is public consciousness it’s no longer theirs to own. That it became a hit in the face of what many construed as moral ambiguity is perhaps the least interesting aspect to the story, one which fundamentally has moved on little since it’s release nine long, corpse filled years ago.