"Blood on the Motorway" by DJ Shadow

     "Blood on the Motorway," a comparatively slow, meditative reaction. Spoken word ruminations about death fall over simple piano chords, chimes and bad 80s synths, the relative corniness of which I could tolerate were it not for the hair-metal balladeering that comes with it. At one point, the vocalist repeats the phrase "let the laughter..." three times before he manages to get to what he wants us to allow the laughter to do. Personally, the melodramatic delivery of such underwhelming lines as, "Your eyes will not close/ Your tongue barely speaks/ But I can still feel you," over an electro-synth arpeggio isn't exactly my cup of tea. Still, I appreciate Shadow's attempt to take a different approach, even if I don't care for the execution. Besides, the song does eventually resolve itself with a hot instrumental charge headed by a tight-as-can-be breakbeat, so I suppose nothing's lost... er, except any unhealthily harbored expectations of perfection. Listen for yourself below.