Musical Digest: Winnetka Bowling League "Kangaroo"

The song I'd like to digest today is a riveting gem "Kangaroo" by Winnetka Bowling League, a California-based indie band. Its lead singer, Matthew Koma, is a talented singer/songwriter/producer that has worn many hats, dipped his toes in many genres ranging from punk rock, pop, EDM and now cultivated his own project.

My first experience with Koma was when I discovered Sebastian Ingrosso x Alesso's "Calling (Lose My Mind)" ft the vocals of Ryan Tedder. Koma assisted with the writing of the song and I command the producers for giving him credit from the beginning (unlike a certain someone we know that is officially cancelled by me--Zedd).

At the time of this release, America was still snoozing on EDM and once it blew up in the States, this song was played everywhere.

Koma is someone I look up to because he's elastic as an artist. He can walk into a recording studio, meet with a collaborator and get a feel for what direction he sees a project going into.

This tune was also meticulously calculated and since we can't see the band at The Subterranean on May 13th anymore, we can at least indulge in this piece that teleports its listeners to dreamy, stoner capital of the world, California.

That said, let the vocals teleport us away as we digest the first verse:

I’ve got rainbows coming out the back of my car

I’m so expert I teach my own seminars

My spirit animal's a kangaroo

My Patagonia is powder blue

Yeah, if you wanna see me l

Look over the moon

I’m so happy

People typically say that if you want to gauge your audience into your content, the first 15 seconds are crucial. The verse did this for me because of its unique rhythmic variation, where the first four lines rhyme almost without a thought and the rest just flows like an ocean wave.

Here we are on Venice Beach, enveloped by the soothing sounds of Koma's crisp voice, surrounded by punchy bass tones...all we need are the waves to take us away.

Next is the hook that is almost reminiscent of something you'd hear at a Tame Impala show:

They sent me to space, man

And I let go

Phoenix I’m burning, I can feel it in my soul

Cross my heart into the great big world

I found my calling, I can feel it my soul

I can feel it in my soul

They sent me to space, man

And I let go

Phoenix I’m burning, I can feel it in my soul

The hook illustrates the concept of this song which Koma described to Variance as "being okay with yourself. There's a freedom that comes with no longer allowing the fear of how people see you influence how you see yourself" and I think that this is important.

For the longest time, I myself have struggled with other people's perception of me. There are still moments where I wake up, remember something that happened years ago and allow that dark moment to inhibit my next move. This is something that I'm working on constantly, but I think lyrics like these truly highlight that the price of freedom is always going to trump the price of vanity or people's opinions.

Like a red, fiery Phoenix, allow the fire to burn, turn your ashes into something grand in your next reinvention because life is about growth.

I’ve got a bathtub the shape of a swimming pool

A drum set and a Tele that stays in tune

A wife who’s got a better job

She backs me and my indie rock

I’m kidding ‘bout the indie part, I ain’t that cool

But I’m so happy

This verse is ending the song on a lighter note. We went from having digested this big piece of the pie with a confucius center telling us how significant it is to let go of the past, think of the future, stop fearing the unknown and let fate happen; to now a bit of a comic relief where Koma talks about the idiosyncrasy of all of his possessions.

He's got all this wealth and while his wife, Hilary Duff, has a better job, she still backs him up in his shenanigans. He humbles himself by saying he's "not that cool" and essentially all these great things are just bonus points to an authentically happy life he has created for himself.

I love his writing in this consequential pattern. We've got a solemn introduction, a captivating teachable moment embedded in the hook and we end on a lightly comic note to be reminded that even if you, yourself, don't feel that you're not where you're supposed to be, you are.

I’m right where I’m supposed to be

I’m right, I’m right where I’m supposed to be (2x)