“I Don’t Feel It” is a single from the album Fred Argir’s album, Still Alive. Argir is a real do-it-yourselfer, as he plays every instrument on this loudly rocking single.
The song jumps right out of the gate with rollicking, stoner electric guitar. Once Argir’s voice kicks in, it arrives with a weary, frustrated tone. “I can’t feel it anymore,” he repeats over and over. The backing guitar parts are a combination of fat chords and a repeated lead noodle. It’s a little on the grungy side, in that the snotty vocal, mixed with loud guitars, is more punkish primal performance than metal.
One name that comes promptly to mind is Bob Mould. Mould, however, is more likely to sing/cry over surging feedbacking electric guitar. Argir’s sound is cleaner, but not by much. Later in the song, Argir sings, “I can’t feel it in my bones.” It’s not a detailed lyrical sketch. Rather, this is a simple, painful complaint in song.
On one level, the song works as a noisy contrast to all the finger-snap-beat, hip-hop assisted melody-less pop music on the radio. If this ever came on top 40 radio, most listeners would freak out. When Argir gets to the track’s wavery-noted electric guitar solo, it’s as though Neil Young and Crazy Horse has taken over morning drive time. Argir doesn’t try and sound cool and in control, the way so many of today’s rappers tend to do. Instead, he’s wearing his heart on his sleeve, with the blood dripping down all over the neck of his guitar. This is openhearted rock & roll. It’s the difference between a lecture on psychology, and a group session where participants spill their guts out without restraint. Argir is like that guy who is first to speak in group and doesn’t stop talking until he’s fully spent. In other words, he’s laying everything out on the line for all to see.
Music like this can be awkward and uncomfortable, especially if you’re only used to Corey Hart and his sunglasses at night hipper-than-thou approach. Devo once sang how they were through being cool. Of course, when they did so, they took the nerdy route. They were through being cool – assuming they were ever even cool in the first place – only to look like pencil necked computer geeks. Argir’s no nerd. He is, though, one ever-ready to pour out all his emotion in song.
For anyone tired of all the pretense in pop music (and rock & roll, for that matter), Argir’s single is a welcome sound. Who really needs typical rock & rollers, with their complicated shoes, anyhow? Oh, and one more thing; this is a song to be played LOUD! You won’t really get it with the volume turned down low. Argir is out to blow out the cobwebs, cleanout the sinuses and generally scare off anyone not ready for his blast power.
This is the kind of recording that just screams, ‘Take your yacht rock and shove it up your backside!’ Weeny yacht rock listeners need not apply. But true rockers, crank it up!
-Dan MacIntosh
