I know. I've had "555" by Jimmy Eat World, a single off the band's 2019 album Surviving, as my song of the day. Maybe even twice.
Given that the alt-rock/indie-rock/power pop band (I hate genre labels and I'm impressively bad at nailing them) formed in Mesa, Arizona way back in 1993, when I was one year out of high school, surviving is obviously this indie-rock quartet's strong suit.
I stumbled on this particular song like a year ago, late to the party as usual, and I keep going back to it. Generally, this revisiting is spurred by YouTube's AI reflecting my past listening preferences.
Each time I hear it, I feel a rustling around as it makes a place in my heart. Slow moves. I keep resisting, but I sense "555" is campaigning for a spot on my ever-changing top 100 songs. Only time will tell.
Yes, the video is weird and is meant to be, with Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins channeling villains from Dune as well as the Star Wars franchise. But the song is pretty, soaring, emotional, epic.
It puts to rest two notions. One is that Jimmy Eat World, whom I've happily seen live, is only capable of teen-pleasing power pop. (I don't know who really thinks that. I'm just fighting an imagined enemy, a straw horse. I'm like the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz: "Put 'em up, put 'em up.") Given that vocalist Jim Adkins is now 46, this song shows that musicians and bands cannot only withstand the slings and arrows of aging but can continue to rise to the top of their game.
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