I also remember the first time I heard “Gold Lion”, and the second time, the third, the fourth and so on….. The music video for it was repeated upon every hour one day in 2006, because Yeah Yeah Yeahs were back and it was the group’s brand new single from the forthcoming album Show Your Bones. At the time, the band hadn’t released an album since their cool 2003 debut Fever to Tell. Of course I didn’t know that. As a result, “Gold Lion” is the track that properly introduced me to Yeah Yeah Yeahs. (Though I have a feeling I might have heard “Maps” somewhere before.)

And so “Gold Lion” starts the album off with a lone “We Will Rock You” drum pattern that lasts for seconds before Karen O’s vocals and acoustic guitar of Nick Zinner enter the mix. The song carries on and builds as electric guitars and keyboards are introduced, the drums become more free-flowing with busier execution leading into the track’s wordless refrain and the following instrumental breaks. All in all, it sets the tone for the rest of the album and was a good way to mark a return of a killer group.

The track’s okay. Never thought about its meaning. But I like it. Reminds me of being in Year 6 again.