Daiana Feuer on December 20th, 2017

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A declaration of giving up (on the dance floor), “The Last Thing” is a dark song from the album “II,” and also a departure for the mostly instrumental band L.A. Takedown. “I wrote and demoed this song thinking I’d be able to sell it to a pop star or something. Ha!” says songwriter Aaron Olson. “But when I finished it and I lived with it for a little, I realized that it works perfectly as an L.A. Takedown song.” Which means there’s a shining guitar solo, as expected from this band with a predilection for epic shredding.

Olson says, “When writing it I was specifically thinking about a robot whose sole task was to dance for people, not wanting to do so anymore and ultimately rejecting said role. I’m sure I was subconsciously thinking of some real life feelings, but it just kind of came out fluidly as this robot scenario.” Hence the vocoder. The lyrics are pretty clever and funny, despite the sad mood, with a good pun on being a spoke in the wheel of life: “In the wheel / I have done what I can / Been a good spoke / Been your spokesman.” Imagine Justin Bieber reaching the final lines, declaring, “Dude, I can’t do what you want me to / Cuz I don’t wanna dance,” with emotional emphasis on the “duuuuude.” “Maybe my ‘Pop’ sensibility is a little off from where I was aiming,” explains Olson. “But that’s usually my M.O. — I try to do something in a style or as an homage and then it takes on a wonky life of its own.” The Matt Hewitt-directed video stars comedian Brent Weinbach as well as Takedown’s friends, filmed at Gold Diggers Bar, where we watch Weinbach dance while the crowd treats him like a turd.

||| Watch: “The Last Thing”