Category Archives: Passion Pit

It’s always fascinating to see how the people in an “it” band react to the flurry of fair weather friends, bandwagon fans and lofty comparisons thrown at their feet. It seems inevitable that those at the center of that attention change as their daily reality changes. I’ve seen plenty of examples of this, having met artists as early fans of their music and then noticed a huge shift after their success (see Cool Kids). But after meeting Michael and Nate of Passion Pit, I had to revisit the formula.

After tinkering with old tape machines and making a $12 offer on a $200 Casio keyboard, the pair went downstairs to get even with awful album covers and point out atrocities against pop music: a term they are proud to say defines the band’s sound. “We just love writing pop” says Michael Angelakos, with the confidence of someone who recently became comfortable with the term. But Michael’s songs, at the lyrical level, are more than bright falsetto and candy-coated hooks. They are about what all great pop songs are about–girls. One girl in particular, who Michael says he’s still friends with, and I believe him. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d ditch his friends or find cooler ones because a few bloggers think his shit don’t stink.