This Is Our Jam: The Ice Choir, “Two Rings”

The most fun part of the Grand Theft Auto videogames, and the Vice City iteration in particular, wasn’t completing the missions, stealing cars, or killing hookers; It was the pure exhilarating rush of "driving." I would hop in a (virtual) stolen coup, turn on my favorite (virtual) radio station and speed through the city as the (virtual) pink sky fade to black. With lyrics like, “Five speeds to my exhaust / Tearing through the moonlit desert salts / Obsidian-eyed and lost,“ “Two Rings” is the sort of driving music that could have easily been sandwiched between Nena’s "99 Luftballons" and Tears for Fears’ "Pale Shelter" on Vice City's Wave 103, if only it had been released 25 years ago. The Ice Choir is lead by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s Kurt Feldman, who already knows a thing or two about creating melodies designed to prod at your nostalgia centers. With “Two Rings,” he’s moved from indiepop to synthpop effortlessly, imbuing his music with drama-kid melancholy that would make even Robert Smith blush. We’ve got the tunes, now let's hit the road!