I'm not a fan of failed American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry or his band. I find their music pretty pedestrian, although he does have a great voice. Trying to combine his love for both '70's stadium rock and the mid-'90's faux-alt rock band Live just doesn't seem to work very well.
Except for this song, off the Spiderman 3 soundtrack, set here to Final Fantasy scenes.
This is the exact opposite of the sappy love songs we all hear far too often, from the sublime ("In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel) to the ridiculous ("I Love You" by the Climax Blues Band). This song is about something far less complicated than love, and it is summed up in the song's title, "Crashed". No fleeting glances across a crowded room, no hand-holding or long walks in the park here. This is about that most basic chemical reaction we have with another person. It can be heady, overwhelming, wonderful, and even lead to love. It isn't that most sublime state, however, and Daughtry recognizes it better in this song than in any attempt I have ever heard. The added power of the electric guitar adds that emotional flavor of this kind of relationship - there's nothing sweet and dreamy about what happens when there's a sexual spark between two people. It is, rather, explosive. And, as he says in the chorus, it can be consuming.
