"Everybody Knows Where We're Going"

I'm on a huge Ryan Tedder kick right now. In addition to being a great songwriter (Beyonce's "Halo," Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," and Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" were all co-written by Tedder), he has a voice that just kills me--in the best way possible--and so OneRepublic's collaboration with Timbaland, "Apologize," and their own "All the Right Moves" have been in constant rotation on my iPod. (By the way, in case you don't know, OneRepublic's original version of "Apologize"--the one without the beats--is really different but very good in its own right; I happen to prefer Timbaland's production, although there are a great many people who would disagree.) "All the Right Moves" in particular has my attention.

The song sounds great, thanks largely to some fantastic production but also to the considerable talents of the band. And the song speaks to something in all of us on a general level, telling a familiar story about self-doubt and the search for a better place. Personally, my favorite lines are "There'd be the King of Hearts, and you're the Queen of Spades, / And we'll fight for you like we were your soldiers" and "Between the noise you hear and the sound you like, / Are we just sinkin' in an ocean of faces?"

Also, I just really appreciate Tedder's flair for the dramatic in his work--each song is grand in some way. Apparently OneRepublic as a band is also fond of visual drama--witness the video for "All the Right Moves," which is some kind of mash-up of The Illusionist, The Phantom of the Opera's masquerade sequence, Oliver Twist, and any number of Sophie Muller's music videos--"Walking on Broken Glass" (which, by the way, features Hugh Laurie WAY before House), "Mr. Brightside," "Bathwater," and others--despite being directed by someone else.

My recommendation? Check this song out as soon as possible. I think you will be pleased!

Buy through Amazon for $0.99.

Photo: Wikipedia.

-Cate-