Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Wings

Nope, it's not about Hooters. It's about sneakers. On the surface two proportionally superficial topics, songs concerning them assumed to be equally so.  But have Mack & Ryan ever made something superficial?  No, and trust me, they aren't starting now.

This typical Ryan Lewis track consists of the regulars "” methodical piano, haunting wail, shaky tambourine, tortured strings "” but incorporates a couple new sounds that add excitement.  Denny Middle School (West Seattle) loans their choir for a wonderfully written chorus (Hollis Wear) and a clap track adds edge, complementing Mack's progressively aggressive diction.

The song begins with nostalgic appreciation for the superhero esteem that Nikes provide, and comes to a screeching halt with news of a slain child, killed for his Jordans. Mack goes on to explore the allure of such retail superpowers, the quest for acceptance, the insecurities that consumerism perpetuates.  He concludes by putting it in perspective for all of us plebians:

"This pair, this would be my parachute, so much more than a pair of shoes/Nah, this is what I am, what I wore, this is the source of my youth/This dream that they sold to you, four hundred dollars and some change/Consumption is in the veins and I say, it's just another pair of shoes."