Crucial Track for February 9, 2026

"The Other Side" by The Dismemberment Plan

#365songs (40 / 365)

Look I could talk about how this song is kind of a sweet tribute to sticking with a relationship that has a lot going for it even when times are tough, and how I have found some comfort in it in my own long-term relationship when facing problems that seemed intractable but turned out not to be. I could talk about how I only discovered The Dismemberment Plan long after they'd broken up and how, as the penultimate track of not just Change but their entire career, it stood as a poignant demonstration of the band at the height of their powers and a reminder of what we lost¹. But like... I really just want to talk about these fucking drums?

Because, I mean. Really? One guy is playing this? This song begins with an instrumental intro, maybe because they wanted to give you the chance to really zero in on how absolutely nuts Joe Easley is going on those drums, and then the verse comes in and the guitars fall back a little and the drums... oh. Oh, huh. He's still doing it, huh? No chorus, just more instrumental breaks, so you can listen to all those drums a little more. Is the relentless but steady clatter of all those drums, like, a metaphor for the turmoil in the relationship that the lyrics describe? I mean, maybe! But who gives a shit? Just listen to those drums!!!

¹ In this house we do not recognize Uncanney Valley as part of the Dismemberment Plan canon.