“Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man

An exceptional alt-rock groove.

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!

Today’s music pick is one of this century’s grooviest alt-rock smash hits.

Genre: Alternative, Psychedelic Rock

Label: Atlantic

Release Date: March 3, 2017

Vibe: 🙂‍↕️

Let’s quickly run through some of this track’s impressive commercial credentials.

in 2017, “Feel It Still” managed to crack the Top 10 in 18 different countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, the US, and the group’s namesake, Portugal. It won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance the following year and, as of this writing, has gone Platinum in 11 countries. In the US alone, it’s sold more than 7 million units.

Pretty impressive stuff for a group that seemed to come out of nowhere. In a candid interview with Billboard, lead singer John Gourley recounted how the song came together and addressed its similarity to a well-known Motown hit:

“Anytime you borrow — or, should I say, buy — the melody from [The Marvelettes’] ‘Please Mr. Postman,’ I feel like it should work. Usually our compositions are very full, and we’ll pile in everything we can. [This song] came about so naturally, just a bass and a vocal. You can’t plan that stuff though, I’d like to think I could sit down and say ‘Hey guys, let’s write a hit,’ but there’s something really natural about this song and the way it came about. It reflects every aspect of who we are. It’s not hiding behind anything.”

The idea of not hiding anything extends to the music video. Watch carefully, and you’ll find the band addressing several causes they feel strongly about, some in less oblique terms than others. For example, a printed copy of Alex Jones’ notorious Info Wars publication is burned at one point, a visual statement that leaves nothing up for interpretation. It’s also a bold choice for musicians who’d suddenly been thrust into the spotlight and, for better and worse, had several mainstream opportunities fall into their laps.

The same Billboard interview mentions that after “Feel It Still” became ubiquitous, the band started selling shirts with the slogan “I liked Portugal. The Man before they sold out.” Having that level of confidence and being able to make fun of your fame in your merch is nothing short of heartwarming. We need more of that in pop culture, not just the music industry.

“We’re just nerds that play music,” explained Gourley. “Because we get played on the radio and have a Vitaminwater ad with Aaron Paul dancing on a treadmill, people will say we sold out. I don’t write music for that. I write music for me.”

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