101 Words: Criminal Hygiene’s “Rearrange Me”

It’s still early and I’m woefully uncool, but “Rearrange Me” by Criminal Hygiene (released 2012) is my favorite song of 2013. Criminal Hygiene sounds like everything I like about The Replacements. Their lead singer is a modern version of a kind of sprezzatura I perceive in young Bruce Springsteen. “Rearrange Me” reminds me of two of my other favorite songs: “Hurricane Eyes” by the Old Haunts and “This One’s Different” by Howler, and while the lyrics are stubborn, the melody is so wistful that I just can’t ignore how maudlin I get around this time of year.