Song of the Day: My Old Ways by Tame Impala
I discovered My Old Ways by Tame Impala in the background of an Instagram Reel.
The first few notes that played out of my phone's speakers weren't doing it justice. What this song needed, was a listen.
I microwaved some char siu buns, got my headphones ready, and plopped myself down on the couch.
It was now time to listen.
My Old Ways by Tame Impala first listen:
I hit play.
Just a few notes into the song, I knew it was different. There was something about it -- a little spice, a little… je ne sais quoi.
Admittedly, the lyrics took a back seat. I was here for the instrumentals and mastery.
I'm hit by the sound of the piano. It's haunting... no, not haunting, it's familiar yet far. It's like I'm in a room with the pianist -- I'm at a couch, writing in my journal, the music floating in from behind. I'm thinking the room has hardwood floors.
The comforting intro brings me back to this one SoFar Sounds show I'd emceed in college. We were in this studio workspace, which we'd adorned with fairy lights and jars of flowers. Think rustic. It was such a cozy, comfortable space -- we'd set it up especially for a proposal that was planned to happen later in the show. The piano intro and the way it's recorded threw me back into those cozy, small-town experiences.
One minute in, OKAY, OKAy, this production... it's... is it like Runaway? Am I dumb in thinking it was produced with Kanye or someone who worked on the early 2000s albums?
HOLY. SMOKES. YES. 1.29.
GROOVY.
GROOOOVY.
So groovy that I jammed out for a hot few seconds.
The maracas have shaken me out of that dance break --- hOLY MARACAS.
What were the inspirations for this song?
As a clueless listener, I want to guess afrobeats? Latin American music is having a comeback... do they have maracas in reggaeton?
Overall opinion:
If I was a dj in a cool record lounge, I'd put this into my set. 100%.
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Info on the song:
When I looked at similar songs, I was recommended a few favorites: Oskar Med K, Sombr, and Joji. I'd agree that they could be connected -- especially each with their own familiar-yet-distinct sound and songs that make you want to move.
The song was voted in at number 40 on the 2025 Triple J Hottest 100 and is the first track off the late 2025 album, Deadbeat.
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Tame Impala
I started listening to Tame Impala thanks to Tumblr. I believe his song Elephant was big at the time -- you know, the 2010s Tumblr era with Two Door Cinema Club, Foster the People, and that one "take me to your bestfriends house" tune.
Anyways, that was ages ago.
I used to call them ta-mey impala, until this guy in class loudly freaked mid-conversation, gasping with "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL THEM?! IT'S TAME... like to tame..."
The embarrassment of that one lasted a while.
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I'm no die-hard fan, but I do appreciate the artistry. So much so, that I took some time to answer the questions I'd pondered, and more:
Who worked on the song? Are there any links to the early 2000s album I'm thinking about?
Kevin Parker is the genius behind Tame Impala: I had no clue it was just one person. Jaw. Dropped. According to Album of the Year, Matt Colton was the mastering engineer, while Parker took credit for absolutely all else.
According to Wikipedia, "Kevin Parker did work (in a very indirect way) with Kanye West: he received a writing credit on Kanye’s 2018 album ye on the track Violent Crimes. (P.s. that is SUCH a good song holy smokes.)
After too much Google and a tiny chat with AI, we've concluded that the sound coming off like a Kanye album might just be a coincidence of feeling. "The piano loop and rhythmic build might remind you of the lush beats and melodic loops that Kanye used on those early works".
What were the inspirations for the song?
The song has an awesome beat and what sounds like a... house(?) rhythm. Here's what I could dig up as inspirations for My Old Ways by Tame Impala, other than the WA scenery:
Coming into his forties, Parker was finally shedding the confinements he'd put on himself. His perspective shifted from 'bands keep selling out,' to 'hold on, that's what they wanted to do.'
“From the moment I was writing 'My Old Ways', it was screaming at me that it was track one. It felt right to start with this janky phone recording of me playing piano,” he tells Julius Miller, writer at the LA Times. “That was my way of forcing myself to do that [free himself].”
According to Sony Music, the project is “deeply inspired by bush doof culture and the Western Australia rave scene” -- which I totally see!
I guess, the extention to this question that I wasn't able to find an answer to... do the instruments and what to do arrive to Parker in feeling, or are they referencing something else?
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Watching the My Old Ways by Tame Impala music video
I'm watching the music video for the first time as I type this out -- and holy smokes I feel like I'm THERE.
The nostalgia, enjoying the old technology. I'm immediately drenched in the feeling of the space he's playing in, the scent of old cardboard -- it reminds me of my college radio station and every bottom of the auditorium floor where the chairs are kept.
Holy smokes. Is that New York?
From New York to the way he cuts to making art and slowing down in Australia -- I need to have a conversation with this man, Kevin Parker.
I don't want to rack his brain, but I think we'd understand each other on a spiritual level. Not in a weird way, but in a, holy shit, there really is someone out there living on a similar wavelength.
I know that it's literally day one of the Lunar Year Year, but this song is definitely already proudly song of my year -- so far.
Check out the My Old Ways by Tame Impala video for yourself below:
p.s. I was talking to a customer service rep, then introduced them to this song. I hope they liked it.
