‘1234’: The first song Finn Wolfhard fell in love with
I’m sure there’s Stranger Things to have as your first love, right? You might be reading this and thinking, well, isn’t he just the guy from that Netflix show that’s dragged on for a bit too long? Yes… Yes, he is. But Finn Wolfhard is also an accomplished musician.
Back in 2017, when he was only 15 years old, he dipped his toes into the murky musical waters for the first time. Drawing from influences including Pixies, Weezer and The Velvet Underground, Wolfhard and his gang of youths created the indie rock band Calpurnia, releasing their debut album, Scout, in 2018.
The actor-turned-musician… and back to actor then decided to follow the root of many of his favourites, including the one we will get to very soon. One album was enough for his Calpurnia experiment. Leave the fans wanting more and all that. Wolfhard reunited with the band’s drummer, Malcom Craig, to form The Aubreys. Merging his two careers, the band featured on the soundtrack to his 2020 film The Turning. Not many bands debut in what has been described as “a passion project for Steven Spielberg”. I guess it’s that old, overused adage, ‘it’s who you know, not what you know’.
Well, Spielberg’s pal has now branched out even further in his musical escapade. Once again, he’s looked at many of the bands he grew up listening to and thought, “I want a bit of that”. For now, at least, he has ditched his bandmates and recorded a solo record. Happy Birthday draws on some of his more soulful, passionate influences. By listening to the likes of Elliott Smith, Wilco and The Quarrymen, Wolfhard has created what has been described as a “perfect amalgamation of his musical career to date”.
Speaking to The Line Of Best Fit, Wolfhard shared the songs that have led him to this point, the ones that shaped him as a child, and made him grow as an adult. It was ‘1234’ by Feist that came into his life at a very early point. Much like Wolfhard, Feist was a proud Canadian, and this is what really stood out to him: “When I was young, in my head, really famous musicians only existed in English rock and roll, or in America. And the fact that this came out and it was a Canadian artist, and this song was doing well – and it was super catchy – was cool.”
Feist, full name Leslie Feist, and more specifically this song had the impact on Finn Wolfhard that a first love has on all of us. It feels like you’re spending your whole life trying to please them — even when they’re not there — and to become the person you’re so convinced they want you to be. Could this explain the speed run of a music career Wolfhard is currently on? After all, Feist was also in many bands before branching out solo. I don’t know, maybe that’s overthinking things.
But one thing is for sure, whether he’s five years old or 22 years old, ‘1234’ is a song that speaks to the heart of Finn Wolfhard. Everybody has that one song where the feeling will never go away. The Stranger Things star described it so simply… yet so perfectly: “As a little kid, I would listen to that song and feel so happy, and now, when I listen to that song, I still feel really happy.”
