Best Song Ever: "Alexander Ovechkin" By Tim Fletcher Of The Stills

We've decided that "Alexander Ovechkin" by Tim Fletcher of The Stills is the Best Song Ever!

So we talked to Fletcher all about his awesome tune.

CHARTattack: First of all, for anyone who doesn't know, who is Alexander Ovechkin?
Alexander Ovechkin is a Russian hockey player from Moscow who began playing in the National Hockey League in 2005-2006 and since then has proven himself to be, in my mind, not just the greatest hockey player to play the game, but the greatest athlete of all time.

The greatest athlete of all time?
In my heart. I mean, the stats may say what the stats may say, and people might choose to take a more rational approach to this, but in the church of my heart this guy Ovechkin is truly the greatest athlete of all time.

So, you feel he's more passionate, more distilled athletic perfection than, say, Mike Tyson in his peak, or Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods?
Yeah, absolutely. I'm a musician. And I chose to play music because it's an amazing, life-affirming thing to be able to do. I chose that over sports because it's a lot more satisfying and a lot more fun. And there's a lot about the sports world that I find very limited in terms of reflection, there's a lot of limited dialogue going on out there.

But this guy Ovechkin comes in there with nothing but fun and passion and total disregard for tradition. He just wants to have fun and score goals. I can't really think of any other person in sports that is grabbing life by the balls and having the most fun with it. And that to me, well, you live once and he's doing it right.

And why did you write a song about him?
About a year ago Olivier [Corbeil, bass] in the band had gone to Cuba for a couple weeks and I got all my recording gear and I just set up in Olivier's fifth floor apartment overlooking the city and I just started writing tunes and recording anything.

And the day before Olivier came back I caught a Washington Capitals game on TV and The Glory was fucking intense. He had a hat trick and was smashing everyone and just jumping all over the place and the whole building was going crazy... and I couldn't stop thinking about how glorious it was and how inspiring and awesome it was. And I was just like, "I'm going to write a song about it," fuck it.

So you wrote the song a year ago and it's just reaching the outside world now?
Yeah. Because a year ago I wrote it for fun and I put it on YouTube with a picture. It was a joke. A fun thing to do. I couldn't really think of where else it could go. And then lo-and-behold, these days it's starting to pick up.

It's true. Now, how do you come up with a lyric like, "Ride like eagle to glorious?"
I watch Ovechkin play and I channel the spirit. I can't explain where a lyric like that comes from. It's from on high.

Did you do this by yourself or did you have help?
I was alone. Completely alone and I was feeling really inspired. And there are other verses. Stuff about decimating your crops and spreading his seed. And, like a spectre across the land. And how we all must bow and accept. That's not included in this version.

So there's a version of the song that's "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" in length?
Well, the true version only exists in my mind. This is the shortened three-verse pop version. But I picture each verse modulating up a tone so each verse becomes more and more intense and each verse a new element comes in with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra coming by verse three bringing in the strings, bringing the horns, bringing the Moscow Men's Opera so that we're all singing along... until it's just unbearable.

Now, you compare him to a giant horse in the song — "ride his skate like a giant horse." Top NHLers can reach 27 miles per hour, while top thoroughbreds can reach 40 miles-per-hour. So are you taking artistic liberty or do you feel there are moments where Ovechkin could actually skate 40 miles-per-hour?
I think we've yet to see his full potential on a skate. In that lyric, I'm referring to his taming the beast, the wild horse. A lot NHL players are not able to tame the horse-skate in the same way that Ovechin has been able to. And if you watch him, he's explosive and he bounds all over the ice and he's just got total control.

And he also whinnies after he bodychecks someone.
He gallops, he slams people, he whinnies, and you might even see a little flame coming out of his nostrils.

The Montreal Canadiens are right in the middle of a playoff series against the Washington Capitals. Being a Montrealer, what do Montrealers think of Ovechkin right now?
When you watch the game, every time he touches the puck they boo him really loudly and with great distain. But I have to say, growing up in Montreal and having lived in this great city [supporting the Canadiens] is sort of compared to growing up in New York with the Yankees; I think I've sort of irked a lot of people.

In any other situation, I'd be like, "Go Habs Go!" But I'm going for the Capitals. I'm going for Ovechkin. Sorry.

Aren't you scared that's going to get you in trouble at the bar when they see your face?
The song hasn't reached that level of infamy in the Montreal Canadiens daily journal — which I'm sure exists. They haven't put a picture of my face next to a story about the song. So I think I'm safe... for now.

Did you know he lists his favourite musician as 50 Cent?
He is human. So we can permit him his transgressions, I suppose.

He also likes "rap, R&B, and techno."
I guess that's a bit of his hardcore "young Russian" vibe coming through.

Do you think the sound of the song might be too traditional for him?
Well, I think the song is a bit more Ukrainian in vibe. It's got more of a Cossack march to it. So it might be a little geographically off the mark, but it's that region of the world.

What do you think Alexander's reaction would be if he heard it?
The thing is, we actually met him six or seven months ago at a party and we were chatting with him and I was like, "Hey dude, I wrote a song about you." And he was like,  "Oh, yeah! That's unbelievable! You should send it to me."

And I never ended up sending it to him because a) I didn't really know how to, but at the same time I was sort of like, I don't know if it's a little bit offensive in a Borat way, so I was like, "If we send it to him I've got to tweak the lyrics." I don't want to offend him. It's not meant that way.

So you'd create a personal version for him that would increase the awesome.
Exactly. I don't think that song could exist without the Russian accent or the poor English filled with glory, but I think he'd get the full-on version.

What are some of your favourite Alexander moments?
There's so many. There's obviously the highlight reel stuff. Where every year there are 5-10 new mindblowing moments.

There was one against the Canadiens last year where he banked the puck behind the defenseman, did like a 360, took it and falling down with one stick on his hand, shoveled the puck over Carey Price.

This guy's a robot. He's like the plague. He's a galloping force across the Russian steppes. You can hear the galloping miles away and you're like, OK, gather your children, gather your wife, head for the hills and leave what you don't need behind because he's going to sack and pillage your town. He's like Genghis Khan.

Do you remember that goal he scored on his back a couple years ago?
Yeah, against Phoenix. Again, it's like superhuman, incomphrehensible... it's like he made that happen with his brain. He wills that into happening. You know like when you're a kid and you try to use The Force?  You try and move objects? Well, he did that. And he made it work.

Do you remember the hot stick celebration?
Yeah. I thought it was awesome. He totally earned the right to do that and I loved it. And I thought it was amazing that it was a bit showboat-y and risque. You knew people were going to be pissed off about it and that's what I liked about it.

Do you remember that goofy all-star game shootout goal he did wearing a hat and Randy "Macho Man" Savage sunglasses?
Yes, I do. And I think again, he's all about the pure fun and enjoyment of the game. The game. It's a game. And he's 100 per cent dedicated to the glorious fun and the rush and the enjoyment of it at its maximum.

So when he's wearing glasses and the two sticks he's giving something to the fans and he's indulging in the fun aspect of it. C'mon, so many people in hockey and in sports take themselves sooo seriously. It's like they only have one working part in their brain and it's like an acorn and it only processes the technique of the game and playing 110 per cent in the corners and on the boards. But he's got a more multi-dimensional mind.

Let's talk about his bodychecking. There hasn't been a high-scoring forward as brutal as him in the modern era of hockey.
He's a power forward in every sense of the word. And he's successful at it. He hasn't started getting injured yet and I hope he doesn't.

His hits are just like a manifestation of his complete desire to plow through to victory. It's like, nothing will stand in his way. He's got supreme motivation and dedication. He's single-minded in his approach. It's really impressive and intense.

Do you think he's someone who's going to burn out or fade away?
I really hope not. I think he's still got many years left in him. And I think he's a smart enough player to adapt and change his style in order to accommodate his aging. I think he's always going to retain that exuberance and jubilation. That will always be a factor in how he plays.

Anything else we should know?
I just want to say glory be to Ovechkin and may he lift the Cup high, shining above Russian fields this summer and may the sun shine down upon it in the light of full, total victory.

You can download Tim Fletcher's "Alexander Ovechkin" for free here.