"At first, 'Pony' was interesting but not exciting, each one of us playing his own variation of the same thing," Michael recalls.

"Then Gabe, who was holding power chords over the eighth-note rhythm, tried a syncopated melody based on thirds. The song had its motive, and through Gabe's use of delay and chorus, a sound that reached back to the best of 1980s New Wave."

The complete song was infectious. "As soon as Gabe found his signature part, we played through 'Pony,' hit the stinger at the end, looked at each other with big grins and wordlessly started up again. We did that about a dozen times."