[Miscellany]

As a child I had this habit of reading well past the hour of appropriate sunlight. You could often find me pressed up against the window with the book angled to receive the last splinters of light. My mother said: "Turn on the light or you'll go blind"
"Stop reading and do something useful" was my father's opinion.
I still do it now when I'm too engrossed in a passage to bother shifting my comfortable book reading position. Reading well past the hour of appropriate sunlight and wondering whether I'll finally go blind.

The same could be said for my relationship with earphones and music. Loud was the only volume deemed acceptable. I often had people coming in from the next room and gesticulating wildly at their own ears and mouthing "turn it down, you'll go deaf". Only they weren't mouthing, they were shouting. It just looked like an amusing mime from where I was sitting. They were probably right. Today, I get occasional ringing reminders of that music when I'm silently thinking or doing the dishes or writing. I still play my music loud like it's the very last time I'll ever hear it. I was never one for lessons learned.

Here's a song you don't have to play loud at all. Soft works. Loud works. In my opinion, everything works - but I don't ever come across people saying they like it. Go figure. I guess this is one of those times where my opinion is different from most peoples.

I liked the band Phoenix from the first moment I heard them, that is; before Too Young was featured in that movie where Gwyneth Paltrow gets dressed in a fat suit and pretends to be ugly. I remember being in the car with E and the song Too Young came on the mixed tape I'd made (of course my first car had a tape player!). I said: "I love this song even though it's really daggy. It reminds me of cruising in a car along the beach during sunset". We listened a while. She said: "you're right, it *is* daggy*". hmm

I was surprised to hear they were French - since when I think of beachy sunsets France doesn't really come to mind. This is despite the fact that I have witnessed a beachy sunset while I was in France. I think of California or somewhere like this place instead. Considering my Musical Monday on AIR I guess I must really like groovy French bands who sing in (mostly) English.

Anyway, their sound now is less; driving along the beach, but something a little more guitar based and surprising. I like it and recently when I saw them in concert they surprised me by being so, so much better than I thought they could ever be.

This song here Run, Run, Run is from their second Album Alphabetical - and has a bit of 'I'm a little bit out of place at this party' kind of feel to it. Which makes no sense but is basically how I feel most of the time. It's groovy and thoughtful and ..okay it's still a bit daggy*.

Run, Run, Run - Phoenix





*sort of like 'dorky' but dorkier.

Labels: about me, memories, musical monday

posted by M at 9:22 pm 25 comments