Monday, January 09, 2006

Recurring Dream, Crowded House

If I close my eyes when I listen to this album, I'm lying flat on my back, with a pillow on either side of my head. The pillows are next to, instead of under my head, because they are holding bags of frozen peas against my cheeks. My room is kind of dark, and this album is playing through my powerbook's weak speakers, next to my bed. I don't know how many times the album loops, because I have no memory of what I heard three minutes ago. I remember, in quick flashes, my roommate driving me home from getting my wisdom teeth taken out. I think I might remember coming in the front door. I can sort of make out that besides feeling weirdly unconnected to time, I feel fine. I'm just lying there, listening to this album, which I just bought a few days ago and haven't really listened to yet.

So I know it sounds weird to associate an album with getting one's wisdom teeth removed. I just can't break the connection with the songs here. Recurring Dream... I can't really remember why I bought this album. I knew that they had written Don't Dream It's Over. No idea why years after that song was popular I decided to buy their greatest hits album, or why I put it on that evening. I love the songs on it now, though. The harmony, and just the amazing clarity, are gorgeous. I can't hear the opening chords of Weather With You and not immediately want to listen to the whole album. The beginning is the strongest part, but the fall off at the end is relative, the sweetness, and quiet assuredness, of the ending songs are still steps above most other music I've heard.

Since I spent a lot of the weekend listening to that Smithereens album, and I'm listening to this now, I fear I'm falling into a bit of a nostalgia kick. I tried downloading a few songs from American Analog set's new album from iTunes, but their music store is not in a cooperative mood tonight. (Error -5555... why do so many software errors use negative numbers?)

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