Thursday, October 29, 2020

Cleaning and Music

I almost never do this (actually, I've never done this before today), but I wrote for an hour this morning and stopped. 

Too much in my head. 

Instead, I cleaned, which is the great avoidance mechanism if I can't get something else done. 

Until recently, I had no idea that cleaning had a calming effect. I was doing it wrong--rushing to get done as quickly as possible--so I never understood that when you clean in a methodical fashion, there is a kind of satisfaction that is very soothing. 

Once I realized that you have to clean in one swoop, not piecemeal, and that doing it half-ass is more stressful than not doing it at all, I got into the zen of it all. 

Part of this process is wearing headphones and listening to music to drown out the vacuum cleaner. 

Recently, I've been listening to the recent re-release of Sign O' the Times. What I find really striking about that album is that Prince put the best song as the first cut of a double album. 

Boy, that takes confidence. 

In particular, there is a lyric that is one of the most compelling I've ever heard, mostly because of the way he phrases it:
In September my cousin tried reefer for the very first time
Now he's doing horse
It's June

You can listen to it here (that section is around 1:20), if you're interested. It's unbelievably haunting, and it sticks with you for a long time. 

I've always been fascinated by albums where the first track perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album. Lots of artists don't do that, but there are certain albums where the first track just leaves you breathless.  

So, I sat down and made a small list of songs that do just that. 

Sign O' the Times (Prince)
Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones)
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)
Baba O'Riley (the Who)
Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
Straight Outta Compton (NWA)
Down to the Waterline (Dire Straits)
Roundabout (Yes)

If you're old like me, these songs will all be familiar, with the possible exception of Down to the Waterline, which was the opening track on Dire Strait's first album. Dire Straits had a very unique sound, and I still remember hearing that song for the first time and feeling my head explode. It was so tightly constructed, so lean, and it encapsulated the band's sound perfectly. 

More Than a Feeling did the same thing for Boston, I think. 

Wait, I only wrote for an hour today? That's just so far. I'm going back to it shortly. Books don't write themselves, much to my dismay.

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