I rediscovered my love for Bright Eyes' album Letting Off the Happiness. The song "Loose Leaves," which has always been one of my favorite Bright Eyes songs, popped into my shuffle on Wednesday. I was surprised to find that I was hearing it in a completely new way now that I'm older and at a much different point in my life. So I started listening to the whole album, and it was like hearing it for the first time. I was ecstatic. It's very cool to see how an album can evolve over the years, as though it had a life of its own.
I have a friend who told me she didn't understand my love of Bright Eyes. And I get why it's not for everybody. His early albums don't have the most beautifully delivered vocals, and that can be a deal-breaker for people who aren't instantly in love with his lyrics.
There are some bands that make music that seems to perfectly reflect your insides. Bright Eyes is one of those for me. (Granted, I'm particularly attached to this band because in high school, my good friend gave me every Bright Eyes cd there was. So these songs not only transport me to her, but they also link me to that time.) Somewhere in me lives a little drunk Nebraskan boy, so hearing a Bright Eyes album is like hearing my own thoughts sung back at me.
The first time I was ever really struck by the song "Tereza and Tomas" was during my freshman year of college. I was lying on the floor of my friends' dorm room (Bruce Hall, woo!), listening to my headphones, and this song came on. I could envision being surrounded by nothing but gray ocean and gray sky. This picture that my friend Max took really embodies the feel. To me, the song is about letting everything in the past stay in the past. It is one of the most effective songs I've ever heard for relaxation. And the roughly 20 minutes of low humming at the end of the song has the same effect on me as a hotel air conditioner - Knocks me right out.
Anyway, it was a really peaceful feeling, being on the floor of my friends' room while they slept. And early in the morning when I left for class, I remember the campus was still fairly empty and quiet and kind of foggy. It was a really extended, serene experience of the song.
See? That's just how I felt about one song on one album on one night six years ago. Now, that's a good band. Italics for emphasis!
xoxo
There are some bands that make music that seems to perfectly reflect your insides. Bright Eyes is one of those for me. (Granted, I'm particularly attached to this band because in high school, my good friend gave me every Bright Eyes cd there was. So these songs not only transport me to her, but they also link me to that time.) Somewhere in me lives a little drunk Nebraskan boy, so hearing a Bright Eyes album is like hearing my own thoughts sung back at me.
Anyway, it was a really peaceful feeling, being on the floor of my friends' room while they slept. And early in the morning when I left for class, I remember the campus was still fairly empty and quiet and kind of foggy. It was a really extended, serene experience of the song.
See? That's just how I felt about one song on one album on one night six years ago. Now, that's a good band. Italics for emphasis!
xoxo
Amanda Rachel
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