Confessions of a Fanboy

I wrote about Oasis’ “Cigarettes & Alcohol” last week in an attempt to write about an instance where a song fit the mood of the moment. It might not have been my most successful attempt at that particular subject but it is a recurring theme for me.

I don’t listen to random playlists because I can’t think of anything good to listen to. There are more than 15,000 songs on my iPod and it’s fair to say I like most of them. The reason I listen to random playlists as often as I do is because I’m having trouble finding the write song, artist, or album for a given moment.

I just got done watching the final episodes of season two of The West Wing. The last episode of that season is the one that finds President Bartlet standing before the Washington press corp, deciding whether or not he plans to seek re-election. As that overly dramatic scene is being built, Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms” is being played. That particular episode is a moving one, a dramatic one. It had an affect on my mood and I was looking for a song or some music that would fit.

What stuck with me after the episode were the melodic guitar lines of Mark Knopfler. The most obvious choice would have been Dire Straits, but I don’t have any (oh, shut up, Saleski) and wasn’t sure where to turn for music that fit my now ruminative state. With no Knopfler to choose from, I scanned my music library and am thrilled and relieved to say that I found the right album for this state of mind.

Belladonna by Daniel Lanois.

The seductive beauty, wordless literature, and gorgeous soundscapes have created the perfect mental obstacle course for my mind to conquer. I’m not thinking about much of anything yet am overcome with a desire to think, preferably over a cigarette – a cigarette I don’t have at present. The music of Belladonna is occupying my mind and letting me feel like I’m thinking without actually having any particular thought in mind.

This is a piece of music that is best experienced in its entirety. The songs build on each other, creating themes and shifting moods and settings and you can’t really get the sense of that by cherry picking one song or another. “Agave” and “Sketches” are my two favorites and they stand alone nicely but are more satisfying when listened to after “Two Worlds” and “Oaxaca.”

The same can be said for the difference between listening to good songs to pass the time and listening to music that is an outer reflection of your inner thoughts. I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve finished listening to this album.

Filed under: Music of the Moment