Nimble Fingers vs Coldhands

Angel Olsen - White Fire

This morning I woke up with nimble fingers. Every so often this happens, my fingers seem to have a mind of their own and tap all over everything, It can sometimes last as much as all day, but more realistically they remain active for a couple of hours.

However, I think this is going to be an all day affair.

While each finger is an independent, they communicate between each other with tremendous clarity, making finger movements rapid and coordinated. Snapping is snappier, typing is fast and accurate, and if there is a knot that needs undoing, stand the fuck back. It can be a marvelous state of being, but is it not without consequences: my hands become irrecoverably cold. Cold hands are usually fumbling and clumsy. Not my Coldhands, and much like the character in G.R.R. Martin's splendid world, they execute with grim efficiency.

Not Dead Yet...

No no, I haven’t given up on blogging.  It’s just that I had recently discovered True Detective…  

Not an excuse, I know.  Needless to say, I’m about ready for spring.  This has been the longest coldest and harshest winter to my 24 year memory and I’m about ready to put it to myth.  It will forever be known as The Winter.  You know the winter they always talking about in Westeros?  Yup, that one.

First order of business is music however.  Real Estate released their new album, Atlas, last Tuesday.  You may hear it HERE.  It has been my go to for making dinner, getting home from work, and getting ready in the morning; basically all the time.  It is absolutely fabulous.  The sun seems to shine a little brighter and you may or may not be able to smell sunscreen while it plays.  It does something a little more though, it captures the underlying feelings of melancholy that summer tends to carefully hide.   Feelings that summer is not all year long, and will inevitably lead back to winter.  For me at least, summer has an urgency about it.  There is a constant reminder in the back of my mind to enjoy summer, because it is always much shorter than I think.  However, if I decide to listen to that thought, and actively try to “enjoy” summer, I’m not truly enjoying it, not allowing myself to relax completely and go with the flow.  To me, true “enjoyment” is only retrospective, and I cannot know at the moment whether I am truly enjoying it.  It is not unlike observer effect in quantum theory.  This complex feeling, clearly difficult for me to describe, is captured beautifully by this album. Somehow.

Lyrically, this album is spot on for someone coming out of their schooling and struggling to choose the right path.  THE BEND really exemplifies this theme and is my favourite on this album.  The rest of the songs deal with the confusion of making the right decision, about relationships, lifestyle, and so on.  The generality and simplicity of the lyrics add a lightness that is reciprocated by the instrumentals.  All in all, this album is a pure surf-pop delight that can reach as deeply as you let it.  It will definitely be playing a lot more at my house.