Well. It perfectly describes how I feel about my life these days. I listened to it at the gym and cried. Then i listened to it in the car and cried again. It was absolutely cathartic, although wounding at the same time. Conundrum...
Anyway, this cherished, bittersweet memento I have found is called Fantasies. This beautiful album was woven together by the band Metric. Not many people know who Metric is, just a select few of us who troll itunes or the internet looking for something new, something special out there amidst all the goo with unfettered desperation and abandon. They are a phenomenal band though. The soul of this band is a silky singer named Emily Haines and her ubiquitous partner James Shaw. They have been a part of several musical projects together including Stars and Broken Social Scene. They came together with two other band mates to form Metric with each album becoming more and more of a success. Fantasies was their latest album, released in 2009.
Hopefully it's not the last.
The album starts out with Help! I'm Alive! It was the most popular song that they have ever had. It is hypnotic and vital and opens the album perfectly. It's been used for television a lot, so if you check it out, don't be surprised if you vaguely remember the melody. Chances are that you've heard it before... The parts that I love about this song specifically are the beat... they have a great bassist and really great vocal tracks that almost act as percussion. I also love the tag line: "If I tremble, their gonna eat me alive. If I stumble, they're gonna eat me alive." We have all felt that kind of pressure and felt that kind of horrific stress that builds up in you, where you imagine goblins chasing you with their fangs bared. The visual that this song gives me is monumental.
Satellite Mind is the third track and it has these lyrics that I absolutely feel at one with:
I'm not suicidal
I just can't get out of bed
I drift into a deep fog
Lost where I forgot to hold it
I can feel you most when I'm alone
I can feel your ghost when I'm alone
Coming home cause I want to
Hang out with a starlet
Stare up at the ceiling
Hiding and revealing
Flashback of a feeling
Sixth sense of a calling
The part where she says "I drift into a deep fog, lost where I forgot to hold it..." It's totally what I feel like when I get depressed or moody. Not a lot of people seem to understand this notion about me because well, when i'm on, I'm on... I guess. Sharp and witty. That's me. Until it's not, and Emily Haines wrote that line with such seeming ease. She must know what it's like, to write those words with such conviction.
My favorite song on the album is Twilight Galaxy. Here. Read the entire song for yourself. It is special. To say the least...
Did they tell you
You should grow up
When you wanted
To dream
Did they warn you
Better shape up
If you want to
succeed
I don't know about you
Who are they talking to
They're not talking to me
I'm higher than high
Lower than deep
I'm doing it wrong
Singing along
Did I ask you
For attention
When affection
Is what I need
Thinking sorrow
was perfection
I would wallow
Till you told me
There's no glitter in the gutter
There's no twilight galaxy
Go higher than high
Go Lower than deep
Keep doing it wrong
Keep Singing along
Go higher than high
Go lower than deep
Keep doing it wrong
Keep singing along
I'm alright
Come on baby
I've seen all
The demons
That you've got
If You're not alright now
Come on baby
I'll pick you up
And take you
where you want
Anywhere you want
One of the things that frustrates me the most, when sharing music with people is that most people cannot pay attention to both the words and the music. Most people just see one or the other. I don't know if it is because music is my obsession but I cannot separate the two. They are completely woven together for better or worse when the artist writes the song. This song is perfect to me. Words and music. The message is so clearly outlined and delivered and both melody and lyrics do that for each other here. I suppose it does help that I perfectly identify with the song. Every word, every note. It means something to me.
Now that I have made you read the words, the incredibly important words, please listen to the whole song. I hope that even if you don't love just this song, you will check Metric out in greater depth. Their song Combat Baby, from the album Old World Underground... is not only great listening, but great exercise music as well...
Hope you love it... XOXO
