Random Shuffle - Kate Bush, Bright Eyes, Bruce Hornsby, Donna The Buffalo

I'm put my music collection on shuffle mode and talking about the songs that come up.

I'm less interested in giving a simple review of each song than I am in the personal emotions and memories these songs conjure. I prefer to talk about music as an experience rather than something to be measured scientifically.
 

“Eat the Music” – Kate Bush
From The Red Shoes

Marriage added many things into my life, and one of my favorite additions was my wife’s music collection. I am by and far the more music obsessed in our little family and my collection pretty much dwarfed the wife's, but still she added some lovely pieces. Her music is like bright highlights to my tapestry, shiny colors to my palette.

She is only six months younger than me, which was an entire school year and it leads to an interesting overlap in our music and a defining difference. We both “discovered” music in the early '90s, which means we both have a great love for the alternative and grunge scenes of that period.

When I went away to college in the fall of 1994 my knowledge of new music basically died. I didn’t have a television which kept me out of the MTV 120 Minutes loop, I didn’t have the cash for my music magazines, the local radio stations sucked, and I started dating a girl who was a die-hard punk fan which brought me back to older music anyways.

Which means there is a period of about a year where my music collection is about dead. Luckily, my wife fills in the gaps. Like with this lovely, jangly Kate Bush song. This album got a bit of press in the magazines I was reading at the time, but my budget never allowed me to buy it. I would have probably forgotten all about it were it not for my wife and her music.

There are many ways in which I am thankful for my wife, and this is a good one.

“At the Bottom of Everything” – Bright Eyes
From I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

This song begins with a short monologue by Conor Oberst. It is actually a story about two people conversing with one another on an airplane about to crash into the ocean. It serves as an introduction to the song and is amusing, interesting, and slightly pretentious. Much like the song itself.

Article Author: Mat Brewster

Mat Brewster is a periodic ex-pat wondering if he'll ever find a home. You can find him musing on pop culture, and obsessing over concert bootlegs at The Midnight Cafe.

Visit Mat Brewster's author page — Mat Brewster's Blog