You may wonder what Death Cab for Cutie and Opeth, a disparate pairing of bands if there ever was one, have to do with all of this. On the day after Amanda was born, these two albums were released. Tied up in the hospital with our new responsibility, I, of course, neglected these two releases for a few days, but, when out to purchase some kind of baby-related items at Target - the first of many, many trips in coming weeks - I slipped across the street to Best Buy where I grabbed a copy of each (Plans and Ghost Reveries, respectively).
As so often happens, neither album is my favorite by either band, but, for a couple of weeks there, these two occupied my drives pretty much anywhere, and I got to know them in a way that I might not have had I not been so preoccupied with our new daughter. Lacking the ability to concentrate, or really even think, I simply left the discs in my truck for quick access. They might otherwise have slipped into the collection in lieu of other, stronger things to listen to.
The timing and the intense exposure to only these two albums leaves me with a very soft feeling toward the two. I simply can't be critical - memories of that time are inextricably tied around the music, and the music is tied to that time. Any attempt to separate them is like any attempt to separate your child from your life. It all becomes wound up, everything together in a big, beautiful knot of complexity. I'm perfectly fine with that.
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