Floating In A Space Capsule

Every year I herald the arrival of spring by playing Kaleidoscope World, by The Chills. I first purchased the CD (one of the first compact discs I owned) back in the spring of 1989, so I know that's the reason why it's become inextricably linked in my mind with the smell of a cool March day. The next year I put the entire thing on side one of a tape I made for myself to listen to on a bus ride out to western Mass, full of anticipation and excitement. So it's become linked to those things, too.

This month kicked off in grand style with a party here at the nstop homestead, which was a smashing success. What fun it is to see my friends descend upon my record and mp3 collections and listen to what they uncover. I awoke in the morning to find a stack of CDs on the stereo (Bowie, Blondie, Burma, Au Pairs) and 1, 2 new iTunes playlists in the computer.

I remember hearing some of one of the playlists earlier in the evening, thrilling to the sound of an obscure track that only that friend could have picked, something we both used to play on our shows back in our college radio days. Like picking out a bunch of songs on the jukebox, crafting a narrative for your circle of friends, of this song we all remember, that one you didn't know I knew and another I'm guessing you'd love and find that I'm correct when you do.

And that's what it's been about for me lately, more than buying new albums, reading much about music online, or even going to shows. Two weekends ago I was in Music City and didn't catch a single show, missed about four in NYC that I would easily have gone to. And didn't care one bit. Staying up later and having even more fun than I ever would have going to a show, just sitting around swapping songs -- funny songs, sad-but-uplifting songs, songs with bells, your favorite, my favorite, ours.

So here I sit surrounded by piles of junk that need to be boxed up or mailed out or kicked to the curb in anticipation of my move. I should be feeling anxious and overwhelmed, but the music on the stereo, the view from my living room and the air coming through the screen window are just all making sense to me. It's March and, yeah, this is how it's supposed to be.

Posted by nstop at March 17, 2003 05:05 PM