OBSESSION ... Disappear Here - Bad Suns

I stumbled upon an album I just love. "Disappear Here" is the title track for Bad Suns on their 2016 release. I had only heard one song by them prior, "Cardiac Arrest," that yes, I purchased. Bad Suns are considered alt rock/indie rock. I must say they walk that line quite well. Their music is inspired by bands like The Cure, Elvis Costello, and The Clash, some of my favorites.

The entire album is good. In fact, I've been listening to it so much, that even when I'm not, snippets of different lyrics and melodies carouse ceaselessly through my head. (Side note: I kid you not, I will go to bed listening to Metallica [Side note to that: Can I get a hell yeah, an amen, or a God-bomb! "One" is the most badass Metallica song ever.] and wake up singing a random song from this album.) That said, the lyrics are not especially mind-bending. Relationships, good and bad. Nothing new there. "Patience" struck me as a little bit more meaningful. I can relate. But still. This is exactly what I want to listen to on the weekends when I'm feeling ... meh. And during the week when I'm feeling meh. Just meh all the way around.

The single "Daft Pretty Boys" is the most catchy, and most popular on Spotify.

And this one speaks to me, maybe because it touches on the idea of soul mates, which I explore in Luminesce.

"Maybe We're Meant To Be Alone"

I've got a picture perfect plan
But I can't go in alone
Are we whole or just two halves
Reaching out to the unknown?

No, I can't help my ways
It don't make such sense to me
All these cold and rainy days
Maybe we're meant to be alone

I've got a voice inside my head
And a feeling in my gut
I don't know just who to believe
When you're torn in two, who can you trust?

No I can't help my ways
It don't make much sense to me
All these cold and rainy days
Maybe we're meant to be alone
Maybe we're meant to be alone
Maybe we're meant to be alone
Maybe we're meant to be alone

...

I haven't yet gone back to hear the entire debut work, Language & Perspective, but I'm sure I will in time. (Okay, I'm doing it now. Track one is "Matthew James.") These types of musical obsessions don't fizzle out quickly for me, no matter how much I listen. I seem to have a super high tolerance for music I really like. I can't tell you how many times I listened to Meteora between 2003 and 2006. It's probably in the thousands. I listened to Twenty One Pilots (and some of Tyler Joseph's solo work on YouTube) and nothing but TOP for at least 6 months every day. Even so, I still don't know all the words to "Fake You Out." And the more I listen, the more I like. But maybe this is true for everyone. It just doesn't happen to me all that often.

Which is why I get excited when I find new artists I like.

J. L. Dodd

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Suns

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badsuns/maybeweremeanttobealone.html

Conclusion of The Dark Tower ... or not

BE WARNED! SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!

I did something so unlike me last weekend. I took a break from The Dark Tower's final installment, and I haven't gone back to it. Worse, I started reading something else.

Okay, so it's not entirely weird. Unless you consider that I am literally 50 pages from the end of Mr. King's self-proclaimed magnum opus, and that Roland (with Patrick's help) has just vanquished the Crimson King. There is now nothing stopping him from entering the crux of all of existence and climbing to the room at the top with Maerlyn's rainbow windows. This is the moment Roland has dedicated his very long life to. This is the moment I've been waiting for when I started this series two years ago. So why stop now?

I think it's a combination of things. Separation anxiety for a book or series you've enjoyed is well-documented, by book nerds, at least. I'm also a bit concerned about being disappointed. More, I'm concerned about Roland being disappointed. He has lost everything and everyone at this point. His ka-tet was broken, which I expected but still didn't enjoy. Seriously, Mr. King. You didn't have to kill Jake AGAIN. Don't even give me that bullshit. You did not. And I will not forgive you for killing Oy. Although if you are going to kill Ake, you might as well, you bastard.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to bring myself to finish the book. I keep looking at it, sitting abandoned and alone on my dresser, after being toted around day in and out in my purse for the last month. The worn edges around the cover will attest to the traveling it's done, not unlike Roland's battered body. I keep reminding myself that when I finish, I can still look forward to the movie being released on August 4th, just a few weeks away. And It will be next, on September 8th.

For now, I'm reading non-fiction and Netflix binging on especially trite TV series, say true and thankya.

J. L. Dodd