I gunned it out of the parking lot. I rolled my window down. I was racked by chills. Where did this come from? Why has someone not informed me that The Late Greats is one of the great songs of our time? It was one of those moments where everyone who does not listen to music or does not listen to great music or does not listen to rock music misses out on, the reason why I am driven to listen to music constantly. Because every once in a while, everything converges and there's no artistic enjoyment experience that can supercede it. It's because it happens on an emotional and a conscious level and dynamically moves through time with you unlike a painting. Whenever I have one of these music experiences, it launches me back into when I've had similar. They're all equally difficult to describe. Here are two:
- 1997 - U2 concert. Where the Streets Have No Name. I stood at the top of Rice-Eccles stadium and could not honestly believe I was seeing and experiencing. That entire concert just lifted me right out of my shoes, but that song at one moment I stopped singing along and yelling and jumping and stood in awe of all things around me
- 2002 - Royal Albert Hall. The London Symphony Orchestra played Dvorak's New World Symphony. The second movement absolutely melted me. I played Largo so many times on the piano when I was learning to play. It's in the Alfred Brown Book (not the recital book, I don't think). It was a beautiful rendering combined with nostalgia that just floored me
2 comments:
You have to be the world's greatest Wilco and U2 fan. Seriously. In all the world there is no one who reveres those bands as much as you. And let me tell you, I'd know.
I revere Wilco more. I promise. I really do. There's a bit on the extra DVD that comes with the Deluxe Edition of Sky Blue Sky where Jeff Tweedy talks about this new album just being a collection of good songs and that sometimes that's all people need — just good songs. I believe that. And "The Late Greats" certainly falls in that territory.
And if you don't have Sky Blue Sky yet, go buy it. Put it in your car player. Roll down the windows and drive until you've made it all the way through. Goes down so so smooth.
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