Thoughts from inside of a '91 Camry...

     Today I was listening to the album, "Saturdays=Youth" by M83.  While listening, it occurred to me that albums as a whole, or as a "title" are only ideas, and each track is a rabbit trail off that idea.  This may seem obvious to some people, but really the rabbit trails are in our heads just as much as the writers head.

     When writing the album the writer may have very specific meaning in each and every song, or they may have written it to be broadly interpreted.  Regardless, when I listen to these songs it triggers my own thoughts, my own rabbit trails, whether that was the writers intent or not.  If I listen to an album as a whole, with the theme or title in mind I hear each rabbit trail with that theme in mind.  It most likely isn't what the writer had in mind when they put the theme together, but it's my interpretation of what the writer was thinking.

     When first reading the title, "Saturdays=Youth."  I thought of friendships, and how the freedom of Saturdays can be related to the feeling one has from spending quality time with other human beings that are close to you, experiencing adventures together, meeting new people, and learning life lessons along side one another.  When reading the title and listening to the song, "Highway of Endless Dreams" it instantly sent me on a rabbit trail of envisioning a red convertible speeding down a desert road under a starry sky, headlights splitting the dark unknown, only revealing yellow line after yellow line.  I see two people in the car looking adventurous and satisfied.

     "Graveyard Girl" sent me on a rather personal rabbit trail.  The monologue at the end of the song reminds me of my freshmen and sophomore years in highschool when I was dealing with feelings of emptiness and craved fulfillment more than anything else.  I was a hopeless romantic.  Much like the "Graveyard Girl" I had these impulses to flee from the norm and submerge myself into mind numbing states.  Most mornings before school I would walk down and sit under the bridge that crossed over the Ottertail River.  Or I would take naps in the cemetery to find "peace."  The line, "I'm only 15 years old and I already feel like it's too late to live."  basically defines the emotions I had in those times.  I wanted to experience life to the fullest and loved it so much that I felt there was no time to lose.  But I had already missed so many opportunities that regrets filled my mind. Regrets that told me I would never make it to that peak of fulfillment.  It was a constant battle to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  That is when poetry and music became so meaningful in my life.

     Other songs on the album are mostly instrumental with inspiring, repetitive lyrics that create appropriate melodies that blend well with the soul.  They are the sort of songs that might inspire you to paint a giant pastel mural on the walls of an empty warehouse.  They are songs loaded with momentum, hope, and simplicity.  They are the rabbit trails of my mind.  Thoughts I get to claim as my own.  Created by the thoughts of a writer who was inspired by rabbit trails created by other writers.

     I guess what really occurred to me is that all these "ideas" and "rabbit trails" are just recycled inspirations.  They are thoughts passed down poetically from one, once teenage romantic to the next.  This may just be ramblings to most of the people that read this, and that is more than fine.  These are just thoughts formulating in my mind that I felt should be expressed.

     If there is one thing I'd like people to take from this post, it is this, listen to music and be inspired.   Don't be afraid to travel down these rabbit trails.  You never know where they might lead you to lead somebody else someday.

                                                     Thanks for reading, Nate