We Amuse Myself

The preferred method of listen to music at the lab (when we want to drown out the screams of the children - I'm kidding of course; the children don't scream. They know better than to do something like that.) is Pandora. One of the graduate students was listen to it the other day, which reminded me that I have a Pandora account and should use it more often to explore and extend my musical library.

While searching around on my Kate Bush station (pretty much the only one I listen to), a Loreena McKennit song started playing. Loreena McKennit music is exactly the type of music that makes my imagination wander - I mean more than usual. So I was reminded of the little figure on the sail boat that didn't quite make it through my last stream of consciousness. I thought that I might give him another chance today. The current song has him walking with a sad old camel through a vast bejeweled desert (I had better not see a book out in the next year with that plot! I had it first!), but since this song is almost over, I'll start the stream of consciousness with the next song. By the by, the song is "The Mystic's Dream" in case you're interested and I like it indeed.

Okay, SoC starting with Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery". Which I haven't listen to in a long time so that should keep my SoC fresh. Also, it's a weird little song, SoC-ly speaking, so I should come up with something interesting. Ready.... GO!

The little figure is walking through a dreary cityscape, with rain pouring down over his head. Shadowy figures are walking around him, stealing a look every now and then. He sees a shining light through the rain, so having nothing better to do with his life, he starts walking towards it. As he walks the dark swirls around him, like its dancing. He comes to the foot of a church (cuz it's in the song) and he bursts inside, wanting to know where the light is coming from. There are people in the pews praying. Not one of them looks up as his runs to the alter, dripping dirty water on the floor. He reaches a staircase. He can hear faint music from the upper floors (by the way, he's also wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora). He tries to climb but as he does the congregation of pew-prayers comes to the bottom of the stairs and starts pulling on it. As the stairs unravel the steps turn into musical notes that he has to climb to get to the upper floors. There a little girl with a big blue bow is sitting at an organ, playing not-organ music. And the song is over. Just when it was getting good.

Now a Psychedelic Fur's song ("All of This And Nothing") is playing. I want to see what the little girl does so I'll keep going. The music that comes out is oddly up beat, and the girl sways back and forth, humming alone in the darkness. The figure approaches her and hits some keys next to her. There are colored bottles on the dusty windowsill behind the organ. The light shines through it, dappling the figure and the girl in rainbow light. As the girl plays, the figure is transported to a dance floor. Somewhere very far away, colored lights just like from the bottles streams down around him. There are lots of other people in the dance floor place, all of them dancing and having a good time out of the rain. He looks up at the stage, seeing the girl, older now as a DJ, with a little blue skull cap and still moving to her own music. The figure tries to dance, but it seems he's forgotten how. The girl sees him in the audience and smiles. She leaves her hands at the controls (don't ask me how) and goes to join him. And now that song is over.

Well that got really weird. But I liked it. Next time, I think I might just do a SoC post to this song (see below), because it's really pretty. REALLY PRETTY.



If American Idol had any singers like this, I'd have watched more than one season. That's right, American Idol. I'm calling you out.