February 2, 2021 Isolate and Medicate, part 1, the trip from home (continued) and part 2, the trip back home and August 22 update

Sorry to leave you so abruptly yesterday.  I hadn't heard Crash as much as many of the others.  I was listening and reading the lyrics at the same time and suddenly got it.

Track #6 Suffer It All.  The timing on this one is challenging.  An interesting juxtaposition of almost atonal, ambulance siren music and choppy tension-producing growling singing with a pop, Beach Boy song-like music but with lyrics that conflict with the tone of the music.  The former sounds like the musical equivalent of an accident on the verge of happening. Very interesting.  My ears had to warm up to this one.  I like the rough sand paper/fun at the beach conflict.  Favorite line here is, "I can't believe everything you perceive as what's rightfully coming your way."  Do I get this one?  No, not yet.  Don't care, just love to listen to it.  And who puts inclination, frustration, redemption, indications and mutations all in the first verse.  Oh, I know! I know! Thank you for the treat.

Track#7 Watch Me Drown.  This one sounds like a sister song to Same Damn Life.  If Same Damn life is the anthem of middle-age frustration and "screw it" attitude,  Watch Me Drown is the son shoving it his dad's face.  "And it's all your fault."  So there. Fuck you for getting old and giving up.  Probably not at all what it's about, but I'm going for feeling, not translation on this one.

Track #8 Nobody Praying for Me.  Now, being blessed with friends that do pray for me, I can't legitimately sing There's nobody praying for me.  There are many, so I feel hypocritical singing to that line.  But totally enjoy belting out, "Ain't nobody giving up, 'Cause nobody gives a fuck."  I feel that way and am delighted for this Seether anthem I can sing with gusto in the privacy of my own car.  My sister and I were quite the swearers when we were teenagers.  Mom put up with it, just asking us not to use the language around the grandmas.  Now with work really frowning on staff who say, "I fucked it up." or my favorite, "I don't give a flying rat's ass." now my daughter is shocked that the work fuck comes out of my mouth.  Flying rat's ass or Flying rats ass.  I don't know if I'm saying the rat is flying and I'm talking about the rat's ass, or I'm talking about some disembodied rat's ass that's flying all by itself, but it's fun to say.  Just not at work. Or in front of the grandmas.  August 22.  The music video that goes with this song puts a whole other meaning to Nobody Praying for Me. 

Track #9 

Oh wait, I wanted to say that the lower register Shaun sings the verses in is damn fine to my ears.  James Earl Jones. Barry White.  The Big Bopper.  Oh, my.  Sorry, I'll move on to #9

Track #9 Keep the Dogs at Bay.  I'd never heard this song before it queued up in the car.  At that point  I listened to it three times, four times.  I couldn't get enough of hearing it. There's an underlying scratchiness? to the sound.  Almost feedback.  You can especially hear it in the introduction.  The verses are very sparse with the instruments lighter than in the chorus with just drums and bass supporting the lyrics.  The voice is doubled and sometimes goes into harmony.  Listening to it now with headphones, different sounds swoop in and go back out from all different directions.  Now, since the song's debut was in my car, I kept hearing something.  It's during the instrumental section at about 2 min 44 seconds. Sounds like chains.  Freaked me out.  I though something was wrong with the mechanics of my car.

Listening in the car is really not the best way to hear music, I can tell I didn't hear details I can hear over the headphones.  But I love the way the music beats through the car and tries to blast off the doors.  No, I don't have it up too loud.  Some bands when they play have such a dense, full sound it's like the car speakers have a hard time containing it.  The drums and bass together fill out the sound.  I love both how they sound together and how they feel in my chest, like another heart beating beside mine.  Many of Seether's songs focus on just voice and guitar or  drums and bass for a short passage, or at the start.  So much thought in the choices.  A painting with fine outlines of lyrics and basic tune layered with instruments of color on color.  Sometimes lightly painted, sometimes thick and vibrant.  I can almost see it.  I can certainly hear it and feel it.

Track #10 Save Today. Oh it's just lovely from beginning to end.  It makes me sad and hopeful.  Makes me feel like I could fly.  To me, "All this time I've lost, I'll never find again." had been my life for a long time.  Just waiting to die because I can't get back what I've let go.  "So save today the secrets that you prayed for and wait 'cause we deserve it so much more," always reminds me of my daughter and her friends.  Always looking for a reason to live and not always finding it.  I want to yell after them, "Wait, don't go, you don't know how special and amazing you are."  One bad moment that, if successful, you can never take back.  You can't tell anyone that you changed your mind and want a do-over.  Just hold on until the next moment.  Please to God, do wait.

The music video for this one is magic.  Little vignettes of circus and drama.  Color and swirling movement.  I love Dale following the movements of the ballet dancer. The colors making the band glow like a wild sunset.  But, oh, do they look cold being sprayed down at the end.

#11  Turn Around.  Now we are into the extra tracks, cleverly handwritten after the typed set.  I'll save this for tomorrow as the hour grows late.