The Airborne Toxic Event: Such Hot Blood

Week 25

THE PITCH

This is an IMMACULATE album from my teenagehood. I think it was gifted to Els by Matt at some point or maybe he gave her a different one by the same artist but no matter. The point is I think it's fab. I like the lyrics which are emotional and singable (read Screamable when you are having A DAY) and it helps that I like the lead’s voice. I like the sound of the music – the drums and the violin that creeps in and the anthemic vibe of songs like Timeless but also the acheyness of Elizabeth.

I think you'll like it, at least a little bit. You might even be a little familiar with some of it (we have been listening to this album since 2013 haha). I think it'll tickle whatever The National did.

Marianne Nicholson

MY RESPONSE

I do like this, Marianne. I like it a lot, for all the reasons that you said. The lyrics are singable, screamable even (I haven’t tried that but I can imagine). Anthemic, yes that’s a good word. It’s all those repeated words: ‘Everything, everything, everything’; in Safe: ‘’cause it’s true love, ’cause it’s true love’; ‘We are, we are/We are timeless, timeless. The rich, layered orchestral sounds too. I love that in The Fifth Day you can hear the big sound muted in the background and then it swells grandly at the end to overtake the lyrics. I like that these are straightforward songs about love and loss and the voices really work in evoking the feelings. There are some perfect lyrics too – at the end of Elizabeth: ‘I’ve never known love/This is just my best guess’; in Bride and Groom: ‘You take your clothes off instead/And you danced around my room/Don’t worry, you said/Because the end is coming soon’. I was going to write a list of the songs I like best, but I find I really like all of them.This album is a keeper.

Out of all the albums in my stockpile (and I have quite a few at the moment) I chose this album for this week because I’m on holiday with the family and from what you said about it, Marianne, I thought this would be something everyone would like. Also I got to try out my little speaker floating in the swimming pool which I find ridiculously pleasing. I don’t suppose any of you ever thought there would come a moment when you would tell me to turn down my music but that happened.

So here’s the thing: I’m not sure I like background music. If I’ve put music on, I want to be listening to music, whereas I think a lot of you are quite happy to have a playlist or an album burbling away in the background behind your conversation. When my birthday playlist was playing during my party, I could hear it faintly and I kept wishing I could hear it properly or not hear it at all. I found it intruded in my conversations and stole some of my attention in a way that wasn’t particularly pleasant. I don’t know whether it’s just a thing that you get used to when you have music on all the time or maybe it’s because I’ve been so focused on listening to things that I can’t step back from it. Or maybe it’s just the way my brain works. I feel like if I’m talking to someone while there’s music playing I want to talk about the music rather than about other things.

Also, note to self: don’t plan to spend a plane journey listening to music and reading the lyrics at the same time because you can’t look at the lyrics on Spotify off-line even if you have the album downloaded.

WHAT ELSE I’VE LISTENED TO THIS WEEK

Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks

(No running? No gardening? Lots of time surrounded by other people?)