#mockingbird time

the jayhawks - tiny arrows

first heard this track on KUT (90.5 in austin), after the dj said the station had been playing their music and enjoying a good relationship with the minneapolis-area band for several decades. my roommate and i talked for a bit about that point, i enjoyed the song in the background, and i suspected i'd never hear it again, unfortunately. all i remembered was that the band name was something classic/stock. then i heard it again a few weeks later and recognized it because of the appealing chord progressions in the chorus, and the band's name somehow came back to me. searched youtube for a bit and came across this impressive live presentation. singer gary louris (with the curly hair) reminds me of a cross between wayne coyne and ben folds.

they use a lot of satisfyingly open 7th and 9th chords here, and for some strange reason, a phenomenon i can vaguely date back to life as a 10-year old, something about the harmonies reminds me of mortality. i've found that to be the case with several songs through my life....it's closer to a neutral sentiment than a negative or a positive one, more like transcendent reflectiveness than fear or anxiety. i wish i could figure out what the music theory behind this concept is, on a personal level. 

there's an interesting dynamic within these older guys and their wondering 'where did it go,' a sense that they've seen a lot, and still have plenty to experience, but just have more questions to go along with their time-expanded perspective. no one has ever found all the answers, and if they feel like they have, they've just stopped asking. this is a lesson in fragility and vulnerability; when overwhelmed, there's always the option to 'sit and watch the river flow; try and touch the sky,' which in turn reminds me of some lyrics by noah lennox/panda bear --

listen in between your notes, there's something big going on while you were busy taking notes and look in between your moments there's something good happening it's good to sometimes slow it down 

The Jayhawks - "Guilder Annie" 

Ah, a brand new Jayhawks record! This makes me happier than you will ever know. I could write pages on how much their 'Tomorrow The Green Grass' meant to my formative musical years...just played that record into the GROUND!