Office by Alex Penny
where i go?
day 20 complete.
The meditation habit seems to be pretty well in place, but this writing a post a day one is not so locked in. They say it may take only 21 days to make an easy habit automatic, but more difficult habits can take 60 days or more.
I fell asleep on the couch this evening and was very close to just going to bed and calling it a night, but here I am. At it again. Tomorrow is the last day of the habit course, so I might as well at least keep the streak going until then.
Today I bought Andrew Bird’s “Not a Robot, But a Ghost.” I love the drama in this song that kicks in after the first whistle. And the percussion like overworked machinery slowly but steadily falling to pieces. And the captivating lyrics. And the strange, halting string section in the middle that slows the song down to a crawl before the shaking percussion returns and speeds things up again. Its the rare song that has enough elements to keep me coming back to listen again and again, always looking for and discovering an interesting new detail.
Music moves under its own time and rhythm. When we listen, we are forced to adopt the pace of the song, grabbing what bits and pieces we can as it rushes by. Since we can’t quite keep up, there’s always a little bit of the code of the song left to crack. At least there is for the songs I enjoy coming back to again and again. This song for instance. When I first listened to it, the part about cracking the codes to end the war really stuck out and I was convinced it was about Alan Turing and his work to crack the Enigma code during World War II. Then I read an interview Andrew did where he talks about it being a breakup song, which also makes sense. The desperate belief that if we can just figure something out analytically, then the surrounding conflict we’re feeling can end.
But this time I’m hearing details in the percussive found sounds that were never noticed before. Is that a hand tapping a box underneath the sounds of spoons hitting water glasses? Hmmm. Time for another go around.
