Heavy Rotation: Week Ending September 18, 2009

01. Starflyer59 – Dial M, (Tooth & Nail.2008)
02. The Blue Nile – A Walk Across The Rooftops, (A&M.1984)
03. Murder City Devils – EmptyBottlesBrokenHearts, (Sub Pop.1998)
04. Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall, (Matador.2009)
05. “Pisshole In The Snow” by The Pernice Brothers, (Ashmont.2005)
06. “Zen and the Art of Being a Fuck Up” by Psyched To Die, (Year One.2009)
07. Empire of the Sun – Walking On A Dream, (EMI.2009)
08. “Spinning for Spoonie” by Neil Halstead, (Brushfire.2008)
09. “Everybody Else” by Care Bears On Fire, (S-Curve.2009)
10. “Touch Me, I'm Sick” by Mudhoney, (Sub Pop.1988)

Way back on November 18, 2008, I wrote about Starflyer59's most recent LP, Dial M. One of the tracks I highlighted was “M23”:

“... [the] melody captures that world-weariness he delivers so wonderfully (the harpsi-synth-y keys are a gorgeous element and the part where he sings, “You made it up, you made it up, you made it up, you make it up” is my favorite moment on the album).”

The song continues to grab my attention, moving me with each listen. This week has been an interesting one, rife with sadness, frustration, surprise, happiness, and uncertainty. “M23” is the perfect song. It is one of J.Martin's most personal songs about how his faith carries him (he sings, “Can I rely, can I?/In the twinkling of an eye … of an eye, we'll rise/So I'll rely on Christ/In the twinkling of an eye”) despite the overbearing burden of work, being tired, worried, let down, and, finally, clearly aware of our undeniable mortality. It is the way he sings the coda (good that Christ works for him): the weariness doesn't leave his voice, but it isn't as heavy as on those verses. For me, it is existential lucidity that fits the emotion and vibe of the track, so I can connect. “Hey man, did you write that for me? It seems like it, that really spoke to me”.

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