When I come to love a piece of music with the intensity that I’m capable of loving a piece of music, I like to try to be a part of it. That is to say, I like to sing/caterwaul along with every part, even the parts that aren’t played by human voices. It’s an exercise that bonds me to the piece, but in a vaguely superficial way. That is to say, sometimes the intensity of the love and my propensity for singing sometimes take precedence over a truly close listen.
Thus, I might miss some of the more subtler parts of certain pieces. But on the off-chance that I shut up, these nuances rise to the surface of my perception. So it was this evening when I was listening to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and heard the hint of a shout at the end of “Oh Comely”(mp3). I hit the rewind button, cranked the volume, and to my surprise, heard the following:
“HOLY SHIT!!!”
This is no trite vulgarity. This might be the most meaningful holy shit I’ve ever heard. It literally ascends. It’s not a holy shit. It’s a
ho
LEE
SHIT!!!
(Well, I suppose it doesn’t ascend diagrammatically, but you get the idea)
I was not a fan of “Oh Comely” upon first listen. I thought it was too long, too loopy, and too much of a betrayal of the manic energy of the album’s first act. Hearing the holy shit was the final indication that I was so so so wrong. It also manages to confirm claims that the “In the Aeroplane” supporting cast watched on as Jeff Mangum layed down his guitar and vocals in one take. If you’d witness a man run the emotional gamut of his recorded masterpiece in one sprawling 8-minute, 18-second take, you might lay claim to the divinity of fecal matter as well.
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2 comments:
oh comely was the first song i heard by nmh, and still remains one of my favourites, despite the fact that i've listened to it so much i can sing every part pitched and timed perfectly (including the hol-ee SHIT at the end).
matthew
Hmm, as many times as I have listened to that album and song (and its been a lot of times), I can't say that I noticed that until you pointed it out.
In regards to Oh Comely. I personally think (and being a fellow music fetishist, you should have already anticipated this response) that the sequencing of the song makes a lot more sense when you listen to the album on vinyl. Since it is the first song on the second side, one is forced to pause between Communist Daughter and Oh Comely, which in turn means that the song--instead of continuing the album in its current pace--comes after a break and ushers in the second listening cycle. I had only listened to Matthew's copy of the LP countless times when I bought the CD, and it was admittedly very jarring to be swept from the swirling close of Communist Daughter into the opening strums of Oh Comely.
Ah vinyl, the solution to all of the music geek's problems.
Scro
ps - Today in one of my classes, a girl didn't know what LPs were. (shudder)
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