Soundtrack

I’m finally done with the rain. The depression from the weather hit me later than most, I think, but today the sadness of the swamps sank in.

Another dreary morning at the office. I like the work and I like the folks but for various reasons, it’s a bleak place right now and by 9:30, I want close my eyes and be away. Next best thing: I jack one side of my headphones into my iPhone and the other half into my head and let genius spin my morning.

We found the ground,
but that damage was done.
It's cold as you fade into the sun.

-Remy Zero, “Fair”

Round about ten, Melissa Etheridge comes across the void with a good bass line. I half-considered grabbing my pointe shoes out of the trunk and ducking into the damp and dim warehouse for a bit. Probably no one would notice, except maybe the poltergeist, if my co-workers are to be believed. (Don’t ask.) It probably wouldn’t tell. Probably.

Please baby can't you see
I'm trying to explain
I've been here before and I'm locking the door
And I'm not going back again

-Melissa Etheridge, “I’m the Only One”

Melissa gives over to They Might Be Giants. Flood, no less. I build a little birdhouse in my soul and push through my morning.

Scene change. Thirty minutes to a meeting, I trudge through the streets of downtown Sac in the darkening afternoon, debating stowing my umbrella despite the rain, lest I pull an involuntary Mary Poppins. I duck into a little coffee shop looking for some companionable solitude. Inside the lights are warm and Norah Jones* is coming out of the speakers.

Awesome, I don’t even have to put on my headphones.

Makes me think that I don't know me
So unsure
When I remember all the things he showed me
And I want more, I'm feeling lonely
Oh I'm feeling lonely

-Norah Jones, “Even Though”

Night falls. My long road for the day leads me to the studio. I dash in through the rain. The lobby is dimly lit and the floor is a tangle of duffles and backpacks. A rectangle of light pours out from the dance room doorway. Silhouettes dance across the floor. I know this song too.

Step from the road to the sea to the sky
And I do believe it we rely on
When I lay it on come get to play it on
All my life to sacrifice

 -Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Snow”

I push pins into my hair and wrap ribbons around my ankles, tapping out the beat and alternating between the lyrics and the choreography under my breath. A friend catches sight of me from across the dance floor and smiles.

It’s warm here.

Heading home. Tired and now my clothes are damp from the outside in and the inside out, but I feel good. Well used. In the shelter of the car, I make a call, and then jack my iPhone back into the auxiliary port.

Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will roll away
Maybe I won't be so afraid
I will understand everything has its plan
Either way.

-Wilco, “Either Way”

Either way.

* I offer a minor apology to those who follow me on twitter and/or out in the “real world.” I expect that you’re getting sick of hearing me go on and on about how incredibly awesome the new Norah Jones album is, about how everything she’s ever done is incredibly awesome but this album is beyond awesome. I call it a minor apology because I feel obligated to make it and yet, I’m not sorry.