Still, I do have one memory that has stayed with me since Jamie's birth, and I promised myself I'd write this post before our second child is born. Seeing as we are likely within 24 hours of that occurrence, I figure my time has run out to get this on the (web)page.
Jamie was in the hospital for 8 days when he was born. I say this not to be melodramatic. Though we were certainly shook up by this early curveball, we know that many have experienced much worse. Still, the delayed gratification of taking him home led to immense anticipation.
And that is why I know our drive home from Piedmont Hospital took roughly 17 minutes and 25 seconds. I know this because we heard four songs on the radio during that drive, and they've remained with me to this day.
Now I'm not a religious man, and I don't necessarily believe that everything happens for a reason. Still, I've always thought it would be fun to go back and revisit those songs, and see if there are any metaphorical meanings I can extrapolate.
Song 1: Paradise, Coldplay
How cliched, right? Like right out of some holiday chick flick (presumably starring Riggins from Friday Night Lights and one of the Jessicas, Biel or Alba -- or both!), it figures a sappy Coldplay song would be the first one out of the gate. 'Tis no lie though. Right as I keyed the ignition to begin our trek home, the first violin strings of "Paradise" began. It seems too overt to try for some sort of metaphorical angle here -- the surface meaning will do.
This will always be Jamie's song to me. Any time I hear it it transports me back to Thanksgiving Day 2011. It is a fitting song, as Coldplay's music has had a running thread throughout Hilary's and my relationship. Their song "Yellow" was very nearly our choice for our first dance at our wedding*, and "Swallowed In the Sea" was on the mix CD** I made to play in the car when we moved Hilary to Atlanta from DC.
*As if to prove how our memories fade, Hilary and I have been trying to remember if we used Yellow for some other purpose during our wedding, and neither of us can remember. Maybe it was when we were walking down the aisle? Or father-daughter dance? No idea now.
** Hey, remember those?
Like most Coldplay songs, "Paradise" is fairly uncomplicated and seemingly superficial, yet it still has a way to affect me emotionally. Sue me, I like Coldplay.
Song 2: The Man Who Sold The World, Nirvana
Song 3: Eminence Front, The Who
I love The Who the way most people I know love them, which is to say I think they rock, but I really only know the songs off their Greatest Hits album or from Tommy. And even though I almost exclusively listen to rock radio***, until this drive home I had never heard of this song, from their 1982 album It's Hard.
*** Well, not entirely true. Nowadays I almost exclusively listen to podcasts, and in high school I almost exclusively listened to the Jackson rap stations. Damn I was hip.
Why 97.1 The River chose to play this song that day (ever?) is a mystery to me, but the darndest thing about it is ever since I've heard this song abundantly, and not just on the radio -- in intro music to televised sporting events, at restaurants; it's crazy.
The takeaway with this song is that it's never too late to learn something new, and by that I mean I just learned that the term for this sort of pattern (where once you see a new word or concept you see it repeatedly) is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, which sounds like the most bad-ass name for something I've ever heard. I wonder if it's too late to convince Hilary of a name change? Baader-Meinhof Hart has a nice ring to it.
Song 4: Closer To Fine, Indigo Girls
I'll be damned if this isn't just the most apt song for this playlist. I have a long, long history with this song. Every girl at summer camp knew this song backwards and forwards and would lean into it like they were on stage in a goddamn Broadway musical. In fact, arguably the most famous camp alum**** once sang this in the camp talent show.
**** And girlfriend of mine for a full twen-tee four ho-urs.
At my older sister's rehearsal dinner, my younger sister and I sang a song set to this tune about how we always thought she was a lesbian.*****
*As if to prove how our memories fade, Hilary and I have been trying to remember if we used Yellow for some other purpose during our wedding, and neither of us can remember. Maybe it was when we were walking down the aisle? Or father-daughter dance? No idea now.
** Hey, remember those?
Like most Coldplay songs, "Paradise" is fairly uncomplicated and seemingly superficial, yet it still has a way to affect me emotionally. Sue me, I like Coldplay.
Song 2: The Man Who Sold The World, Nirvana
This song comes from one of my favorite albums of all time, Nirvana's MTV Unplugged (for my money, the best performance of that entire program's history), and it's a cover of a David Bowie song. The song itself is somewhat inscrutable to me (a quick google search suggests it deals with multiple personalities), but if I could take any lesson away from this to pass along to Jamie, it'd be that talent can be both a blessing and a curse. I wasn't that huge a Nirvana fan when they were around, but even still Kurt Cobain is probably the defining musician of my childhood. He was a genius, but a tortured one. I certainly hope that Jamie (and his baby brother) find things they are good at, things they can share with the world. But sometimes those things can consume us, and ultimately, I believe it's better to be happy than to be famous.
Song 3: Eminence Front, The Who
I love The Who the way most people I know love them, which is to say I think they rock, but I really only know the songs off their Greatest Hits album or from Tommy. And even though I almost exclusively listen to rock radio***, until this drive home I had never heard of this song, from their 1982 album It's Hard.
*** Well, not entirely true. Nowadays I almost exclusively listen to podcasts, and in high school I almost exclusively listened to the Jackson rap stations. Damn I was hip.
Why 97.1 The River chose to play this song that day (ever?) is a mystery to me, but the darndest thing about it is ever since I've heard this song abundantly, and not just on the radio -- in intro music to televised sporting events, at restaurants; it's crazy.
The takeaway with this song is that it's never too late to learn something new, and by that I mean I just learned that the term for this sort of pattern (where once you see a new word or concept you see it repeatedly) is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, which sounds like the most bad-ass name for something I've ever heard. I wonder if it's too late to convince Hilary of a name change? Baader-Meinhof Hart has a nice ring to it.
Song 4: Closer To Fine, Indigo Girls
**** And girlfriend of mine for a full twen-tee four ho-urs.
At my older sister's rehearsal dinner, my younger sister and I sang a song set to this tune about how we always thought she was a lesbian.*****
***** Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The late, great Mitch Hedberg had a hilarious joke about how songs have different meanings to people depending on the circumstances surrounding when they heard it. For most of my life, I have hated this song. But now, because it was playing as we turned onto our street to begin our journey into parenthood, literally becoming closer to fine with every tire rotation, I can't help but have a positive association with it. And Jamie, though I love you, I'll always blame you for that.
The late, great Mitch Hedberg had a hilarious joke about how songs have different meanings to people depending on the circumstances surrounding when they heard it. For most of my life, I have hated this song. But now, because it was playing as we turned onto our street to begin our journey into parenthood, literally becoming closer to fine with every tire rotation, I can't help but have a positive association with it. And Jamie, though I love you, I'll always blame you for that.
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