Monthly Archives: October 2003

General Chaos, Headline Haiku

It's dark at five o'clock
the rain is washing away the leaves
another season flushed into oblivion
leaving piles of flotsam and regret

The sky is grey at eight a.m.
tinting memories of Saturday's sun
with a mask of autumnal finality
I hate Standard Time.

But there's nothing as beautiful
as a child on a leaf-strewn trail
beneath a canopy of maroon and gold
with holes of cold, crisp blue

And there's nothing quite as sweet
as grabbing that moment of mortality
It's fall, it's harvest time
and you're reaping the fruits of summer memory

Standard
General Chaos

iTunes iSerendipity

I found this band, the Weakerthans, on iTunes, and fell in love on the first clip play. This is the sort of discovery I used to make on the radio, back when they played stuff like this. Now, I listen to a public radio alternative station and hear mostly stuff I liked 5 years ago–and that's my best option.

The Weakerthans are from Winnipeg. But they sound like someone did a statistical analysis of the contents of my iTunes library and record collection and created an optimized band ( “3/4 Icelandic”, as their site proclaims) matched specifically to my musical tastes.

And the lyrics…

How I don't know how to sing,

I can barely play this thing,
But you never seem to mind,
And you tell me to fuck off,
When I need somebody to,
How you make me laugh so hard,
How whole years refuse to stay,
Where we told them to back off,
Locked up blindly in a word,
Or a misplaced souvenier,
How the past chews on your shoes,
And these memories lick my ear.

I know,
You might roll your eyes at this,
But I'm so,
Glad that you exist.

–the Weakerthans, “The Reasons”

Standard