Revisiting the hurricane, but only for the music

During the long weekend, I had loads of opportunity to chat, text and IM my favorite pen pal. I can’t remember the last time we spent time together like that. Likely when his office was beside my own and he'd talk so loud on the phone that I'd have to kick the wall to get him to hush, and in return he'd pound the wall so hard I'd fly from my seat, or the time he and his family came to the cabin with my friends and me, and it rained so hard for so long that we took turns sliding down the hill on pool floats in the pouring rain because we were so bored that we were climbing out of our skin. Now that I think about it, a wicked Halloween punch may have had something to do with that.

On Saturday, we got onto the subject of music, which always happens, and we stayed there a long while, which also always happens. We tend to be all dreamy about music from days gone by, but a bit hesitant about music today - because neither of us are hanging out in bars or watching MTV anymore and the World Cafe no longer airs in Houston, so we're kind of winging it, oftentimes waiting for the newest CD of a favorite artist to be released, and sending word to one another about it, as he did me with David Gray just last week.

Come to find out, from the music-gone-by era, we both have fond recollections of Squeeze. I was trying to find Another Nail in My Heart as a ring tone to download – hey, I was bored – and what I found was hardly even recognizable because it sounded like an organ on speed and was so frightening that it was laughable, like the song itself breathed helium. I wanted so much to hear, And here in the bar, the piano man’s found another nail for my heart, because I was feeling all sorts of nostalgia for 1983. Maybe because it's the last time I dealt with a hurricane, not sure. But still I think the line is cleverly written, and even though there was a day when it made me cry (that'd be in 1983), I've always appreciated the cleverness, and in appreciating it, felt good again.

I've got it playing right now and it's got me grinning. Funny about music that way. If a song travels with you long enough, it can get you all wistful and pensive one day, then blissful and happy the next. Same damn song.