See These Bones

There are days every once in a while when I hear a song and, for whatever reason, that song just fits my day perfectly. I was listening to the new Nada Surf album “Lucky” this morning on my way down to DC, when I was struck by the first track, See These Bones. After listening to the entire album, which is pretty good, I played See These Bones again and ended up listening to it on repeat for the rest of the day.

It’s hard to articulate exactly why this happens or even why I like this song so much. Maybe it’s the guest vocals from Ben Gibbard, or the way the song starts off with kind of a heavy feeling then begins to sound more hopeful and joyous as it builds, before reaching it’s climax with layered vocals singing,

“Do you remember when the light was low?
Do you remember it fell?
Do you remember when we went through her house?
Remember ringing the bell?”

and

“Look alive
See these bones
What you are now
We were once
Just like we are
You will be dust
Just like we are
Permanent”

I really don’t know what it is about this song or why I listened to it so much today, but each time it was finished, I wanted to hear it again.

I spent the majority of my day in DC getting a travel visa for my trip to Shanghai. Thanks to some good company and a delicious lunch, I think I had the best time possible at the Chinese embassy.

The official countdown is at just over one month. I think I have everything set to go and am starting to get really excited about the trip. I have a few books for the flights but am still in the market for a couple new movies, so if you see anything good, pass it along.