Context – Driving to the ‘burbs

I did a bad thing yesterday and forgot to blog.  That’s the second time this month, what gives?  I need to tighten up my ship.  Swab the poop deck and all that cartoon pirate jargon!

Did I ever tell you the story of how I met a genie?  Or a shaman.  Something with ties to the ethereal and whatever lies beyond our material world.

I was taking the train home from the Magic: The Gathering tournament I went to last month, being tired and fatigued in the brain.  The stop I got on at was close to the airport, so all the cars were jam-packed with people on their way home from somewhere hopefully exciting, but most people were probably coming home from a trip to the in- laws or something.

Our shaman saw me and offered me his seat, commenting on how tired I looked.  But he had luggage and I was only going to be on for a few stops, so I respectfully declined.  He asked me if I was a musician, to which I said “sometimes.”  He then proceeded to tell me about how he was learning his 13th instrument, but it was hard to practice on the road.  On the road from what, you’re thinking but not asking?  He was practicing his laughing show.

Apparently our hero was booking venues and laughing for an audience for two hours.  Different pitches and intensities, but just laughing by himself for two hours.  This sounded bizarre, but I entertained him as politely as I could.  I’m not opposed to hippies and transients doing transient hippie shit, but again, I was super exhausted.  He kept trying to get me to laugh, but I was in no mood to go that far.  He introduced me to his wife and I left the train at the next stop (because it was the one closest to my house).  Despite being mildly irritated by his persistence to get me to do things I had already declined to do for him, I’m convinced this dude has secret knowledge and is on a quest for a pupil to share it with.  I’m sorry I could not be his apprentice in laughter, whatever that means.

All of this is just to say: I believe in witches.  I use magic and ghosts to dismiss the things I do not have the time to investigate and understand.  Things that inspire and awe and bring wonder and excitement into the world.

Emily Haines, the lead singer of Metric, is a witch.  I saw them perform at a Riot Fest one year, as I do so many bands on so many years, but she was a kind of captivating I had only tangentially experienced before.  So rather than over-analyze why that is and ruin the performance with my own pejorative sense of self-importance, I’m willing to let her be a witch and cast her spell of captivation upon me.

This album isn’t the witchiest of albums, being on the softer side of their discography.  But it’s still undoubtedly Metric and worthy of your time and investigation.  Not all witches and wizards wave wands, but that doesn’t mean some people aren’t capable of casting spells on those willing to embrace a little magic in their lives.