Dark Days
It's important to remember that even on dark and rainy days, there is still opportunity to enjoy the water.
This morning, I chose the Song Exploder podcast episode, about the song Dark Days by Local Natives, to listen to from my large list of subscriptions. I like choosing random podcasts to listen to on about half of my morning walk. This way, I get a nice blend of listening to nature and learning something new. My library matches my music and hobby collection: a wide range of podcast styles from a variety of genres.
I was introduced to Song Exploder a few years ago through my friend Julie. Hrishikesh Hirway has produced the show since 2014. I dig the format, which is various artists deconstructing one of their songs, explaining the inspiration for it, the work that went into it, and some little known facts about the production and recording. I love it. One of my favorite episodes was #158, about The Cranberries song, All Over Now, which was completed by the remaining band members after Dolores O’Riordan died.
The latest episode, #257, covers "the seven-year story of how the song was first made and then eventually remade." While I have a few of their songs in my playlists, I didn't know much about the band. They have been playing together for a long time, and their first album came out in 2009. I enjoyed the episode and both versions of their song, which include unique duets from The Cardigans' Nina Persson and Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath.
One thing that stood out to me in their discussion was the positive spin on dark days and the challenges with religious shame when they were younger (something I can relate to). It's important to remember that even on dark and rainy days, there is still opportunity to enjoy the water.
Dark days in the summer
In the rain the water's fine
It was wild combination
Either that or right down the lineOoh, it goes hand in hand
With fear for the afterlife
Ooh, how can we fight it
Fight it if we don't even know why?
☮ ️❤