There it is.
There's no knowing if it will last for an extended duration, but the first legitimate snow of the season sneaked in last night. When confronted by the sight of my car huddled under the inch-or-so dusting, I found myself slightly confounded. I forgot how to proceed for a moment. Then I remembered I still had brushes and scrapers in my car from last winter. Never even took 'em out. After catching the bus into Minneapolis, I stepped down onto Nicollet Mall and started the cold walk into the office. Even knowing the cold and snow were going to last for at least another five months, it was a gorgeous way to start the day. The sidewalks were full of people pulling their coats tight against the brisk air, breathing into their scarves and gloves......we're all going to go mad from cabin fever in two months, aren't we?
What made the morning journey even more enjoyable was the soundtrack supplied by the inscrutable Tortoise. Their surreal and genre-slipping album TNT added a wonderful touch of the ephemeral to the sojourn. I don't even recall acquiring the album - at some point it found its way onto my hard drive from my sister in law. The two of us are always exchanging musical pleasantries; this must have been one she left for me that I hadn't found for some time. I'm really glad she did, though, because I was looking for something relaxing and intriguing to listen to as I went about my day. I feel like I've exhausted my usual ambient/triphop/downtempo canon. Tortoise make a fine addition to what I think of as personal soundtracks.
Released in 1998, TNT is an album that never stops shifting. It's not a hectic defiance of convention or an all-encompassing project like Gorillaz. No, TNT is an album that not only evolves as you listen to it, but shows you a band evolving. At this point in the band's career, they had recently brought on board their first guitar player and second bass player, in addition to a multi-membered percussion section. The unorthodox lineup afforded the already eclectic group to create more far-out songs and soundscapes. The music never quite hits a firm pocket, but it subtly shifts in tone every song, just enough to make your ear perk up. The phaser-based jazz of the title track. The espionage-inciting mood of 'I Set My Face To The Hillside'. The bells and bones playing on the eerie 'Ten-Day Interval'.
There's no knowing if it will last for an extended duration, but the first legitimate snow of the season sneaked in last night. When confronted by the sight of my car huddled under the inch-or-so dusting, I found myself slightly confounded. I forgot how to proceed for a moment. Then I remembered I still had brushes and scrapers in my car from last winter. Never even took 'em out. After catching the bus into Minneapolis, I stepped down onto Nicollet Mall and started the cold walk into the office. Even knowing the cold and snow were going to last for at least another five months, it was a gorgeous way to start the day. The sidewalks were full of people pulling their coats tight against the brisk air, breathing into their scarves and gloves......we're all going to go mad from cabin fever in two months, aren't we?
What a great find. I wish I had found it sooner, though. Just goes to show what good things lie in store for you when you start spreading around good music. It comes back to you in the best way possible. Now I have a great soundtrack for the walk to the office, or any other time of potential contemplation. It sure made today a better day, thanks to this divergent start. Winter's here, it seems. Good tunes will help me get through the next five or six months.
