Something straightforward this time

And something I haven't written about in a while.
MUSIC.

I remember the last few months when mom was in Melbourne to help out with Omar, I had the luxury of going to the lab on Saturdays to "finish off an experiment". It was also my morning weekend run, because there would be no one only the usual suspects whose shadow I would glimpse in the corridor, and I can happily rock up in sweaty sweater and sweatpants.

Lab was generally quiet in my last year, but on Saturday mornings it was my labyrinth. Sometimes I would run into Phil (who was on his way out from an all-nighter-- crazy guy who did his PhD THEN became a cop, then came in to do the odd experiment or two), or see the back of his head leaving. Essentially, I would be slightly panting and slightly bleating whatever song was on my playlist.

I would say since getting married and having a kid, it was one of those serene moments where I got in touch with a younger Kye, a Kye of college days who truly got lost into sounds from cheap earphones or fuzzy speakers. And it was also in that time that I fell in love again with The Strokes. I mean, I never fell out of love. But Angles was essentially a miss for me. But I was still a fan, just a fan who understood they were going through a phase and that it would eventually end.

And indeed with Comedown Machine, they were back! They were not Is This It? or Room on Fire back. But who would want another rehash of former glory. I mean, those two are my favorite albums but I want NEW favorites not sloppy renovations of old favorites. And Comedown Machine was bursting with new favorites. Tap it out, One Way Trigger (welcome back Nick Valensi you griller of the guitar), Welcome to Japan ("what kinda Asshole drives a lotus?" still makes me smile in the chorus) are singable without being cheesy, and always seemingly simple but layered in that way that makes fans of The Strokes just feel that extra bit smarter for being their fans.

But it wasn't just Comedown Machine on my playlist that I re-discovered. Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus: 1901, Rome, Lisztomania, and for the first time I think, I properly heard Armistice and loved it. I have to say I had a listen to one of their new albums and it didn't gel with me, but who knows, maybe I just need to go through it while mixing reagents in between incubations :P

Toss in some Beirut classics, Stars and Of Montreal, Arcade Fire and Metric, some Feist and it was basically Nostalgic Saturday Mornings at the Lab.

My only slight regret note qualm   *insert suitable word later when it comes* is that I have not had much opportunity interest time  youthful zest and crave for good music   *insert suitable word later when it comes* to seek out truly new sounds to add to my dusty collection. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I am one of those people for whom as I age it becomes harder and harder to make new friends. Stubborn and stuck to my old ways and playlists. BAH HUMBUG, she says.

 Hmm. Have I already written about this?