Last month the GF and I took a weekend trip up to Pennsylvania. Our flight back was on Sunday night, and once we got up to cruising altitude and the use of portable electronic devices was approved, I broke out the ipod and starting dialing around trying to find the soundtrack for the short two hour flight back to BNA. As has happened the last couple of times I've flown anywhere, I ended up listening to The National's Boxer.
It's funny how sometimes music can become linked to a particular place or event. And for me, Boxer has become the sound of a night time flight. I've tried to figure out exactly why that is... maybe it's that the combination of Matt Berninger's voice and the band's pull/drag rhythms somehow captures the lethargy of sitting in a pressurized cabin in the dark. Maybe it's that they have that kind of slightly distant, modern sound that somehow matches the futuristic sense that air travel has always had. Whatever it is, that album has become my go to listening for PM air travel.
Another example for me of how music can become inextricably linked to a particular time and place is Mazzy Star. Like everyone, I'd heard "Hallah" and "Fade Into You," but the first time I'd ever listened to one of their albums wasn't until I visited Las Vegas for the first time. The combination of reverb drenched vocals, languid strumming and tambourine perfectly captured the feeling of late autumn nights (and booze filled early mornings) in the desert.
So if you're flying to Las Vegas anytime soon, consider these my gift to you...
The National - "Slow Show" (mp3) from Boxer
Mazzy Star - "Happy" (mp3) from Among My Swan
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