I. Can't. Stop.

Those paying attention may remember that I saw the Decemberists about 3 weeks ago. And around the time of concert, I got a bit burnt out on them. You know, you are looking forward to seeing a band so you listen to them lots, "one last listen before seeing them play this live!", and no songs but theirs are in your head for about a week. Then there's the actual show. And then another few days or a week or whatever of nothing but their songs being in your head because of all the overload until you are yelling "all right, enough already!" to your brain. I particularly had this because I didn't really play any CDs the week after seeing the Decemberists, even though I was going mad from their songs. I just didn't feel like playing any music really, so I suffered through what my head decided to play.

A few weeks later and I still haven't really put on any CDs lately. I've been too busy at work to listen to music as well and I am too lazy at home. At least my brain's jukebox has had a bit more variety, so it stopped the madness. But then this afternoon I had a couple of Decemberists songs floating in my head, not even ones I particularly like, like Engine Driver, but it felt ok to hear them again. This built into a real desire to play Picaresque, and so I did, and it's like I just cannot stop listening to the Decemberists, and specifically to that record. It has a hold on me that few records ever have. I think it partly has to do with the stories in the songs; putting on the CD is like having storytime and by the end you feel like you've been around the world. Hell, by the end of Eli, the Barrow Boy, the 3rd song on the CD, I've already been pondering love and beauty and riches and poorness and death, and that's a lot for 11 minutes of music.