I was driving back to the city around 6pm last night.  It was already so dark out (yes, that whole ‘daylight savings time’ thing happens every year, but admit it, it stills sneaks up on you, am I right?), and the highway was quite empty, there was a chill in the air, and I was alone… all perfect conditions for a bit of car karaoke.  You know exactly what I’m talking about… you can sing as loudly and out of tune as you want, no one is ever going to hear, and even if they did, they might remark “Wow.  You can really sing!” because you have an AH.MAZ.ING voice.  Actually, you probably don’t.  Well, I know that I don’t.  I have a terrible voice, but that really has absolutely NO bearing on whether I am a good car karaoke-er.  I am.  I may, in fact, be one of the best.  Tone deaf, can’t hold a note for very long, my voice waivers and I don’t know all the lyrics to many songs, so I often have to do that thing where you mumble until you get to a lyric that you know.  It’s classic.

Anyhow, I all of a sudden had an overwhelming need to hear this one particular song that was a fave of mine a few years ago.  I don’t want to describe it to you.  I just want you to listen to it, and then I will fill you in on just why I love it.  You have to really turn it up and give it a minute…

Right?  Go ahead.  Listen to it again.

Here’s the thing about this song.  My sister-in-law Kim brought me to see this random show a few years ago at La Tulippe, and we were both instantly in love with this band, Glasvegas.  They’re Scottish… and that’s just sexy.  There was something inherently ‘nostalgic’ about the sound of the music to me… something 80′s punk… but it’s not just a re-hash of music that I have heard before.  Both Kim and I probably listened to this song thousands of times.  The feeling that I get from hearing the song was almost indescribable to me until Kim’s son, Benjamin (also my nephew  (duh), who would have been 5 or 6 at the time) put it into words for me.  He said “This song makes me feel strong“.

I really haven’t listened to the song in maybe a year, but when I heard it again, I was instantly happy.  There’s just something about it.  Benjamin nailed the description… strength… but at the same time, there are parts where I am on the verge of tears (specifically when it gets to the lyrics “I’m the angel on your shoulder“).  I can’t know for sure if I feel like crying because music is JUST SO EVOCATIVE, and the fact that whenever I hear this song, I am transported back to the feeling of sheer joy I felt when I first heard it live at La Tulippe, and every other time that I listened to it after that.  Or if it’s reminding me of when I discovered that Myles and Travis were as besotted with this song as I was, and I could see the same joy on Myles’ face when he listened to it.  Or if it’s because it reminds me of the shared enjoyment and time with Kim.  Alternatively, it could just be my PMS.  I suspect it is a little bit of all of those things rolled into one awesome feeling of nostalgia, strength, sadness and utter joy, and I’ll take that anytime… Kim, I know you are with me.  Only thing to do now is TURN IT UP.

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Tuesdays with Marnie by Marnie