Liner Notes

Soundscape #12: Time Will Have His Fancy, Tomorrow Or Today

About a week ago, I got an email from myself a year back. It was one of those gimmicks where you email yourself in the future. Reading it was quite painful. Somehow I knew that the relationship I was in a year ago wasn’t going to last the year. I had also known as I was writing that email a year ago that I would be exactly where I was then: slacking around, being lazy, not doing anything constructive, half-arsed etc. I don’t know whether it’s cos it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy or just (heightened?) self-awareness.

Salvador Dali. The Persistence of Memory, 1931.

Instead of an email that would come back a year later to bite me in the arse and mock me with its “I told you so’s,” I would very much prefer an email from the future me to where I am now, just so I have another chance to right the wrongs and fix them right again. Would it be too late to fix things? Maybe I should write to myself in the past instead. What should I say? What would I have myself do different? Would I tell myself to be kinder, more patient with others? Would I tell myself to be more trusting and not be frightened that I’m not in control of my life? Would I tell myself that it is better to be more forgiving or more forgetful?

More importantly, would I listen?

Playlist:
1. (0:00) The Delgados - The Past That Suits You Best (Buy The Great Eastern)
2. (6:20) Athlete - Yesterday Threw Everything At Me (Buy Tourist)
3. (10:04) Jimmy Eat World - A Praise Chorus (Buy Bleed American)
4. (14:06) Gigolo Aunts - Half A Chance (Buy Minor Chords and Major Themes)
5. (16:59) Kevin Devine - You’ll Only End Up Joining Them (Buy Put Your Ghost To Rest)
6. (20:55) Lloyd Cole - Past Imperfect (Buy The Negatives)
7. (25:39) The White Stripes - I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Buy Elephant)
8. (28:25) Jesse Malin - The Fine Art Of Self Destruction (Buy The Fine Art Of Self Destruction)
9. (32:20) Manic Street Preachers - From Despair To Where (Buy Gold Against The Soul)
10. (35:45) Drive-by Truckers - Hell No, I Ain’t Happy (Buy Decoration Day)
11. (40:06) The Stills - Changes Are No Good (Buy Logic Will Break Your Heart)
12. (43:49) Malajube - La Monogamie (Buy Tromp-L’oeil)
13. (48:36) The National - Baby We’ll Be Fine (Buy Alligator)