Lyrically, Strangers has always fascinated me. When I first got the Nocturnes album, I'd never been in a real relationship, and now that I've had and lost one, I still can't quite connect to it, because I'm too angry with my ex to even consider "dancing like strangers" with her if I ever bumped into her, though certainly "I knew [her] so well" and "we used to hold our bodies tight." But I love that idea of happening to cross paths with an old love, and trying to reconcile the past with the immediate present. It's a bit Before Sunset, isn't it?
But I appreciate it most for its aesthetic appeal. Something about the backing track and the vocal production has always appealed to me. It's a bit dream-pop, but the sort of dream you wake up from feeling confused, like all the elements of the dream are twisting around you, like Winnie-the-Pooh in the Heffalumps and Woozles scene, and it feels a little disconcerting even though it was sort of a nice dream. I guess that's fitting considering the lyrics. It also sounds like the last song of the night played at a mildly seedy club, as almost everyone's filtered out and you've only stayed because you've nothing else to do and don't really look forward to going home to an empty apartment. (Surprisingly, this is not an experience I've actually had ... but only because I've never gone clubbing, lolz.)
I played Nocturnes a LOT driving to and from work my senior year of undergrad, meaning that I heard a lot of it on near-empty highways after midnight (I worked the night shift), which is totally appropriate to its lyrics and its mood. Strangers is the one that always felt like it fit that time best, along with All for You, and even more than Motorway.
The first time I really paid attention to it, though, was one night when I was driving around three different parking lots looking for just one open spot, and eventually giving up and parking in the lot a half mile from my dorm, so that's the night I always associate with it! I can totally still see the dining hall and rows of cars when I close my eyes during the chorus.
Originally posted to Popjustice on January 23.
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