Friday evening, which is sucking

Generally I put links or ramblings into Semagic as I find/think of them, and when I have enough, I hit post. The problem with this is that the entry you start may not be the entry you feel like posting when you finish. So I've got a blithe musing on Coldplay, of all things, right after this that I wrote last night, but today I found out that my frail, 84-year-old grandmother has fallen down and hurt herself (again), and while she hasn't broken anything, she can't put any weight down at all so my mom and my aunt are having to take her to the hospital, and the spectre of assisted living rears its head once more. And she had just gotten over shingles, y'all.

So... what I wrote last night:

I have a few of the songs off the new Coldplay album--I think it's coming out June 13? Fortunately there seem to be a few songs floating around already, and so far I like what I've heard. I really like "Viva la Vida," possibly because the line "I sweep the streets I used to own" really resonates with me for some reason. I mean, you know: there are times in your life when you felt like you were at the top of your game, and you end up looking back and wondering what the hell happened to you, and how you fell down to where you are now. I don't feel like anything was taken from me; I feel like I let something slip through my fingers, and sometimes I wonder if I can even remember what a good grip on the world feels like. Which is why I like the song, I guess, because the lyrics capture that feeling, but the music is actually really beautiful and almost hopeful-sounding. And the interesting thing is that, as the song goes on, it becomes about how hollow "being king" was in the first place. So it's both about nostalgia for something you had and being disillusioned with it at the same time. Huh.

I also really like "Violet Hill." My thoughts on that are less scintillating.

Linkspam (the more ebullient bits were compiled last night), because linkspam makes me feel better: ( Read more... )