Thursday, October 21, 2010

This tornado loves you

I saw Neko Case perform as the opening act for Rufus Wainwright during his "Release the Stars" tour a few years back. She was kind of a weird choice. Rufus Wainwright tends to be big and brassy during his performances, talking a lot and cracking jokes between songs. Neko Case just hammered threw the music. It was good, not great, although I absolutely fell in love with "Wish I was the moon tonight." I downloaded the song, but didn't listen to much else of her work.

But I recently rented a copy of Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone" album from the local library (yes, libraries are still out there! And they got cool stuff!). And I can't believe what I've been missing. The whole album is amazing. Case transforms herself into a multitude of creatures (magpies, owls, mollusks) and ties her music to the land, sea and air to describe the feelings blazing through her head and heart.

But beyond birds and invertebrates, Neko Case becomes a force of nature. In my favorite song on the album, the opener "This Tornado Loves You," Case transforms into a tornado and goes on a destructive warpath in search of her beloved.

I have waited with a glacier's patience

Smashed every transformer with every trailer
'til nothing was standing
65 miles wide
Still you are nowhere
Still you are nowhere
Nowhere in sight


It's been a while since I've felt really connected to music. Oh sure, I've found music I enjoy, stuff I can hum and dance to. But nothing that spoke to me. Nothing that whispered "this was written for you!" in the background, like a supposed satanic message in the back of a pop song.

Anyway, this is getting very cheesy and prose-y. Thanks, Neko Case, for allowing me to be introspective while sitting in a cubicle hammering out mailing lists.