I’ve come to consider myself as a creature of fads. I’m nerdy in that when I like something I like it hard, but I can never say how long I’ll like it. I’ve always come back loving music and video games and movies, but sometimes I completely lose interest in one of them – and it’s never clear how, when, or why I’ll regain that interest. Some interests have come and gone, and have yet to come back – like Anime. But it could very well come back, like, tomorrow! After all, “Nichijou” is still floating around on my “to-watch” list. And when I do finally learn the context of those dog bites, goddammit I’m gonna write about it! So when that’s the thing Wot I Like, here’s where I’ll put it.
For now though, this is what I like.
For the past few months I’ve found myself particularly interested in songs with multiple vocalists communicating to each other. The most obvious and abundant are songs with a male voice and a female voice. Probably because love blah blah, heteronormativity blah blah. In most examples, I find myself identifying with the first voice I hear. Listening and finding the ways in which I relate. Then, when the second voice enters, they shed a new light on the first, revealing something about their character – flaws that I as the listener couldn’t see when I was actively relating. In my favorite examples, the voices merge, overlap, interrupt, or disappear. All of which (if done well) results sheer musical bliss if you ask me.
Literally speaking, “It’s All Good” has at least six voices. It’s never clear whether any particular voice is speaking to any other, but it is clear that they are part of the same being, speaking at least in relation to each other, and finally merging into one screaming entity. From the first time I listened to this song I was able to find a bit of myself in each voice. The robotic observer, stating the weather and listing what I might do next. The emotional reactor, trying to cope and find balance. The optimistic reassurer, trying to convince myself that I’m in control. All those voices are so distinct and full of character, but ultimately, through a jumble of noise and words, they merge and scream, “It’s All Good”. Out of that merger also comes a completely new voice that I don’t even understand (though I suppose that metaphor fails a little bit if you happen to speak Korean).
The idea that I am myself a fusion of characters is very appealing to me. The idea that when I am with someone I love, we manifest into our own fusion of characters – makes me want to cry. For the past few years, I have occasionally been blessed with that feeling, which I can now also refer to as the feeling of “Superorganism”. “It’s All Good”, at least for today, has been a reliable way to feel that feeling.
Echeerie 