Fractionals

Since today seems to be all about the music, I might as well finish up with a quick word about the Delgados' The Great Eastern, which I listened to while out walking tonight. Hearing "American Trilogy" on The Wedge late one friday night as a teenager was a seriously formative experience; rarely before had I heard one song by a band and been so convinced I was in love with them (I also felt like "American Trilogy" was kind of about me, which it is not and it wasn't back then either; but when you're a teenager, you seize on to these sorts of things). In fact, my main worry when I bought the album was that the rest wouldn't measure up, when in fact it is now only my fourth or fifth favourite song on the album.

I like their two succeeding albums more, and maybe even Peloton, but The Great Eastern was the first. I'll probably never get rid of it, despite thinking it's kind of oddly structured and not liking either the beginning or the end that much (that middle, though!). I kind of miss the fact that they stopped being as destructively loud with their guitars as they are at the end of "No Danger", but I always preferred "Aye Today" anyways. And for the rest of my life, one of my finest concert experience will always be seeing the Delgados for the first time, with string section, and having them blow the roof off of the venue with "Thirteen Gliding Principles". Completely one of those occasions where you just want them to play one song all night, and then they do, and it's BETTER than you expected.