This Year 365 songs: January 23rd
Jan. 23rd, 2026 06:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
js_thrill The song for today is Noctifer Birmingham
Even as I can appreciate the lo-fi era, there is something refreshing about a track that was recorded in a studio rather than into a boombox. The annotations for this track reveal more of the rules that Darnielle made for himself over the years (put the best material you have on compilations, don't put material you put on compilations onto your own albums). As someone who is also prone to coming up with weird rules for myself (but less good at sticking to them, I imagine, than Darnielle), I can sympathize with this, and recognize his pride in sticking to his principles about these things.
I guess I am curious what makes some songs just be location songs and other songs "Going to..." songs, but the annotations aren't about that, they are about how this song was related to a big break for the band qua band: a tour that took him away from college for a ten day stretch during the term. With hindsight, probably a very obvious choice to make, but at the time, a pretty momentous and unclear decision.
Even as I can appreciate the lo-fi era, there is something refreshing about a track that was recorded in a studio rather than into a boombox. The annotations for this track reveal more of the rules that Darnielle made for himself over the years (put the best material you have on compilations, don't put material you put on compilations onto your own albums). As someone who is also prone to coming up with weird rules for myself (but less good at sticking to them, I imagine, than Darnielle), I can sympathize with this, and recognize his pride in sticking to his principles about these things.
I guess I am curious what makes some songs just be location songs and other songs "Going to..." songs, but the annotations aren't about that, they are about how this song was related to a big break for the band qua band: a tour that took him away from college for a ten day stretch during the term. With hindsight, probably a very obvious choice to make, but at the time, a pretty momentous and unclear decision.
