Lovely Colors With Lovelier Names

I bought Enya's new album yesterday, and I've been listening to it almost non-stop since. What exactly can you say about Enya? In this day and age, to critique something usually means criticizing it. I just can't do that. While I can't say that Enya's music has been a soundtrack for my life (Dear Goddess, how I wish), I can say with sincerity that it has been one of the most profound influences musically. For me, "Book of Days" will always be a winding mountain pass in northern Idaho, a strange piece of beauty on an otherwise-dull drive. "The Longboats" will always be a story my brother began and to my knowledge never finshed. "Tea-House Moon" will always be a serene dream that I yearn for and never touch.

I visited her website tonight, and poked my nose into the forum. I read a review, and to my shock actually found my stomach turning. It wasn't that it was a negative review, or at all vicious, it was more that someone actually didn't like certain songs. I've been sitting here thinking about why this provokes such a reaction in me. It's not like Enya is a religious icon. To quote Robin Williams, "It's not the Bible, you won't go to hell for it"... It's not like this person attacked a friend of mine (in fact, when it comes down to it I know less about Enya as a public or private individual than just about any other celebrity. Hmm, maybe that's why I respect her so much). Maybe it's just that I overreact to things. Or perhaps it has to do with the fact that to me there is no such thing as a bad Enya song. Enya (of course that's Enya the triumvirate / musical concept, as I said I don't know Enya the person) is almost the definition of beauty in music to my mind. Worlds of beauty and mystery are painted in sound, stories are hinted at but never entirely revealed, and a soft glow seems to take the rough edges off of reality for a while. Even when I don't understand it, it touches me. Even when it's a touch formulaic, it stirs dreams. Even when I pay it little attention, it's presence soothes me. Maybe I put more into it than is there, but does that matter? It is what it is to me, and unlike just about everything else in my life I can say nothing against it.

All of that said, I strongly recommend this album to anyone with ears and an imagination. It helps if you have headphones too, as the best way to experience anything Enya is total immersion. This album moves me on a very deep level. The overall sound seems like a tiny departure from the usual Enya ways and means, but yet it's still everything it ought to be. Lush musical landscapes travelled by simple but powerful lyrics, stories of love found and lost, dreams that warm like a fire in winter, pains of the past and knowledge that even the deepest pain will heal given time and love.

Long, long journey
out of nowhere,
long, long way to go;
but what are sighs
and what is sadness
to the heart that's coming home?

Perhaps it's strange for those of you who know me, to hear me talk about things like this. I'll be honest, hope is not something I have a lot of or something I talk about most of the time... I guess you could say that that's another reason why this music means so much to me. Even when the whole world feels like a hell I can't escape from, it can still stir hopes and dreams within me. I hope it does so for you...


-The title for this post comes from a thought that's struck me several times since buying this. The album's title, "Amarantine", is a deep shade of purple according to my dictionary. I can't help but love words that add even more beauty to an already lovely concept...

And when they say "Who wants goat spleen?"...

Finally getting around to updating. We've been doing dinner shift for two weeks now, and so far...it's a colossal waste of time. We've had a few people come in here and there, but half of our income from it has been MellenRoy or Sherilynn stopping in. Mom and I just about pass out from boredom (our chairs are not comfortable enough for sleeping in), and inevitably we close up and leave by or around eight.

What this means is that it's pretty much a given that we're gonna be looking for a buyer next month. It was an idea that sounded great from the front end of it, but things just haven't worked out. Time to cash in and move on. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next, but I've got some time to think about it. I just hope we can get back most of what we've paid out over the last few months...

Next week is the Big Family Gathering, yaay. I'm not sure what the plans are, but I'm gonna be closing the shop from Wednesday til Friday night, when the Post-Thanksgiving Twinkle Light Parade comes through Oldtown. There's also a holiday festival (formerly known as Cottages and Cranberries) downtown that night, which might possibly mean that we could see some business. Maybe we'll just have whatever family's in town come keep us company, we'll see... I am looking forward to seeing everyone, but family gatherings always bring a kind of personality pressure that brings out the worst in me. I'm already a cranky person, but thrown in even a few of my older siblings (not to mention their various entourages) and I become a grouchy recluse. It's frustrating, because there's some family members I really look forward to seeing, but unless there's a huge thing going on I never get to see them. Maybe I'll just have to give in to the Dark Side and move to Boise some day... As soon as I figure out what the heck I'd do there.