January 5, 2010

The Innocence Mission//Brave

On my way to work this morning, an Innocence Mission song from a friend’s mix popped onto my iPod. I was suddenly sent reeling down the rabbit hole of nostalgia.

People talk about smell being the most visceral sense memory and I believe that they’ve scientifically proven it to be so. That said, certain old songs can really tug me to very specific places and times in my life. The Innocence Mission’s album Glow brings me straight back to 1999. I remember listening to it in my room while lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. I remember listening to it in my friend Liz’s car as we drove to school on cold mornings or home from volleyball games with the sunroof open. It brings me back to a time when I didn’t really have much to worry about and for that reason, I am finding revisiting this album kind of addictive. I’ve been listening to it all morning.

A friend informed me that IM is a Christian band. I was slightly shocked, largely because I could never understand the lyrics—when I looked them up for this song, it became very apparent. I went to investigate further. Exhibit A: In 2000, they released an album containing their favorite hymns called Christ Is My Hope. Exhibit B: Perhaps even more “damning,” the band met during their Catholic school's production of Godspell. Yeek. That said, I don’t really have anything against subtly Christan bands (see: Pedro the Lion) and definitely don’t have anything against Christians (actual Christians, not right wing wingnuts who think we’re all (seriously ALL of us) going to hell).

A few quick interesting tidbits about IM—if you think they sound a little like Joni Mitchell, it might be because their first few records were produced by Larry Klien AKA Joni's ex-husband who also produced many of her records. Also, if you were culturally aware in the 90s, they may sound familiar to you because of their extremely successful commercial placement. Their songs were on the soundtracks of two 90s classics—the film Empire Records and the TV show Party of Five.



Brave.mp3

You cannot still your limbs.
Somehow, knowing what you do know
still you tremble out and in.

No comments: