While digging through some journals from quite a few years ago, I stumbled onto the sketchbook/journal I was keeping during the process of making the Incubus album ‘A Crow Left Of The Murder’. It is small, bound in leather and covered in random stickers from around the world. I usually meet these time capsules with a mixture of joy, nostalgia and some degree of emotional reticence, for they have a way of yanking me squarely back into the headspace I was in around that period of time. Considering today was spent digging through about twelve old journal/sketchbooks, (I was looking for one thing, specifically) I am officially lost in a torrent of memories, emotions and feelings that I thought I’d left behind. It’s funny how that works.
Anyway, I found the lyric I was searching for, (it is something unheard and unrecorded) but I wanted to share this inked version of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs off of that album. The song is called ‘Here In My Room’. I know many of you will recognize this track as we’ve performed it many times, but I was struck at how just seeing the ink on the page brought me back to the feelings of intimacy and love that I was immersed in during the making of this particular song. What a delicious gift it is to be able to share what are otherwise deeply private moments and ideas in the form of sound and rhythm. Thanks Music! And thank you and your remarkable participation for making that album the success that it is.
The page to the left had some dirty photos glue-sticked to it, so I will skip posting that. I bring it up only to indicate what part of “the room” my mind was wandering around in. I’ll attach a link to the song here in the event that some of you haven’t heard this Incubus offering from (circa) 2004. Sending you all lots of Love from California.
I love how hearing a song can transport me back in time and stir up old emotions, so I totally feel you on this. I also have experienced so many times in my life a perfect song or even album coming to me at the right time when I needed it most. I feel like it's a message from God or the universe sometimes. So I'm also going to share a quote from a beautiful movie about music, August Rush. That movie captures a lot of the feelings I have about music and when I heard this line I immediately thought, "That's exactly how I feel about music." The character played by Robin Williams says it, "You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, every where, even the stars."
I remember meeting you all at a Meet & Greet in San Diego during this tour. I had a short list of questions for the band (like, "What does the "5" on the album cover stand for?" etc.) that I couldn't wait to get answers for. Soooo... I don't watch Star Trek and I asked you, VERY naively, "What's a pink tractor beam?" I could immediately tell by your stutter and facial expression what the F a pink tractor beam was a metaphor for ("into your incision..." HELLO!? [face palm] not one of my prouder 'intellectual' moments). If I recall correctly, you laughed a little and said, "Well, this is kind of a dirty little love song..." and I stopped you immediately and said, "OHHH... it's okay. I got it." wah wah wahhhhhh...