The Polyphonic Spree

     I really need The Polyphonic Spree today. I spent the past weekend immersed in The Terror by the Flaming Lips and then yesterday someone set off explosive devices at the Boston Marathon. When events like this or Sandy Hook occur, it makes me want to give up on the human race. By nature I'm cynical, sarcastic, negative, hipster-y, and borderline depressed, so people who know me find it amusing that I love The Polyphonic Spree. To be fair, it is amusing. The Polyphonic Spree seem exactly like the sort of band I would roll my eyes at and write off as some sort of marketing scam. Two dozens people wearing robes and making music seems preposterous. Plus you have to split the money 24 ways. How's that gonna work? Somehow, crazy ex-Tripping Daisy frontman, Tim DeLaughter, has done just that.
     In life, timing is everything. In a previous post, I wrote about how Wayne Coyne changed my life during my divorce. In 2002, I was living alone in an apartment thinking of ways to kill myself. Fortunately, I was too much of a coward to go through with it. I took a road trip to Mackinac Island in an attempt to get my head right. On my way back, I heard "Do You Realize?" on a college radio station and it literally saved me.  The Flaming Lips became my launching pad for discovering new music. So, in 2003, when I read about this group with two dozen members that was compared to the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev I set aside my cynicism and bought The Beginning Stages Of...The Polyphonic Spree. The music was a revelation. Songs like "It's The Sun", "Hanging Around The Day, pt. 2" and "Light & Day/Reach For the Sun" made my soul feel less dark. You could tell it was celebratory music written by people who had been in a dark place. It was like they understood how I felt and wanted to give me hope, especially the beginning of "It's The Sun".

Sun
Take some time, get away
Sun
Suicide is a shame
Sun
Soon you'll find your own way
Sun
Hope has come, you are safe
And it makes me cry
Because I'm on my way

     This is a very personal album, so I wouldn't force it on my kids. However, if they read this (I kinda hope they don't) and want to check it out, that's cool. I also have Together We're heavy, which is very similar to Beginning Stages, except they have colored robes. And I have The Fragile Army. This album has a more traditional rock song sound and the band is wearing black military uniforms with red crosses.
     I hope my kids find something in their lives to get them through the bad days, whether it's music or art or sports or whatever. Someday, when they have to go through my music collection, they'll know what got their dad through. Peace.