Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Tripping Daisy and I Am an Elastic Firecracker are irrevocably wrapped up in three major milestones in my life, thus I will always see them through a refracted lens of youthful exploration and awe, and have no ability to gauge the band or album's quality. So this post is going to be much more autobiographical than music-related.
I met my first "girlfriend" Becca at summer camp over a conversation about
"I Got a Girl", Tripping Daisy's one quasi-hit and adult-me's least favorite song on the album. Later that day, things escalated over a game of spin-the-bottle, then that night, I snuck out of my tent and asked her to be my girlfriend while we laid on our backs looking at the stars. She said yes, and we smooched. One of the most magical nights of my life. When camp was over, it turned out that she lived an hour away, so over the course of the next few months, we went on a total of three dates -- one to see
Batman Forever, one to see
Waterworld, and one to see an Al Gore speech (L O fucking L) -- before she dumped me and I cried for a week.
Somewhere in there, I went to my first show, and you guessed it: Tripping Daisy, motherfucker.
Hagfish opened, so technically they were the first band I ever saw live, and it was literally the loudest thing I had ever heard. I was completely overwhelmed, and bought their CD, which I still think is pretty great. But Tripping Daisy blew my fucking mind -- I just remember headbanging the entire time because I thought that's what you did at a show, and getting the sense that the people next to me were making fun of me. Fuck 'em, I kept headbanging. Then Reverend Horton Heat played and we left a couple songs in because even then I could tell that psychobilly was corny af. My ears were still ringing the next day, but I was in the cool club now. (Just googled the show, and unbelievably, there IS evidence of it on the internet
courtesy of the Washington Post. 9/23/95 at Lisner Auditorium. I'm reminded that Supersuckers also played, although I have no memory of their set.)
The following spring, my grandmother died. My grandfather on my mom's side had died when I was 5, but this was the first time I'd really had to reckon with death on a meaningful, existential level. One night before bed, I asked my mom what happened when we die, and she told me that no one really knows for sure, but it's probably just like going to sleep and never waking up. Her answer and her obvious unsureness were both very tough pills to swallow. With my limited musical palette,
"Motivation" was probably the saddest song I knew, so I just listened to that on repeat for weeks, including on the way to the ashes-scattering ceremony.
So that's a snapshot of the life of a 12-13-year-old DEAR SPIRIT. Listen to the album, too. Sugary alt-rock with splashes of starry psych, possibly of interest to Smashing Pumpkins fans. I threw in their cover of Harry Nilsson's "Jump into the Fire" from The Craft for bonus nostalgia. Also, I'd love to hear your stories of firsts and their musical associations, if you'd care to share them.
Track listing:
1. Rocketpop
2. Bang
3. I Got a Girl
4. Piranha
5. Motivation
6. Same Dress New Day
7. Trip Along
8. Raindrop
9. Step Behind
10. Noose
11. Prick
12. High
More coming-of-age tunes: