In a Room Where I Don't Belong | TTT

It's a beautiful day here today. Yesterday was the first morning that smelled like autumn, and it was exhilarating. There's excitement in the air. And as ever, there's music. In another installment of my humble contributions to #threetunetuesday, here's what's been clogging my ears:

A Symptom of Being Human

This song.

This song hits me again and again like an overpowering hug. Shinedown is a band very close to my soul and has been for many years now. They're one of the very few bands whose sole focus is on putting out a message of love and unity and that speaks to me a great deal.

Though the song itself belongs to their latest album, Planet Zero, from 2022, this version is only a few days old. And it doesn't lose its soothing quality, though I've listened to it a lot.

It makes me think about trusting your gut. I used to listen to it on repeat last summer, and I always somewhat associate it with a setting/person that was making me really uncomfortable. Since it was in a familial context, I just figured it was me being judgy or weird or whatever, though at the time, I resonated a lot with the lyric:

Sometimes I'm in a room where I don't belong
And the house is on fire and there's no alarm
And the walls are melting too

It took a while to gain some perspective, and after learning some very disturbing things about that person, I came to realize I should've listened to my gut. That wasn't just me enjoying a hell of a good song. It was my gut telling me this person is bad, and needs to be avoided. Guess I still gotta go through that lesson a few more times until it finally sinks in, you know?

Echo Home

A few days ago, I was really excited that The Kills had just put new material out. It's been years, and Alison Mosshart has got one of the most haunting voices I've ever heard, so yay. Yet weirdly, much as their new material rocks, it was this old song that hit me.

While I realize this song may just be a dysfunctional relationship tune, for me, it's about the delicate balance between our personal choices. You've got the freedom to change everything. Flip the script. Or, in Alison's words,

You can lose it all if you wanna

Maybe.

I'm drifting in the same old boat
With a different crew

...trying the same old behaviors expecting something different. Being stuck in a relationship/place/pattern that you know isn't good for you, but lacking the will/skill/strength to pull yourself out.

And it's a long long long long drop
From the rocks to the pearls, we got so lost

It takes a leap of faith, but the results could be great. Sure. But first, you may have to endure the plunge. The not-knowing if there's rocks at the bottom of the cliff. And that excites and chills me both at once.

The Thief and the Moon

My third song was gonna be "Hi Ren" from the eponymous artist, but I always felt that's a bit well-known, and I like to stick to less well-known tracks. So instead, it's this. Shawn James has got to be one of the spookiest/raspiest voices you're gonna find on the music scene today. I get lost in that voice, but that's not why I'm sharing this one.

The video is stunning, and the lyrics are just...

Said the Thief to the Moon
"I'll extinguish your light soon
I'll put an end to all the light that you shed
On this world in its darkened state"
Said the Moon to the Thief
"You know not of what you seek
You'll doom the world to wander the night
With no light to guide the paths that men seek"

...need I say more?

What's crawling in your ears?

As ever, so much gratitude to the lovely @ablaze for prompting this. <3