Fake Empire — The National

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prW-qgEQxBI

Music, like poetry, subscribes to the past/present/future dichotomy. (Trichotomy?) Some songs are focused on the past; folk songs, songs that call upon memory and nostalgia, hymns and anthems and choral music are focused on heritage. Some songs are focused on the future; pop music, music that asks how it can be new and unique and different; artists who try to experiment; fusion jazz and mashups and ambient and electronica.

But some songs are focused on the present; it has an encompassing sound, it speaks in the present tense, it is static and relaxed. Anything with good timbre — music which invites the listener to sink in — is music in the present tense. This is the music you listen to alone, or late at night, or when you need to do work or focus. This music imprints itself upon a time period, and demands to be remembered as a part of your life.

I first listened to Fake Empire in freshman year of high school, in November 2009. I was fifteen and was just beginning to travel around the city by myself; taking late night subways and going out to deep Brooklyn and going to midnight shows. I was beginning to realize I wanted to do so-called STEM; I would apply to work at the AMNH later that year. I was making my first playlists that year.

How can I remember all that from just one song?