This Year: 2001

"This Year" is a series of weekly posts, each about one song from one year of my life. See the introduction for more.

For 2001, I have another unhappy song. It's not clear what the singer is unhappy about: might be a relationship, might be some insufferable know-it-all, might be career, might be everything.

But that's life, isn't it? When things aren't right, nothing is right. A slow shuffle beat, slowly building, as the singer gets through what she needs to. As she anatomizes all of the things causing trouble, all the bits that she's doing wrong - whether she's saying them for herself, or mockingly repeating supposedly good advice.

And how do you do it
And make it seem delicate
When it's all the stupid things
So damn confusing to me

This is Plane Crash in C, by Rilo Kiley.

I have no idea what's been going on lately
And I just wish you'd come over and explain things

I don't know why that hits me so hard. Part of it is obvious - the song that's quiet for the verses and loud for the chorus, the old trick that always works. Part of it is the repetition, another old trick that usually works. But a lot is the specifics, that feeling of hopeless/helpless.

And I don't know if she's serious. I don't know if she knows if she's serious. Does she really want this person to come over? Does she really want things explained? Or would that be worse?

In my head, this connects back to Once in a Lifetime. It's a different person, a generation later. But the world is still big and confusing and distracting and frustrating and wrong in ways they can't grasp or explain.

And maybe it's wise
And maybe I'm just stupid
For laughing at your jokes

I don't know what's crashing, what the plane is in this metaphor. It doesn't need to be any one thing - it can be everything, or anything, or all of the things in turn. It is crashing. It is going to crash. It has crashed.

And I have no idea what's been going on lately
And I just wish you'd come over and explain things