it’s a season of change
Starting in late 2013, to present, my go-to Friday afternoon (or sometimes morning depending on the day) track to push me across the finish line has been Reflektor. Sometimes I play it over and over (and over). I think it’s a combination of the “see you on the side” lyric and the driving drumbeat. I just put it on now…
Around November 2014, I was in Austin, TX eating dinner with two men who were relatively unknown to me at the time but would later become dear friends and confidantes of mine. I was interviewing for the role of General Counsel at SXSW and visiting from Chicago, which meant I was doing my best to balance the professionalism of an attorney with the “I get it” mentality of somehow who could adapt to the Ausitn / SX culture. It was getting late and we were closing down the restaurant, so the tunes were getting louder and most folks were having a few drinks. Deep in conversation, I got distracted as the first few notes of Reflektor played over the speakers and I couldn’t resist dancing in my seat, “I love this song!” – we all laughed hard at my reaction, which changed everything.
Back in 2010, Arcade Fire launched The Wilderness Downtown interactive video where you could input the address of the home you grew up in and write a letter to your younger self. Sitting with two of my dearest friends, D and B, we wrote letters and played We Used to Wait, also on repeat. D would be moving soon, so we knew it was kind of the end of an era and the start of something new.
As an “elder” millennial, Funeral and the band are symbols of our era (and all of its changes). We share collective memories of being alone, driving windows down, partying with friends, and seeing the band perform live with our nearest and dearest.
And through the seasons of change over the last decade, Eric Heigle has been there. Eric is the longtime engineer and producer for Arcade Fire. I had the honor of representing him in connection with his work on Arcade Fire’s latest release, Pink Elephant, which you can check out and enjoy here ✨