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There is no such thing as bad music. There are many kinds of music, for all moments, for all situations, for all places. The music I play in my car has nothing to do with what I play at home as background music for a dinner with friends, or what I play to study. Today I want to talk about an album that you listen to, in the sense that you listen and that's it. Music is not a means, but an end in itself. These are the albums you listen to just to listen, not to relax, distract yourself, or fill the void. You're at home, you don't know what to do, your gaze crosses your collection, and among the dozens of records, that one comes to mind. You want it immediately, now. Maybe you have other more beautiful records, but at that moment you want that one. There's silence. You open the case and put the record in the player, that silence before hitting the Play button is cinematic, every time it's the same thing: an adventure is about to begin. You throw yourself on the couch, sprawled in a position that defies the laws of physics, and off you go. The journey has begun.
Calexico. "The Black Light". I must admit, I haven't taken that journey many times. It must be due to the atmosphere so different from what I know. It's well-known that the different is unsettling, it makes you uneasy. It's a journey into America. Not that America, the other America. The one of small towns lost amidst arid deserts, battered continually by the wind and sand, that somewhat unlucky America that remains clinging to the train tracks of the Old West. Life flows slowly, there's nothing, occasionally you might run into a person, but the stories of this place outnumber the people you meet. America of few words. This place is truly peculiar. Veiled with melancholy. Night falls. It's strange. Instead of feeling worse, you feel better. As if darkness had the power to hide melancholy. I glimpse some people coming towards me. The night in this place creates bonds. The darkness hides differences, colors. It's not that dark and dangerous night that we have. There it is. I expected it. In every journey, in every album, you eventually find love. There she comes in her Spanish-flavored version, full of colors, Red, yellow, gold earrings, black hair, olive skin, proud, upright. A storm in the desert. She seems the only truly alive thing here. A breath of air, of vitality, in such a place. It was brief. She's already gone. But she left something behind. A feeling, not clear whether it's sadness or joy. She's gone. My smile remains. It was beautiful.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
03 The Ride, Part II (03:09)
Beneath the neon hub of downtown
The local hotel ghosts blow back around
Descend on those drugstore cowboy nights
Cling to the bar, then disappear from sight
Back to the daily regime
Where the late night graveyard shift dampens your dreams
Bitten by the desire and the spell
That leaves you stranded out
On the other side of town
12 Trigger (02:34)
Walking south along the river
never had he found that twist of pleasure
remembering times when they were younger
setting the town on fire
and watching as his fellow friends
fell apart in the wake
claiming it was all just a mistake
when his finger pulled the trigger
and he shot everyone
it was all just a mistake
when he shot everyone
nothing will stand in the way
when hunger hasn't eaten for days
scrounges around where ends meet
and disappears into the fray
he hopes for awhile he'll reconcile
the pain that never dies
the ghosts of his family constantly
gnawing at his insides
he pulls out a worn photo
and an old handmade gun
wishes it was he who was frying
when he set the whole town on fire
he walks off crying
he shot everyone
14 Stray (02:54)
It rained the whole day he spent at his lover's grave
Said his goodbyes to her family and friends
Packed his things in a rusted car
And rode off in the rain
Came upon a church in ruin
With an old man dwelling within
Who said, "watch where you stray my friend.."
Old man spoke of meanings lost and without name
Never shifting from their worn and weathered place
What was found in the endless search
For truth behind the tale
Beneath the ash and ember lies only one story to tell
"Watch where you stray my friend.."
There's a flower that grows in a cave
So lovely to see but need to be saved
Its' beautiful blossom will wither and die
If ever this flower leave the darkness for daylight.
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Other reviews
By Jam
Calexico is Arizona, is the frontier desert, the loneliness and brightness of those empty spaces.
When a 'Frontera' projects us to a Mexican party, or 'Minas de cobre' to a small concert in the middle of the desert.
By Angeldust82
Not coincidentally, I referred to soundtracks a little while ago; in fact, the "Morricone-inspired" "Gypsy’s Curse" introduces us to this lysergic fiesta.
Whether used as "musical wallpaper" or given a close listen, this "The Black Light" will not disappoint anyone.
