Contenders Series #4: Free Energy - "Hope Child"

Download:  Free Energy - Hope Child

I was at a party last weekend, and wound up talking to some people about The Wire.  This happens to me a lot now, as Ilana and I are about halfway through season three, and more or less completely obsessed with the show.  And I told these people that one of the best things about my life, as of right now, is the knowledge that I still have more than 30 episodes of The Wire that I have not seen.  And it sounds pathetic, but I was completely serious, and I stand by that sentiment.  Occasionally, I will be sitting at work, sifting through meaningless documents, and I will start thinking about Omar and Stringer and Lester and Bunk and everyone else, and I wonder what will happen to them next, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will be completely riveting television, and I know that it will make me happy, and I know that it will make Ilana happy, and that kind of guaranteed happiness is not something we stumble on too often in life.  Sometimes, at a party, it sounds incredibly depressing to talk about a TV show in terms that lofty, but you take joy where you find it, and you hold on tight.

I have heard five songs by Free Energy.  Three of them ("Dream City," "Something in Common," and "Free Energy") ranked #1, #48, and #54, respectively, on my "100 Songs for 2009" list.  The recently released "Hope Child" is an early contender for a Top 10 spot next year.  "Dark Trance," which has been up on their MySpace page for months now but only recently available in higher-quality MP3, is probably my least favorite of the five, but I'm listening to it for the third time today, so I don't want anyone to think "least favorite" means "not awesome," because that's just not true.

There's a connection between these two paragraphs, and that is that on March 9, DFA Records is going to release Stuck on Nothing, and I am going to hear six new Free Energy songs (somehow, the incredible "Something in Common" didn't even make the cut for the album).  Like those unwatched Wire episodes, these six songs just sit there, as easy-to-realize potential happiness.  I am just so confident that they're going to be great, and every day I wake up with the hope that the album leaked, and even when it didn't ... that's just one day closer to March 9.  And that's a good feeling.

One last tangent:  "Dream City" hit Hype Machine May 15, 2009.  That is a long time ago.  A very long time ago.  WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?!? AHHH!!!  Okay, that's it.  But seriously, let's get this album out there already.

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