the list of now

Feist’s The Reminder was the album of Summer 2007. And I know I wasn’t the only one. I remember reading a blog that called her “everyone’s favorite summer girlfriend” and it was absolutely true. (If I could remember where I read that, I would give credit…)

Usually I get hooked on new music because it resonates with my life at the time. This week, I am discovering it wasn’t about last summer because it doesn’t remind me of last summer. I’m realizing, like many situational crushes, my dalliance with The Reminder wasn’t personal, it was seasonal. And that is why its perfection holds up now, one year later.

The way that certain foods, smells and places will always intrinsically recall summer, the sound of this ENTIRE album was the longest hottest day of the year in all the right ways. 1234 is a bouncy ride to the beach with the top down. I Feel it All is bonfires and backyard fireworks (and was even before I saw the video). The Park and The Water – the kind of sticky summer situations that always seem a bit riper in your memory with longing and humidity. I could go on telling you what every song on the album recalls for me, but the point that I’m driving is just that it still works and always will. On the hottest day this season so far, driving with the windows down, I put on Feist and it fit perfectly once again.

And so The Reminder joins the ranks of my favorite-favorites, as not just the album of last summer, but as a classic summer album perennially.

It’s a bit early to tell what this summer’s album will be. Any recommendations?

And if you need a Reminder reminder, take a look at this live performance of “I Feel it All” on Colbert.

(This, btw, is everything live performance should be… like the great recording but richer, deeper, more…more Feistyness. Gosh… it reminds me of back in the day, before Ani burnt out her talent, emotional depth, wit, experience and voice um… I mean, back when I enjoyed seeing Ani live and buying her records. )