2008-11-12 - 1:28 p.m. I just revisited Zen Arcade in its entirety. My vinyl copy is long gone, but thanks to some philanthropist on YouTube, you can hear the whole thing, starting here. Listening to the transcendent "Chartered Trips" after an absence of over a decade detonated a little bomb in my chest--not just nostalgia, but love, sadness, and pure musical goodness. The rest of the album follows suit--bursts of perfect formless sound and emotion. It's a "hardcore" album the way, say, Astral Weeks is a "folk" album--i.e. only as a starting point that vanishes after take-off. thoughts? (10 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact