We had a crawl space in our basement. It was up behind the TV, hidden behind floor-to-ceiling curtains. The opening was about two feet tall, extending from the ceiling to about four feet above the floor, so to gain access you needed to either hoist yourself up, or use a step stool.
I did this every once in a while, usually when playing hide-and-seek with my brother. But sometimes I would hop up there when I just wanted a moment of quiet.
It was a very strange place. Directly underneath the front porch, it smelled of brick and earth, the way the house may have smelled in the moments before construction. But there was also the faint smell of leather, since it was the part of the house where our suitcases lived for the 50 weeks of the year when we weren’t on vacation.
With no electricity, it was completely dark. It was completely silent, too; not only because all the junk soaked up the sound, but because without the echoing air ducts that filled the rest of the basement, any sound you made died within inches in front of your face.
You could go in there and imagine yourself to be anywhere. Or nowhere.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. This serene track is a collaboration between Jesse Brown (who plays the piano and who’s been featured here before) and Andy Salvanos, who hasn’t been featured here before, and who plays an instrument you’ve likely never heard of. In crude terms, it’s two guitars fused into one; the neck is like a bass guitar and regular guitar all at once, so the instrument (and the necessarily talented person who plays it) can cover two lines at once.
2. Brown’s piano part is a descending set of chords, but whereas descending chords often sound mournful, here they sound a bit excited, like someone descending to the basement to get out the suitcases so they can pack for a holiday.
3. Salvanos’ bass parts are a bit muted, like music heard through a wall.
Recommended listening activity:
Using a flashlight to find something.