One more thing about Sandi Thom...

Yes, yes, I did already write about Sandi Thom, but as I was walking to the subway today, I realized I hadn't quite said what I meant. In my regular life, I never get to go back and add to things I've written. But you know what? This is a blog! Woo-hah!

(If Rachel's reading this... remember when I re-submitted that crit paper? It's like that.)

Anyway. A little bit more about Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)." (You can hear it here. Click on the link in the upper right corner.) :

This song is about the singer's desperate wish for a community, and it is structured to let her find one.

For the first twenty-seven seconds, all we hear is Sandi Thom's voice. She is a lone, lonely soul in an otherwise silent void. When she sings, "I was born too late/To a world that doesn't care," you can believe her.

But then extra sounds start emerging, starting softly and then increasing in volume. First shakers and tambourines, then hand claps and stomps. Finally, we hear the arrival of additional voices, as though other people have walked in to join her.

As I said in the previous post, it's crucial to note that all these sounds are made by the human body. We're not hearing digital keyboards or computerized drums. The impression given is that Thom's voice calls other people from the darkness. She starts alone, but she ends surrounded.

I don't know how this song was created. Thom may have been alone in a room making all the sounds herself. But as a finished work of art, the track suggests that the yearning for connection can ultimately provide it. By its very design, the song is a demonstration of hope.

And how many pop singles can suggest things like that?