4/30: Chemistry

This song is not about drugs. Really.

Eye to I
Reaction burning hotter
Two to one
Reflection on the water
H to O
No flow without the other
Open hearts moving in contact with one another

What a weird little song “Chemistry” is. The guys swear it’s not about drugs, but about the molecular interchanges that draw people together.

Despite the heavy synth, something about “Chemistry” feels like the old, chill jams of the early 1970s catalogue, in the Fly By Night era. It’s the kind of song you and your friends pop on the background while you crack a beer or spark a joint and just let things go. It doesn’t demand too much of you; it doesn’t require a Ph.D in literature or quantum mechanics to understand. It just exists.

When I was in high school, I used to have a two-hour bus ride (each way, thanks DC traffic). I’d pass the time with my Discman, wearing out my Signals and A Farewell to Kings CDs. When I hear “Chemistry,” I get a rush of powerful sensory memories: choking bus exhaust, cracked leather on the backs of my arms, the glint of sunlight off car hoods, the rumble of engines under my feet. It reminds me of the Beltway, and the Dulles Toll-Road, and all the routes and roads in between.