“Another Day” – Jamie Lidell
(Words/music: Jamie Lidell and Dominic Salole, available on Jim, Warp 2008)

Jamie Lidell’s “Another Day” is a love song without the word “love” in it.  In fact, it doesn’t have any overtly romantic gestures – at least not ones that would make him end up on the “soft news” part of a local broadcast.  Instead, Lidell revels in the day-to-day moments of his relationship – the happy silences, the small discoveries, and the general peacefulness of the day-to-day.  It’s easy to be in love during those moments of pure bliss, and every relationship needs these to survive.  However, true love turns what some might call “ordinary” or “boring” days into extraordinary days.  Lidell’s narrator shares this revelation, describing how he changed from demanding these exciting moments to appreciating the quiet whispers together.  I know plenty of people who struggle with these moments and as a result create moments or ecstasy or enragement as habit.  Instead, Lidell’s protagonist takes each day for what it is – another day to learn a little more about the person he loves.

About a year ago, my girlfriend Jenny introduced me to Jamie Lidell, and one of our first outings together was to see him at the Paradise in Boston.  She raved about his hybrid of blue-eyed soul and electronic manipulations, so I took her word for it and went with her.  Lidell didn’t disappoint, doing everything from leading his band through funky arrangements to manipulating and looping his voice for over five minutes while somehow making it sound interesting.  By the time he came out from the encore with a TV on his head, I was sold.  This is only one of many things Jenny’s brought into my life over the last year.  I’ll always associate Lidell’s music with her because of this show, with “Another Day” being particularly special.  A year ago today, Jenny and I went on our first “date” (retroactively declared a “date” at least) where we drove around northern Connecticut talking about the radio, sat at a diner way too long, and talked in her car until well after two in the morning.  Every day since then, I’ve fallen a little more in love with her each day, in part because she continues to amaze me with everything she does professionally, creatively, and personally.  I share this because it’s exactly what I think of when I hear “Another Day” – even if we have a quiet day together walking around, making dinner, and talking, there’s no place else in the entire world I’d rather be and nothing else I’d rather be doing.  We’ve had our blissful moments, but in reality she makes all of them blissful for me.  I tell her that she’s my hero because I want to be more like her, and in a way this blog is one way that I’ve tried to be more creative and reflective.  It’s only appropriate that I should use it to thank her, because without her constant encouragement (and her understanding when I duck away for an hour to type a post when visiting her) there’s no way this blog would have lasted more than a week.

More on Jamie Lidell: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm