Weapon and the Wound

Usually by the time I get around to discovering a band, I'm too late. They either broke up years earlier (Led Zeppelin, the Beatles), break up shortly after I discover them (Soundgarden), should have broken up years earlier (the Rolling Stones... sorry), someone important in the band has already died or dies soon after (Layne Staley, Peter Steele), and so on. I'm particularly into the "crazy genius" types of musicians, but Syd Barrett had been a recluse for decades when I got into him (and died shortly after of course), and John Frusciante had successfully re-entered the world several years earlier.

So my fandom of Days of the New and Travis Meeks is sort of unique. The hits and mainstream success came and went 12 years ago, but I'm convinced that his creative peak hasn't arrived yet. The man is like 30 years old, not 60, even though it sounds like he's already lived enough for any 60 year old. When I saw him in Fayetteville it actually felt like I was witnessing someone's creativity still going strong, not just some guy playing songs people liked ten years ago (even though he did play the hits). It felt like I was part of something, instead of wishing I had been part of something that ended years ago.

Anyway, to get to the point, the fact that nobody listens to his music other than the hits is a real tragedy. I made the same mistake until the beginning of this year. I'd always liked the first Days of the New album but hadn't let the second and third soak in as much. I consider them all pretty much equal in quality, but my personal preference would probably have to be the second, partly because of this song:



Weapon and the Wound is one of those rare songs that gets me every single time I listen to it. Everything about the song is great. The rest of the second album has more of a world music sound, which is present here, but combined with the more traditional structure and rock beat, it makes a masterpiece. I think so, at least.

In fact, I'd say the song's relative simplicity is what makes it. Everything is in its right place: that clarinet line throughout, the strings that come in later, and the vocals, which, if you listen to the lyrics, can be fairly depressing, despite the more uplifting sound of the music, which I fall for every time. Sigh.

And the chorus is perfect. I really don't even know what to say about it, in this case it just speaks for itself. The lyrics are especially straightforward for a Days of the New song, but it works so well.

"Running after you
I don't know where you are
And I can't seem to get you
I want you to know me"

I have no clue how this wasn't a hit with a chorus like that. There's even a kind of Beatles sound throughout, particularly at the end with that string melody.

Also did I mention he was like 19 or 20 when this song came out?!



They cut out a few minutes in the beginning and end to make it Youtube worthy, but the main song is all here.

There is quite a bit of controversy about what is going on with Travis Meeks nowadays. He's been working on a fourth album for the last few years but nothing has come out yet, and some people just can't take it anymore! Personally I would love a fourth Days of the New album, but I too would be frustrated if only a few dozen people were coming to my shows. It would be nice if the guy could get a break for once. How many other people have given the world as much music as he has from just the first three albums?

We'll see. Hopefully something great comes out of all of this.