The Glorious Dance of Goodbye
Imagine yourself standing at a particular point along the path of healing. As time passes, you grow more familiar with the choreography of moving on. You play certain songs, and they pull you with purpose… The glorious dance of goodbye.
Two Albums in One: Day/Night
Reflections of each other, parallel inversions. Joy and melancholy, courage and fear, peace and disruption, day and night. There can hardly be one without the other, and still, they stand strong alone.
If you have the stamina, and I pray that you do, listen along with me. I am taking us on a journey from twilight to twilight: from just before sunrise, to the deep darkness of night, and into the following morning. Stay awake, my friend, as we listen in the Vinyl Room to Parcels and their breathtaking project, Day/Night.
Who are Parcels?
Nu-disco, disco-funk, indietronica, psychedelic pop, alternative dance — call them what you want, Parcels are a five-man Australian band with a seventies style.
Unquestionably talented — assembling and disassembling music groups since the age of 13 — Parcels formed their final year of high school.
Drawing influence from Marvin Gaye, Toto, Steely Dan, they bring back moods of Abba, George Benson, The Alan Parsons Project, Earth Wind & Fire…
The Glorious Dance of Goodbye
by Mercedes
Stream as you read along to this poetic response: https://parcels.lnk.to/daynight
Day/Night — 1 story, 2 LPs, 4 sides.
DAY: A-SIDE
Light
See that sun Burning down Morning lights Calling out
Sound asleep. Earth is turning. Outside your window: silent twilight. The sun peeks its crown above the horizon. Across countless miles, light reaches out to rouse you awake, caressing your face. Sun continues to rise as your eyelids take flight. Bright eyes peeking over a shore of lower lashes. Creatures everywhere sigh: thanks for the day.
Free
A deeper love, a deeper love, a deeper love
For a moment, you remember that which you want to give up. Let it fall to the back of your mind… You step barefoot outside, take a seat somewhere nice where your sleepy eyes can blink into brightness, stretch out your lungs. Sunlight shines through the leaves of a tree. Fragmented sun rays like tiny spotlights spread love on your skin, freckle it with warmth. Thanks to the tree’s great oxygen offering, you can breathe. Aside from shade, aside from beauty, it is gifting you life. Relax where you sit, as with every exhale, you feed energy back into the world. Freedom is what happens when you trust yourself — present in the present.
Comingback
Just gotta keep on track Keep coming back for more and more
Something propels you to jump into action. You spin, dance, arms in the air. Percussion pulses through the muscles in your body. A light explodes out with every beat of your chest, twitch of your neck, nod of your head, tap your foot, wiggle your bum. Arms move like wind, legs flow like water. You are home in your body. You can keep coming back, take it wherever feels good.
Theworstthing
But even though I do not care I wish that I would have you here I wish that I could still believe The love that once you gave to me And even though I am alright I wish I didn’t see the light The best thing I could ever find The worst thing I would ever find
As you decide to head out, a cloud passes over the sun. The sky remains brilliant and blue, yet your mood sours. You remember what you wish wouldn’t enter your thoughts. Memories live inside you like an album of photographs that flies open at times without your consent. It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling. Don’t stop breathing. The funks we slip into are thick like mud, but our legs are strong enough to hike through strange terrain, to push and pull through slog until we find firmer ground again. Mud is dirt transformed by rain: tangible truths mingling with emotions, turning sticky. Try not to get trapped, try not to lose track. You wait patiently for the cloud to pass.
DAY: B-SIDE
Inthecity (Interlude)
Carefully, you depart from cozy comfort. Reemerge into the noisy, troubling, provocative world. The farther you walk amidst city chaos, the more you observe: you are not so nervous. You feel curious, brave. You feel high as the tallest building.
NowIcaresomemore
You know I can be the kind To hide behind little lies To tell you I’m sorry too much Overthink till I’m mourning Do you see that I’m growing?
Get to know that vulnerability is strength. You are breaking open and building up, as muscles do from exercise. Don’t bother with the bothersome. Spread gifts to those you greet with smiles, compliments. Wink at your reflection.
Somethinggreater
Holding out for something greater Holding out for something else
Do not regret the things you did, the people you spent time with. Whether you’d go through it again, leave it behind, so you learn to forgive what was. Those memories can’t crush you. Far prouder of how far you’ve come. How mysterious it is to have loved, to have lost. How amazing it is to have so much to gain. Life has you fired up.
Daywalk
Gliding over sidewalk, you slide in stride about the town. Cool. Hot. Hum. Wag your head to the groove. Find new friends in unexpected places. Bump into old ones and lean in to catch their news, their new look, their attitude. Get to know them all over again. Blessed to be present together at this fresh point in your paths. Strike a pose, a sexy one.
Outside
I’ve been outside Hoping for something better Holding my eyes Holding myself together
The irony is: although we may get better at coping, life doesn’t get any less intense. After a long day, naturally, you’re tired… Hide away in a pretty place. Enjoy a good meal, a drink to yourself. Relax now, recharge. We all have a limit. Healing will not make us superhuman. Rest now, somewhere comfortable. You may still think of those things you used to use to cope, for escape. Letting go is so tricky. That’s okay. You’re okay.
NIGHT: A-SIDE
Shadow
Sun Down Lights Out
The sun is setting, warping the sky into chaos of colors. You want to hold on to the sense of safety that daylight provides. Shadow takes over, too soon, sucking sunlight below the horizon. The night will only grow darker. What then?
Neverloved
Leaving this lie Leaving this dream I’m leaving tonight and I can’t be seen
Shiver. Walk back into the bustling nightlife, icy sidewalks, broody, alone. A different kind of confidence seeps into your jaw, shoulders, hips, like the feeling of leather and latex on skin. Pouty lips, hooded lids on strange eyes that follow. Some still wear sunglasses, scarves, gloves. You stare into gutters, daring something to scare you. Watch the water drip slow off the faucet, off the fire escape. Scratch and claw your way into a nightclub underground. Crawl down into wonder. Where you’re going, you’ll come back bolder, brash. Mutter true phrases you never meant to hear yourself utter out loud.
Famous
Don’t go thinking why You’re living a lie Now there’s a lot to earn Dead or alive
Quickness and grace. Carefree and queer. Leap into the discotheque. Sweat, fever, chills. Feet first flying across the floor. Whether you like it or not, the way you carry yourself makes people want more. You welcome the world’s admiring gaze with arms open wide, chin lifted high. Approachable, you are, and yet untouchable. Slow down hot stuff, nearly carried away. Running into an ego risk— your shoulders will not carry a head so large. Heavy does not suit your featherlight spirit. Humility, remember, priorities.
Icallthishome
I call this home In the dark Of the night All alone Letting time take me over Make me colder To my bones
Humble home is what you call your body. A lonely château. Understand you are unique. Tempted to believe, but not so easily convinced.
LordHenry
Dance with me Take me by the hand and see We can have it all We can fuel the fire We can rule the world We can go to war
Excited, you are falling in lust with a stranger who dances like you do: beautiful. Bodies in sync. A magnet doing its thing. The music: hypnotizing. It’s not that the whole world is falling away, but that you two are falling into each other. Desire ignited. Your rational mind is weary, trying to warn you. But you can’t hear logic’s low frequency over the crashing and burning and yearning in your skull. You could lose yourself, surrender the world, extract every resource, leave nothing left. And then, they disappear.
NIGHT: B-SIDE
Thefear
Another night I want to get out I want to get high again
You slink away into a corner, sink into the ground, melt into your emotions: slipping low. Don’t want to make sense of it: Why are you this way? Why do nights like these seem to lead to dead ends? You’re harsh, critical, distressed, and you want to numb it, the ways you used to, to forget healing, forget patience. Here’s confusion, frustration.
Nightwalk
Our aimless Inner child Soft and Taintless Wild
Step back into the street for a night walk. Too tired to throw yourself a tantrum. You know too much to go back, and yet it’s sad. Remember those days, before things were hard, before you lost your innocence. Try to set aside the grief, skip a hop back in your step. You know this dance. What goes up, drops down, then flies up again. Stomp on a puddle — rippled reflection — stick out your tongue, thumbs on your temples, wiggling your finger antlers. These feelings are natural.
Reflex
Holding on is breaking a part of me I lost when I thought that’s the feeling love When that’s the feeling lust
Pinch yourself and resolve that you are alive. Pain spikes, then fades, and gets replaced by other sensations. Soothe yourself: stroke your hair, shake it around. What you do about how you feel is ultimately your decision. Whether you mean it to or not, confusion works itself out. Loosen your grip on the puzzle, and come to find patterns and answers where before all was foreign, indecipherable. You can change your mind. Perspectives change — with distance, with time — the shapes of things change. What you thought was love, might have been something else. That is okay.
Once
But if once more I could feel What I felt before I’d hold it like it’s real I’d never let it fall I’d blow up every bridge I’d build up every wall And nothing could get in But nothing could be born
A park finds you. Bench or grass? Notice beyond the leaves of a massive tree that the sky is a deep cobalt blue— what time is it? The earth is turning. A new day is blooming. People are becoming. Whether you are thinking at all, meaning is everywhere. Unique and special is every love. That’s not to say that holding on with all your might is going to help you keep it. Cup what you care for in gentle hands. Observe things that move you more than you can understand. Cry, and cry, and cry. Now go home.
Inside
Shed your outside clothes, drink some water, freshen up, slip under covers. Thank yourself for being. Slight smile at the ceiling. Dreamy. Your breathing deepens, and without effort, the eyes close shut. Birds wake up, they sing you to sleep. The sun rises to the sky once more…
The Glorious Dance of Goodbye
We sway back and forth between defeat and victory, guilt and forgiveness, shame and epiphany. Eventually, we’re released from the bonds of our past. But once we’ve reached the other side of whatever it is we were saying goodbye to, there’s a whole host of mess left to grapple and reap. We dance on, feeling our emotions intensely, suppressing less or none of ourselves. At times, freedom is overwhelming. How do we learn to reign over our hearts in a way that is not restrictive? How can we express ourselves in a way that’s uplifting?
Let me know what you think!
- Thoughts on Day/Night? Parcels as a group?
- What did you think of the style of this post? How did the listening journey resonate with you?
- What have you been saying goodbye to? Is there something you hope to let go of, tricky or sticky as it is?
- Please be free to express yourself in the comments.
- I will do my best to provide a thoughtful response.
Live.Vol.1
Thank you so much for reading through to the end. I hope you enjoyed the journey.
Here’s an extra treat: A live studio album by Parcels, performed at Hansa Studios in Berlin on April 30th 2020: 18 tracks played one after another, no breaks, no edits. Raw musical magic.
All my love,
01/17/2022
AHHH!! I decided to listen to each song as I read the narrative. It helped me connect to the music more. I personally loved Free and Somethinggreater as they correlate to each other, showing the healing journey. Free showed how one is out in the world, being self-aware, and accepting each opportunity. Whereas, somethinggreater shows how healing is not easy and how as humans we always think of the “what ifs” and reach that level of “perfection”. At the end of the day, those choices we now might “regret” are the ones that led us to where and who we are. Those lessons are there for a reason. Thank you for introducing me to Parcels! I will now go ahead and buy their vinyl! I’m proud of you!
Ekram!! You angel! Thank you so much for participating in the full experience, wow, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I have a vision for this to become like a crazy spoken word/performance piece, where I read my story over the songs… Who knows?! “Free” and “Somethinggreater” were the first two Parcels songs I fell in love with. They remind me of what you’re saying: that the journey towards greatness will take us through rough patches. They make me think about how important it is to accept and appreciate who we are right now. When you do buy the vinyls: Day/Night will fit right at home with you girl! I’m over the moon. Your support means everything.