Daily Jam - Elephant Woman

What does a dream sound like? A surreal waking haze of bleary, maybe incoherent thoughts and slow, sluggish movement, floating through the ether of nighttime and fantastical day dreams, treading the air like water, and taking everything in through dilated eyes silently, wistfully. If I was going to soundtrack one of these inner dimensional excursions, my first choice would definitely be Blonde Redhead’s “Elephant Woman,” the opening track from the trio’s 2004 album Misery Is A Butterfly.

There’s something so intoxicating about the swirl of harpsichord, strings, synths, and Kazu Makino’s breathy, ghostly vocals. It sounds like crossing over into some otherworldly plane, inner and outer space travelers, moving through the clouds of star stuff. It sounds like bare feet swiftly and gently stepping upon long, dewed blades of grass carpeting mist filled forest glens. It sounds like pushing through the looking glass or falling down the rabbit hole.

I first got into Blonde Redhead during the early years of my post collegiate life, the songs of Misery Is A Butterfly cradling my ears and soothing my brain, a kind of aural comedown pill to ease me into dreamspace after late nights closing out the pubs, taverns, clubs, and bars I used to frequent. All of this was before kids of course, but listening to “Elephant Woman” now, I still feel the wave of serenity wash over me, the lights dimming, body fading, as I drift into unconsciousness to dream the dreams I’ll only remember for a few fleeting seconds in the morning.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.