Obsession Confession (Plain White T's, Part 1)

A few years ago, when “Hey There Delilah” was in heavy rotation on the radio, I remember singing along like everyone else. My sister would sing it to my new baby, and he would coo and giggle. I remember watching the Red Carpet specials for the Grammys the year the song was nominated, when Tom Higgenson (although I didn’t know his name at the time) brought the Delilah for whom he wrote the song as his date. The Red Carpet interviewers made a big deal about Delilah’s presence, and she made it a point to clarify that she wasn’t there as Higgenson’s girlfriend. I don’t know if I even knew the band’s name, but I do remember thinking, “Dang, Delilah – the dude wrote you a Grammy-worthy song…what is wrong with you? Lock that down, girl!”

Fast-forward to one morning in November, 2010. I was getting ready for work, and had VH1’s Jumpstart on for background noise. Suddenly, I heard the intro to a song that literally stopped me in my tracks. Mascara wand in hand, my eyes were glued to the screen as “Rhythm of Love” entranced me with its mellow, upbeat acoustic guitar-centered song. Before the song was even finished, I had rewound live tv so I could record the video to my dvr. And thus began my obsession with the Plain White T’s.

Over the course of the next month, I listened to that song repeatedly, having bought it on iTunes as soon as it was available. My five year old son was equally obsessed, asking me to replay the song as soon as it had finished playing, and the two of us sang the song together, word-for-word. I followed the band on Twitter, became a fan on Facebook, and waited impatiently for their new album’s release. I had a gift card in my iTunes account, and earmarked a good chunk of it to purchasing the entire album.

Finally, the day came – I downloaded Wonders of the Younger, and listened to nearly nothing else for a full two months. Wonders of the Younger is like the audio interpretation of Tim Holtz’s designs – it is vintage, off-beat, circus-freak show, creepy-carnival-evoking, fantasy-igniting, creativity-inspiring.

After the first listen, my head was filled with ideas for music videos, films, books – all centered around this unique album. Each song stands on its own, but the songs fit together and create a world in which so-called “freaks” are normal. Is it strange to befriend a bearded lady, party with carnies, walk the plank of a pirate ship, pillage a village, share rose-scented kisses? Not in this world.

PWTS released their touring schedule for Wonders, and as part of my Christmas present, my husband (who tolerates my weird obsessions with random things/people/music/etc. with extremely good grace, although he usually wears a “you are ridiculous but I love you anyways” expression) bought us tickets to their Denver show. Meanwhile, I couldn’t stop listening to Wonders. By the date of the concert, I had every song memorized, knew which song was which simply by the intro, and could be found humming songs from the album under my breath nearly 24/7.

[to be continued]