Stephen Mejias

Among These Things and Places Were

Stephen Mejias | Mar 5, 2007

Though I was doing my best to give passengers room to exit the train, I was hopelessly in the way. On some mornings, it's impossible to stand on the train and not be in the way. Everyone scrambles toward the open doors, as if departing this train, right now — right now! — means the world. The world. I think it's because I hate this, that I try to do the opposite. When it's my turn to depart, I move carefully and slowly, perhaps in some futile attempt to show others how gracefully done it can be. Fellow passengers, there is another way. Watch as I move through these doors with such ease and finesse.

While being pushed, several seemingly unrelated things traveled through my noggin.

First of all, I was singing Snow's 1993 pop masterpiece, "Informer." Don't ask me why. It had been years since I'd even thought of "Informer." Yet, there it was, in all its wack-ass glory, having shuffled itself into the iPod of my mind. Strangest part of all is that I don't even know the words to "Informer." There I stood, being pushed this way and that, singing, "Infahma, dee bititty bop bee doo bee da dee day. A licky boom boom down."

Second, I wondered about the young couple sitting below me. Had they just met, or were they the owners of many celebrated years together? They held hands with passion, yet sat so comfortably.

Third, I cursed at the people who pushed me.

Fourth, I considered a few of the things I'd rather be doing, in places I'd rather be, instead of being pushed on this train, right now. Among these things and places were: swinging on a hammock in Veracruz, Mexico; sitting beneath a eucalyptus tree in San Francisco, California; falling down a snowy hill in Hunter Mountain, New York; drinking shochu in Kyushu, Japan.

Fifth, I thought of Jon Iverson looking out from his office window, enjoying a view of lush green valley oak.

This is all true.

I got off the train — carefully, slowly, with grace and finesse — and made my way into the office, still singing "Informer." At my desk, in my inbox, I found an e-mail from Wes Phillips. "Teaspoon slide" is all it said. Here is what was inside:

COMMENTS

Submitted by christie (not verified) on March 6, 2007 - 2:05am

I love it! What a great clip. Also, I do the same thing on the train, and for the same reason--to show people that each morning doesn't have to begin with a cattle stampede. I always make a point of saying, sincerely and with a smile, "excuse me, please." If nothing else, it makes me more relaxed. (And it takes no more time than shoving).

Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on March 6, 2007 - 8:19am

I'm so glad you liked the video, Christie. I actually thought of you when I posted this. I loved the video so much, I did a few quick Google searches. I found that the guitarist's name is Hannes Coetzee (cool name, right?), and he's from a town called Herbertsdale in the Karoo region of South Africa. For a living, he extracts the medicinal fluids from aloe trees (the trees in the background of the video are aloes). The story goes that he taught himself to play guitar on days when the aloes were too dry to tap. He sat on the side of the hill and dreamed up this style (he's the only one in the world known to use it) to pass the time and keep himself company. There's a documentary called Karoo Kitaar Blues which follows Coetzee and South African songwriter David Kramer into remote regions of the country as they search for other musicians who play this type of Karoo folk music.

Submitted by Christian (not verified) on March 6, 2007 - 1:20pm

I do the same thing on the subway! The folks that bother me the most are the ones that push their way in front of you when you have clearly gotten up to prepare to get out at the next stop. Great clip by the way, talk about multi-tasking. It sounds great; like two guitars at the same time. Last thing...revenge will be mine. This afternoon I was in the elevator coming back with a fresh cup of coffee and Arcade Fire's new CD and guess what song popped in my head. Go ahead guess...that's right. Informer. You will pay my friend.

Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on March 6, 2007 - 1:57pm

>This afternoon I was in the elevator coming back with a fresh cup of coffee and Arcade Fire's new CD and guess what song popped in my head. Go ahead guess...that's right. Informer. You will pay my friend.Oh, man! I was going to say "Neighborhood #1" or maybe "Rebellion." I am so sorry. I had no intention of inflicting others with such misery. I guess that's what you get for reading my blog while at work.(Hee hee?)How are you enjoying the new Arcade Fire disc?

Submitted by Christian (not verified) on March 7, 2007 - 7:47am

I haven't sat down and listened to the disc cover to cover yet. So far, the album has not disappointed, although I think the live versions that they played on SNL the other week came out a bit stronger than on the album. There is one track that stands out, Intervention, it has a haunting organ intro and great/fantastic instrumentation that I can't wait to hear on the hi fi at home.

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Stephen Mejias

Among These Things and Places Were