Let it happen

“I was raging, it was late

In the world my demons cultivate.”

My head is full of Tame Impala. We attended their concert recently, and it was exactly what I needed it to be.

I first discovered Tame Impala—or Kevin Parker—to be precise, back in 2015. His album ‘Currents’ had just come out, and quite honestly, that album had the power to send me on a different ethereal plane. The songs were dreamy, wispy, almost psychedelic, and highly appealing to young Astha who needed to slow down but had no idea.

Back when I worked at Ogilvy, our work desks used to pulsate with life and energy. We’d decorate our personal spaces with art, quotes, photographs, and all sorts of whimsical things. Best of all (or worst, depending on your personal preferences), we played a lot of music. It was our own way of keeping the creative juices flowing, but it also became its own language: a medium to express our individual selves.

One day I started playing ‘Cause I’m a Man‘ in the office, and my colleagues seemed to like it. Over time, I’d hear it playing in different corners of the office. It seemed others had been bitten by the Tame Impala bug. I loved that feeling.

It felt like our own version of a community, with music, drinks, laughter, lights abound. Visiting a client’s extremely grey, corporate, soulless office made me depressed. It was eerily silent, in a way that was unnatural. In all my future offices, playing music out loud was frowned upon. And look, I get it. It’s not for everyone and can be overstimulating. But I just miss the youthful abandon that inhabits advertising agencies so easily.

Anyway, what struck me the most was that Tame Impala wasn’t a band, it was just one guy sitting alone in his room and letting his creative ideas spark out of him. He composed, sang, arranged, recorded and developed his music all by himself. That’s true talent, okay?

The lyrics are deep and reflective, the songs sound experimental and fresh, each laden with fresh possibility of becoming a new earworm. The latest album ‘Deadbeat’ is phenomenal, with multiple instantly lovable songs. It’s been a pleasure falling in love with an album again. In a reality where we listen to a new song maybe a handful of times before moving on, it’s been refreshing.

And it’s also been a pleasure to revisit young Astha when she was so ridiculously romantic and intense. I can still be those things, to be fair, much much less so now. (I think!)

Going through the isolation and loneliness of job hunting is not easy, and I don’t have the comfort of colleagues around me, but I still have the music.

Sifting through the sludge of thick emotions can be a lot on most days, but I’m learning how to sit with them. I’m learning how to enjoy music, poetry, art, and sometimes, just silence. If Kevin Parker can enjoy his own company so much, so can I.

Ending this post with highly relatable lyrics penned by him:

“But I know that I’ll be happier

And I know you will be too

Eventually”

❤️