Sort Of

Does it make you nervous
When you hear my bones
Animate my body
Without my soul?

-- "Sort Of" by Silversun Pickups

I love the guitar section in this song. These days I guess I've been listening to more alternative R&B, Trip-Hop, dream pop (? I suck at musical genres ?) but rock will always be my bread and butter.

I've been thinking about it again recently, since there's been rumors that Ai Yazawa is drawing again. It's been almost seven years since Nana went on hiatus; it would be a fitting time for her to return. I wonder if other people are like me, in that at some point in their lives, they encounter a piece of art--be it a book, a song, an album, a painting, a film--that becomes so monumental, so influential to who they are.

There are two works that have held that power over me. One was Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block. Wasteland set my words free and is solely responsible for my love of vignettes. The other was the entire series of Nana. I've written about Nana Osaki and her influence on me before on this blog. But it's funny. When I reread some chapters of Nana a few months ago, I discovered that I related to the story even more than before. I was 15 years old when I fell in love with the story about the two 20-year-old heroines in Tokyo. I'm 23, almost 24 now. As a teenager, I didn't fully grasp the decision Nana O made when she chose not to follow Ren to Tokyo. Now, I can understand the implications of choosing pride and personal career ambition over romantic love.