Maybe I've just lost my will to rock. It's nobody's fault. It just sorta happened. With every passing day I rock just a little bit less, preferring to spend my time in other pursuits. Non- rocking pursuits. Sure, I rock here or there, y'know... in the car one day maybe, or while doing dishes. Fits and starts, as the saying goes. Over time, my will to rock has virtually ebbed itself to death. These days, rocking seems like something better left to someone younger and brasher. Someone with more stocking caps and stripes on their clothes.

But that was then. One recent afternoon, something new and irresistible burst itself into my life. Planes Mistaken for Stars-- what a great band name! And what a great fuckin' band. I rock again, then. I throw myself around my bedroom like a muppet. Slow. Fast. Slow again. Really, really fast. The guys are screaming at me, and then they bring in that big, chunky guitar there, and then the high, tinny guitar for a second, before finally launching the outer- space chorus, guitar- arpeggio thing during the bridge that gives me just enough time to catch my breath. And then again with the boom- bap- boom- bap hardcore kick/ snare bit.

Still these guys are screaming at me, so I'm still rocking, and then they're just singing for a bit, which is nice, so I rock with some tender feelings. But then, they start screaming again. There's some shrieking banshee guitar and the guy is singing about breaking and hearts and winter and falling and stuff, and I rock with sadness for a while. Then the big chunky guitar comes back and my sad rocking turns to angry rocking. And the whole time with the boom- bap- boom- bap-- at least during the fast parts.

So there I am, muppet- limbed and sweaty, with the neighbors all gathered outside my windows to watch me rock. And the album ends. I stop rocking. I stand there and pant for a while. The crowd outside disperses and wanders off, bored again. Then my roommate comes in and asks me what I'm doing, and I tell her that I'm not sure but that whatever it is, I probably won't do it again for a while. She wonders if I wanna go get some food, and I tell her that sounds fine. So we leave.

-Zach Hooker