Second Childhood

For a long time, I wasn't nearly as passionate about music I used to be. Ever so often I'd get a CD that I really liked, but none seemed to grab me like they did back in the day. I attributed it to being an old biddy, or to having everything so readily available that I got jaded. But perhaps I am in my second childhood, or perhaps it truly was a matter of me not finding things that suited me, because in the last few months I've gotten two CD's that have grabbed me like music used to do. OK, so the other difference now is that I'm spending a lot of time at my desk writing, so in a way it's sort of like when I used to study or spend long hours in the lab and needed something to listen to.
A few months back, Missy and I stumbled on Florence and the Machine. It was love at first listen. She sounds a bit like Siouxsie from Siouxsie and the Banshees, complete with gothiness, and some of the musical stylings are more reminscent of Kate Bush or Tori Amos. There's a very 80's mood to it, but with a hint of Lady Gaga. It should be no surprise that I put it on continuous play as I worked on the last research proposal.
Mumford and Sons had been on my radar for a while, and I downloaded "Little Lion Man" for my summer mix playlist, but I didn't listen to the whole CD ("Sigh No More") until recently, when I started checking out what sorts of music the grad students have on their iTunes playlists. It didn't take very long for me to realize that I had to own this album, so I ordered it. It's very folky, and very dark, and some of the songs are written from a place of deep pain. If I had this CD a year ago, I'm not sure if I would've loved it or if it would've cut too close to the bone. I'm not entirely sure why it grabbed me so hard now, because I'm not in a dark mood these days - perhaps it's just good winter music, or perhaps now I can relate to the songs and be glad that my life has gotten better - but I've been listening to it non-stop while I've worked on the latest research proposal.