Within (Drumless)— Daft Punk

#365Songs: January 4th

Every now and then some cruel human will break life’s fourth wall by asking an inane question like, “If you had to give up books or music, what would you choose?” The only right response, naturally, is to give up the person who asked that question.

Yet, it is a provocative question. Books raised me, taught me that the world was larger than my small town in a fading city in the middle of one country. Books showed me that the human experience is unfathomably expansive, that story is a universal language. Settings become places to visit, characters fuel empathy, conflict puts our own problems in perspective.

But music is a dopamine hit, an instant mood change, the fuel that wakes us up. Music is community, culture, a preservation of time, place, energy. I listen when I wake up, as I write, during runs, naps, and commutes, anytime I read. The right song at the perfect moment is transportive, transformative. The soundtrack to our happiness, and to our grief.

And just as a song can alter a cinematic moment, or our experience with others — on a train, in a bar, over dinner, during a funeral — it can, like us, change with the smallest addition or subtraction. Like drums.

If you’d told me ten years ago that Daft Punk’s Within would be 2023’s saddest, most introspective song, I’d have asked you some inane question like, “If you had to give up books or music, what would you choose?” And yet, here we are.

There are so many things that I don’t understand
There’s a world within me that I cannot explain
Many rooms to explore, but the doors look the same
I am lost, I can’t even remember my name
I’ve been, for some time

Turns out electronic dance music ain’t that dance-y without the drums. And that leaves you with the haunting lyrics, the space for your own thoughts. The way we bring our own lived experiences to the books we read, and filter ourselves through art.

I need to know now
Please tell me who I am
I’ve been, for some time

There’s a world within me that I cannot explain
Many rooms to explore, but the doors look the same
(Where are the locks to try the key?)
I am lost, I can’t even remember my name
(And I wonder why)
I’ve been, for some time