Moby -- "Play" [Album Retrospective Series]

I listened to Moby's album "Play" today, and it got me thinking about how long it took me to warm up to his music. Indeed, it took a series of significant events which spanned a number of years. Anyone care to travel through time with me? *Wayne & Garth effects: diddly-ooh, diddly-ooh, diddly-ooh*



1999
"Play" hits the shelves; i'm unfamiliar with Moby and don't really notice.

2000
[East Lansing, MI] I see the video for "Natural Blues" on MTV and enjoy it (partly because the song is good, but also because i have a crush on Christina Ricci). But it's just a one-off; i'm not really inspired to go looking for more of his songs.

2001
[Champaign-Urbana, IL] "South Side" hits the airwaves. Another one-off for me; i like the song at first, but after approximately 1 skillion viewings of the video (back then i used to watch MTV in the mornings while getting ready for work) it plays out. I lose interest in the song (and Moby by extension).

2002-2004
I continue to be indifferent to Moby.

2005
Someone (i'm assuming Marc or Kurt) plays "Natural Blues" towards the end of a Thursday night swing dance. The lights are turned down, providing a nice-feeling atmosphere which fits the song perfectly. I dance the song with Tessa, and it is rich and mellow and awesome. It's one of those where you manage to really *connect* with your partner and the music and border on transcending reality. During the song, Tessa says to me "Dancing with you is like zen". This later leads my friends to refer to her as "Zen Girl". But i digress. Major points for "Natural Blues" (and Moby by extension).

2006
Rosana and Drew use "Run On" in their intro to blues class. I quickly fall in love with the song (i'd managed to go this entire time without hearing it). More points for Moby - enough to draft a bid for me to break down and buy the cd.

I tell the "Run On" story to Melissa while we're at Za's for dinner. By coincidence, there's another Moby song playing at that very moment - a lovely mellow tune which Melissa recognizes as either "Porcelain" or "Everloving" (she couldn't remember which). She gives me a copy of both songs; "Porcelain" was the one playing at Za's and i quickly fall for that one too.

Critical mass achieved, i finally buy Moby's album "Play" on February 24th, 2006. At first i only really liked about half of the songs, but the rest have been growing on me ever since.