It’s #MusicMonday and I have an amazing story to accompany today’s song ‘Learn to Drive’ by Arth & Arth. So, I get my book covers from a variety of places but one of the spots I love to browse is http://goonwrite.com/, the guy who runs it is named James and I’ve been randomly buying covers from him for years (he did the Lethal Sin & Early Sins covers!). Anyway, many many months ago when we were chatting about something, he mentioned that he and his brother had been working on some music and offered to let me hear some. I readily agreed (as we all know, I love music) and he sent me the mp3 of ‘Learn to Drive’ (which you can scroll down and play from soundcloud while you hear the rest of this story!). Now, I think I listened to it once or twice when I first got it, and then kind of forgot that I had it – also my brain is a sieve on most days and so remembering random events like this is a challenge even when I’m not stressed.
So, many moons pass and it’s late one night and I’m trying to find a particular song by another artist I love and as I’m doing a search for mp3s on my computer I come across one that is simply titled ‘Learn to Drive’. Curious, I go ahead and hit play, and instantly I’m drawn in by the style of music. It’s totally dreamy, and has this spoken word element (that I really love in songs), and I kept getting pulled back in by the lyrics as I was looking for the other song. Then – I tried to find it online, (this was about a month ago now), and I could not find a trace of it. I checked the metadata for the mp3 and found nothing, searched lyrics, uploaded it to music finder services, asked my author friends to help me… and we all came up blank. I resigned myself to just enjoying the song whenever it came up in a playlist on iTunes (because it was not on spotify) and decided I had somehow obtained this weird song and its origins would be lost to obscurity.
Then, on January 30th I got the GoOnWrite.com newsletter and browsed it, saw that he was referencing a band he and his brother started and asking everyone to support them by following on Spotify/Soundcloud so that he and his brother could claim their pages. I (obviously) went on to Spotify support him, and the fourth song down on the album was ‘Learn to Drive’. I froze for a second, bewildered, and then hit play and IT WAS THE SAME DAMN SONG.
Immediately I emailed James back, fangirled all over him for how much I’d loved the song, relayed my ridiculous loss of memory and my late night search for the song over a month ago now. He thought this was hilarious, and so did I, and THAT is why I knew ‘Learn to Drive’ had to be the song for #MusicMonday this week. It was destiny. Also, I really think you’re going to love their music, there’s a lot of different styles on the album. Most of the songs remind me of a mix of Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, and a bit of singer/songwriter genre. Anyway, I love this song, and my 2nd favorite is definitely ‘At a Time’ that is super Smashing Pumpkins circa Melancholy & the Infinite Sadness which was my obsessive album for a full year when I was a teen.
Anyway, enough about my story, I want to share the lyrics I loved below, but I also want you to take a minute and follow them so they can take control of their pages! It will only take you a second if you’ve got accounts on these services, but if you don’t have accounts, and love music, there’s a bunch of free stuff on both of them to enjoy! Also, it would make James happy, and a happy James makes beautiful covers. <3
Get to know Arth & Arth!
- Follow them on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/4bMDRmpoSNq6h30jwk3i14
- Follow them on Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/user-928441607
PS – They’re actually donating all the proceeds from any sales of their album on either iTunes or Bandcamp to a UK homeless charity called ‘Shelter’. So if you like them, and you’ve got $5 lying around, just know you’re also supporting greatness.
OKAY! ON TO THE WONDERFUL LYRICS! (You can read them all here)
Already half way there and I stupidly realize,
The passenger seat is pushed forward.
I grasp the handle below giving,
Myself more leg room.
There is no one in the back.
You smile from the corner of your mouth,
You don’t say it: that I should learn to drive.
I feel You scream it with gentle, soft words:
Learn to drive.
Numbers on signs say miles are eaten.
Each minute we edge closer to our destination,
You and I.
And you are driving. You are the driver.
You drive me.
You drive me.
Estar.
Estar todo.
I left it in the glove box.
I left it in the glove box, my dear.
I wish I could have told you.
I wish I could have made it more clear.
‘Learn to Drive’ by Arth & Arth