Pink Floyd's epic Echoes, at about 24 minutes long, is a great accompaniment for an invigorating power nap!
I love taking power naps, between 20-60 minutes long, and one fine day, I decided to take one while listening to the longest song I had in my iTunes library - at 23.5 minutes - Echoes.
This song is a real beast. Opens with shrill pings that seem to resonate from the edge of the universe. A slick rundown of the chords follows, so do the first four verses, which have a much earthly feel to them. They seem to talk about evolution - the stubbornness with which life survives, the interdependence with which it persists.
Again, seem is key here. After all this song has had several famous interpretations - that it paints a picture of life struggling to survive a massive tsunami (a la 2012); or that each minute of the song represents one hour of the day and each section of the song corresponds to moods felt during parts of the day (lazy mornings, dull afternoons, you know). People (frenetic fanatics rather) have noted how sections of the brilliant movie 2001: A Space Odyssey sync perfectly with the song. Eerie.
Okay, I drifted off a bit there. Back to our song: a guitar solo follows the verses, and this eases in beautifully to a funky groove (the sort that you bob your head to). It then leads into a rather strange section filled with guitar feedback. Feedback that sounds like a seagull in distress, or a whale. Gilmour the master at work. A rundown follows this controlled noise, and leads in to the final verses. The song ends with some calm guitars that fade out softly.
But ah, you'll say, what's this gotta do with the nap? As brilliant as the song is on its own, it has a charm to it, a magical spell that works its magic therapeutically. I've found myself sound asleep before the electronic seagull sounds come in (~ 10 min into the song) and quite awake at the end of the final verse (~21 min into the song). Waking up to the calm guitars that fade out the song gives me that feeling of being transported to a heavenly place. Unaware of where I am, what time it is or what I was doing before my nap. Fresh as a dew-covered flower that basks in the first rays of sunlight.
Pardon me for being dramatic, but the song's to blame for bringing out the dramatic in me. Pink Floyd have created a masterpiece here, one that I'm still learning to appreciate (due to its sheer length). They scarcely intended their song to be somebody's power nap accompaniment. But there you go, music touching souls in ways the artist hardly intended it to.
So if you're in the habit of power napping (or would like to give it a try), try a 24-minute nap while listening to Echoes. Do have an alarm on hand to stop you from oversleeping, though. Way to get re-energized to tackle the shit life hands you!
This song is a real beast. Opens with shrill pings that seem to resonate from the edge of the universe. A slick rundown of the chords follows, so do the first four verses, which have a much earthly feel to them. They seem to talk about evolution - the stubbornness with which life survives, the interdependence with which it persists.
Again, seem is key here. After all this song has had several famous interpretations - that it paints a picture of life struggling to survive a massive tsunami (a la 2012); or that each minute of the song represents one hour of the day and each section of the song corresponds to moods felt during parts of the day (lazy mornings, dull afternoons, you know). People (frenetic fanatics rather) have noted how sections of the brilliant movie 2001: A Space Odyssey sync perfectly with the song. Eerie.
Okay, I drifted off a bit there. Back to our song: a guitar solo follows the verses, and this eases in beautifully to a funky groove (the sort that you bob your head to). It then leads into a rather strange section filled with guitar feedback. Feedback that sounds like a seagull in distress, or a whale. Gilmour the master at work. A rundown follows this controlled noise, and leads in to the final verses. The song ends with some calm guitars that fade out softly.
Pardon me for being dramatic, but the song's to blame for bringing out the dramatic in me. Pink Floyd have created a masterpiece here, one that I'm still learning to appreciate (due to its sheer length). They scarcely intended their song to be somebody's power nap accompaniment. But there you go, music touching souls in ways the artist hardly intended it to.
So if you're in the habit of power napping (or would like to give it a try), try a 24-minute nap while listening to Echoes. Do have an alarm on hand to stop you from oversleeping, though. Way to get re-energized to tackle the shit life hands you!
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