Day 13 - An Album That Feels Conversational
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
One of my favorite bands and albums. This one is a difficult listen most days, now. The entire album is quite literally a conversation from Scott to his ex-lover. Covering the full breadth of post-break-up emotions. From “I want you back” to “I don’t want you” to “don’t find someone new” to “remember the good times” to “I’ll find someone new” and, unfortunately, to “maybe I don’t want to live”.
It’s the penultimate song, Floating In The Forth, that makes this album the true gut-punch some 12 years after release. It’s less a triumphant song of overcoming suicidal thoughts, now, as it is a grim reminder that mental health is just as important as physical health and (even a decade later) the same intrusive thoughts can still be eating away at someone. In Scott’s own words, though, he was happy about that song because it was proof that he could get past those thoughts (for a time, at least), so I’ll celebrate it in that light as much as I can.
I’m going to add a portion of the Genius.com excerpt on this song because it resonated with me deeply when I read it:
“In an interview with Noisey, Scott Hutchison detailed that the band did not play Floating In The Forth regularly. However, during the 10th anniversary tour of Midnight Organ Fight, it was part of the set every night.
“It’s a real thing. It’s a real thought. It’s a thought that I’ve taken to a place that I’m far less comfortable with...I’ve gone 90% of the way through that song in real life. But, at the same time, it’s gratifying. It’s heartening to know that I’ve been through that, and I’m stood there performing that song, alive and feeling good about it”
10 years after the release of Floating in the Forth and less than a week after the Noisey interview was published, Scott Hutchison was found dead on the banks of the Firth of Forth”
