Take Your Time

On the pace of consumption

A few days ago, as I was setting the dinner table and tidying the house, my phone cycled through a playlist followed by that never-ending stream of recommended tracks (mine have been great recently, thank god). I can’t recall when exactly but at some point I stopped dead in my tracks to really listen to what was coming through the speaker. Right off the bat I knew it was Blood Orange, who else could make the perfect ethereal-for-real life-moments music that he does. Though it sounded familiar in style I knew this track was one I hadn’t heard but a few times, if not less than that. When I finished my choreography of care and control I went over to see which Blood Orange song had played. I realized it was a track from his most recent album Essex Honey, which released late August last year. Back in that time I’d done a self-appointed due diligence listen through, but clearly it hadn’t struck me then in the way it was now.

My first reaction to this revelation, ridiculously in hindsight, was disappointment in myself. I couldn’t believe I’d missed out on adoring something I clearly love now. I’d fucked up and “slept on it”, as they say. Side note, I’m not sure when the last time I used that phrase was but I think I’m banning it from my vocabulary moving forward. I wasn’t a fan like I should have been. Real shame. From there I unsaved and re-saved the album resolving that I would listen through again and this time, I would be far less ignorant than I was before.

An evening or two later I was prepping to head out on my routinely walk around the neighborhood. Like I said in the last letter, I pick the music before I start walking to minimize contact with The Super Computer. Low and behold there was Essex Honey recently re-saved and ready to soundtrack my next forty-six minutes. While I don’t remember much of anything about my first listen through back in August, other than the fact that it was objectively great, it didn’t matter. This listen, from the first second to the last, felt transformative, reflective, eye-opening, and right on time. As I walked past familiar faces, speeding cars, old wise trees, and neighbors yards I felt more peace than I have in a long time. Some of it had to do with the state of mind I was in but the rest was Dev Hynes and his otherworldly gifting as an artist.

As I walked on further it dawned on me that this shift in reception was all attributed to timing. Not the timing of when the artist chose to release their work, but the timing in which I was ready to receive it. Last August I was searching for the place I feel that I’m in today—Far less burnt out, cynical, misplaced, and in-a-hurry. That moment in time was largely laced with burnout and I can’t recall enjoying much of anything outside of time with friends and movies. All the feelings surrounding “being late to” or “having slept on” this album fell void as I stepped into the perspective of taking my time with things.

This perspective is one I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over but struggle to implement for myself. I’ve always enjoyed participating in the discourse of things as they arrive in the zeitgeist, and missing out on doing so can feel isolating for me as ridiculous as that sounds. But, as the pace of everything ticks faster and faster, I find that I’m physically unable to both keep up with things and participate meaningfully. When I give my attention to everything available I don’t sink my teeth into any of it. Movies, albums, books, and TV shows become items on a checklist that runs longer than the life I have to live. To account for this I’ve resolved to let things come to me when they come to me. There’s no need to feel late to something especially in an age where there’s more than you could possibly be aware of. Take your time with consumption, be a year late if you need to. The purpose of consuming isn’t to say you did it, it’s to hopefully feel something and at the very least learn what does or does not move you.

Will the Blood Orange album lead you to the same space it led me to? Maybe not, although I do think you should listen to it soon whether for the first time or again. Either way, just take your time with it all. The right things will find you when they need to.

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