17 seconds of compassion
17 seconds of peace
17 seconds to remember love is the energy
Behind which all is created
17 seconds to remember all that is good
17 seconds to forget all your hurt and pain
17 seconds of faith
17 seconds to trust you again
17 seconds of radiance
17 seconds to send a prayer up
17 seconds is all you really need
This is the poem that was included in the liner notes for this song. The song is an instrumental thatâs literally 17 seconds long and I feel that the whole album needs to be listened to in order to fully take this last song in. Adore is about loss (the loss of a mother, the loss of a lover, the loss of friends and collaborators) and the process of carrying on. Corgan says in his poem that â17 seconds is all you really needâ to find that peace after loss, but is it really? What if more time is needed? 17 seconds is short. This song is short. The abrupt end is too jarring. Abrupt endings in life are too painful and it leaves you thinking, âWhat now?â Well, 17 seconds is all youâre going to get because life moves on. Shit hurts, but you have to move. on.
May 5, 2024
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Itâs such an uncompromising song, it tackles grief and the processing of it in a vulnerable but ultimately human way. The production (credit to Benjamin Booker & Kenny Segal) is unsettling but warm, like you know that it can only get better but you have to just sit and deal with the discomfort of your current situation in order to get there.
Thereâs a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ârappingâ is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of âI was only a dove, only in loveâ is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itâs a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsâ verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: âThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himâ or âLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openâ âAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.â Itâs so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itâs a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itâs uncomfortable and youâll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itâs purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Apr 13, 2025
my favorite ending for an album that i feel, is in large part, about the various modalities of longing and lament. it feels weary and wise, almost recollective like one might be at the end of a life. reminds me of a stanley kunitz poem đ
May 21, 2024
"And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
When we break, we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life"
Cue the waterworks, ol' Jeff Mangum tearing my heart out yet again. Perfect bow to wrap up the all-time-greatest.
May 6, 2024
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