Album: The Sound of Music
Year: 1987.
Please excuse me. I think that I said that a song other than “Looked at The Sun Too Long” was my favorite song from The Sound Of Music.
But I was clearly wrong. “Looked At The Sun Too Long” is yet another one of those Peter Holsapple songs that is a) about a relationship ending and b) sounds like a lost Chris Bell song.
And as such, it moves at a crawl, is full of strings and harmonies, and is on the short list of “Prettiest Song Ever Recorded (Power Pop Division).
With no warning at all, it just starts, with new bassist Jeff Beninato supporting Holsapple all the way:
Long time no see
You can chalk up the waiting in part to me
One plus one is three
I think I have looked at the sun too long
Forgotten the words to your favorite song
The part of me dealing with you has shut down
So please excuse me
“The part of me dealing with you has shut down.” Not vicious like “I don’t enjoy you anymore.” Not denial like “nothing is wrong.” But rather all about that amnesia you have to get when you’re dealing with a break-up. You forget the words to her favorite song, even though it seems to come on the radio so much more.
But it gets worse:
Back to square one
It feels like the good that we did’s been undone
Objectivity
The insight is when my sight is killing me
I overreact at the drop of a hat
I’m nervous, I guess you know about that
So please excuse me
Please excuse me
Long time no see
In the end, with the guitars sadly ringing and what I’m assuming is Van Dyke Parks (he’s got a credit on the album and this would make the most sense) making his synth sound like a refugee from Sister Lovers, and Will Rigby never even once upping the tempo, a couplet like “I overreact at the drop of a hat / I’m nervous, I guess you know about that” felt like it was written exactly for what I was going through at the time.
Of course, all of that was a very long time ago, and now when I hear “Looked At The Sun Too Long,” it’s really more about the sadly beautiful affect of the whole thing than anything else.
Video for “Looked At The Sun Too Long”