Aurora's Blog

What does that mean? That means the band Train – I’m on board!

I’ve been meaning to tell you forever how much I’m loving Train, but I kept getting distracted talking about half marathons or something silly like that.

As you may have seen, somewhere around three half marathons ago, I was driving around a lot. I drove all around Seattle and the surrounding areas for a few days. I drove to Santa Barbara and Malibu before that.

I don’t own a car. I’m not big on driving.

When I do drive, I’ll scan the radio for a while. Oftentimes I find a station playing rad older music. I’m happy to leave it on a station where I can sing along with the Temptations, or belt out Midnight Train to Georgia.

However, in the more recent trips… I don’t know what happened, but I kept landing on more contemporary stations.

There are so many songs out there that weren’t on my radar at all! So many. Where have I been?

And then I heard it. My newest jam. “My heart is paralyzed.” What a great opening line for a song.

The chorus goes over all the lies this guy is gonna make up about ways his girlfriend died. (That will spare him from the shame of telling all his friends she broke up with him.)

How cool and inventive and fun is this concept in song form? And how did no one think to write this song before? How did I never think of it?

One of my favorite lines is “got run over by a crappy purple Scion.” What? Who came up with that line? Who’s thinking about Scions? I absolutely love it! Thank you Pat Monahan, Espen Lind, and Amund Bjorklund (co-writers of this song).

(Never mind that Scion doesn’t technically rhyme with lion ’cause the vowel sounds are different at the end of the words. Not need to get hung up on that. They’re not in some strict songwriting program (that I hope to be in someday (BMI, I’m coming for you)). These writers are allowed to rhyme whatever they want with whatever they want.

Once I heard the song on the radio, I knew I absolutely must have it. I looked it up the next time I stopped the car. (It’s called “50 Ways to Say Goodbye.”) Lo and behold, it was a Train song! I was pretty flabbergasted.

The same people who did “Drops of Jupiter,” “Soul Sister,” and “Meet Virginia”? (Not precisely the same people, because various band members have changed throughout the years, but still – same band.) I feel as though Train’s sound is constantly evolving.

I know that when I first heard “One More Night” by Maroon 5 (six months after everyone else heard it), I said I enjoyed the fact that when you hear a Maroon 5 song, you know it’s a Maroon 5 song. (Although, I will say I think that’s attributed to Adam Levine’s voice more than anything else. Maroon 5’s sound has changed throughout albums.) However, I find it just as lovable that you just never know when it’s going to be a Train song!

While we’re already talking about Train, I might as well go on to say that another one of the things I love about Train is that I feel like its never mattered what they look like. (Nobody looks bad, but I don’t think it’s what they’re cashing in on.)

So many musicians have a career that revolves around their looks (and their age). And I totally get it. It’s part of the game, and fame, and all that. But with Train, that’s never been their big selling point.

Going to the age thing, Pat Monahan (lead singer) didn’t start having success until he was around 30. (Even those beginnings were with a self-produced album. (Note: This was something like 14 years ago, so it wasn’t as easy to self produce.))

Pat Monahan now 43 years old, and he has one of the best pop songs currently on the radio.

“Age and traditional fame rules be darned! Don’t mind us. We’re Train and we’re just gonna be awesome in whatever way we choose to be awesome, whenever we choose to do so. Thanks kindly, public.”

I am on the Train train. And I hope they are working, and are popular, for as long as they want to be.