As we struggle to gasp for the last remaining breaths of 2013, few certainties remain that remind us just how far the sailing ship of man has yet to trek. 1) People will continue to ignore their wailing car alarms at 4am, 2) that strengthening divide between wonder and disdain will persistently drift further apart and 3) if you don’t believe The Ice of Boston by The Dismemberment Plan to be the quintessential New Year’s Eve song, then you are the poster child for our collective lack of progress.
The Ice of Boston perfectly captures that self-reflecting social collapse that pits us squarely in the face of our central, unabashed core. There is no escaping this chamber of truth, and though the bulk of us spend a series of lifetimes attempting to ignore and dismiss our gut reactions, we seldom ever completely dissolve our issues by year’s end, and go along in celebrating another 365 steps closer to death. Sometimes it’s healthy to abandon hope with the ringing in of a new year, and sometimes our mental metamorphosis can create lucrative opportunities we may not have otherwise perceived.
The Plan never released The Ice of Boston on vinyl, which is indeed an unfortunate reality. The single off their 1997 album, The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified, The Ice of Boston EP (on compact disc) remains the sole release by the band on Interscope Records, and is without question a necessity amongst any serious music collector.
If you haven’t heard the track, make it numero uno on your 2014 list of overly-ambitious resolutions. You can find it easily enough on youtube or download it on iTunes for only $0.99. Whether you’re from the east coast of Sri Lanka or North America, the ice of wherever can, and usually will be dark and slippery.
Here’s to another goddamn new year!
The Prudent Groove 