I discovered White Ladder the night before I left for Colgate. My sister wanted to buy me a CD as a parting gift before I left. We picked White Ladder because we both loved the song "Babylon" (Track 2), a song we had discovered thanks to the trailer for Serendipity. It was definitely one of those CD purchases when you buy the album for that one song. Unfortunately, people probably do this less these days thanks to iTunes; it's sad to think that in having one's desire satiated for one track -- the crown jewel -- the rest of the gems are seemingly discarded.For as much as I still love "Babylon," the entirety of White Ladder became the soundtrack of my freshman year. Although I'm certain the phrase "White Ladder" refers to something more significant, the sum of the album sounds like being on a ladder to me: there's something thrilling about the precarious vertical climb that's taking you from Point A to Point B. But for all of that this new perspective affords us, being on a ladder for too long is uneasy -- it's not comfortable, and before long, you either want to reach the top or climb to the bottom, to know that yes, your feet are on solid ground. And since that's what freshman year felt like to me, it's not to hard to figure out why it continuously played from move-in day to the much anticipated drive home. Even though White Ladder spanned the entire year for me, something still seems remarkably autumnal about it, that back-to-school feeling when everything is heady with the weight of transition. And thus, I rarely listen to it at other times of year. However, as I was contemplating our post-graduation state this past week, I felt compelled to listen to it as a sort of bookend.
1) Please Forgive Me
2) Babylon
3) My Oh My
4) We're Not Right
5) Nightblindness
6) Silver Lining
7) White Ladder
8) This Year's Love
9) Sail Away
10) Say Hello Wave Goodbye
11) Babylon II
