#truly that video of him telling gary to slow down. beautiful.

[player1064]

small little tiny gary and his captain on my mind today

#truly that video of him telling gary to slow down. beautiful. #plus bonus vintage keano and wrighty :)) #gary neville #roy keane

[willowvinyl]

RED - Taylor Swift | Track Ranking

Album: RED

Artist: Taylor Swift

Label: Big Machine Records

Year: 2012

Speed: 33 rpm

No. of Songs: 16

This is one of those reviews I may be judged for by some, but it doesn’t matter, because this album is fantastic in pretty much every respect, and ranking each song will be incredibly difficult.

Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album isn’t the most cohesive album she’s ever produced in terms of genre or style, but very alike when taking into consideration tone and theme. Below are my rankings for best to least best—because, in my opinion, none of these tracks are “worst.”

1. “State of Grace” — In terms of lyrics, I think this song has the best. Which, for this particular album, is saying a lot. It leads into the vocals-strong first verse with an almost U2-like drum intro. Between this, Swift’s powerful and unwavering vocals, and pure craftsmanship on everything from lyrics to production, this is the best song on the album. Best lyric: “Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right.”

2. “Holy Ground” — I would say this one nearly tied for first place. It’s lyrics are flawless and the music from the synths to the trademark acoustic guitar is just as perfect. It’s a well-written, poignant song about the best parts of a relationship that’s passed. Best lyric: “Tonight I’m gonna dance for all that we’ve been through, but I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you.”

3. “All Too Well” — Another song that could have been in first place, and heralded as her best song ever by many. Slowed down from the previous two, it tells the story of a relationship from start to finish, where Taylor remembers the good times just as much as the bad. Very simplistic in its instrumentation, it shines on the bridge with the vocals. Best lyric: “You called me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest.”

4. “Treacherous” — The verses in this song are some of my favorite things she’s ever written. Taylor truly shows her vulnerability in this piece, saying she’ll go to any length for this relationship. Best lyric: “All we are is skin and bone trained to get along, forever going with the flow, but you’re friction.”

5. “Sad Beautiful Tragic” — This song is on 99% of my playlists, even if I’m sharing it, because I like it that much, and I think other people will too. The lyrics are really special and reminiscent of a relationship that fell apart but had its magic moments. Her vocals are very low and bare, but it works with the gist of the song and it couldn’t have been done better. Best lyric: “You’ve got your demons, and darling, they all look like me.”

6. “The Lucky One” — This is a different type of song about an unknown celebrity from the start of her career to the unfortunate end. It’s very meta and sage from Taylor’s point of view—she started to get jaded. But she still had to reference her lucky number, 13, both in the times she says “lucky” and in the track number—such an Easter Egg Queen. Best lyric: “They tell you that you’re lucky, but you’re so confused cuz you don’t feel pretty, you just feel used.”

7. “Begin Again” — This song makes me a little sad, even though it’s meant to be hopeful, and that’s because of the things she had ingrained in her from her last relationship. But she made it out and wrote this beauty. Best lyric: “You’d throw your head back laughing like a little kid; I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny cuz he never did.”

8. “Red” — The title track (obviously). I hate that it’s seemingly so far down on this list, but it is what it is. This is a song full of similes, comparing a past relationship to being bright like autumn leaves—until they all fall and die. Best lyric: “Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong.”

9. “Everything Has Changed” (feat. Ed Sheeran) — The duet’s first collab (but not their last) was a sweet little dive into love at first sight. It’s a cute song with an even cuter music video. Best lyric: “Come back and tell me why I’m feeling like I’ve missed you all this time.”

10. “Stay Stay Stay” — SUCH a cute song. According to Taylor, it’s a song about the perfect relationship that she hoped to have one day. The ukulele and the claps in the instrumentation just sum up its peppiness; it’s just so cheeky and cute. Best lyric: “All those times that you didn’t leave, it’s been occurring to me, I’d like to hang out with you for my whole life.”

11. “The Last Time” (feat. Gary Lightbody) — I feel kind of bad because I always almost forget this song. It’s a sad, slow song with a big string section and good harmonies. Best lyric: “You wear your best apology, but I was there to watch you leave.”

12. “I Almost Do” — One of her last true country songs. It’s a sweet song about almost reaching out to call the one who you still love, but knowing it’s best not to. Best lyric: “I bet it never, ever occurred to you that I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye.”

13. “I Knew You Were Trouble.” — Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know this song, whether it be the actual version or the goat-dubbed version. But it really does have its merits in its lyricism. It was Taylor’s first real try in pop music, and in my opinion, it was successful. Best lyric: “No apologies, he’ll never see you cry, pretend he doesn’t know that he’s the reason why you’re drowning.”

14. “Starlight” — This is a cute song written for and about Ethel Kennedy after Taylor met the famous American while dating Conor Kennedy. It has a very nostalgic, American Dream type feel to it, as well as a Bubblegum Pop-y vibe. Best lyric: “He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me, don’t you see the starlight, don’t you dream impossible things?”

15. “22” — I really do appreciate this song for what it is: a celebration of being in your early twenties. It captures the restless energy that I know at least I’ve experienced, as well as all the possibilities that being twenty-two holds. Plus, it’s catchy as hell. Best lyric: “We’re happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way, it’s miserable and magical.”

16. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — It’s not that I don’t like this lead single, it’s just that every other song on the album is better than this one, in my opinion. However, it does have its merits, and I do appreciate the girl-power and sass behind it. Best lyric: “I’m really gonna miss you picking fights, and me falling for it, screaming that I’m right.”

Like I acknowledged before, it may be that you’re not a Taylor Swift fan, but I honestly believe it when I say that there’s something on here for everybody. Plus, that red-lipped cover is iconic. Give it a shot, have a listen!

#taylorswift #red #swiftie #wanegbt #vinyl #33 rpm #records #vinyljunkie #vinyllove #music #swifties #swift

[grimelords]

​My October playlist is finished, please enjoy it. From 14 minute 70s acoustic guitar instrumentals, Armand Van Helden bangers and Christian music I’ve had a lot of feelings about this playlist has it all in four hours.

Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats: Posting on the web about Mountain Goats songs you've had a moment with is about as universal as it gets, so here's mine for this month. I woke up one morning with the line about Sonny Liston in my head one day after not listening to this song in years. John Darnielle is perhaps the only person on earth I'd trust to write a song about Kurt Cobain's suicide and he does a very simple and beautiful job of it here. Ben's My Friend - Sun Kil Moon: I discovered Sun Kil Moon way after I probably should have via that guy who was doing parody songs of him last year. This song is fantastic because it takes so long to make its point, and like so much good art is just some middle aged guy recounting his every thought and movement for four minutes. You Were Meant For Me - Jewel: I was trying to remember how Dreams by Fleetwood Mac went and all I could think of was this song, and settled on singing it to myself instead. Sober - Lorde: Sorry to be a normie but listening to Lorde break down this song on an episode of Song Exploder was incredibly good and it definitely made me appreciate the way the brass sounds a lot more. Melodrama really does get better and better as a cohesive whole the more I listen to it. Night Moves - Bob Seger: We as a society need to bring back Power Voice I think. I've been obsessed with this song for months now and as far as I can tell Bob Seger has precisely zero other good songs, which is unfortunate because this one is so good. This also is another song about getting the Lamenting Night Hornies because you heard a thunderstorm that reminded you of the times in your youth that you Fucked and it's, in my opinion, very beautiful. Cairo - San Fermin: This is on the list not only because it's a good song but also unfortunately because of Podasts. San Fermin guested on an episode of Improv4humans and got absolutely roasted about this song so I highly recommend the ep. UFO - Sneaky Sound System: It's unfortunate that Sneaky Sound System's highest played song according to Spotify is the Nicolas Jaar remix of Big (an all time top ten piece of music) because it's really overshadowed the rest of their incredibly good singles. Do you remember 2006? What a time to be alive. UFO (Van She Tech Remix) - Sneaky Sound System: This is my absolute pick of the month and I have been raving to everyone who'll listen but nobody cares, I cannot get enough of it. Do you remember when Justice came from France to bless us all with the secret of bass and we betrayed them by inventing Skrillex not three years later? Van She remember. Charlie Chazz & Rappin Ralph - Duck Sauce: I believe there is a real argument to be made that any song that doesn't refer to the listeners collectively as Party People is absolutely worthless. Duck Sauce's album is a completely underrated classic in my opinion, it's a go-to mood elevator from beginning to end and for some reason has a subplot thoughout about aliens transmitting coded messages to influence human evolution, which is a big thumbs up from me. I Took Your Picture - Cults: Guess what Cults are still really really good. I haven't given this album enough time yet but this bassline has invaded my dreams so that's a good sign. Pavement - City Calm Down: The way this layers and builds into and through the chorus is so satisfying. I love this sort of thick synth production and the contrast between the different registers of his voice is so satisfying as the chorus comes back again. Pogo - Digitalism: Australian electronic music had a real moment around 2007 between Digitalism, Van She, The Presets, Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy and all them and I'm realising retrospectively that it was very, very good. Semicircle Song - The Go! Team: The world's best band are back and their new album isn't out until fucking January! This song features big horns and a bridge that's just a montage of children telling you their star sign so that's how you know it's good. The Garden's All Nighters - The Number Twelve Looks Like You: It's a real shame that #12 broke up after this album because it feels like they were really on the edge of something. Over 4 albums they morphed from a straight ahead grind band into some sort of math-prog thing approaching it from a whole different direction to everyone else. I love the idea of writing such an expansive, complex song seemingly just about living in New Jersey. The way it transitions into the groovy latin part is so nice and the solo is just beautiful; and unlike other bands in the same sort of sector they never make a joke of genre switches either, they just keep moving forward with a smile. Paris/Orly - Deux: I forget how I first came across this album but it’s easily the wankiest thing I absolutely love. An 80s French synthpop duo that only ever released a cassette and some singles that got reissued by a label called Minimal Wave a few years ago. It is absolutely the best. New wave mixed with Kraftwerk and synthpop except incredibly french and cool as well. I constantly have their song Game And Performance in my head but this one was my obsession this month. Walking Into Sunshine (Larry Levan 12" Mix) - Central Line: There’s something very authentic about disco songs that are lyrically all about working all week all day every day, and desperately needing a break to perhaps, dance your worries away in a new york discotheque. Cradle In The Crater - The Number Twelve Looks Like You: This is maybe my favourite #12 song because it appears to be about some kind of super child who came from space and perhaps wrought havoc on the citizens of earth, but told in a very real and emotional way like it’s a story about someone they really knew. It reminds me of Mother 3 and the good times I had as a teen playing that game with my best friend, so that’s an added bonus. Under The Ice (Extended Version) - Topo & Roby: Italo disco forever. This song is a duet between a woman and a robot where they relay the story of him coming from a distant planet in a spaceship and crashing on the north pole then getting trapped under the titular ice where he waits to I think murder me. Now that I think of it it’s world similar to Cradle In The Crater. It sounds so good, far better than a novelty song like this has any right to. There’s also a video with someone’s 80s mum dancing with an incredibly shit robot on youtube if you’re interested. Outta The Woodwork - Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: I really love the covers they chose for this album because they both really make it their own. Outta The Woodwork really sounds like a Kurt song now and I love the strong piano giving the song the harder edge the lyrics deserve and Kurt just lazily soloing to hell any chance he gets Peepin' Tom - Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: I think I almost like this version more than the original, making it just an acoustic thing but still keeping all the dynamics of the original is so nice. I love specifically the deep bass voice of ‘peepin’ to the high ‘tom’. It satisfies something weird in my brain. Mercury (12" Version) - Bloc Party: I can’t believe i’ve lived this long without ever knowing that there was a 12” version of Mercury out there. The song I always felt was way too short to contain the amount of energy it has has a 7 minute version that well and truly lays it out into a slow intense burn instead. Electric Feel (Justice Remix) - MGMT: Just to get my 2007 opinions straight Electric Feel is not a good song. Kids is a good song but Electric Feel isn’t. That said: this remix comes damn close to making it good. Justice figured out the secret sound and we’re all the better for it. Comin' Apart - Gary Wright: There’s no greater joy than tracking down a sample and finding out that the original song is also a banger. This pairs extremely well with My My My as a sort of extended intro. My My My - Armand Van Helden: I posted that playlist a couple weeks ago of songs mid-2000s bangers with extremely horny videos and this is a highlight from that. I'm always amazed with how much mileage great producers can get out of a relatively straightforward sample because this hums along for almost 7 minutes and only gets better. Laser Life - The Blood Brothers: The Blood Brothers are one of the few bands that scratch the brain itch I have for totally bonkers Mars Volta markov chain lyrics phrases like 'Oh dream machine I'm a pound of flesh inside a drum machine dream'. They're also the only band I think that can get away with having this sort of cabaret swing feel in a song with a lot of screaming and not have it be absolutely unbearable. Camouflage, Camouflage - The Blood Brothers: Where a lot of The Blood Brothers early songs were just chaotic bursts, they have a few songs that spread out into a long multi movement ideas culminating in very good final lines like 'I couldn't see the love and affection it was camouflaged as a jungle of erections, and I couldn't see the skeletal lightning it was camouflaged as a young machete' 16 Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford: The mistake people make in covering this song is trying to match the extremely grim lyrics to the music, but this version succeeds exactly because it's on some upbeat Frank Sinatra shit with the clarinet refrain sounding like a children's song while still being very much about dying face down in the dirt from arsenic poisoning. Take This Hammer - Leadbelly: On the other hand you have a song like Take This Hammer from a guy who really worked on a chain gang complete with involuntary WAH sounds to time your hammer strikes to, and it's still so much more upbeat and positive musically than it has any right to be looking at the lyrics. San Francisco - Foxygen: There's something about the chorus of this song, and they way the phrases of the two voices line up where if it gets stuck in your head it just goes around and around and around forever and it is absolutely maddening so I thought I'd share that with you all. El Manana (Metronomy Remix) - Gorillaz: This remix reminds me of Studio to a degree with the way it just moves forward with no regard for regular structure. It's gutsy to remix a song and somehow restructure it so the chorus doesn't even sound like it's the chorus anymore but just another small part in a slowly winding up machine. Monkey Gone To Heaven - The Pixies: The way he's screaming that GOD IS SEVEN in this song I feel like if Black Francis hadn't made it in music he'd be running a very successful incomprehensible conspiracy website. This is a song I can get very lyrically involved in when I'm in certain moods, nodding my head like the creature in the sky DID get sucked in a hole and now there's a hole in the sky, and we're all in trouble because of it. Cannonball - The Breeders: I like this song because it feels like everyone in the band is working on their own unique structure. The clean guitar especially just comes and goes at will through the whole song, the lyrics start whenever, the rhythm guitar just keeps strumming along. It all comes together for the chorus and then they just go their own separate ways until it's chorus time again. S.A.D. - Kirin J Callinan: The production on this song just amazes me, especially as it moves into the later choruses the sheer weight of the chords is just crazy. The barest suggestion of guitars chugging in the background but blending into the huge synths chords. Combined with the vocals it's the most threatening pop song I've ever heard. Wrapped up in plastic thrown down the stairs feeling fantastic. Water Coast Blues - Honeyboy Edwards: I feel like Honeyboy Edwards has gotten a raw deal from history. When he died most of his obitaries made a big point of how he was one of the last living people to know Robert Johnson personally. Which is an important detail but it overshadows Edwards contributions in his own right as a guitarist and songwriter who had a 70 year career. The album this recording's from is a really good compilation that gives an overview of his whole career, mixed with interviews with Edwards and Alan Lomax that are just amazing. Anyway just listen to the playing on this song because it is incredible. The bass figure he switches into when he says 'when I had money'? Phenomenal. Another Leather Lung - The Sound Of Animals Fighting: The Sound Of Animals Fighting was a supergroup of a bunch of guys from RX Bandits/Chiodos/Circa Survive and bands like that coming together in animal masks to make the most pretentious band possible at the time. There's a lyrics on one of their other songs where he sings 'the artist! the true manifestation of struggle!' which is quite good. But outside of that they did make some very good music and the second half of this song where it takesoff is really something. Bone Machine - The Pixies: It's amazing Black Francis hasn't been linked to a string of murders in the mid 80s honestly. This whole song feels like evidence. Also the way he says 'I was talking to peachy peach about kissy kiss.. [incredibly long, awkward silence] ... he bought me a soda. he bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot hep hep hep hep' is perhaps the most amazing verse ever. Stomping Tonight On The Pennsylvania/Alabama Border - John Fahey: This is John Fahey's best song and I've listened to it probably 4 times a week for the last 4 years. It is quite honestly an eternal mood. Ares - Bloc Party: War! War! War! War! I love the guitar in this, because it's just textural noisemaking more than anything else and mixed with the vocal manipulations in the chorus it's just absolute chaos. It's such a shame that everyone in Bloc Party either left the band or had their brain removed after this album because between this, Mercury and Talons it was truly an incredible moment. Special Rider Blues - John Fahey: I can't believe I only found out this month about John Fahey covering Skip James, and even that it took me this long for me to listen to the full version of his America album. Mark 1:15 - John Fahey: I also learned that on account of cds only holding 80 minutes of music, this 14 minute reissue version of Mark 1:15 is 2 minutes shorter than the original vinyl version and I'm completely riled up about it and demanding a second, definitive reissue to restore them. Regardless, this song is an absolute masterpiece and when it switches into the portion of When The Springtime Comes again about three quarters of the way through it's just amazing. Swim - Nicolas Jaar: Here's another quite long and involved piece of music from the other side of the spectrum. It has a very similar feeling to Mark 1:15 really, so if you liked that persevere through this. It's taken me such a long time to get around to listening to Nymphs for some reason but I'm glad I finally gave it a shot because this song especially is a real masterwork. Crimes - The Blood Brothers: A third Blood Brothers song for you, If you didn't like the other two there's a chance you'll like this one because it's much more sedate. This song is also a good first Blood Brothers song because the way the second vocalist sounds when he finally turns up is really funny if you're not expecting it. This is another on the long list of songs I seem to just always have in my head and sing to myself when I'm walking around. NRG - Duck Sauce: Are you ready for the most powerful 12 minutes of your life? It's the entirety of the NRG single by Duck Sauce. I like to think of it as a purposeful multi-movement work rather than a song and two remixes because that's what it feels like. Starting out we have the original, incredible instant power of NRG. NRG (Skrillex, Kill The Noise, Milo & Otis Remix) - Duck Sauce: and next we have the absolute peak of the work, the fever pitch. See if you can guess which part Skrillex was responsible for. I love the addition of miscellaneous woos and yeahs among the already busy main riff, I absolutely love the bass which sounds like some kind of steel drum pulled down four octaves. I love the distortion on the vocals in the second half as it slowly gives you time to catch your breath. NRG (Hudson Mohawk Remix) - Duck Sauce: The we move into the comedown, the HudMo contribution where the drums somehow sound like they're coming from next door like the party has passed you by and moved on to enliven your neighbours. I love the snare building and then splitting into triplets like it's going to drop before the peace of the synth gives way to the rolling thunder drums hafway in. On The Other Hand Baby - Etta Baker: I don't know what to say about Etta Baker. She's incredible and it's an absolute shame that she didn't really get recorded until she was about 70. This album was recorded when she was about 92 and her playing is still amazing. Crucible - Sleigh Bells: You have to give Sleigh Bells credit for still going strong four albums in if nothing else. Somewhere along the line they adopted this sort of corny rock chick thing that wasn't really there in their first album and I think it works against them but I really can't get enough of the instrumental of this song. The distorted brass and string amongst everything else especially. I feel like there's a much better song buried in here somewhere but I'll take what I can get. Pirate Blues - As Cities Burn: As Cites Burn are another good example of a metalcore band absolutely mellowing out into a indie rock band over the course of three albums, and the result Hell Or High Water has turned out to be one if my favourites of all time. This song especially is an obsession, and I love a band having the sense to no longer make metalcore, but learning enough from it to take a song to a a huge crescendo when they need to like this one does. Timothy - As Cities Burn: Between As Cities Burn, mewithoutYou and a couple of other christian bands I was very nearly converted in highschool and it still informs a lot of my uh theistic thought in a strangely unembarrassing way. This song, from their second album where they were sort of caught between their metalcore origins and the full fleshed indie rock of Hell Or High Water is one of their best. Yelling at god about your dead friend is a massive thing to write a song about but it's done so well and it builds and builds before dissolving into a sparse, thoughtful solo for a good six minutes into a beautiful ending.

listen here

#playlists

[the-dragonwriter]

Fox Glacier

Today, Dad and I hopped in the car and drove to Fox Glacier. Sounds easy, right? HAH! Not so much. First of all, Fox Glacier is literally on the other side of the country from Christchurch (okay, so it’s a narrow country, but still). Secondly, in order to cross the entire country, you must go through a range of imposing, though breathtakingly gorgeous, mountains on a windy little two-lane highway whilst driving on the wrong side of the road. Wheeeee!

*unclenches white-knuckled fingers*

But no, really, the trip was just fine. It started off by us getting completely lost, which under most circumstances is not unusual for me. However, I take some special pride in the fact that I was able to get lost despite having the GPS! I had programmed the Garmin to take us to Fox Glacier, and at first it appeared to actually be doing so. However, not long after we got out of Christchurch, the Garmin lost its little mind and started taking trips without us. It put us in the wrong position on the map…it told us to take roads that weren’t there…it continued to move the little animated car along the little animated roads even after we had stopped. Dad speculated that we had entered a multi-dimensional anomaly and the GPS just couldn’t figure out where we were. We had a few turnabouts and false starts, and eventually had to admit we were lost. So we found a largish road and a petrol station to ask directions. By a TOTAL freak accident we found ourselves on the right road after all (really, neither of us could take credit for that), so we piled back in our rental car (named Hesperus II, for chillingly apparent reasons) and made our way to Fox Glacier. The drive was indescribably beautiful. East of the mountains was fairly dry and brown—not a lot of color and very little green.

We climbed into the mountains, navigating the hairpin turns and chicanes fairly easily by now, though still often startled when a wee car popped up and zoomed past us on the right. We made our way to Arthur’s Pass (pictures to come as soon as I download them from my camera), over one-lane bridges and behind cascading waterfalls, and started down the far side of the mountains. Suddenly…New Zealand became lush and green, a dense rainforest of tangled ferns and strange trees that looked a tad Dr. Seussian in form and color.

A mist hung just over the tips of the peaks, and it was truly one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. We made it to the coastline, turned south, and proceeded to glacier country.

Fox Glacier Village is pretty much what you’d expect—a very small hamlet built to accommodate a large number of tourists. But the people running the tours and guides were extremely funny and friendly and fun to talk to. Our guide, Gary, was a young, slim man with a friendly face and a sweet smile, which he showed to us a lot. He was going to take us to the glacier itself and tell us all about it. I was a little worried about the hike, since we would be going over rocks and scree and streams and whatnot, so he gave me a walking stick, which made the whole thing much easier. We changed into hiking boots, met the rest of our group (a very nice family from Bristol), put on our jackets and set out.

The walk was lovely, and not too difficult. We were able to walk up quite close to the glacier, but not on it—which was all right with me. The glacier had a HUGE cave mouth at the bottom, and I could see where some ice had fallen from it to the ground.

Gary explained to us that the ice was constantly moving—advancing, retreating, melting, feeding the river that flowed by our feet. He told us stories of ice avalanches that blocked the river for a time, and then the surges of water that followed once the river broke through the barrier. He actually went down to the river and retrieved two large pieces of glacier ice for us to touch and feel. It was a really neat thing to handle and touch. I took a gazillion pictures of the glacier, the mountains, the waterfalls, the river…but then our attention was diverted back to the ice cave mouth. A small trickle of rock had fallen from one of the upper ledges and it was causing some excitement amongst the gathered viewers. As we watched, we saw cracks form in the ice along the side and the top of the cave mouth. Gary laughed and said, “If you’re lucky, you might get to see a piece fall off. I’ve only seen that maybe half a dozen times all the times I’ve been doing this.” So we watched and we waited. For a long time, nothing seemed to happen. Then…suddenly…a large crack appeared along the top of the mouth, and it grew across the length of the ledge. In the next breath, an enormous chunk of ice—it must have weighed tons and tons—broke off and fell to the earth.

I screamed and pointed at it, and everyone turned to look. It seemed to fall in slow motion, as if it lived in a world with a different concept of time than my own. I knew that it looked slow because it was falling from such a great distance, but the effect was still incredible. Then it hit the ground, and a resounding “BOOOOOOM!!” reverberated through the moraine. I could feel it in my chest as it echoed off the mountainsides. It’s always impressive when Nature shows just how powerful she is. But she wasn’t done yet. More cracks appeared, and now it looked like the whole ledge was ready to come down. We stayed as long as we could, hoping it would fall, but eventually Gary said we had to turn back. So we started the long return hike back to the bus, but before we had gone twenty yards, another shout alerted us to some movement. Another chunk of ice had fallen. Then another…and then the mantle of the cave mouth completely collapsed, dropping thousands of tons of ice into the river.

It was an incredible sight. And, just as Gary had told us, the river slowed and lowered, blocked by the new deposit of ice at her feet. At this point, the guides began ushering people out of the valley much more quickly…because once the surge began, nothing was going to stop it. We made our way to high ground and stopped to watch.

The surge began slowly and picked up speed. Each white roll of water tumbled over itself in an effort to overtake its neighbor, and the waters rushed back into the riverbed as it broke through the barrier of ice. It carried huge chunks of ice with it, and it tossed enormous boulders around as if they were juggler’s beanbags. Eventually the spate quieted and the river went back to its customary meandering, but the face of the glacier had been changed forever. I figured that of all the days and all the tours we could have taken—that was the right one. One of the young men in our group actually managed to video the last fall of ice—the biggest one—on his iPhone. I gave him my email address and asked him to send it to me, so as soon as I get it, I will post it here for you to see.

Chattering excitedly, we made our way back. I was quite grateful for my walking stick—and the kindly helping hands from Gary and my dad—as I made my way back over wobbly stones and mud-slicked trails. Tomorrow we drive back to Christchurch and the next new adventure will begin.