a break in the action

i remember when i "got" pet sounds. i was listening to it on repeat while writing something stupid for school (college school). with my head phones blasting mono personified (as brian wilson intended) into my right ear, everything clicked as the tympani thud midway through "i'm waiting for the day" shot the song into the ozone. repeat. repeat. repeat. good. everything came into view.

anyhow, i finished "a farewell to arms" today during sixth period and had a similar experience. it is perfect. i've read most everything else noteworthy he'd written and generally dug it all. but man. serious. like a tympani thumping the beat of a dying woman sucking down ether while delivering a still born to a ungrateful deaf genius with his feet in the sand and his hands on the keys, vocals slurred, from grappa, brandy, and phil spector's voodoo curse; my mind was blown.