On the first part of the journey

I was looking at all the life

There were plants and birds and rocks and things

There was sand and hills and rings

The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz

And the sky with no clouds

The heat was hot and the ground was dry

But the air was full of sound

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

After two days in the desert sun

My skin began to turn red

After three days in the desert fun

I was looking at a river bed

And the story it told of a river that flowed

Made me sad to think it was dead

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

After nine days I let the horse run free

'Cause the desert had turned to sea

There were plants and birds and rocks and things

There was sand and hills and rings

The ocean is a desert with its life underground

And a perfect disguise above

Under the cities lies a heart made of ground

But the humans will give no love

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name

It felt good to be out of the rain

In the desert you can remember your name

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

2008 is when Missy Higgins finally showed up on my radar. Aussies seem to have a tough time finding success in the U.S., at least when it comes to debut albums.

"The Sound of White"

Like a freeze-dried rose, you will never be

What you were, what you were to me in memory

But if I listen to the dark, you'll embrace me like a star

Envelop me, envelop me

If things get real for me down here

Promise to take me to before you went away

If only for a day

If things get real for me down here

Peomise to take me back to the tune we played

Before you went away

And if I listen to the sound of white

Sometimes I hear your smile and breathe your light

If I listen to the sound of white

You're my mystery, one mystery, my mystery, one mystery...

But at that point I was young and fresh to notice music and everything it could create. At that point I was using a cheap black MP3 player from Electronics Express, with an equally cheap pair of headphones that cut out if you kinked them a certain way. I rode back and forth to town in my grandma's Ford Explorer with the headphones in and my seatbelt clinging to me. And I played Cave In, by Owl City, on repeat. Maybe it was the subtly sarcastic irony of the lyrics, or maybe it was the funky late-2000s electronic sound, but me and my newly discovered music taste couldn't get enough of Adam Young.