I spent my nineteenth year in San Diego, living pretty much alone (in the room the size of a small walk-in closet), with no friends or contact with people outside of work. It was lonely, and as I get older I look back and realize that it made me a little nuts. I discovered a lot of music in this period, though, and one band was XTC.

I had a huge crush on this partially deaf girl I worked with named Sarah (one of many Sarahs in my life, but that rings true for anybody: pretty sure there's a reason love interests in the media are always named Sarah, it's such a common name). She rocked dual hearing aids and we made a nice team at the hospital I worked at: if she didn't understand something someone said, she would just look at me and I would repeat it loudly and clearly. I consider this a skill, now, since I would often repeat things I wasn't even listening to. Not that I can pay partial attention to anything these days and retain it at all.

I would drive to work, hearing this song, and it would give me hope that some day I'd take her out with me somewhere and maybe hold hands or something. I'm not sure why. It's just a reflection of my lunacy at the time. I never even made a proper move on her. It's OK: I later learned that she had hairy legs and had a boyfriend she never told anybody about in the whole year I was subtly making passes at her. I ended up sleeping with my supervisor instead.

Apple Venus, as an album, is lush and vibrant, almost too much so. (Look forward to "Easter Theatre" come that time of the year.) Any time this song, or any others from the album, come on in my car, I skip them if other people are present. I don't assume anyone would want to hear anything other than XTC's 80's output, and even then, not quite sure.

Point: Andy Partridge has the best (living) voice in music, so I decree. It's a shame he's turning into an old hermit who doesn't record normal music that normal people can listen to anymore.