Ritual: Record

One way to get in the moment is to put on a favorite record and let the rest of the world fade away. We asked our Marketing Director, Jocelyn, to tell us what album goes perfectly with a cup of Spiritus coffee. She reserves the right to change her answer/s at any time. (Also, if this is something you’d like to contribute to, email us at info@spirituscoffee.com!)

Album: Change Everything
Artist: Del Amitri
Year: 1992

Tell us a bit about Del Amitri:
They’re a band from Glasgow, Scotland. Like a few bands I adore, they are most known for a one-hit wonder (“Roll To Me”) that doesn’t come close to being their best song. But like the other bands (Semisonic, Fountains of Wayne), most people would jump at the chance to write a song that is as good as a song that isn’t even Del Amitri’s best.

You’ve picked this album for a reason – what about it lends itself to “sipping in the moment?”
This is an album that I can (and have, hundreds of times) listen to all the way through, start to finish, no skips, no breaks. It’s an album that has some up-tempo songs, but even those follow along the album’s themes of heartbreak and jealousy and romance gone wrong. You know, super positive music [laughter]. But, because I can just start it and let it go, I can take a moment to zone out or write in my journal or take a walk to it — all things that keep me in the present.

How did you come across it?
I worked at my college radio station from 1991-1993, so I was exposed to so many things I had never encountered before. WONC (89.1 FM out of Naperville) was known for the “Finest of the classics and the best of the new,” but this was when “Alternative” was just starting to make an appearance. We’d play the Grateful Dead and Neil Young along with Billy Joel and James Taylor — and quickly adding another wide variety with Nirvana and Indigo Girls and Teenage Fanclub and King Missile and … Del Amitri. I fell in love right away.

Are there any specific memories that you think of when you hear a song from this record?
I think of late nights at the station and situations in college that mirrored several of the songs on the record. I think of my own first heartbreak, and countless times at Double Door seeing the band live.

What’s your favorite track?
Woof. I think all of them are fantastic, but I’d say two are tied for first: “Be My Downfall” and “Always the Last to Know.”

If you had three songs by this artist from any album to send to a friend who was totally unfamiliar – what would they be?
Definitely “Be My Downfall” from Change Everything, “Kiss this Thing Goodbye” from Waking Hours, and “Tell Her This” from Twisted.

Where do you listen (room, atmosphere, what-have-you)?
Good question. Normally, in the house, but I think I’m going to listen in the car next time I take a drive.

Well, that’s Jocelyn’s (current) Ritual record. What inspires you? What song or album do you come back to again and again? What is the perfect music to “Sip in the Moment?”