Morcheeba - Blindfold

The scene takes place in April 2000.

Not only was the semester almost over, but my first two years of graduate studies in the United States were also coming to an end. My Master's graduation was just a couple of weeks away. It was one of the first nice, warm weekends of spring in West Virginia. Lisa, a local graduate student and foreign language teaching assistant, invited a bunch of her peers, myself included, to spend the afternoon at her family's house in the West Virginian countryside on the outskirts of Morgantown.

I was not in the best mood for a number of reasons. I almost refused the invitation, but I was smart enough to go, and it was the right choice. Everyone there, especially our host, managed to cheer me up. An afternoon in a new place in the countryside with great people was exactly what I needed. After a walk in nature, we hung out on the house's huge porch—honestly, one of the biggest and most awesome porches I've ever seen—and Lisa started playing music.

After a few minutes, I heard a tune I wasn't familiar with. Its soothing effect almost magically transported me far away from my troubles and brooding.

It was Morcheeba, a band I had never heard of, and the song was "Blindfold."

Here it is:

A few weeks later, I graduated and left West Virginia, never to return. I never saw my classmates/coworkers again, as we scattered all over North America and beyond. I kept in touch with a few people, but lost touch with most of them (there was no social media at the time) but Morcheeba's music stayed with me.

For years, this song and the entire Big Calm album served as my comfort music whenever I needed to feel better.

Nowadays, I don't listen to Morcheeba as much as I used to, but I always welcome them back with a big smile when I cross paths with one of their songs.