73. Ecstasy by Rusted Root

"Ecstasy" by Rusted Root

Music by Rusted Root (Michael Glabicki, Liz Berlin, Jim Donovan, Patrick Norman, John Buynak, Jenn Wertz, Daniel James "Jim" DiSpirito)
Lyrics by Michael Glabicki
Produced by Bill Bottrell
Released on When I Woke (August 23, 1994)
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In 1996, TriStar released a film directed by Danny DeVito called Matilda, which was based on a novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl changed my life. For most of my childhood, I avoided reading. It was not fun for me, and I did not understand why all books were not illustrated. My brother, on the other hand, would do everything he could to read. He began reading novels when he was four and never stopped.

In 1990, my family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut so that my older brother could attend a prep school where my father was taking over as food service director. I began my 5th grade year at the local public elementary.

My teacher that year loved reading and poetry. I can still recite "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost after being required to memorize it that year, and someone in that classroom suggested I check out a book by Roald Dahl. The first book of his that I picked out was Danny, the Champion of the World, and something connected for me. That year, I read almost every Dahl novel. I tried other books as well, and found quite a few that I enjoyed, but Dahl will always be first. (A close second goes to Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series.)

The reason I bring this up is that the Matilda film adaptation featured Rusted Root's best known song, "Send Me Away." When the film came out, I remember being unsure whether I should see it because I was at that funny age when I thought I might be too old for a children's movie like Matilda. Luckily, a mentor of mine nudged me in the right direction and I saw the movie. It was fantastic. It took me back to that time when I fell in love with reading. Dahl is so important, and he's one of the few authors whose books have not been ruined by terrible film adaptations (Johnny Depp's Wonka not withstanding). Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory are pure magic.

While the song I chose for my list is not "Send Me Away," just about any Rusted Root song has that loose association with my love for reading. And ultimately, "Ecstasy" is the better song.

Listening to "Ecstasy" now, it feels like I should have had a guilty pleasure type relationship with Rusted Root's music, but I don't think I ever felt ashamed of liking them. I think it helped that there never seemed to be a sense of pretense to their music. They simply wrote and performed music that they loved, and they clearly loved performing it too. It never felt like they were trying to pose or feel cool. They played what they wanted to play, and they played it well.

Last year, someone on Twitter wrote a thread revisiting the Woodstock '99 concert videos. It's a fun thread, and the author clearly had a good time poking fun at the bands, their sets, and their fans. When he got to Rusted Root, he had fun at the expense of their vibe and weird instruments, but then he came to the only fair conclusion that could be made about their set, they rocked it. I actually went back and watched most of their set, and can confirm that they were great. They rocked, their fans had fun, and the set is fantastic. When a band is that good and that genuine, you have to show them some respect.

Right now, "Ecstasy" by Rusted Root is (probably) by 73rd favorite song of all time.