In Rainbows

It was always all about the coda.

First, the acoustic.

Then, DJ Latenight’s studio magic: white noise, blips and beeps, digital stardust.

Next, Mike Butterworth’s electric. Then his voice, haunted, distant “Ooohs.” The riff crescendos, repeating the same squealing high note for two full measures, a bright, binary ghost shimmering amidst strange, swirling currencies.

Meanwhile, Christofer’s edit compresses three years of “What’s Left Behind” — from first days in the studio, through the release shows, and music videos — into one, cacophonous, cameo-strewn finale.

It’s the entire narrative cut to time: from a dark box along the East River to lush to manicured lawns along the Brandywine, from ambivalent New Yorker to enthusiastic Delawarean, in just one minute.

And then, in the final seconds of the “Walls No. 3 (DJ Latenight Remix)” music video, an epic, inspiring reveal — wait, what? You haven’t watched the music video?

I’ll wait …

A double rainbow …

A DOUBLE RAINBOW, BRO!

… across the Wilmington skyline.

We float there above the tree tops, and take it in together.

We are all broken. Sadness is real. Change is hard. Life is stormy.

And yet, we persist.

In “What’s Left Behind,” and all of the work that came with it, my unconscious gave me a blueprint for resilience, a reminder that there are patterns: catastrophe, recovery, rebirth.

Challenges persist, and tend towards increased complexity. But we heal, and are reborn, stronger in the broken places.

It is inevitable.

Walls fall down.