Hey Audio Freaks. I hope your week’s going alright. It seems a lot of us are having a tough one for various reasons: money's tight, work is rough, not getting enough sleep. We're all going through it together, and there's something relieving about that. I'm yawning as I type this and try to find the energy for the things I love after using all my energy on corporate BS all day. Yea, Little Ms. Positive's forever long fuse is shortening...slightly.
Despite my shortening fuse and the harsh realities aside, I always know that music will find a way to bring me back to life without explanation, without warning, and without expectation. Music doesn't talk back you know.
Well...I guess it does...
My inspiration for this piece is the concept of the song itself, Back to the Start. I'm going back to the beginning, where I'd hear a song, had no way to look it up, and just had to hope I'd hear it again. Luckily, I can still play songs over and over again, but I haven’t gone to another song, I haven’t looked for interviews, history, or any info at all. All I've got is this song, the story of how it found me, and the feeling of how fucking awesome it is. Let me tell you a story...
A Thursday in March 2026
Thursday, March 26, 2026. 2-6-2-6.
Just figured I'd say that the double 26, spiritually, suggests shifting focus towards achieving internal peace, to nurture your relationships, and suggests finding balance between material and spiritual needs.
I had just finished up an artist showcase where I was the featured artist at Mike Ford's open mic. Mike Ford is a local artist that runs the open mic over at one of my favorite spots in the South Bay, Project Barley Square. Used to be an old English pub till the fam over at Project Barley collaborated with them to keep it alive, and it sure is alive and well.
There are beautiful old school chandeliers, a fireplace, comfortable outdoor patio...a very cozy vibe for a brewery. And you can bet that Project Barley always has great music, no matter the location. This particular night at the Square was special. Everyone in the room was so lovely and warm. I opened up to the audience about my social media addiction and having been away (8 weeks now), and Mr. Ford and his audience received me with open arms and wonderful questions. I played my songs, we chatted, it was a great evening. Thank you Mike, and thank you Project Barley for always supporting local acts. I will link all of their info at the base of this article.
It was about 10:45, maybe 11pm already. The air was nippy, and my senses were buzzing after pouring my life into the room. I could feel the tip of my nose and my cheeks buzzing. I knew I had to be up for work at 6:45, but when my friends invited me to jam after my show, I couldn't say no.
En route to Hermosa Beach, the streets were empty. Really empty. There's something about Torrance. Its own 180s have striking differences. It's a whirlwind in the day with cars everywhere, families trekking across this little-big town. But at night? You can feel like the only soul on earth. Suddenly the roads are wide open and you can hear the hum of the street lights.
I don't remember what I put on in the car, but by the time I got to the King Harbor sign, a song came on. One hit, and boom. "You've got something to hide, and you can run all you like 'cross plains and over mountains." What? What is this? I'm listening. I was experiencing love at first sight in its full purity. By the time the second chorus came in, I was already singing along with it. My diaphragm started to tighten and I started to full-belly laugh. How did this happen? It's like I've been listening to this song my whole life. It sounded like something that was familiar, but I also knew that I definitely had never heard it before.
This was that song, Back to the Start by Polly Paulusma. I parked at the studio and I couldn't even get out of the car without finishing the third play. I was singing with my whole heart, I was feeling every word as though they were my own. I had a great jam till about 12:30 with my buds, and then got back in the car and put it on again immediately. The song had infected me in the most childlike obsessive way. I must've listened to the damn song 100 times in the course of 3 days.
BACK TO THE START, AGAIN
If you've been here for a while, you know I'm a Youtube music user. The Youtube music algorithm astounds me. I don't know how it works, but I know that whatever they're doing to get music out there to people, I really feel like it's working. I'll take a look into it deeper at another time and we can chat about it.
I went hunting on her artist page. 259 subscribers. My impression is
that the Youtube music subscriber numbers are far more accurate than
other streaming services. Most of the time here, the subscribers are
active listeners. So what you may see as small, because social media has
skewed your view of what "a lot"
is, are actual listeners. I digress, this is a topic for another time as well.
I wanted to allow this song to breathe into my life without going on a deep dive on Polly too soon. I wanted to savor the moment like I was waiting for an album to come out after a single drops. But of course, I got curious. Why was I the only "like" on this tune? It was too good. It didn't make sense.
I found lots of her music but again, haven't listened to it yet. I'm so stoked to dive into her discography like a bottle of wine; let it breathe and savor it. I'm allergic to wine, I don't know why that was my example. Lets go with a good cheese instead. Let it age, take small bites, savor it...I'm hungry.
Polly has this sound that feels like a friend telling you that everything is going to be okay. A pat on the back, or a package that arrives that you forgot you bought — you come home and it's on your doorstep, and it feels like Christmas morning on a Friday in April. Sounds like a grounded, openhearted presence that suddenly appeared in your life when you were the most ready for it to arrive.
Here's something cool: I did find a second posting of this tune on her album pictured at the top, Fingers and Thumbs. The major difference I'm hearing between the "radio edit" and the album version is the mix. We've talked about the mix many times, but for those who are new, we're listening to the levels of volume across all the audio we're hearing: guitar, bass, drums, vocals, back up vocals, etc.
There are also a handful of fun, tiny details that are different between the two. The intros are different (album version has an organ intro), the musical break in the album version is longer, and yes the mix is different. A major, MAJOR difference I caught: in the radio edit, there's a second electric guitar part that really stands out. It's a plunk back and forth from the "6" to the "1" (these are notes in a scale, and we don't need to get too far into that. Just listen for the guitar that's going "bing bong bing bong bing bong bing" over and over. You'll hear it). It gives it this feeling like the song is going to go on and on forever which is exactly what I want. Like biting into a succulent 6 foot meatball sub; it's never gonna end and you're so, so happy about it.
Usually I lean towards whatever I heard first, but truthfully...I can't pick this time.
Friends, you know I love a good hunt for interviews and history, it's all part of the love of discovery. Going back to last weeks blog when I asked, "What does it mean to love something before you understand it?" — I've been living in that.
I remember being a child and hearing songs and wondering what the person looked like. With the introduction of social media, AI at our finger tips...we're slowly losing the beauty of mystery. Patience is a beautiful thing, especially in a case like this. It's thrilling to know that there's a whole catalog of music from Polly out there that I have yet to hear. As soon as I publish this, I'm gonna listen to the whole Fingers and Toes album. Screaming internally.
Cross Plains and Over Mountains
I don't know who Polly is singing to here. It can be interpreted in many ways. I'm gonna go with what I feel (shocker). I think she's singing to herself. Which means when I hear it, I'm singing it to me. For you, you may feel it differently. Let me know in the comments how it meets your hearts ears.
The moment these first words hit my ears, I fell in love:
You've got something to hide
And you can run all you like
'cross plains and over mountains
The chains you drag behind you leave track marks in the air
Wow. I remember I just exclaimed UGH YES. And her VOICE? I haven't even said anything about that yet. What a voice. Earnest, effortless, gorgeous.
You're asleep on your feet, and all the people you meet
'cross plains and over mountains
Fooled by mirrors, think the light is shining brighter there
This is the most beautiful take on "the grass is always greener" that I have ever heard. The repetition lyrically and melodically of " 'cross plains and over mountains" is perfect. Music like this makes me feel dumb in a perfect way. Like that tight feeling in your cheeks and face when you're unable to stop smiling whilst meeting a potential lovers eye. I feel like I can't articulate thoughtfully and with the measure of depth the song deserves because I'm having a visceral, human experience over it.
I drive a 2005 Ford Explorer. The dash is old school alarm clock digital green. I'm driving in the middle of the night through rows of trees next to the ocean, a little too fast, singing...
Come on Come on, we're going back to the beginning
Take a wrong turn, and you take it to heart so easy
When you come home, I will be waiting by the fire
And we'll take it all back to the start
Life is a movie folks. Music has that ability. And the way that I feel it is going to be different than how you feel it. For me, this was the moment I remembered, I understood, that music is my salvation. Because of how this music met me, because of how I related to these words, I understood myself more deeply though the lens of another. Someone who I may never meet or speak to, has given me a gift. A gift of comprehension, solace, celebration, and love.
THAT is the reason why storytelling will never disappear. THAT is the reason that human-made audio and visual experiences will never die. Music connects us in ways that only living beings can understand.
Ms. Polly, I am so looking forward to diving fully into your collection. Thank you for sharing your beautiful music with us.
Stay tuned in, my fellow freaks. Music Discoveries are like a box of chocolates: sometimes you get buttercream and you're falling in love, other times you get raspberry and you wanna puke. Either way, it's all part of the experience.
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Listen to BACK TO THE START
ENDING CREDITS NOTE: If you ever watched "As Told By Ginger" growing up, Back to the Start feels like it could have been the theme song for a sister show. Here's the "As Told By Ginger" theme song, I'm in Between by Macy Gray
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