I fell in love with someone I am no longer with, and that relationship is bookended by periods of when I was very bad at my job. The latter part, it almost goes without saying, was due to a break-up induced depression that transitioned into a free fall both professional and personal. At the start of the relationship I was just too in love to care about anything else. My apartment wasn’t cleaned. Emails would go days with responses. Deadlines were missed. Every day I woke up hungover and so excited about getting to spend another day in love.
“Perfect Day” fits equally well as either bookend. You could be crippled with heartache or awestruck by romance. The lyrics are sung in a way that is wistful and restrained, but the music has a slow but club-focused beat. It’s fun but has a sadness that lingers when the beat drops and the lyrics echos. A lot of the song’s energy comes from anticipation. It feels like something amazing is going to happen, but the song never breaks. It never drops. You never get what you’re asking for. I don’t doubt it is there, but Slic never fully gives it to you, kind of like how without anything to plug into it an outlet is just a hole in your wall.
When I feel the worst about that relationship, I feel like an outlet.
