For those that don’t know, no, I’m not becoming a horrific creature with the body of a man and the head of a colorful bird. A parrothead is what fans of Jimmy Buffett call themselves. Due to the perceived relaxed and tropical vibes of his songs.

What I’m getting at is recently in my pursuit of listening to a hundred albums, I listened to Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett. I thought I was in for a chill time grooving with a bro but it turns out that there’s a quiet sadness behind each song?

Even in the eponymous song off the album, there’s constant regret and wistfulness for a time and place long gone. One of the lines is “if I couldn’t laugh, I’d go insane”. A man sounding like he’s barely holding it together even as he orders another Mai Tai.

The next song, “Wonder Why We Ever Go Home” is just vacation Springsteen. It starts with a lonely harmonica note then transitions to Buffett ruminating on getting old and the quick and painful time that it takes for years to pass by. “Banana Replublic” talks about the pointlessness of Americans going abroad that nothing is going to change. “Miss You So Badly” is him recognizing that the relationship he was in that he wanted to keep pursuing was right to end. That he’s better off and that terrifies him.

Even his magnum opus has a small shred of his feelings of wastefulness. People want to blame a woman but he shakes it off saying that this is just the life he’s living whether good or ill.

There are other songs that are just chill hangs like “Lovely Cruise” and “Tampico Trauma” but I prefer the ones where he’s plumbing the depths of his emotions while thinking about fried shrimp.

The album itself is amazing, Buffett has the reputation and career for a reason. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a chill time.

And in the end, I guess this whole experiment is more of a test of the pointlessness of assumption whether that be for media or people. I can sit around and think that I know someone or something but until I actually explore it, I’m just a fool thinking I know what’s right. I don’t plan to make those kinds of mistakes again.

You might think that this whole post is just an exercise in false sincerity for a bit but if it was I would have revealed my magician’s trick at this point. I’m being 100% sincere and I’m going to keep checking out Buffett and seeing where else we’re going to sail to.