seeing sounds

notes on N.E.R.D.'s 2008 album of the same name, synesthesia, and the Y2K aesthetics that defined my adolescence

yesterday (June 10) was the 13th anniversary of alt-rock & hip-hop trio N.E.R.D. releasing their third studio album Seeing Sounds. during the summer of 2008, this album was my everything. considering that my Fleet Foxes review was also centered around 2008, there must be some karmic or prophetic reason why i find myself revisiting who i was at this time and perhaps it will be revealed in the near future.

it’s not lost on me that this week was also Kanye West’s birthday (June 8) and while i originally said i wasn’t gonna talk about him, i kinda have to as i invoke the culture of the late Aughties. the first concert i ever attended was the Glow in the Dark Tour — Kanye’s headlining show for Graduation featuring N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and Lupe Fiasco. yes, i still have the tour tee, the ticket stub, the Graduation album (and all of Kanye’s CDs up to that point + the successor 808s & Heartbreaks) — but that’s a story for another time.

this show preceded the release of Seeing Sounds, but N.E.R.D. had already teased the album’s hyped-up single “Everybody Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)” and thus performed this track and many others from Seeing Sounds.

experiencing the music of N.E.R.D. live was a childhood dream come true. in addition to having an adolescent celeb crush on Pharrell, i grew up loving songs like “Rockstar” and “Maybe” — In Search of… and Pharrell’s solo album In My Mind are also in my collection. plus, i was fond of the Neptunes’ production in general — having also grown up watching MTV and BET videos where you couldn’t miss the plethora of songs with that iconic four-count start (Pharrell’s sonic signature).

for me, N.E.R.D. also represented the converging space of so many cultures — hip-hop, rock and roll, skaters, etc. at the time, i still played an original Xbox and i had this album ripped to it, so whenever i played any given variation of Tony Hawk (Pro Skater 4, Underground 1 and 2, American Wasteland) throughout high school, i usually listened to this album. the raucous, vibrant energy of tracks like “Sooner or Later” and “Killjoy” seemed to really fit the mood for accomplishing the game’s missions.

thematically, this album introduced me to the concept of synesthesia. according to Healthline, it’s a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses — very commonly experienced as “seeing sounds.” i’ve personally experienced forms of synesthesia related to sound, taste, and sight. i’ve watched a TV show while eating something very specific in texture (like peanut butter) and the food tastes like the sounds i’m hearing. but i’ve also listened to music and seen colors.

personally, this album is very green to me. my favorite track has always been “Love Bomb,” which makes sense if you think about the common association of green with the heart chakra. though i love Seeing Sounds, there are some themes i could have done without, like the creepiness apparent within tracks like “Windows.” moreover, Seeing Sounds was the album that brought us Pharrell singing about being “Happy” years before Despicable Me 2 was released — the N.E.R.D. song “Happy” is better IMO, but it also never got played out in public so there’s that.

i did a little photoset inspired by Seeing Sounds that i’ll be sharing over on Instagram but it’s mainly an homage to the aesthetics that make up the cover art, as well as that laid-back cozy streetwear look that reigned at the time. i would have worn my Ice Creams for this, but i need to take them to a cobbler for repairs.

i hope this post inspires you to revisit the album and dance with reckless abandon.