'Possession'. It's a touchy subject among the Sarah Mcers that make up MSRISMA. In the earlier days of the association, we came rather too close to a war on the list, mainly because some of us liked Possession and some of us hated it. But then-there's the subject of which Possession we were talking about, as well.

The first time I heard Possession-and the first time I heard a Sarah McLachlan song, as well- from start to finish, I was driving to school at about 7:30. I remember the first impressions I had of the song-eerie, haunting, almost dissonant. Certainly disturbing. And the lyrics, while very powerful, were almost violent as well. I had a rather quirky taste in music back then, and I fell in love with the song...despite the fact that I wouldn't get 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy' for another four months.

And then I came online, and met other people who enjoyed Sarah McLachlan's music. I learned that Possession had been written as a way to try to deal with her experience of being stalked, and I found that there were a significant number of people who hated anything to do with Possession. Rather a rude awakening for me...

I finally got 'Fumbling...' for Christmas. About that time, I asked all the members of MSRISMA which song they would prefer Mulder and Scully's first dance to be set to, and a few chose Possession, which rather confused me. It's not really a song for dancing, in my opinion. Then they specified that they preferred the acoustic piano version at the end of the CD, and I went back to listen to it again.

The first thing I heard was a rather dissonant strumming of several guitars about a minute after the end of 'Fumbling'-it was rather confusing, and I still don't know their purpose. But then I heard a soft melody being played out on the piano, and then words; familiar, but different. For this version of Possession was soft, romantic, tender. And even the lyrics blended perfectly with the smooth, loving feel of the song as a whole. I couldn't visualize them as the thoughts of a stalker anymore; or as anything but a beautiful love song.

That's my personal stand on the matter, and I think that's the real difference between the single version of Possession and the acoustic piano. Even though the accompaniment might seem to be the main divider, I think the main difference between the two is the fact that the acoustic piano version is sung with love. That's all.