Jefferson Airplane – Today: A Quiet Storm of Vulnerability and Desire
Today is a shimmering moment of tenderness within Jefferson Airplane’s kaleidoscopic discography. Featured on their iconic 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, the song is a delicate folk rock ballad written by Marty Balin and Paul Kantner, showcasing the band’s ability to veer from the psychedelic frenzy of their era to something far more introspective and intimate.
From its very first notes, Today is cloaked in an ethereal fragility. Marty Balin’s vocals are hushed and reverent, gliding effortlessly over Jerry Garcia’s luminous guitar riff, which loops in a hypnotic and understated pattern. This simplicity of arrangement belies the emotional depth of the track, allowing Balin’s plaintive delivery and the song’s lyrical vulnerability to shine through. Each word feels weighted with longing, with Balin confessing a quiet but consuming need for connection: “Today, I feel like pleasing you more than before.”
The song’s lyrics, though sparse, carry an emotional resonance that lingers. Balin’s repeated declarations of devotion and yearning avoid melodrama, instead conveying a raw, almost aching sincerity. There’s an undeniable intimacy to the way the words unfold, as if the listener is being granted access to a deeply personal confession, whispered in confidence. It is love stripped down to its most essential and vulnerable state—soft yet intense, hopeful yet restrained.
Garcia’s contribution on guitar serves as the soul of the song, its simplicity providing a canvas on which Balin’s voice can soar. The repetition of the riff creates a meditative atmosphere, enveloping the listener in a cocoon of sound that feels almost otherworldly. While Jefferson Airplane is often celebrated for their dynamic energy and bold experimentation, Today demonstrates their prowess in crafting something equally powerful in its quiet subtlety.
Interestingly, the song’s origin adds another layer of intrigue. Balin’s admission that Today was initially written with Tony Bennett in mind reveals a deeper admiration for the timeless crooners of the past, blending this classic sensibility with the burgeoning countercultural ethos of the 1960s. While Balin never met Bennett, the song transcended its initial purpose, becoming a quintessential piece of Jefferson Airplane’s legacy.
Nestled among the more kinetic and psychedelic tracks on Surrealistic Pillow, Today serves as a poignant contrast. It highlights the band’s versatility and their ability to evoke an emotional response not through elaborate production but through restraint and sincerity. In doing so, it feels timeless, unbound by the era in which it was created, resonating as deeply now as it did in 1967.
Today is less a song and more an intimate moment suspended in time—a gentle plea for love and connection that captures the universal fragility of the human heart. It stands as a quiet masterpiece in Jefferson Airplane’s oeuvre, a testament to their ability to express profound emotion with breathtaking simplicity.