Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" - High Fidelity

I'll get to Rob's quote in a bit.

I went back home this weekend. It was really nice, but as I was getting back on a train to NYC, I realized that I had forgotten my iPod (lovingly named Patrick Carbrey Dunseith).

This is huge. I don't have any of my music on my computer at this point to save space, Instead, it's all on that glorious little piece of machinery. In an effort to save space, I also got rid of the vast majority of the music on my phone, and so, when I put in my headphones for my walk to work, all I had was this, for some reason:



This is Album of the Year by the band The Good Life. It's a concept album of a relationship; beginning when the guy and girl meet, going through the highs of the relationship, moving through to rockier times, accusations, the breakup, the fallout, the girl moving on, and ending two years after the last time the pair spoke. It's really interesting to listen to, and it's a great album, but there's one catch:

This is really the only album I have to listen to until I get that iPod back, and it is fucking exhausting to go through the trials and tribulations of Tim Kasher's relationship every day, especially "Inmates," the nine minute track that includes the breakup itself. The album's 53 minutes long; I get through the vast majority of it each day if I don't finish.

So in this case, Rob? I think pop music is making me miserable. I've heard about the guy's flaws enough that I'm starting to wonder if I'm at fault for the dissolution of their relationship. I absolutely would recommend this album to anyone and everyone, but, well, in moderation. Listen to it too often, and you might get depressed.

Come back, Patrick Carbrey Dunseith. In the meantime, included in the playlist are a couple of tracks from the album.

Love,
Jim