Your lipstick, his collar, don’t bother Angel, I know exactly what goes on…” ~Taking Back Sunday
Much to the chagrin of Beatle fans everywhere, this blog will not be about the Beatles in any specific sense. I’ve tricked you. I want you to read my blog, so I referenced one the most famous and massively popular bands in hopes that you’d read it. But wait! before you click back over to your Facebook tab (you know, the one that’s constantly open?) this post, at least indirectly, has something to do with the concept that (I believe) the Beatles’ were talking about in their renowned song.
“I have waited a lifetime, spent my life so foolishly, but now that I’ve found you, together we’ll make history” ~Foreigner
If one is a music listener, one will notice a most interesting thing happens during times of instability: music quickly starts dividing itself up into the most unusual categories. This phenomenon is somewhat akin to what happens to new lovers. When a new lover turns on the radio, every love song, every song about missing someone, every song about something great in this world is about their significant other. It makes the sky a deeper shade of blue, it makes the birds sing a little bit louder. However when one’s life is turbulent, songs don’t carry this delicious tinge. They instead begin to form a collage of broken-hearted, melancholy snapshots which let you peek into a world that you didn’t know existed until you experience sadness in your life. This is where the prophets Lennon and McCartney truly shine– they recognize and acknowledge the existence of this club, a club of lonely hearts. a fraternity which stretches across the vast catalogue of recorded music.
A Thought on Classic Broken-Hearted Songs – Depending on your age, these songs will vary in genre. If you’re around 20 and grew up without a parent or other friend influencing your taste, this song group will consist of emo songs anchored by the likes of boyhood angst-y bands Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday. Chris Carrabba becomes the true poet of the heart, deftly putting words to all of the feelings inside of you. For example:
“I heard about your trip. I heard about your souvenirs. I heard about the cool breeze in the cool nights and the cool guys, that you spent them with. I guess I should have heard of them from you…” ~Dashboard Confessional
When the stability we constantly crave is forcibly taken from our lives, it’s necessary to good mental health that we experience the pain, sadness, depression, hopelessness, etc. that is brought upon us. There are a good many things which can “ease” this pain, but the “easing” is nothing more than a putting off of this healing process. If I was ever on Oprah, and she looked at me and said, “Andrew, what advice would you give to all those hurting out there?” I’d smile at her (because, let’s face it, who wouldn’t smile at Oprah?) and I’d respond, “feel.”
Farm Grown Cynicism 