In a recent TN writer hangout, we discussed the wonderful/terrible sensation of hearing a song from a specific time in your life and being instantly transported back to that moment, year, or sandwich summer. You know, when a song HAPPENS TO YOU and you have no say in the matter.
I think we can all agree that some of the most powerful throwback songs are those of the breakup variety. Here’s one of mine that popped up on shuffle (WHY do I still do that?) recently:
It was the summer of…wow my memory is bad…junior year in HS, or thereabouts, and I was at leadership camp because I was/am a total dork. Basically, I was Leaning In…to being a virgin forever. Anywho, that week of lanyard-wearing and vision-boarding led to two things: 1, the invaluable knowledge that my “animal” is a peacock; and 2, a very strange online/long distance “relationship” with another young leader. I had never had a boyfriend before (did I mention I went to leadership camp?) and I’m pretty sure I really wanted a breakup, maybe more than a boyfriend. What? There’s a lot of great breakup stuff in movies that I was missing out on.
SPOILER ALERT: it didn’t work out. He was a musician and looked a lot like Ben Harper (hey, I wasn’t totally crazy), so this song was on repeat for a looooong time while I cried all the tears I never got to during grade school. It was wonderful. I file this under “best breakup song of all time, sad category.” It was SO good, in fact, that I relied on it AGAIN sophomore year of college. Let’s not focus on what that says about my choice in boys (they were not men), and instead choose to acknowledge the perfection of this song.
There you have it: more about my teenage love sagas than you ever wanted to know. See you next time for a more uplifting throwback!
What’s one of your throwback breakup songs?
photo: huckmagazine
