Thirteen years ago today I was out sled riding in the snowy dusk of a February afternoon with my son Andy when my pocket began to vibrate. I didn't need to confirm the number on the snow encrusted pager — I had already begun an adrenaline-fueled trot in the direction of home with Andy and the sled in tow. Five hours later, the curtain went up on the life of Liam Joseph Collins — my second teenager.
For me, music and being an adolescent were inseparable, and intrinsically interwoven. My teenage years are a quarry of musical milestones: including concerts, bands, songs, and records. I listened to music. I read books about music. I subscribed to magazines about music. I attempted to play music. I dreamt about music. I associated events in my life with music. When nothing else made sense to me, there was music. When nothing else appealed to me, there was music. The rock n' roll soundtrack of my life definitely began when I was a teenager. And amazingly… remarkably… (or perhaps thankfully,) despite its prevalence, music was still only a fragment of who I was and what I did. Whether it was asking the eternal question “Why must I be a teenager in love?” or proclaiming the infamous statement “It's only teenage wasteland,” growing up and being a teenager have always provided fertile ground for songwriters and music. Indeed some of my favorite music now is both from that point in my life or about that point in my life. My second teenager's birthday feels like a good point of departure for a week's worth of teenage-related songs.
Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day is full of absolutely universal teenage moments summed up with a brilliant sing-a-long, head-bashing chorus. But the thing that really makes this song stand apart from all the other pop songs of adolescent longing and alienation is that this time there is justice in the universe. The song is “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
For me, music and being an adolescent were inseparable, and intrinsically interwoven. My teenage years are a quarry of musical milestones: including concerts, bands, songs, and records. I listened to music. I read books about music. I subscribed to magazines about music. I attempted to play music. I dreamt about music. I associated events in my life with music. When nothing else made sense to me, there was music. When nothing else appealed to me, there was music. The rock n' roll soundtrack of my life definitely began when I was a teenager. And amazingly… remarkably… (or perhaps thankfully,) despite its prevalence, music was still only a fragment of who I was and what I did. Whether it was asking the eternal question “Why must I be a teenager in love?” or proclaiming the infamous statement “It's only teenage wasteland,” growing up and being a teenager have always provided fertile ground for songwriters and music. Indeed some of my favorite music now is both from that point in my life or about that point in my life. My second teenager's birthday feels like a good point of departure for a week's worth of teenage-related songs.
Today's Happy Medium Song of the Day is full of absolutely universal teenage moments summed up with a brilliant sing-a-long, head-bashing chorus. But the thing that really makes this song stand apart from all the other pop songs of adolescent longing and alienation is that this time there is justice in the universe. The song is “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. (Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)