A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he was walking through Walmart when Smashing Pumpkins came on over the speaker system. There was some conversation about aging, a few laughs, and the overall ponderance of time gone by. I was walking through Walmart yesterday when Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” came on over the speaker system. I took a selfie and was going to post about it on Facebook, but my selfie was terrible, and I was already stressed out enough being in Walmart (more on my hatred of that necessary capitalism later)…I had not one, but two cold sores, a zit the size of Jupiter, and my hair was frizzy. Not to mention, I’ve gained 51 pounds since 2014. But when Billy sang, “…and we don’t even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don’t know just where our bones will rest…To dust, I guess forgotten and absorbed to the Earth below,” as I headed for the milk fridges, I had to laugh.
Here I am, 41 years old, and remembering what it was like to be a lean 16, in love for the first time, and desperately in love with the music that has always reached out a hand to save me. Maybe it’s the promise of a new year. Maybe it’s the pinnacle moment of standing in Walmart after a bad selfie and being able to laugh at my demise. Maybe it’s just time for a change. “The street heats the urgency of now….as (I) see there’s no one around.” There was no one around in my particular section of that Walmart that day, or else I may not have had the courage to take a selfie in public. To delight your eyes, I have included it here for your perusual, because I am no longer ashamed of how I am or who I am. I just know that I’m on my way to something better than I’ve ever been. So, when you hear that song that brings you back, or stops you in time and makes you question or lament your age, stop. Sing along, and keep on keepin’ on. That way, you’ll never have to envision “an end to it all.” Music keeps on going, and so should we.
So drop me a line with a song that made you experience the passing of time, and tell me all about it.
And most of all? Rock on,
Rachael
unsung throes 