All the Simon and Twice the Garfunkel

I'm having a total high school moment here. I recently heard "Mrs. Robinson," and it's been stuck in my head ever since, so I brought to work today the Greatest Hits album. I spent many, many hours lying on my bed, reading books and listening to this album, and sitting here, right now, at work, listening to "I Am a Rock," I'm immediately 138 percent moodier and angst ridden. My mother told me a couple of years ago that that song always reminded her of me. Mamas, if the words "I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain" reminds you of your kids, something's wrong, okay?

Listening to it now, it's just so...it's perfect unhappy teenager music. It's romantic and overwrought and overwhelmed and searching, and ironic, but so, so sincere. It's so earnest. It's the Counting Crows of the sixties.
Man. Now that I think about it, there's a sad soundtrack for every stage of my life--Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles in middle and high school, Counting Crows and Morrisey in college, Automatic for the People in the years right after school. Now I've got all kinds of Slaid Cleaves and Death Cab and Whiskeytown to drown my sorrows in. I'm . . . I'm fairly confident I could put together a mix tape that would pretty much make you want to throw yourself off a bridge.


Let's see. What would go on the Most Depressing Mixed Tape ever? Hmmm. Mind you, these are not the songs I'd WANT to listen to, necessarily.

"Bookends", Simon and Garfunkel. "Preserve your memories; they're all that's left you?" Damn, Sam. That's harsh. See also "These Are the Days To Remember" by Billy Joel.

"Lonely Girls" or "Blue", Lucinda Williams

"Nightswimming" REM

"Somebody" Depeche Mode

"Anna Begins" Counting Crows

"Houses on the Hill" Whiskeytown

"She's Leaving Home" The Beatles

"Broke Down" or "One Good Year" Slaid Cleaves

Hmmmm. Let me think about this. What would you put on there?