QUICK!
LOOK!
OVER HERE!
Sorry, had to grab your attention. Ok, this is a special post. I was going to present you with a book called The Shadow of the Wind, but I might save that for next time. Instead, I want to use this post to introduce you to a particular friend of mine that isn’t composed of parchment. When you have the time, you really should take 3 minutes and 51 seconds to listen to “Coffee and Cigarettes”, by Jimmy Eat World.
Now I’m a little biased because Jimmy is one of my favorites, but this song feels especially applicable to this period of my life at the moment. Admit it; as college students at PSU, you’re all pretty much in the same boat.
**A quick overview and why you should care**
“Coffee and Cigarettes” describes Jimmy’s transition from his life at school to his aspirations of becoming a musician. His two iconic images, the memories he uses to summarize all the “good times” with the people he loved are coffee…and cigarettes. The nostalgia in the song is overwhelming, and I can’t help but think of what I’m going to feel when I graduate. What will it be for me? Apples and Diet Pepsi? Trident Gum and chocolate chip cookies?
I can see Jimmy sitting in a room cluttered with papers, books, maybe a food wrapper here and there…I can see the camera slowly panning around him as he brandishes the cigarette in one hand and cups the coffee mug in another…the face of his companion still lingers in the gloom next to him...
I’ve been curled up on the end of Allyssa’s bed until 5 in the morning, and I know how it feels to find people who you can just sit around and “smoke a cigarette” with (I don’t smoke; it’s a metaphor). Jimmy song derives so much power from his specificity in his description of what he’ll remember. Such positive evocations will come from him when he smells that rich aroma or that choking fume, either one…
I’ve been curled up on the end of Allyssa’s bed until 5 in the morning, and I know how it feels to find people who you can just sit around and “smoke a cigarette” with (I don’t smoke; it’s a metaphor). Jimmy song derives so much power from his specificity in his description of what he’ll remember. Such positive evocations will come from him when he smells that rich aroma or that choking fume, either one…
If you get a chance to listen to the song, I think it would be a growing experience if you’d also try to think about what specific things tie you to the people you love, the people who you met so recently but who have become your family. This song means a lot to me…if Jimmy hadn’t written it first, I swear I would have beaten him to it.
I personally don't think I know this song but Jimmy Eat World is a good band. I like how you switched to one post about a song rather then a novel but to be honest music can tell just as much of a story as a novel can.
ReplyDeleteGreat summary. I plan on listening to this when I can, it was very convincing. & it's always nice when music fits the situation you are in.
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