I can relate an awful lot to your story Steve, particularly in my younger teens. I was the “friend” who would be on the phone with my female friends (that I wanted to be more than friends) and consoling them over the latest thing their jerk boyfriend had done. All the time wondering why they wanted to be with an asshole instead of a nice guy like me. That’s part of the reason I connected so deeply with those John Hughes movies (particularly pretty in pink and some kind of wonderful).
Best (only?) concert I’ve seen this year was Sarah McLachlan at Radio City and she was incredible!!
I liked your story. I can relate to a lot of it. Late bloomer, acne like a monster, immature for my age, but grew out of the awkwardness in college. Then I started to look sharp...😀 Joe Jackson was one of my faves too!
I was always the wildest in all of my groups of friends (not anymore, though -- I've calmed down a lot, whereas some friends are either just getting started, or have continuously been "moderately wild"). Every time I listen to Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger", I remember how my friends used to tease me saying it was "my song" (at the time, I saw my fair share of trouble and debauchery with random guys I used to meet on trains, buses and on the street). Fun times. Although I was very wild during my teenage years ("an extrovert" feels like an understatement), it was (mostly) all on the surface: deep down, my feelings of insecurity and inadequacy were not too dissimilar to the ones you described. Funny how different people react so differently to what is essentially two sides of the same coin.
Yep - I was always too shy and self-conscious (even stoned or drunk) to go the direction of you and Mark. College was better, but I never had a wild sex period (at least compared to the stories told by friends!).
Love this Andres, thanks for sharing. I was very much a wild child in my teens and early twenties, always in flings and messing around with girls at parties and clubs. I came off as an extrovert but at the end of the day my courage tended to be fueled by alcohol and drugs. The reality was that I was an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. I was riddled with insecurity and my outwards actions were my way of hiding it.
We go through so many "personas" in our lifetime....I missed out on the egomaniac part and went straight to the inferiority complex! I don't think it ever went away, it just comes and goes and I'm able to redirect it better now.
I had a girlfriend in high school who I was madly, crazily, passionately in love with .... until she decided to go away to college. I didn't have "a song" to help me through.
Conversely, she had a song to explain why she was leaving, a rather famous one at that -- "Landslide." We all know the words.
Nearly 50 years later that hauntingly beautiful track still stings a bit, though I have reconnected with her and we have become friends in our sundown years.
You make me think of a topic that would make for a great post. Songs that came to mean something quite different over the years. Maybe it was a song that symbolized a love relationship that then became a pain point (a variation of your story), and then later in life it turns into a song that triggers good feelings again.
I've seen a few excellent concerts so far this year. Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel played Soldier Field in Chicago. Both were amazing. Same with the Rolling Stones who I saw a week later. I also saw Young Gun Silver Fox while in L.A. at the Troubadour in January. That was a perfectly satisfying night of R&B, pop, and rock.
The Joe Jackson set looks fun! Have always loved him.
There’s a band I love called Over the Rhine. They are a married couple, singer-songwriter types, who I’ve been listening to for over 30 years. They’re around my age, maybe a little older, so I feel like their musical themes are aging with me. They’re definitely a comfort band for me.
I can relate an awful lot to your story Steve, particularly in my younger teens. I was the “friend” who would be on the phone with my female friends (that I wanted to be more than friends) and consoling them over the latest thing their jerk boyfriend had done. All the time wondering why they wanted to be with an asshole instead of a nice guy like me. That’s part of the reason I connected so deeply with those John Hughes movies (particularly pretty in pink and some kind of wonderful).
Best (only?) concert I’ve seen this year was Sarah McLachlan at Radio City and she was incredible!!
I liked your story. I can relate to a lot of it. Late bloomer, acne like a monster, immature for my age, but grew out of the awkwardness in college. Then I started to look sharp...😀 Joe Jackson was one of my faves too!
I was always the wildest in all of my groups of friends (not anymore, though -- I've calmed down a lot, whereas some friends are either just getting started, or have continuously been "moderately wild"). Every time I listen to Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger", I remember how my friends used to tease me saying it was "my song" (at the time, I saw my fair share of trouble and debauchery with random guys I used to meet on trains, buses and on the street). Fun times. Although I was very wild during my teenage years ("an extrovert" feels like an understatement), it was (mostly) all on the surface: deep down, my feelings of insecurity and inadequacy were not too dissimilar to the ones you described. Funny how different people react so differently to what is essentially two sides of the same coin.
Yep - I was always too shy and self-conscious (even stoned or drunk) to go the direction of you and Mark. College was better, but I never had a wild sex period (at least compared to the stories told by friends!).
Love this Andres, thanks for sharing. I was very much a wild child in my teens and early twenties, always in flings and messing around with girls at parties and clubs. I came off as an extrovert but at the end of the day my courage tended to be fueled by alcohol and drugs. The reality was that I was an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. I was riddled with insecurity and my outwards actions were my way of hiding it.
We go through so many "personas" in our lifetime....I missed out on the egomaniac part and went straight to the inferiority complex! I don't think it ever went away, it just comes and goes and I'm able to redirect it better now.
I can relate sooo much to this. Thanks, Mark, for sharing! And glad we’re both older and wiser now 😅
I had a girlfriend in high school who I was madly, crazily, passionately in love with .... until she decided to go away to college. I didn't have "a song" to help me through.
Conversely, she had a song to explain why she was leaving, a rather famous one at that -- "Landslide." We all know the words.
Nearly 50 years later that hauntingly beautiful track still stings a bit, though I have reconnected with her and we have become friends in our sundown years.
You make me think of a topic that would make for a great post. Songs that came to mean something quite different over the years. Maybe it was a song that symbolized a love relationship that then became a pain point (a variation of your story), and then later in life it turns into a song that triggers good feelings again.
‘You’re one of the good guys’ - six of the most depressing words a horny teenage boy could ever hear. I shuddered when I read this!
I've seen a few excellent concerts so far this year. Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel played Soldier Field in Chicago. Both were amazing. Same with the Rolling Stones who I saw a week later. I also saw Young Gun Silver Fox while in L.A. at the Troubadour in January. That was a perfectly satisfying night of R&B, pop, and rock.
Love Young Gun Silver Fox! Also his work with AM and Shawn Lee is excellent too. Stevie and Billy must have been a great double bill!
Yes! I saw AM and Shawn Lee twice. Got to talk to them AND I used their music in a short film I made about 10 years ago.
Maybe Tom Waits.
yes – excellent choice. I hope he still is feeling inspired musically. I haven’t heard anything from him in a while.
The Joe Jackson set looks fun! Have always loved him.
There’s a band I love called Over the Rhine. They are a married couple, singer-songwriter types, who I’ve been listening to for over 30 years. They’re around my age, maybe a little older, so I feel like their musical themes are aging with me. They’re definitely a comfort band for me.
Thanks, Jen! I’ll check out Over the Rhine. Always love a band recommendation, especially one with such a long track record!