Puppy Love

Ahhh… high school love. Remember the days when you’d get butterflies in your stomach when you saw that certain someone walking towards you in the hallway? Or when you’d stay up all night long talking on the phone for hours? Whenever I play Radiohead’s album, “The Bends”, I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s funny how certain songs can give you that fuzzy feeling and make you feel like you’re fourteen again.

I met Scott my freshman year of high school. He was short, stocky and the biggest smart-ass you’ve ever met in your life. But despite his sarcastic sense of humor, there was something mysteriously charming and sexy about him. I hated to admit it, but the more he made fun of me, the more I liked him. He had these dark, intense eyes and a mischievous way of always looking at you like he was up to something. And knowing him, he probably was.

The thing I loved most about him was his love of music. I go would to his house every day after school and teach him how to play the guitar. Then we would spend the rest of the afternoon lying on his bed listening to CD’s. His favorites consisted of Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains and most importantly, Radiohead.

We would listen to “The Bends” every day, and pretty soon I was hooked. To this day, it’s still my favorite album of all time. But the song that reminds me the most of Scott would have to be “Nice Dream”. Scott and I would lay on his bed listening to it, and he would sing along to every word and make me guess his favorite part of the song. I always got it right.

I didn’t realize at the time what great taste in music he had, but now that I’m older, I realize more and more what an impact he had on my music taste. I have yet to come across an album that can compete with “The Bends”. It could be because all the songs on the album are great. Or it could also be because the songs bring back memories of those old butterflies from my first puppy love. I guess maybe it’s a little of both.