Morning Commute Soundtrack: The Band

In the months and years following my high school graduation (10 years ago already, holy hell), I found myself in the unenviable position of having no direction in life. Wasting my time as a waiter or a roller coaster supervisor, I mooched off my mom’s generosity by living with her, rent-free, for nearly six years before I finally got my shit together and started acting like an adult.

In those halcyon days before I had to accept the inevitable and grow up, I used to ride around the backroads of Bucks County with my friend Gorzo, and we would listen to music in either my auto du jour or his parents’ Ford Windstar. This was how I discovered Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection, which started a fascination with Americana; upon professing my blossoming interest to Gorzo, he recommended The Band, and promptly popped in their Greatest Hits CD. The first song on that album is ‘The Weight’, which takes full advantage of their rough-hewn sound and impeccable harmonies, and, from that moment, I was hooked.

This morning, 88.5 WXPN transported me back to the summer of 2003, when Gorzo and I tooled around River Road while singing ‘The Weight’ at the top of our lungs. It was our last summer of innocence, before he started college and we both gradually drifted apart, but I was committed to not letting the fun end, and The Band represents that naïvety and that innocence, almost like childhood coming to an end. There are times when I miss those days, but beneath those sepia-toned moments lie the true reasons: I was trying to escape from self-sabotage and its destructive effects while refusing to admit that I was growing up. Life these days is still just as complicated; it’s just a lot quieter, and I have a supportive and loving shoulder to help me through.