Track 9: "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog

I don't mind stealing bread
from the mouths of decadence

This song came on my IPod on my way to Columbia this weekend for my buddy Tim Wendling's wedding. Despite having some sort of reason for having each of the some 14,000 songs on my IPod, rarely does shuffle ever play what I feel like listening to.

It sort of hit me last night, having beers and chatting with some old pals from high school, that favorite songs are much more than just a 'song.' They have the ability to cement a moment in time and can instantly take us back there whenever we hear them.

Everyone seems to bitch about high school for whatever reason--and everybody's got a pretty good reason generally to do so. And despite missing a few months of my senior year due to a snow skiing accident, I look back pretty fondly on high school.

Sure, there was plenty of awkwardness and the feeling that you're invisible to women (two things I don't think I've quite outgrown), but I enjoyed my time at Irmo and pretty much all my 'best' friends are folks I grew up with. And so every time I hear a song by bands like Blind Melon, Pearl Jam, the Lemonheads, Drivin N Cryin, and Led Zeppelin (just to name a few), I can associate a memory from those formative years.

So this tune is a lot more to me than arguably one of the best 'grunge' era songs. It makes me think of all the hilariously dumb shit I did as a teenager and the great folks I did it with. So track 9 is dedicated not only to Tim Wendling and his new bride, but to those high school years and to all the endearing idiots I am still lucky enough to call friend.