"I wouldn't trade one stupid decision for another five years of life..."
Sorry to go all literary on your ass, but there's this poem, right... There's this poem by TS Eliot, called The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock. And you should read it. Go on. It's here... Read it!
Good, eh? A withering, unflinching, lyrical evocation of the slow-motion panic of ageing. The queasy feeling that the best is done and the worst is yet to come. All gnawed up and toxic with time-terror.
By contrast, this is the best song ever about how looking back can be a big part of moving forward. About not being a Prufrock. About being thankful to have something to reflect on - not regret.
And, Jesus, one of the tracks of the year, too. The way it's so cheekily based around that circling, jittery, mantra-like loop of bittersweet bullishness which, in the last minute or so, comes crashing out into a euphoric, one-hit chorus of celebratory nostalgia ("If I could see all my friends tonight!")
I've just listened to it again and spent the 7-something minutes thinking, one by one, about all the people I've known who I liked or loved and, although I might never see or connect with most of them again, how they've all played some part into shaping who I am today.
Good therapy.
[MP3] LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
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