If you ever see me in class head-banging, lip-syncing, or making odd faces, I’m probably listening to some of my more recent favorite songs. As the year progresses, more music is added into my library, and I learn to love more songs and artists. While I titled this blog “My Bangers,” it’s actually going to focus on one song, but I might come back to it later and add more to my list.
This month’s banger is “Degenerates” by I the Mighty. The song is essentially about Brent Walsh, the singer, and his friends (lovingly dubbed “Degenerates” as he mentions in an interview with New Noise) celebrating the new year and how he felt in that moment, then when he returned home, Walsh felt empty. For me, the song is such a universal experience, even if you haven’t gone through anything like it.
There are several reasons why I love this song: the lyrics, the melody, how much I relate to it. The second verse is what I relate with mostly, but it’s more in a wholesome way.
And I breathe in the scent of coffee from the kitchen
I hear the laughter spilling from the other room
So I drag my body up and join the living
An exception almost right on cue
That one verse manages to encapsulate every weekend I spend at home. When she wakes up, the first thing my mom does is brew a pot of coffee. By the time I start to wake up, all you can smell is coffee. From the living room, my mom, and maybe my dad, will be posted up on the couch, watching the news or Dr. Phil. After a while of hearing them laughing or talking, I’ll slide out of bed and trudge into the living room, often gaining remarks of “Oh, look who’s decided to join the land of the living!” or “Look at that hair!” I’ll roll my eyes at them, plop down on a couch with a blanket, and join them in whatever they’re watching.
Walsh mentioned that the song is about “finding your place.” Sometimes I find myself questioning where I belong or where I fit in, whether it’s in the world or in school, but then I look at where I am, and I realize that this is the best spot I could be in. At least, that’s what I can assume. If I believed in any religion, I’d wonder why that entity created me, but for now, I am content to survive.
This is a long quote, but I think it’s vital to understand both the song and the emotion he’s trying to convey through the “story” of “Degenerates.”
The song encompasses the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I had for my life and the people in it that weekend, and the emptiness I felt when I was in solitude upon my return. It led to the realization that, when you <I<truly feel something, it can create a void in its absence. I’ve found that life tends to try to balance itself. Without the lows, you don’t truly feel the highs and the reverse is just as true.
Being the slightly pessimistic person that I am, this quote helped me understand not just the song, but even myself a little bit more. I encourage all of you to give it a listen sometime. Especially if you might be feeling a little down.
