The Song: "Waste" by Phish
The Event: My Ex-Girlfriend
“Waste” by Phish, from their great album Billy Breathes (which I will defend to the death in a hipster thunderdome of coolness), was “our” song for my relationship with someone I'll call "Rachel." It’s a sweet little song with the main hook of “come waste your time with me." What I think is interesting is the many phases my feelings and memories have gone through in regards to how I react when I hear this song.
While I was dating her, the song was a sweet reminder of how cute we could be and how weird it was to be in love. After she dumped me and started banging the guy down the hall from me, I was a little less optimistic when listening to the song, and more often than not just skipped it altogether. For a while, I thought I had ruined one of my favorite love songs - at which point I resolved that I will never have another song with a woman, for fear that I really do like the song and it gets ruined by tainted memories.
Now, however, as time has passed, when I hear that song, I think about the relationship as a whole, good and bad, and take it all in. The pleasure of waking up besides her is coupled with the annoying regularity of our bickering towards the end. The song represents a particular time in my life, but it also reminds me of how time changes our perspective on all things and people. And that’s one to grow on!