I was in high school and I had a crush on a girl who told me to listen to Death Cab For Cutie.

I bought “We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes” at a Borders and listened to it on loop while playing Diablo II. Another girl I liked and I were driving somewhere – maybe a diner – and I told her to put this in the CD player. She didn’t like it. Kind of whiny, she said. Like Dashboard. It’s melodic, I said. It’s lo-fi. The lyrics are about driving and smoking outside of parties and watching your friends get married and writing vengeful poetry. Everything just kind of wanders around sadly. You need to listen to it with your head down and your heart aching. Or while leveling your Paladin on Baal runs.

I assumed I would love her forever. She is married and I never think about her.