Thanks for the Memories

IT'S THE NIGHT before Thanksgiving and I'm back in my hometown. Ordinarily, I would be an hour away from going to bed. Instead, I am listening to Kelly Clarkson. You know why? Because I'm going out tonight. I've heard that the night before Thanksgiving is the biggest "going out" night in my hometown, and yet I've never had the pleasure. You know why? Because I don't really have any friends in my hometown. I think I peaked in college.

"Walk Away" is a great song to listen to when you're getting ready to go out, because of the "build" factor. You know what I'm talking about. It really gets you jazzed, which is important on the night before Thanksgiving if you happen to be one of those people who woke up at 4:40am to catch the Amtrak and spent the next 5 hours trying to write quarterly financial analysis reports while squeezed next to a snoring hung over college student.

But in addition to the sweetness of the build factor, I like the song because it reminds me of its corresponding music video, which is so good it sometimes makes me cry just a little (not kidding). So of course I immediately felt the urge to watch the video, and now is the moment in our program when I give thanks for YouTube.

Not only is K. Clark smokin' hot and moomoo-less, but the video itself strikes a chord because I sometimes (read: every single time I listen to my iPod) wish scenarios like the ones depicted in this video could occur in real life. Also, that cube looks exactly like mine... coincidence? I doubt it.



After I relished in those three minutes and four guilty seconds of pure pop bliss, I was reminded of another video of a strikingly similar genre, which I don't think ever made it big in the 'states. I was first introduced to it while studying in Florence, and TRL-Italia played it about 4 times an hour. Apparently the Italian version of the FCC does not mind American swear words.



After a nostalgic replay, I must say it this video not have the timing down to as pin-neat of a science as K.Clark's, but it will do in a pinch to get you pumped to go out, especially if you are either rebounding from a relationship or are slightly intimidated by the notion of hitting your hometown bar scene for the first time, ever. Note: Puddle of Mudd also rocks the "build" factor, and no moomoos.

If I have my way, in a few hours I will be using a bottle of Miller High Life as a microphone and belting out The Long Way Around, Chemical Party (the stripped version), or if they're really lucky, a little Dirt Off Your Shoulder. Create your own visual.