Buffalo Tom "Summer"

There are songs you listen put on, specifically to amplify emotion.

You play The Cure to amplify your depression.

You play Rage Against The Machine to magnify your aggression.

You play Rufus Wainwright to ratchet up your melodrama.

You play the early Beatles to make your joy, pure.

Music touches an emotional chord.

But sometimes, the emotion isn't the thing. It's the message.

Sometimes you have to put a song on, as much for what it is saying, as for how it is saying it.

I always make sure I listen to this one around Memorial Day weekend, as a concrete reminder to myself that time is limited, regret brings nothing back, and Endless Summer is only the title of a Beach Boys album, not an actual thing.

"Summer's gone, a summer song, you've wasted every day."

I play it after Labor Day, too, as an emotional, wistful goodbye to Summer. But I play it now, as an admonition to myself:

Summer is short. Enjoy it while it's here.