Utterly cliche, but utterly gut wrenching at the time.
As a teenager, I never had much luck with girls, and consequently, was rather inexperienced when it came to relationships.

As soon as I went to university, I found out that I could actually pull women, and with this new-found knowledge, I did the sensible thing and clung hard to the second girl that came along who (unbelievably!) was susceptible to my charms.

This was love. This was burning desire, a sort of uncontrollable, inexplicable, emotional abandon. This was selfish sexuality and desperate selflessness.

This was not quite what girl #2 had been anticipating. But we stayed together. We even moved into the same house after leaving halls of residence at the end of the first college year.

It could not last. This much she knew. We broke up. We got back together again. The cycle repeated itself a few times more, until even I could not bear the pain of the torn and restitched relationship.

We fought once more. We decided to break up. She went for a walk. I put my headphones on. It was 1997 and Radiohead had just released 'OK Computer'.

Twenty minutes later she walked back into the house, into our bedroom. She walked up to the desk where I was sitting, and asked what I was listening to. I pulled the jack lead out of the socket, and 'Exit Music (For a Film)' thundered into its crescendo.

She said "Is this for my benefit?"

I just clung to her and cried.
(theremin put the lotion in the basket on, Fri 29 Jan 2010, 9:03, 1 reply)

Not going to put this in a seperate post
But one of the only songs that makes me feel physically ill is Polyethylene Part 1 by Radiohead. Which is strange because almost all their other post-Bends output sends me into paroxysms of musical joy with no "real world" emotional associations.

I was 16 and "in love" for the first time with a beautiful Chinese girl who'd joined our sixth form. She clearly liked me back but was very strange about admitting it, went through phases of saying she liked someone else whilst spending lots of "physical" time with me, blah blah blah. I wanted her soooo much and just couldn't understand her reluctance to make things official.

So ensued a good year of extremely angsty to-ing and fro-ing, and I think fairly serious obsession and depression on my part at least. I'd really only just got into music properly, had loved OKC and the Airbag EP had just come out. I'd get into school really early and we'd meet in the basement music rooms to play piano together. There was a CD player down there and I listened to the EP for the first time, and several times after on other days, waiting for her to arrive. Somehow Polyethylene part one got completely linked with the drama and angst in my mind and now, 12 years later, if I hear it I'm right back there.

Very odd. During the whole affair she constantly practiced the theme from the Piano by Michael Nyman. So that also has the same effect. Actually women have ruined several songs and whole albums for me. Curse their ways.
( Throat And Ice Pie I see dem tatties dere., Fri 29 Jan 2010, 11:44, closed)