Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Private Message | EchoZone Internal Chat
To: DeadStrings
Subject: Re: hey
Sorry for the delay—my dad’s been on a full-volume loop about “direction” and “discipline” and “you can’t make a living off cassette tapes—record your own fucking music.”
Which is ironic, because he bought me my first Walkman.
Anyway. You messaged at the exact right time. Because today? Today deserves a soundtrack.
So, here’s a Top 5: “Why My Day Sucks (feat. parental control, unsolicited lectures, and me not losing my mind—barely).”
1. “Papa Don’t Preach” —Madonna
Self-explanatory. Classic. A+ yelling-into-your-pillow track.
2. “Family Snapshot” —Peter Gabriel
Okay, it’s more intense than my actual situation, but there’s something about the static between people who think they know you.
3. “Tell Me Why” —Neil Young
Because I lack the words to explain myself the way he wants me to—and I’m tired of trying.
4. “Boys in Town” —Divinyls
For that specific brand of teenage defiance, where you fantasize about running away but don’t even have a car.
5. “You Don’t Own Me” —Lesley Gore
Yes, it’s older. Yes, it still hits. Yes, I blasted it while doing dishes like a damn anthem.
Anyway.
Thanks for checking in.
You are right about Disintegration, by the way. Side B’s got gravity.
What’s your Top 5 today?
DeadStrings: That list? Perfect.
#4 hit a little too close. I still don’t have a car either. The last one was totaled, and my driver’s license was revoked. Long story, and I’d rather not talk about it, so don’t ask.
My day wasn’t dramatic—just dull. Too fucking dull.
Meetings I didn’t want, small talk I didn’t mean, and way too much pretending to care about things I don’t even believe in.
We have just one track:
“Mad World” —Tears for Fears
It fits. Everything kept moving, but I wasn’t really in it. Just watching myself say the right lines, nodding in the right places. I came home wired and exhausted at the same time.
I’m here now. That helps more than I thought it would.
You can talk about your dad if you want. Or not. I’m fine either way. Just listening to whatever you put on next.
StringTheory27: You picked the right version, by the way.
Everyone goes for the piano cover now—slow and tragic, like that’s the only way sadness works. But the original? It’s worse in a good way. There’s this weird tension in it, like the song isn’t ready to fully commit to the breakdown.
It remains polished. Like it’s trying to hold it together for the meeting. For the carpool. For whoever’s watching.
That’s what makes it hurt more.
That’s Tears for Fears in general, isn’t it?
They wrote pop songs like therapy sessions. Big drums, clean synths, and lyrics about emotional collapse in the middle of adulthood. Songs for people who smile through anxiety and only scream in traffic.
They never gave us answers, just mirrors.
I like mirrors. Even when they’re unflattering.
You still listening to Disintegration, too, or have you moved on?
DeadStrings: Yeah. That’s exactly it.
They wrote like people who were trying to sound okay so they wouldn’t scare anyone away, but if you actually listened, everything broke underneath. Like emotional ventriloquism.
I used to play “Head Over Heels” when I wanted to pretend I wasn’t falling apart. Something about the way it keeps trying to be upbeat while saying everything’s out of control— that made sense to me. Still does.
Also, you calling Mad World a mirror? That stuck.
It’s been so long since I had anyone to talk music with like this.
Not just about favorite bands or amazing solos—this.
The why behind it. The stuff no one else hears unless they’re already bleeding a little.
You get that sometimes the only thing keeping you above water is that chorus that somehow captures exactly what you can’t.
So, thanks for that.