We all cringe at that weird guy we know from high school who is perpetually chronicling his mental breakdown on Facebook, and shake our heads at the "Bernie would have won!" paragraphs our cousins unload on the timeline like it's their job. Obviously, on some level we relate to these people: that's why we have social media accounts in the first place. We want to spew, but most of us don't, because we're conscious of the fact that our innermost thoughts, opinions, and personal histories are really boring to everyone but us.But sometimes these norms fail. Like today, when everyone you know—including the staff of several respectable music publications—decided to vomit forth lists of their ten favorite albums from their teenage years. Would any of these otherwise civilized people have gone rogue like this under normal conditions? Probably not. But when everyone around you is doing it, the restrictions are lifted—the prison doors swing open, the inmates take over the asylum. People seemingly jumped at the opportunity to craft a narrative of themselves as having had endearingly bad taste as a teen—think Korn, Dave Matthews Band, Talib Kweli. Look everyone! I'm normal too!Memes likes this go viral because the deep-seated desire to express every thought and opinion that crosses our minds is always there, under the surface, building pressure like volcanic magma. And when our friends—whose judgment usually hangs over our shoulders like a specter, keeping us in check—also participate in this kind of thing, we explode. Yo La Tengo! The Smiths! Pharcyde! Outkast! Elliott Smith! Modest Mouse! Then we spend the day rolling around in our own nostalgic filth. It's a fuzzy distraction from the crushing onslaught of fascism in the news. Now, instead of ranting pointlessly about politics to a curated group of people who share our views, we rant pointlessly about something else. I hope it happens again soon.
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