4. Ween, "A Tear for Eddie" 

 

Hours later, I've grown sick of musical catharsis. I'm tired of crying — my eyes are worn out and dry. I need a break from my wallowing, and that's what Ween's Chocolate and Cheese can give me. The first few songs deliver, and I smile at the silliness of it all. Then, bam, "A Tear for Eddie" comes on and I, like Eddie's friend, am back to tears. Despite appearing only a couple of tracks after a song called "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)," "A Tear for Eddie" is among the most gut-wrenching instrumentals I've ever heard. I've been ambushed.

5. Ash, "Kung Fu"

 

Two months later, I find myself at Irving Plaza, catching bits of Ash's performance when I'm not staring at my friend's cute French colleague. I'm still aching from Nicole's double dose of infidelity, but this smiling French pixie, with her hair all Björked up, has me wide-eyed and nervous. I make fumbly conversation — what was Paris like? do you like New York? — and feel like a clown, but she tilts her head down while keeping eye contact in a way that makes me feel like we have a secret. We get an annoyed "shhh" from someone nearby and smile at each other. Our hands touch as Ash launches into their single "Kung Fu." Then I take her hand and kiss her as she turns to me, and Nicole, Darren, and the baker recede into the distance.

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