An estimated 92% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things, ever. We here at Nerdist are dead set on bringing you those types of songs—even if only for the weekend. So shove this into your grey matter!
Hey there, dearest reader of this very sentence! I have to preemptively apologize for the coming weeks because this installment and some in the next few weeks are going to be pretty heavily populated with early 2000s punk, pop-punk, and – if I’m being honest with my musical taste – a great deal of crap. Reason being is that I was able to revive my old iPod. Like a musical Lazarus it has returned and I get to comfort myself in all the eclectic depths of some good music and a hefty amount of nonsense.
I mentioned “a great deal of crap” because I know my music taste is kind of all over the place. I’m even ashamed of some of it from time to time. I think it’s important to own that shame much like the time I shared my unabashed love of Snow’s “Informer” in a previous article. (Note to Editor: I cannot apologize enough for that installment, Kyle) [Editor’s Note: You should be and I’ll never forgive you.]
But today’s song is the farthest thing from crap! In fact, it’s arguably one of the best songs to come out of 2002 if you’re using this article and my opinion as that argument.
Hot Water Music – “Trusty Chords”
I don’t even need to make a case for how good this track is off Hot Water Music’s 2002 album Caution. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with a bad opinion of the band or their music. There are either casual fans like myself or die-hard ones that will make you listen to them until you at least become a casual one. I’d wager that if haven’t heard “Trusty Chords” in a while, the first thing to pop into your head was the super-fan that introduced you to their music.
The song itself is a tad bittersweet in mentioning pain of a breakup – and dealing with stress in general – but the first line of the chorus is something that everyone should always keep in their back pocket. “I hate this place, but I love these chords” just might be the most beautiful way of saying “make the best of a bad situation.” Hating where you are in life whether it’s work, somewhere in a rocky relationship, or even a physical place – it’s important to find the what you can love about it. It’s a song about going through some serious stuff but finding a way to appreciate something about it. Even if it’s appreciating getting to feel how awful it is in the moment.
Alright folks, that’s this week’s song. Get ready for some serious 2000s throwbacks in the next few weeks. It’s gonna be all over the place but I promise I won’t share that other Snow song from that era. Crap. I just hyperlinked that, didn’t I? Apologies.
What are your favorite Hot Water Music songs? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
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Blake Rodgers writes for Nerdist from Chicago, IL where he lives happily with his Guinness World Record for High Fives. You can be his pal by following him on Twitter (@TheBlakeRodgers)
