Levon - Elton John

I listen to this song and think of a thousand ways it would fit perfectly into some sort of coming-of-age drama. Perhaps the scene where Male Lead realizes what he left behind and returns to claim it/win her back. Maybe a scene where a car drives off into a cold, gray winter day a la Good Will Hunting. Hell, it would even make a trailer montage seem awesome. We would all watch the trailer and say to our friend next to us, “That looks kind of cool. I mean, it’s got Michael Cera in it…and I love that song.” Everyone involved would be pretty happy: the studio gets some decent buzz, the Wes Anderson-inspired director gets his dream soundtrack, and Elton gets a nice check at the end of the day.

I think about all of that for a second or two, and then I lock it away and decide that not every great song needs to be identified, used and ultimately devalued. Some songs should just stay songs that we enjoy by ourselves, and when our friends come over and look at our playlist and see them we can share that moment together, unscripted.

John Hughes, what have you wrought in me?