As The Bubblegum Pops

My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a playlist around some theme. This week, Vito Nusret assembles 12 songs for an auspicious day in the life of a teenager. Read Vito’s thoughts on each song and listen along to the Spotify playlist on top and/or the YouTube playlist at the bottom of the post.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…

Andi white-knuckles the steering wheel of her dad’s teal ‘96 Dodge Neon as she holds back tears, her bottom lip quivering. It occurs to her that it’s officially the start of summer vacation as she eyes her haphazardly discarded yearbook in the backseat. “Class of ’01! Next year we RULE THE SCHOOL!! H.A.K.A.S.!!!” She sniffs hard, wiping her nose on the cuff of her hoodie, careful to avoid the thumbhole. Andi breathes deep and looks down in exasperation.

“Fuck! I’m still wearing his hoodie!”

Strategically avoiding her snot on the sleeve, Andi carefully removes the besmirched garment, rolls down the window, and deposits it ruefully to the waiting blacktop. Andi takes another weighty inhalation and finally turns the key in the ignition. Startled by the sudden burst of music, her eyes dart to the CD player as she fumbles for the eject button and examines the Sharpie-decorated disc. Hindsight being 20/20, Andi now sees her painstakingly printed playlist being preternaturally prophetic. Why didn’t she see the signs she posted for herself? With the music off Andi can hear that the engine didn’t turn over and the car isn’t running. A quick glance at the fuel gauge shows the needle buried well past the E. Wait, what time is it? Andi checks the dashboard clock. “I’m so late. Dad’s gonna be pissed.”

1. “Josie” by Blink-182

We flashback to that morning with a ping of Andi’s AOL Instant Messenger interrupting the squeak of permanent marker on plastic. Andi breathes deep, admiring the strong solvent smell of Sharpie. A second ping and Andi sees her friend Lily is getting annoyed asking if she’s done fucking around with that mixtape and ready to get picked up for school. It’s the last day of their junior year and tonight she’s got plans to see her crush: dreamy ska band frontman and local teen heartthrob, Tom Adkins! With the fruits of her musical curation labors emitting from tinny desktop computer speakers, Andi sighs wistfully and hopes that track one sung by three southern California twenty-somethings adequately engages her teenage romantic quarry. A third ping and Andi still hasn’t replied to Lily, which just isn’t done to your BFF in polite society, so the instant message is understandably caustic: “Calling Ms. Pop Punk Carson Daly! We G2G biatch!” Andi hurriedly types her plea for a pick up with one hand as she clumsily dons her Chuck Taylor low tops with the other.

2. “I Have A Date” by The Vandals

“Take a chill pill, Rob Gordon! I saw HIGH FIDELITY with you when it came out months ago!” Lily hits the stop button on the CD player to interrupt Andi’s mostly regurgitated diatribe about the art of making mixtapes. Andi has been over the moon about Tom asking her to play trumpet in his ska band since his usual trumpeters got mono and couldn’t perform at his big year-end house party. Granted, Lily thinks her friend is greatly overestimating her crush’s intentions, but after making her opinion known she feels bad shitting on the compilation her friend carefully constructed. Looking back at her friend pouting and sitting shotgun, Lily presses play and hopes to make amends while trying to temper lofty expectations. “I mean, you can’t go wrong with The Vandals but are you sure it’s a date?”

3. “Little Fingers” by Apocalypse Hoboken

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Andi and Lily exit their third period history class, each with a headphone held to their ear. Lily scoffs. “‘Little Fingers’ is a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?”

The pair stop as Andi eyes her friend warily and continues to listen to the lyrics. “Oh, this one is kinda raunchy, isn’t it.” Andi acquiesces. “Welp, it’s too late to change it now since we have band practice right after school and then we play the party. Besides, I don’t care if it’s a bit salacious. Maybe Tom will be… the one.”

Lily gasps. “The one!? You mean, like the one, ONE!?”

“I mean, not that one,” Andi clarifies. “My first kiss. Like my first real kiss.” Andi glares down the hallway in a dazed yearning, but bumping into a classmate snaps her back to reality.

Lily chuckles. “Goddamn, girl. You got it bad. And can we stop walking like this? You’re gonna get yourself killed and make me late for Spanish.”

4. “The World Is New” by Save Ferris

Andi and Lily are holding a single headphone to an ear and skanking in place, foreheads pressed together like a pair of conjoined twins grappling with a third wave ska addiction. It’s after P.E. in the locker room and their classmates are rolling their eyes and making faces at them, but the two friends couldn’t be bothered.

“Ah, it’s kinda cheesy,” Lily says with a smile, nonchalantly popping her gym uniform off to change back into her normal clothes with her trademark confidence.

“Dude, he’s in a ska band! He’s gonna like it!” Lacking in Lily’s aplomb, Andi does her patented put-her-shirt-on-over-her-gym-shirt routine in an effort to avoid any state of undress. Lily chuckles at her friend awkwardly shuffling through tops while Andi finds herself second-guessing everything. “I mean some of the songs we’re playing sound kinda like this. He’ll like it. Right?”

5. “She Found You” by Samiam

“Ne snood ben snow nuggy!” Lily blurts out with a mouth full of peanut butter and jelly. Strawberry, because she’s classy like that. Andi stares at her friend befuddled as she holds her greasy rectangle of cheese pizza. Lily swallows her food and takes another crack at her unintelligible statement. “He should be so lucky! I just mean, you shouldn’t have to sell him on you because you’re the fucking best!”

Andi blushes under the fluorescent cafeteria lights. “Yeah but you're my best friend and have to say junk like that. I bet his homies (both girls immediately regret Andi’s choice of nomenclature there) think the same about him! But what do you think about ‘She Found You?’’ Andi angles her headphones towards Lily on the dark brown folding table. Even with the Discman at full volume the sounds emanating from the tiny speakers are little more than raspy whispers cutting through the din of the lunch room, but Lily knows the bouncy, melodic, pop punk song well and smiles. “If he doesn’t like this song, there’s absolutely no hope for him.”

6. “Need You Around” by Smoking Popes

The pair of friends are serenading each other as Lily pulls up to Andi’s house after school and they continue crooning as they sing and dance through the domicile to Andi’s room, where she tries on a battery of thrifted t-shirts until Lily indicates she’s selected just the right one. To celebrate the fashion victory, the girls box step a quick rumba. Lily leads Andi to a spin and a dip with them both collapsing to the carpet in a fit of giggles. Andi collects herself and gets back to business. “You’re still coming, right?”

“Miss my girl’s first show?” Lily gestures towards Andi’s trumpet shimmering in its black hard case. “As if! I’m just gonna pop over to work to pick up my check and then I’ll see you in the pit.” She slams the case shut and slides it into her friend's hands. Andi twists the latches to lock and heaves herself up, case in hand, and tells Lily to wish her luck. The pair embrace and Lily quips, “You go pick it up, rudegirl.”

Andi cackles and tells Lily, “I hate you.”

7. “So Awake” by Tuesday

Andi feels those same old butterflies in her stomach as she lets herself into Tom’s and heads to the basement as instructed, following the pounding of live instrumentation. They sound alright, but Andi wouldn’t notice because in her head she can only hear Dan Andriano’s dulcet tones from her mix CD. As she rounds the staircase into the basement she sees Tom skanking and singing. Cue the “Dream Weaver” filter from WAYNE’S WORLD. The band stops abruptly, shattering the lenses of Andi’s love-goggles immediately. “Is that your girl?” Kyle the guitarist is addressing Tom, not even looking in Andi’s direction as feedback buzzes from his amp. “She’s late.”

Andi is blushing both from being late and being addressed as “Tom’s girl,” but before she can respond Tom interjects on her behalf. “Yeah, that was my bad.” Tom casually pushes the shaggy hair out of his eyes. “Sorry, Andi, we’ve been at it since 3pm, not 4pm. Are you ready to get practicing? People are gonna start showing up in a few hours.” Andi nods eagerly, takes her trumpet out of its case and joins the rest of the band. Tom and Kyle are fumbling with a mic and stand for her. Andi tentatively approaches the mic, buzzing her lips to warm up. Starting a song, Andi instantly blows a wrong note and waves for them to stop, yielding much eye-rolling, but when they restart the song she nails all of her parts. Tom smirks at her confidently.

8. “Excuse Me Mr.” by No Doubt

With Andi’s musicianship ingratiating her with the rest of the band, she gets more comfortable and is soon helping them tighten up various aspects of the set. Tom calls for a break and Kyle asks Andi how long she’s been playing. “Oh, well, since I was seven, so like, ten years. My parents both play, so I used to be kinda annoyed by how much they made me practice.” Now Andi is beaming.

Tom takes her presence as a personal victory. “Hey, didn’t you say you made me a mix CD? Pop it in.” Tom gestures over to a nearby boombox as Andi chokes on the water she was drinking, causing it to spray. Sheepishly, she grabs the CD off her trumpet case, still gagging a bit to the chuckling of her newly charmed bandmates. She didn’t want to show Tom these songs in front of everyone! Andi has to think. Which song is the least lovey-dovey? Looking over the artfully printed playlist on the disc she lucks out with a eureka moment, puts it in, and presses play. Tom recognizes the notes instantly. “No Doubt. Nice one. I love this song.” The rest of the band nod along in general agreement and Andi sighs in relief.

9. “The Freshman” by Mustard Plug

“Oh wait, I know this song. It’s a cover right?” Tom puckers and licks his lips after taking a swing of his Pepsi Twist. Before Andi can comment on the next track of her mix CD for Tom, Kyle is working out the chords on his guitar and the band has reconvened to learn this ska cover of The Verve Pipe’s hit song in order to make it the closer for their set. A handful of attempts and by Jove, they’ve got it!

We fast forward to the band performing this cover as their big finale, the party in full swing. Teens are drinking, dancing, singing along, and genuinely going wild during the chorus. Andi scans the crowd for Lily, but is having too good of a time to fret over it at the moment. After the epic encore, with all the partygoers cheering, Tom goes to Andi, gives her a big, sweaty hug, makes his way through his adoring crowd, and out the back door. Andi carelessly lobs her trumpet in its case, grabs the mix CD, and gives pursuit. Outside Tom is nowhere to be seen, but Andi hears a light thump on the deck above. Peeking over the railing Andi sees Tom sitting nonchalantly on the deck railing, packing his box of cigarettes. A seasoned smoker, Tom buys Parliament Lights. He puts one in his mouth and lights it. The picture of turn-of-the-millennium-high-school cool.

Sheepishly, Andi creeps up to Tom whose brow and bad teenage mustache glisten with sweat in the pale moonlight. The cool night air causes Andi to shiver slightly. Tom notices, pops his hoodie off, and hands it to her. “That’s gotta be a signal,” she thinks, as she puts the CD in the pocket and juts her thumb through a hole in the cuff. She breathes in the adolescent muskiness of the garment as she thinks, “I’m never taking this off.” With one hand Andi glides her fingers casually along the deck railing until her digits collide with his. With her other hand she moves her hair out of her eyes and tucks it behind her ear. This is it. What Andi’s whole day, shit, maybe her whole life has been leading up to. She closes her eyes and leans in.

Suddenly Andi hears the sliding door open behind her, followed by a shrill, girlish voice. “Babe?” She shivers once more, but not from the temperature. “There you are, babe!” This skinny girl puts her hand on Tom’s denim clad thigh with a disturbing familiarity. She smiles at Andi, her braces glistening in the pale moonlight. Tom leans over towards the girl with braces while still touching Andi’s hand. Noticing this, Andi jerks her hand away violently, causing Tom to lose his balance and tumble backwards off the story-high deck into the dark yard below. “Babe!”

10. “Panic” by Osker

Bursting through the basement door, Andi is desperate to find her trumpet case and get the hell out of there, hearing the swift and snotty punk track that comes next on her mix playing in her head. Bumping through throngs of drunken teens, causing the spillage of much booze and bong water, Andi can only respond to the glazed over and befuddled stares with frenzied and panicked glances. Finally digging her case out of a pile of discarded Solo cups and beer cans, Andi tugs the case, causing one cymbal stand to knock into another in a tumbling drum kit domino effect, hardware clanging to the basement floor. With dozens of drunk revelers now transfixed on her, Andi’s mortification grows as she bolts for the door. Fumbling with her car keys like some frightened final girl in a slasher movie, Andi almost leaps out of her All Stars when she feels a tap on her shoulder. Tom is standing there woozily holding the back of his head.

11. “Blind And Unkind” by The Ataris

“I’m sorry, I’m going!” Andi apologizes and finally gets the door open on her dad’s Neon.

“No, it’s cool.” Andi sits in the car and attempts to close the door but Tom is blocking her from closing it. “I probably should have told you I have a girlfriend… well, had, anyway. It’s probably done again now.” Tom looks down hangdoggedly for a second, but his countenance quickly recovers. He tosses his bangs back, wets his lips, and leans in. Mere moments ago this felt like everything Andi wanted, but here in the moment she’s only a little surprised to find her hand pressed to Tom’s chest, holding him at bay. Tom opens his eyes and realizes he’s not making out, invoking some consternation on his part.

“You should ice your head. You might have a concussion.” Andi pushes him out of the way of her door and closes it. Turning the ignition, she notices the engine labors to start, but Andi isn’t letting that get in the way of her dramatic exit. She reaches into the hoodie pocket, puts the CD in the player, and skips to her desired track, not breaking eye contact with the now astonished Tom. Andi mouths the words as she pulls out of the driveway. “Why do I always believe that I'm in love with everyone I see? Why did the next one have to be you?” Andi pulls the Neon down the street, checking the rearview mirror to see Tom still looking flabbergasted, but now with the girl with braces’ arms around him as he watches Andi drive out of the cul-de-sac.

12. “Wellington’s Wednesdays” by The Weakerthans

Andi pulls over a few blocks away, finding it difficult to see with her eyes welling up with tears, and that’s where we find our intrepid hero. Only barely able to hold back the tears threatening to fall, Andi steers the car to the shoulder of the road, the Neon’s now embarrassingly empty gas tank causing a sputtering stop. The stalled car’s darkened interior suddenly illuminates with the glare of passing headlights, “Andi, is that you? Lily turns off her high beams.

“Where the hell were you!” Andi is an odd mix of happy and furious with her BFF, causing both of them to chuckle.

“It’s not my fault!” Lily protests while taking off her Taco Tsar work polo. “Taylor Hughes was a no call, no show, so they made her cover her shift. And guess who I just found barfing up Boone’s Farm on Tom Adkins front lawn?” The pair embrace and Lily gets a gas can out of her car.

The friends soon find themselves  back in the Neon in front of Andi’s house, listening to the last tracks of the mix CD as Andi regales Lily with the finer points of her night’s adventure. “If you ask me, the turd got off light. I would have knocked his teeth out! You know his girlfriend is just a freshman?” Andi puts her face in her hands and starts shaking. Lily gets concerned. “Oh shit, are you crying again? Listen that piece of shit isn’t worth-”

Andi leans back, laughing hysterically and sings “we were merely freshmen” causing both girls to cackle heartily. After finally recovering, Andi still feels the pensive pang of the night’s events. “Man, I really liked him. It would have been nice to have my first kiss.”

“You’re seventeen! Since you’ve waited this long, your first kiss should be from someone who truly appreciates how awesome you are!” Lily employed her rarely utilized serious tone as John K. Samson from The Weakerthans sings “There's always more than one last call calling you.”

Andi just shrugs again. “Sure, but how will I know when—”

Before Andi can finish her thought, Lily gently grabs her neck and face, pulling her in for a long, deep kiss on the lips. It’s not the explosion of fireworks she imagined, but rather soft and warm, feeling very much like home. When Lily pulls back, Andi smiles with her green eyes all aflutter, “I hate you.”