Surfing on Nada - Cheese Post

Sometimes we have to forego the new, and just seek the old.

It’s like comfort food. Does really greasy grilled cheese ever lose its appeal? I didn’t think so. Neither does Nada Surf.

Nada Surf is the kind of band that you’re all like “oh yeah!” every time it comes on shuffle. When looking for running music for my lunch hour, I usually end up with a few of the same choices: M.I.A., Japandroids, Nada Surf. All very different. All very the same.

They are comfort music in every sense of the word because I know exactly what I’m going to get. I know the order the songs will play in, and I know which ones are going to make me sprint. I know that I’ll have to skip Nada Surf’s “Comes a Time” when it plays right after “The Blankest Year” because nobody wants to hear that buzzkill of a song after they just heard a song where the main lyric/focal point is: “Oh F&*% it, I’m gonna have a party!”

Let’s get back to why Nada Surf is such a consistent joy in my life.
The lyrics are corny. I’m not saying lyrics have to be corny for me to like them, but you know what? In this case, it works for me.

“Always love/hate will get you every time”

“To find someone you love/you’ve gotta be someone you love”

These cornball lyrics are ACTUALLY GOOD ADVICE. And the simplicity in it all makes me happier. Like, maybe, yeah…I am gonna have a party. And maybe, yeah… I’m gonna be someone I love! They are simple blanket statements that we can pretend we’re doing just by changing our outlook. Sometimes we need the extra push from some little pop band to get us in the mood.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get sick of The Weight is a Gift, i.e. the best Nada Surf album of this lifetime. It’s the grilled cheese of pop music. It’s the butter for my bread. It’s the red popsicle for the hottest day of summer. It’s the reeses cup of my chocolate craving. Embrace the old! Enjoy it as it swishes around your ears once again. And be someone you love! (Unless, that is, you don’t want to find someone you love. Then go ahead and stay a scrooge forever. Whatever. Like I care.)