The Plot Thickens

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The Chipotle I work at plays mostly indie pop songs and remixes that I’m sure some guy in an office somewhere curated into a playlist with a title like “songs that won’t offend anyone while they eat their burrito.”

Usually, I’m not bothered by the musical choices of Chipotle, Inc., but recently I’ve been hearing an uninspired cover of Glenn Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” and it’s really starting to bother me.

The song is nostalgic for me, as I grew up listening to Campbell. I love “Wichita Lineman.” It reminds me of riding to middle school in my father’s Toyota Camry.

Not everyone in Alabama listens to country. Most of my friends there don’t, and my mother despises country music. My dad, on the other hand, is much more into the genre, and I take after him. I don’t exclusively listen to country artists by any means, but since leaving Alabama, they have crept their way into more and more of my Spotify playlists.

Country music is one of the reasons I like Taylor Swift. I became a fan of her when the Red album was released in my freshman year of high school. That particular LP marks the beginning of her transition from country singer to pop star and is one of my favorite albums ever.

There’s a song from Red titled “All Too Well” about a relationship that goes bad (as most Swift songs are), but there’s line that says, “this thing was a masterpiece / till you tore it all up.” This line always bothered me for the fact that Taylor is placing every ounce of blame on the ex. Even before I’d had my first real relationship, I felt like there was no way it could be all one person’s fault.

When my first boyfriend broke up with me, I listened to that song within an hour of being dumped and screamed, “YOU tore it all up,” at the top of my lungs. It was quite cathartic.

I know now, after two breakups, that it’s hardly ever just one person’s fault. But it can still be helpful to, at least for a moment, place the blame. And it’s more fun to do it with a twanging guitar and a southern accent.