The Perfect Strain to My Heart
Tyler Cowen lists his favorite songs about obsession at the Volokh Conspiracy, and includes Nirvana’s “Aneurysm” on the list.
Can you think of anything cooler than an expert on international trade citing “Aneurysm"? Me either. I would only add that if you haven’t heard the version on the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single, you should check it out, as it’s better than the one on “Incesticide".
For my part, I don’t know how we’re defining “obsession", since it seems like any song about heartbreak could be made to fit, and there are a whole lot of songs about heartbreak, but here’s my attempt at an anecdotal list based on a quick scan of my CD and MP3 collection:
- “Brand New Key” by Melanie: “I rode my bicycle past your window last night / I rollerskated to your door at daylight….”
- “I Begin to Wonder” by Danii Minogue: “When I’m walkin’ down the street I call your name / Inside my head I go insane / Don’t you know that it’s really making me crazy / There were days when I went completely blind / No time to think and I lost time / Won’t believe what’s happened to me lately….”
- “Faint” by Linkin Park: “I can’t feel the way I did before / Don’t turn your back on me, I won’t be ignored / Time won’t heal this damage anymore / Don’t turn your back on me, I won’t be ignored….”
- “Found Out About You” by Gin Blossoms: “Street lights blink on through the car window / I get the time too often on am radio / You know it’s all I think about / I write your name drive past your house / Your boyfriend’s over I watch your light go out….”
- “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce: “When I talk to my friends so quietly / ‘Who he think he is, look at what he did to me’….. / Lookin’ so crazy in love’s got me lookin’, got me lookin’ so crazy in love….”