“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery, and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” –High Fidelity
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Issue 40/18, our first themed issue of the Other Press’ 4oth volume.
What’s the big deal? It’s not like themed issues are completely unheard of for our newspaper. We ran a sex issue last summer; Christmas-related content never fails to outnumber non-festive articles during the month of December. Heck, there are some student publications that even plan a slate of themed issues at the start of every semester. We’re hardly pioneers in the field, but at least we’re bringing a (hopefully) original concept to the table.
Depending on when this Lettitor reaches you, a romance issue may seem a bit premature—and that’s the point. The majority of folks have the week of Valentine’s Day off for reading break and we’re following the trend, which hopefully explains the release date of February 4. Welcome to the “Premature Love Issue” of the Other Press.
As expected, we have plenty of couple-centric articles lined up for your enjoyment, including important topics such as the mile-high club, Facebook etiquette for when you’re in a relationship, and at what point is it okay to say “I love you” to your significant other. The good news for the sad single sacks reading this is we also have tons of reads for people living on the other side of the relationship status spectrum. Drink recipes to make with your fellow lone rangers, ways to celebrate February 14 that don’t involve overdosing on chocolate, and (for the hopeless bromantics out there) a feature by yours truly about the history and current state of bromance in the media. We have something for just about everyone to enjoy—unless you’re illiterate or hate reading, in which case, why are you browsing this anyways?
The boom of romantic endeavours around the newspaper and the upcoming February 14 are unfortunately coming at an inopportune time for me. I recently ended things with my first long-term relationship and I finally got to see what all the hoo-ha surrounding major breakups is about. For those of you who’ve yet to experience a breakup, my only advice to you is to continue not experiencing them. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a relationship, playing drums in a bluegrass band, or even just an AM signal seeping in through a car radio, breaking up is basically the worst.
But you know what I realized isn’t the worst? Having a bunch of rad friends around to cheer you up and having a place like this here newspaper to fall back on in times of melodramatic misery. Unintentionally bragging here, I’ve always been a “the gin and tonic is half-full” kind of guy and I’m dealing my shift in relationship status the best possible way: by acknowledging it and moving on. For those of you heading into the love holiday solo, here’s some advice to go with your cinnamon hearts. Give it a cry (or even give it two, if you’re feeling generous), go listen to Beyoncé a few times, and spend those would-be holiday dollars on something nice for yourself. Like an animal onesie.
The worst thing you can do after a breakup is find yourself thinking about the “how comes,” the “what ifs,” and the “boohoos.” They’re not doing anyone any good and you’re wasting precious thought-time with your brain. The second worst thing you can do is watch the current critical darling Her, which is as absolutely depressing as it is well-done. If you can avoid doing both of these things, I promise you’ll be in good company.
Regardless of how you feel, the world, no matter how strongly you believe the contrary, will continue to operate as it always has. I hope you all have an enjoyable reading break and I’ll see everyone at the other end of the love tunnel.
So it goes,
Jacey Gibb
Editor-in-chief
