> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://benskutnik.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Relics - URL: https://benskutnik.com/relics/ - Published: 2026-10-27T00:09:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T00:10:32.000Z - Description: On my commute I work back through the scenes of my musical upbringing, from Lou Reed to Harvey Danger. Time to think backwards while the rest of life asks me to think forwards. - Author: Ben Skutnik I have about an hour-long commute to work and about an hour and fifteen minutes coming home. When I tell people that, usually they'll say something like, "you'll get a lot of podcast time!" Or, "you got any audiobooks queued up?" First, never will I have an audiobook queued up, I'm too proud for that. And I've got a couple podcasts I listen to. Four specifically. And they mostly run on a weekly cadence. So for all but about four of the hours I'm on the road, I've been riding my wave of nostalgia listening to different scenes of my musical upbringing. I try to start with a go-to from a scene...say I'm in my "I just read *The* *Fountainhead*" scene. Boom, *Transformer* by Lou Reed. To paint the complete picture, I didn't even like Lou Reed. I do now, but back then I had just transcended out of the skate punk scene and still wanted to be counterculture. The definition of a poser. Anyway, I start with something I gave a lot of spins to and try and think of more and more obscure or one-hit-wonders of my Memorex CD-R megamixes. Today I was reminded of the track "*Jerk It Out*" by Caesars and "*Mr. E's Beautiful Blues*" by Eels. That reminded me of the movie *Road Trip*, then cruising around with my high school buddy Travis listening to Run-D.M.C.'s "*It's* *Tricky*". I have absolutely no data to support it, but I'd believe it if someone told me that helps with cognitive preservation. I just enjoy strolling through a little nostalgia. Some concentrated time to think backwards while the rest of our lives require us to think forwards is a refreshing brain break. If I had to rate my top three favorite things to do, getting nostalgic would be somewhere up there. Tapping into all the senses, remembering what it felt like to exist in yesteryear. And I wonder if the adults back then also thought things were more muted than they remembered. Because on these drives to and fro, I look at the houses, the cars, and the people and nothing seems as vibrant. Is this age desensitizing me to my surroundings, or has Millennial Grey actually layered itself upon all aspects of life? Hold on, let me yell at the clouds for a bit. "If you're bored then you're boring." Another nostalgic earworm from the drive..."*Flagpole Sitta*" by Harvey Danger. When applied to the effect of nostalgia, it's the fighting force against the worn-down millennial outlook. As I go through this exercise, I've been trying to be reflective but not stuck. Trying to remember that the good times had nothing to do with the year they happened, but with the person who made them happen. Responsibilities creep in. Houses get bought, families are made, timecards get punched. And, no, I don't think I could wear the same t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops every day to the office. But I can still spin Lou Reed. ## Get new posts by email One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Emails go out Sundays. --- *This is free to read. If you'd like to help cover the costs of the site and the apps, there's a [tip jar](https://ko-fi.com/benskutnik?ref=benskutnik.com).*