Does anybody know if Rose Melberg and Blake Schwarzenbach ever dated? Because that would explain why I currently can’t separate these two songs in my head.
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True, these tunes were released a year apart from each other and I’m probably making random connections but I think that a) Music is a form of communication, which is why I believe some songs can be taken as two sides of a story — a conversation, if you will — and b) the chords from the main riff of both these songs are very similar. They represent two different sounds from the same geographical scene: one clean and poppy, the other more driving. You put two and two together and you get something very peculiar.
Jawbreaker’s number talks about doubt and desperation, a man longing for contact with his loved one after fighting and not knowing where he stands. “Are we talking?” he wonders at one point; he doesn’t understand why they can’t work things out, and he misses her.
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Heartbreak is also central to “I’m Still Crying,” the difference is that the protagonist here would rather move on with her life and leave the relationship behind. She tries to fool herself that things will be better soon but she can’t get there, she’s still crying, obviously hurt and caring about the guy, as much as she hates this feeling.
If the main characters in both songs were talking about the same relationship, then we can conclude that the guy from “Do You Still Hate Me?” did something shitty to the girl from “I’m Still Crying.” She’s so upset, she’s distancing herself from him and wants out of the relationship since she feels there’s no turning back, yet she’s betrayed by her sensitivity and wishes she was tough enough to get over him sooner. The guy feels regret and tortures his own mind with thoughts of hope; he is pleading to the air for another chance to mend his mistake, since she’s not there listening anymore, trying to not care where he is or what he is doing.
Jawbreaker’s title is a question, Go Sailor’s an affirmation. I like to believe these songs represent the different attitudes between genders in modern relationships. The similarity of feeling in both songs, however, reflects humanity in the face of emotions, something universal.