"Misery" by The Moffatts

I'm still in a cheesy mood so I thought I'd pull out this favorite from my preteen/teen days. You can even see the MTV logo in the corner! You know....from when they still played music videos. Y'all may not be familiar with The Moffatts. They weren't very popular in the United States...but they were huge in Canada briefly. They were Canada's answer to Hanson (and I fucking loved Hanson...still do, in fact...), a band of brothers who sang sappy love songs and played their own instruments. I only knew about them because I read (probably too much) Teen Beat. Don't judge me....the 90s was a crazy time for everybody. This particular song was featured on an episode of my favorite show at the time, which I'll talk about because I feel like it didn't get the recognition it deserved while it was on the air. "So Weird" was a Disney show about a musician's daughter who was obsessed with the paranormal and had metaphysical encounters in every town where the tour stopped. And her older brother was hot. Correction: Her older brother was my kind of hot.... He's still hot - and he started a Christian folk band and stars in Hallmark movies. I apparently have a thing for wholesome nice guys. It's really fucking annoying.

Patrick Levis circa 2000

Patrick Levis Now-ish

Enough about my preteen hormones, let's talk about the song. Pretty simple story. The singer is in love with a girl that may or may not know he exists. It's unclear whether or not he has actually talked to the girl in question. Perhaps he's been admiring her from afar. Perhaps engaging in some mild stalking. Who knows? Point is, he's a little obsessed. I mean, he's wishing he could hold her, touch her, feel her.....and I just realized I assumed a hetero-normative situation. He never actually says that he's singing to a girl in the song, because the lyrics are directed at the object of his affection. My bad. Anyway, so when he's not around this person, it sounds like it sucks for him. Seems pretty straightforward. I find the following lyrics pretty interesting - Misery is what I feel/When you're not around/So I can't heal. I'm curious what this person is supposed to be healing. A broken heart? Or does this person have certain curative properties? Maybe he just feels better about himself when they're around. There's a more current song that's been on the radio that has a similar sentiment. I like me better when I'm with you. That would explain why this person is so addicting for the singer. Because if someone makes you feel like you are all the things you wish you were, wouldn't you want to feel that way all the time? Of course! But it's probably healthier to try and figure out how to feel that way on your own.

I cry myself to sleep again tonight 

cause I cannot hold you tight 

I wish I could see you again tomorrow 

To take all this sorrow, sorrow, hollow

When I touch you 

Can you feel it 

When I need you 

Can you give it 

When I look in your eyes 

Can you see me 

When I fall 

Will you catch me 

Catch me 

Catch me

As much as I like this song, though, it kind of annoys me. First, as you may have noticed, the lyrics are uber melodramatic. Second, if a boy feels like this about a girl, he will write a song about it. Or a poem. Or sketch something. He'll do anything except actually tell said girl about how he's feeling. And then they'll be crushed when she starts dating a Chad. Surprise! You only have a chance with a girl if you actually tell them you like them. Girls can't fucking read minds! Isn't that weird? Such crazy-ness! Much scary! But, once in a while, if you put yourself out there, they like you back. Sometimes they don't - and that sucks but you'll get over it. And sometimes, you'll get to know them and it turns out that you weren't that interested in the actual person....and that's an important thing to know! But, the point is, you never know until you try. Until then, you're just putting the poor girl/boy on a pedestal, out of reach and that's no fun for anyone involved. Fortune favors the bold....and whatnot. And that is your Love Advice with Dr. Jess for the day. ::sigh:: Maybe I'm just being overly unsympathetic. But that would be a first for me.

The video isn't very interesting but the lead singer is attractive. His brothers are attractive, but less so. Everything else in the video is just kind of random. I think the message they were trying to get across was that life was going on around him but he always had storm clouds because his beloved wasn't there. But it misses the mark. I would also like to point out that this song is not on Spotify and that is very unfortunate indeed.

"Misery" Video