The year was 2004. Emo pop-punk was reaching it’s pinnacle while I was reaching the bottom…shelf at my college’s local liquor store. To the casual blog readers out there, I loved college. Emphatically. In fact, it was there that I was first introduced to today’s throwback.

Prompted by the personal motto of Max Fischer from the Wes Anderson classic Rushmore, Lawng Island’s Brand New would release “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades.” Loosely translated as “thus passes the glory,” the second single off of their sophomore album Deja Entendu is a clever alt-rock twist on high-school dating norms.

Throughout endless sensationalized examples and portrayals, the overzealous male is built up as the relationship aggressor, but here it’s the girlfriend pressuring her boyfriend into taking their fleeting indulgence to the next level. And with lyrics like “He is the lamb, she is the slaughter” and “the act becomes the art of growing up” coupled with a drubbing bassline and galvanizing guitar licks you’re left with biting commentary on preconceived notions structured as a catchy rock and roll song.

Boom, feel free to cite today’s entry in your next Sociology / Philosophy / English / hell even Latin paper. But until then give this a spin: