It was a lovely warm day, Summer was coming soon.

He was driving us home through the countryside, where you could spot pretty houses and farms, green fields, little rivers. I think I could hear insects buzzing at the sun. The air was so vibrant, I, after discussing the silly people hanging their shoes on the electric wires in Brooklyn, yep I, in an act of silliness, took off my trainers and hand on the wing mirror, excited like a kid to see if they would have fallen away.
There was a song by Coldplay that started in that moment, and he told me the story of when he recorded that specific one on tape, from the radio.
Are you the tape generation, you too? Do you remember the joy when your favourite song was on the afternoon radio program and you rush to tape it, so to listen to it over and over? Do you remember that pure sense of offence towards music you felt when the dj talked over the already started song or the sense of impotence when he put the commercials before the very end?
As every people of the tape generation, he was telling me that he recorded the song because it was one of the first song he really liked and that the dj ruined it by talking shit.
Same old story.
Now, I wouldn’t define myself a Coldplay fan, at that time I had no album, just a “Greatest Hits-The Best of their three Albums” a friend of mine made me, where I asked for “The Scientist” – that I find perfectly sad- and he put “Green Eyes”, never heard before that, never ever gonna leave this song, I think it’s my favourite with “Amsterdam”.
Anyway, back to the story. When he asked me if i knew it, I just answered it was in my personalized cd. I was distracted by the trainers swinging out of the window, keeping his words and the music on the background of my thoughts.
When he asked me to put an open hand between us, next to the hand brake, I turned and looked at him in silence, eyes puzzling. I did it. In that precise moment, without taking his eyes off the street, he gave a punch on my left hand, a fair good one. In a sec I was fuming with rage and absolutely perplexed by the action.
He laughed, a bit embarrassed and ashamed. He told me: “From now on you will have a strong memory of this song only related to me”.

And I have, and I will. The song was Yellow, by Coldplay.
Enjoy.