But the answer is simple. Love is a mix tape.

Ron Swanson is more than the MVP of the 'Parks and Recreation' squad, more than just the funniest character on TV - he's the perfect depiction of aggrieved American manhood at the twilight of the empire.

I realize that I will never fully understand the millions of bizarre ways that music brings people together.

Seeing Taylor Swift live in 2013 is seeing a maestro at the top of her or anyone's game. No other pop auteur can touch her right now for emotional excess or musical reach - her punk is so punk, her disco is so disco. The red sequins on her guitar match the ones on her microphone, her shoes and 80 percent of the crowd.

Nothing connects to the moment like music. I count the music to bring me back, or more precisely, to bring her forward.

I didn't know what I was. I didn't have a noun.

A song nobody likes is a sad thing. But a love song nobody likes is hardly a thing at all.