Discovering Your “Perks of Being a Wallflower” Tunnel Song
We’ve all felt those moments in our lives. Experiencing that ultimate feeling of freedom that is hard to mask into words. Where the perfect song is playing in the background and we feel as though we are living in our own coming-of-age film montage. With the weather slowly getting warmer as days pass on, and the summer months peeking around the corner—it’s time we talk about those songs that make you feel like you are on top of the world.
I was only 12 when I first watched the 2012 coming-of-age film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on Stephen Chbosky’s novel of the same name. Being so young at the time, it was difficult for me to understand this immense feeling of being “infinite” as this film was expressing, however, the story has stuck with me for quite some time. Now, being in my early 20s—it resonates with me more than ever and continuously grows as I navigate my way through life experiences. The notorious ‘tunnel scene’ showcases Emma Watson’s character, Sam, standing in the back of a truck—arms expanded like wings, the fluttering lights of the famous Pittsburgh tunnel and the sound of David Bowie’s “Heroes” echoing in the background. We then see Logan Lerman’s character, Charlie, watching her live in this carefree, almost ethereal moment. In that scene, he realizes he feels “infinite.” The song to capture this scene in Chbosky’s novel was originally “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, however, Chbosky decided to change it to “Heroes” in the 2012 film, since he felt this song emanated a more intimate feeling for a scene of adolescent freedom. After watching this scene for the first time, one thing I realized was how music has the power to make us feel ultimately on top of the world.
I remember when my family and I drove to Pittsburgh for my sister’s volleyball tournament, we drove through the Fort Pitt Tunnel that was captured in the film and it felt surreal. Unfortunately, I wasn’t standing at the back of a truck with the sound of “Heroes” filling the empty void in the echoing tunnel, however, being in that space still felt like something out of my own coming-of-age story. I have always wanted to capture that exact feeling that “Heroes” gave the characters in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Being in my early 20s and having gone through a lot of life experience while still trying to figure everything out—the one thing that has helped me grow is music. The power that music holds makes us romanticize moments in our lives. Especially when the song we are listening to fills the empty silence in an old beat up car on a long drive. Driving with the windows down through the summer breeze on a highway, and listening to that one song that makes you feel everything all at once is an unbeatable feeling of freedom.
I’ve curated a playlist of 16 ‘tunnel songs’ that encapsulates a similar feeling that Bowie’s “Heroes” portrays in the film. The playlist ranges in different genres for all listeners' interests. One of my absolute favourite songs to drive to is “What do you know?” by the band Shark?. Not only do the lyrics speak directly to the coming-of-age repertoire of not feeling alone anymore, and truly feeling like you can conquer anything in the world—the synthesizers used in the melodies have a significant tone that reminds me of the sound of 80s rock evermore capsulating a film montage moment. I would classify “What do you know?” as a momentous ‘tunnel song’ in my life. I found this song when I least expected it. I was cruising on Spotify when the pandemic first hit the world in March 2020, fell upon the band Shark?, and this was the first song I clicked on. I haven’t regretted it since. Within those moments of uncertainty and fear when the pandemic first hit, this song appeared when I needed it the most. Even listening to songs with intimate instrumental sounds as portrayed in “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean or “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea” by M83, can take you to new heights you didn’t know you could reach. This is the power that music holds.
You may be asking yourself, why is finding music like this important? Music speaks for us in cases where we may not be able to say a word. Having a song like this to put our thoughts into a beautiful masterpiece in not only lyrical arrangements, but instrumental melodies, can be life changing. This is not to be taken in the sense that music can easily speak for us, but more in a way that we can relate our stories and feelings to the voices of others. Music is the one thing that has truly kept me going throughout this full year of living in a global pandemic, and I’m sure I’m not alone. While we are all stuck at home, away from in-person social interactions with friends and family—going on a drive has been one of the best ways for me to escape. Especially while living in the complicated world that we live in, we all need that one song that makes us feel overall invincible. To find your own ‘tunnel son,’ keep your mind open to different styles and genres of music. Not everybody will think of “Heroes” as their ‘tunnel song’—maybe yours is a completely different sound. Your ‘tunnel song’ should make you feel untouchable and (I hate to be cheesy), it should make you feel infinite. Music is made to make the listener feel something—you are meant to relate the simple notes of a song to your own story. The best songs that make you feel this way are those that you happen to fall upon when you least expect it. Maybe it’s quietly played in the background of a scene in a movie, posted on a friend’s Instagram story, or found on an old college mixtape. Wherever you find it and whenever you do, it will connect with you more than you think a song ever could.
Here is a list of my ‘tunnel songs’ for all the dreamers out there:
“Fall For Her (Nobody Else)” - Runner and Bobby
“Where is My Mind?” - The Pixies
“Burning” - The War on Drugs
“Weird Science (Don’t Leave My Arms)” - Current Joys
“Godspeed” - Frank Ocean
“Heroes” - David Bowie
“How Do You Know?” - Shark?
“My Tears Are Becoming a Sea” - M83
“Coming of Age” - Blondes
“Live Forever” - Oasis
“Sweet Disposition” - The Temper Trap
“All These Things That I’ve Done” - The Killers
“Youforia” - Mac Miller
“Where’d All The Time Go?” - Dr. Dog
“Waves” - Kanye West
“Shattered Ring” - SZA
Check out this playlist on Spotify!