Crucial Track for September 2, 2025

"Root Down" by Beastie Boys

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Share a song that tells a great story.

My son, Milo, is just starting his college journey and it’s bringing back all the memories. The song I picked played such a pivotal role in my college journey and has now come full circle.

In 1995, I went away to college at 17 and didn’t know anyone at my new school, 5 hours from home and honestly didn’t care to make friends. I was in a super competitive pre-med program and I didn’t talk to anyone for about 3 weeks. I decided I’d just keep my head down, study my ass off, plow through 4 years, get out, move far away from NY and start over in a new place with a new life. I didn’t want to adjust and I didn’t want to go home. College was just a means to an end- getting as far away from home as possible. So, needless to say, I had a really hard time adjusting. I’m pretty stubborn and that lasted about 5 months.

Over winter break, I got into a bad car accident, my long distance relationship at the time (leftover from HS) wasn’t working out and when I went back to college after winter break, I decided I had to try to move forward because there really wasn’t anything left to lose. I always listened to lots of music on my own but I missed talking about it and discovering new bands so much that I started secretly following sounds of music I liked playing in the dorms to see what kinds of other kids were listening in a search for others that at least liked the same music as me.

I must have walked miles around the dorms and one day I heard Root Down by the Beastie Boys blasting from a room on a sunny corner of a hallway, one of my favorite bands and favorite songs. As I came up to the room I took a chance and I shouted, I love this band! A blonde, quick witted girl named Sam jumped out and was like “Hey! Who are you? Want to be our roommate?” I quickly became friends with Sam and her roommate, Margie. A month later, we arranged for me to move into their room and their roommate to move into my old room. A few months later I met a few other girls, including our friend Eve, who also loved the same music. We all went to shows together, chased boys together and continued to widen our circle of friends through music in Buffalo. I even met my best friend, JD, (who I’d eventually marry) a few months later and we made it official at a Descendents show. The rest is history.

All these years later, we’ve rode the ups and downs of life together and I feel so lucky to still talk to Sam and Margie every single day. Margie crossed the country 2x with me and was my maid of honor. Sam’s oldest, Teagan, also went to college this fall (which has helped me with Milo going to college) and sings for Sostre, a new band in the same Buffalo scene where I met all my best friends through. All the most important moments of my life involve my favorite music and my favorite people.

On the way to her bass lesson last week, our daughter, Stella, who heads off to college a year from now, climbed in the car and said, I want to listen to this band I love and my favorite song by them. To my surprise, she put on Root Down by the Beastie Boys.