A Comet Appears…

One of my all-time favorite songs.

A Comet Appears is the closing track on the Shins’ third studio album, Wincing the Night Away, from 2007. The track itself was written by James Mercer and explores residual guilt, emotional desperation, and destructive relationships. Mercer wrote the song while exploring his own “catholic guilt“ and the feeling of trapping people in impossible situations. The song is known for its melancholic tone and delicate sound. The album itself won a grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Why this song is important to me…

This song features in the closing moments of the pilot episode of the TV show “Chuck.” The show ran from 2007 to 2012 and was integral in shaping who I am as a person. Back in those days, I saw a lot of myself in Chuck Bartowski, the main character of the show. The song itself has been a favorite of mine for almost seventeen years. It was actually the canceling of the show that got me into writing, where I wrote Chuck fanfiction. So, in a way, without this show and this song, I never would have embarked on this literary journey that I’m on now.