I Got Kicked Out of the Library for Listening to TLOP

In 2016, I was a sophomore studying at the University of Oregon. That year was known for some of the best music releases by my generation’s top artists. While I won’t go into all the details, I highly recommend checking out the albums that came out that year. I remember being disappointed with the rollout of “The Life of Pablo” by Kanye West. I wanted to give the album a fair chance, but I couldn’t seem to grasp the overall concept, which stopped me from fully appreciating it. The only song that caught my attention was “Real Friends,” and I was hoping to find another track to add to my playlist.

I remember texting my friend Greg and asking his thoughts on the album. He responded by telling me how good it was, and I thought I was missing something. I asked him what tracks he liked, and he said he enjoyed "Father Stretch My Hands." I listened to it in my apartment bathroom and was blown away. I went to the library to meet my girlfriend and sat in the common area. Since I couldn't study in the library, I decided to put on the new Kanye album, and sure enough, "Father Stretch My Hands" came on. I was acting like a fool in the library and ended up falling over in my chair, embarrassing my girlfriend, and getting side eyes from the librarians to leave.

So I did.