It was the evening of January 24. An ordinary Tuesday. Or so I thought.
A TikTok crossed my feed about something I never believed to be possible. It was a screen recording of a #SadUniversityGirlie trying to play the sad indie folk classic “Waiting Room” by the queen of sad girls herself, Phoebe Bridgers.
When the person tapped on the song, the word “unavailable” flashed across the screen.
After attempting to digest this information and already prepared to dismiss it as a cruel joke, I rushed to my own Spotify app to do the same.
I opened one of my playlists — it didn’t matter which one because they all contain this song, even my end of midterm season celebration playlist — only to have my worst fears realized.
Song unavailable.
The only option presented to me was to hit the green button with the words “Got it,” thereby conceding to the new status quo.
I even considered the unthinkable and opened Apple Music to see if a subscription to this lesser platform could quell my longing.
But alas, it was nowhere to be found.
How ever shall I start and end my days now? How am I to carry on without this broken love song to feed my misery?
The next day I did the only thing there was left for me to do: go straight to YouTube and convert multiple versions of “Waiting Room” to .mp3 files for my offline enjoyment.
This should hold me over. For now.
I do hope that one day, the best track in Phoebe Bridgers’ discography will return to Spotify and other streaming platforms, but I fear it won’t be anytime soon.
So I’ll continue to wish all that I want. But know this: It’s not for the better.
The Dingbat is The Ubyssey’s humour section. Send pitches and completed pieces to blog@ubyssey.ca.