How “I Don’t Know Anymore” by Learn To Forget Captures the Collective Mood of 2020
Life sometimes feels like an unsolved puzzle, a maze that we entered into with the resolution of succeeding, but constantly wondering if we have taken the correct path. In the song “I Don’t Know Anymore,” Learn To Forget eloquently captures the different thoughts and feelings that characterized those moments of uncertainty and self-doubt.
“Learn To Forget” is the band name for singer/songwriter and guitarist Eddie Huante. The dream of becoming a professional musician started for him when he was in high school when he began playing the guitar inspired by early rock and roll artists like Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Noticing the talent Eddie exhibited, his guitar teacher recommended him to learn the basics about production and helped him to do so. Even though Eddie started his writing and recording from scratch, when he became a music student at UCLA, he started using the opportunities and facilities his university offered him to work on his music, especially on his solo EP project. Eddie started working on his latest release, “I Don’t Know Anymore” when he was dealing with anxiety in the middle of the pandemic.
During this troublesome time, he wasn’t just coping with a global emergency, but also with the bittersweet feelings of finishing high school from lockdown, and the hunting thoughts about what the future would be like from then on depending not only on his decisions but on a sanitary life-changing crisis. As a result of those intense moments, the song came to life. The lyrics capture in a great way what the artist and probably most of us have gone through. The song opens with the line “The days are too short, and life is too long”, transmitting the sensation of not being capable of using time effectively, leaving us with the feeling that we are not really working enough, but life inevitably still approaches. Lines like “And something ain’t right, with how the stars are aligned” and “Back here again, in this awful place” are also poignant ways to express the singer’s battle with uncertainty and anxiety.
When it comes to the music, the artist mentions that the song began with attempting to emulate the styles of 50’s icons Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, but with a contemporary twist of surf and garage rock. To produce this homage, the artist had to go through a long process that started in his parents’ house with the help of his guitar teacher with rudimentary equipment. Fortunately, once he entered UCLA as a music student he had access to different equipment and facilities that helped him achieve the result he wanted, and ended up with a song that was sonically rich and sounded the way he always had in mind.
The young artist also managed to create a music video for the song. Even though he had a small budget, he found a way to create a compelling and attractive video that goes along with the vibes of the song. To create this piece he only counted on his creative mind, his inexperienced but enthusiastic friends, his parents who lent him their house around Long Beach, an old camcorder from his dad, and a Sony video camera that he could buy only after saving up the whole summer. The result is a nostalgic production inspired by the 50s and early 2000s garage rock sound. Proudly, Eddie adds, “The video came out just how I wanted it to, reflecting the DIY ethos that went into the writing and production of the song.”
Eddie has demonstrated, both to himself and the world, what he’s capable of achieving with determination, creativity, and a unique ability to transform every obstacle into an opportunity. “I Don’t Know Anymore” leaves us enthralled and eager to hear more from Learn To Forget. As we wait for his upcoming EP, I have no doubt that you’ll find yourself playing it on repeat.
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