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Guest Essay

By Lizzy Goodman

Ms. Goodman, a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, is the author of “Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011.”

Lately a lot of what I’ve been doing is driving around in the psychedelic late fall splendor of upstate New York thinking about Lily Allen’s song about discovering her ex’s purported sex toys in a Duane Reade bag.

It’s one of the most tabloidy details in Ms. Allen’s breakup record, “West End Girl.” Many have speculated that the lyrics on the album refer to her former partner, the actor David Harbour, although she has said in interviews that the songs on “West End Girl” blend truth and fiction.

But even if that discovery didn’t happen in real life, to me and my friends, all now in our 40s, like Ms.........

© The New York Times