Click photo to D/L.

I have never owned a pair of Jordans in my life. There, I said it. As a 33 year-old man who grew into adolescence addicted to baseball cards and pick-up basketball games in the summer, admitting to having never owned a pair of the most famous sneakers in the history of footwear still makes me oddly uncomfortable. Maybe because my lack of ownership means I never achieved that rep, that place in the awkward hierarchy of teenage boys reserved not necessarily for the ones with the most athletic prowess on the court, but the ones whose parents possessed the greatest financial means for supply, or the ones whose skills at manipulation or work hustle outpaced that of kids like me who valued the taste-making sneakers just as much as the next dude but lacked the necessary enterprise it took to obtain them.

Odd that in 2011, after over three decades of life on this planet and armed with a value system that allows me to put material things like Air Jordans into proper perspective, I still feel a twinge of unworthiness over never having owned a pair — the power of consumerism in this country doing what it was built to do. A few weeks ago, for old time’s sake, I tried some on. The IV’s, in a fresh gray colorway. And, as much as I wanted to buy them — to finally fill that void that had remained empty since I was a teenager — I didn’t do it. Something felt wrong. Out of place. Like the time had come and gone and it would never feel right to have them on my feet again, regardless of how many approving glances I might receive.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ epic track “Wings” perfectly captures the folklore associated with Air Jordans. This song dropped about four months ago (#LatePass) and I only recently realized I hadn’t featured it on a post. So here it is: a compelling ballad to lost innocence. And a perfect reminder of the false power material objects hold over people. Even ones like me who never tasted that sweet possession in the first place.

(Read about the making of the “Wings” music video at  director Zia Mohajerjasbi’s website, here.)

Press Play to listen to “Wings” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.