Music may be a vehicle for our individual memories, but few songs have the privilege of conjuring an entire generation’s collective warmth and sentimentality — and maybe even a bit of cheesy nostalgia — like Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait.” As the theme for the massively popular teen soap opera “Dawson’s Creek,” Cole’s irresistible slice of adult-contemporary pop scored the highs, lows and woes of millions of adolescents and young adults, obsessed with the show’s relatable story arcs and contemplative characters. But despite soundtracking 128 episodes worth of hormonal melodrama, Cole’s song most immediately evokes one image: the devilishly handsome, All-American countenance of the show’s star, James Van Der Beek. Van Der Beek, who died this week at the age of 48, had the kind of face that felt strangely familiar from the moment he first appeared on our television screens. It was malleable and oblong, perfectly complemented by a waft of boy-next-door blond locks and a brow that could convey emotion just as well as any histrionic soap dialogue. Whether he was …