29.
artist:hothotheat
album:elevator
on at least four separate occasions while listening to this album i actually said out loud "hot dog! why did i ever stop listening to this album?"
I'm not sure why i bought this album to begin with. I'm guessing it was because i heard the single on the radio, but it could very well be any reason under the sun. i know that i didn't listen to it for very long. something else must have caught my attention and taken over before this album had a chance to run its course.
i do remember going to see them in concert with Mandy. i know that it was warm out, and i know that it was raining. the show was at the troc in Philly. i feel like we went to see the band that was opening for them...and now that I'm thinking about it, i have a crazy feeling that it might have been eisley. i know that originally i was supposed to go with someone else, but they didn't return my calls or texts for the few days leading up to the show, so Mandy came along in his stead.
we left that show about halfway through hothotheat's set and went to the wawa across the road. (i have only ever been to one show in my life at the troc that didn't end with a trip to the wawa across the road, actually.) i had been waiting the entire set for a specific song, and it was getting close to the end, and both of us were bored and tired, so we decided just to leave. when we were walking back past the troc on the way to the train station, we could hear island of the honest man coming from the stage. that was the song i was waiting for. oh well, them's the breaks, i guess.
there were a lot of songs on elevator that i really dug. aside from island of the honest man, there are you owe me an IOU, middle of nowhere, and running out of time, just off the top of my head. the entire time i was listening to this album i was dancing in my seat and singing along with the lyrics that i still remembered. I'm glad i decided to listen to it and get out of the slump that I've been in lately. i have to remember that when i need to dance or be happy, i should pull out hothotheat's elevator album.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
365 project:"I'm sha sha shakin, sha shakin' I'm sha sha shakin, I'm shakin' now"
28.
artist:Rooney
album:Rooney
i bought this album because someone on a message board i used to go to all of the time said everyone needed to own it. this guy was a Rooney enthusiast, and i was getting a lot of good musical advice from the board for a long time, so i figured id check it out. i listened to it for about a week and then never opened it again. it was good, it just didn't have any staying power for me.
I've seen them in concert. oddly enough, they are coming around with eisley (who i just wrote about in the last entry) in a few weeks. that might be a show worth checking out...if i could afford to go to shows these days. oh well. Rooney has been on the peripheral of my musical world for a long time...i just never really bothered a whole lot with them unless i had to. to me, they are that kid that you always run into at the same parties and with whom you share several mutual friends, but who you just never bother to talk to or get to know.
this CD isn't bad. i like the single, "I'm shakin" enough that ill sing along to the chorus when it comes on the radio, which it still does occasionally. i just don't love this album enough to listen to it. I'm betting that id have traded it in years ago if i didn't spill coffee all over the case, leaving the liner notes wrinkly and stuck to the case itself.
Rooney reminds me a lot of weezer. I'm not gaga over weezer like most of the people i know-as a matter of fact, after Pinkerton i think most of what they have released has been garbage. lucky for Rooney, i was thinking blue album weezer when i made that analogy, so they are safe. i just don't think this CD will come off of the shelf again for another eight years.
artist:Rooney
album:Rooney
i bought this album because someone on a message board i used to go to all of the time said everyone needed to own it. this guy was a Rooney enthusiast, and i was getting a lot of good musical advice from the board for a long time, so i figured id check it out. i listened to it for about a week and then never opened it again. it was good, it just didn't have any staying power for me.
I've seen them in concert. oddly enough, they are coming around with eisley (who i just wrote about in the last entry) in a few weeks. that might be a show worth checking out...if i could afford to go to shows these days. oh well. Rooney has been on the peripheral of my musical world for a long time...i just never really bothered a whole lot with them unless i had to. to me, they are that kid that you always run into at the same parties and with whom you share several mutual friends, but who you just never bother to talk to or get to know.
this CD isn't bad. i like the single, "I'm shakin" enough that ill sing along to the chorus when it comes on the radio, which it still does occasionally. i just don't love this album enough to listen to it. I'm betting that id have traded it in years ago if i didn't spill coffee all over the case, leaving the liner notes wrinkly and stuck to the case itself.
Rooney reminds me a lot of weezer. I'm not gaga over weezer like most of the people i know-as a matter of fact, after Pinkerton i think most of what they have released has been garbage. lucky for Rooney, i was thinking blue album weezer when i made that analogy, so they are safe. i just don't think this CD will come off of the shelf again for another eight years.
365 project:"riding in our shiny motor cars with eyeglasses full of stars"
27.
artist:eisley
album:room noises
several years ago, either back in 2003, i saw eisley for the first time. they were opening for brand new, and i couldn't care any less about who they were or what they did. as far as i was concerned, i was there to see brand new and the openers were just wasting their time.
this seemed to be the thought throughout most of the crowd, but once i heard those girls sing i was hooked. they were selling their first ep at their tiny merch table in the back, and i ran back and picked it up, and when their second ep was released later that year, i picked that up as well. its not very often that i see an opening band that i fall so hard for, but they were definitely an exception to that line of thinking.
i remember describing them to chad one night as "fairy music." between the softness and sweetness of the girls' voices and strong fairy-tale imagery used in the lyrics, "fairy music" was the best and most fitting description i could come up with.
i LOVED eisley, and then hated them, all because Jesse Lacey told me too. i mean, he didn't call me up on the phone and say to me, "hey, i heard you didn't like/liked eisley. change that at once or suffer the wrath" but i was a devout follower of all things brand new, and what Jesse said was truth. that was that. so i stopped listening to them, and carried on with my life. i missed this album, though. i would listen on occasion and then feel guilty, like i was cheating or something. finally, Sherri's side of the story came out and i felt immediate remorse for not paying more attention to the band over that stretch of time. i had the newest album, combinations, in my possession, but didn't pay it much attention, either. i was excited to be able to listen to this band again without regret.
even though it was now "okay" to listen, i never really went back to room noises. i don't know if i felt like id grown out of it, or if i was just bored, or whatever the case was, but i just didn't listen. i actually pulled this album off the shelf about a week ago to listen to, but never really got around to it, because life got in the way and other albums seemed more pressing, but when i was listening to it today, i found myself wondering why i allowed myself to get away from it in the first place. some of my favorite lyrics ever written are contained on that album...listen to songs like trolley wood, plenty of paper, or one day i slowly floated away and just take in the words. the images in my mind that are taken from those lyrics are magical and fanciful and all things girly.
i believe that this album will find itself back into rotation now. I'm anxious to hear the new album and see if that's any good. I'm betting it will be...despite my unfaithfulness to this band, they have never failed to let me down.
artist:eisley
album:room noises
several years ago, either back in 2003, i saw eisley for the first time. they were opening for brand new, and i couldn't care any less about who they were or what they did. as far as i was concerned, i was there to see brand new and the openers were just wasting their time.
this seemed to be the thought throughout most of the crowd, but once i heard those girls sing i was hooked. they were selling their first ep at their tiny merch table in the back, and i ran back and picked it up, and when their second ep was released later that year, i picked that up as well. its not very often that i see an opening band that i fall so hard for, but they were definitely an exception to that line of thinking.
i remember describing them to chad one night as "fairy music." between the softness and sweetness of the girls' voices and strong fairy-tale imagery used in the lyrics, "fairy music" was the best and most fitting description i could come up with.
i LOVED eisley, and then hated them, all because Jesse Lacey told me too. i mean, he didn't call me up on the phone and say to me, "hey, i heard you didn't like/liked eisley. change that at once or suffer the wrath" but i was a devout follower of all things brand new, and what Jesse said was truth. that was that. so i stopped listening to them, and carried on with my life. i missed this album, though. i would listen on occasion and then feel guilty, like i was cheating or something. finally, Sherri's side of the story came out and i felt immediate remorse for not paying more attention to the band over that stretch of time. i had the newest album, combinations, in my possession, but didn't pay it much attention, either. i was excited to be able to listen to this band again without regret.
even though it was now "okay" to listen, i never really went back to room noises. i don't know if i felt like id grown out of it, or if i was just bored, or whatever the case was, but i just didn't listen. i actually pulled this album off the shelf about a week ago to listen to, but never really got around to it, because life got in the way and other albums seemed more pressing, but when i was listening to it today, i found myself wondering why i allowed myself to get away from it in the first place. some of my favorite lyrics ever written are contained on that album...listen to songs like trolley wood, plenty of paper, or one day i slowly floated away and just take in the words. the images in my mind that are taken from those lyrics are magical and fanciful and all things girly.
i believe that this album will find itself back into rotation now. I'm anxious to hear the new album and see if that's any good. I'm betting it will be...despite my unfaithfulness to this band, they have never failed to let me down.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
365 project:"love is watching someone die."
26.
artist:death cab for cutie
album:plans
i am at my big brother's house watching his girls overnight. its about a 40 minute drive over here on a good day, but when there is more than a foot of snow on the ground and the county that they live in doesn't believe in plowing their roads (seriously. the roads were untouched.) it was long enough to get another album in.
i haven't listened to plans in a really long time. i wasn't sure why, because the songs aren't terrible, and i generally like death cab (though this album is my very least favorite of theirs) so i figured id give it a go and figure out why.
i am willing to bet that its been about a year since i listened to that album. i think this because when i heard the song what Sarah said, i almost started crying right there in the car. its coming up on a year since mom-mom died, and that was a really difficult time for our family. i mean, i had just turned 30-i was starting to think that maybe her and my pop-pop were just going to outlive us. that wasn't the case.
the lyrics to that specific song, though, talk about just waiting for someone to die, basically. just sitting around the waiting room and just watching them deteriorate, and that's more or less what happened with mom-mom, though she was able to stay in her home to pass over.
when she died, i didn't really talk about it to anyone. i was at work when i got the call, and of course i fell apart, but pulled it back together after a few minutes and went back to work like nothing happened. i didn't really talk to my friends about it, either. I'm way more private with my feelings than even i realize sometimes, and I've always been that way. there was only one person that i even felt comfortable talking about this stuff with, and that was because his grandma had passed within the last year, and he was really close with her, so i knew he would understand.
in two weeks, we will be at a year. I'm not looking forward to that day. i hope it passes by quickly and without much thought, because while i think of her every day, id really rather not feel that sadness again.
artist:death cab for cutie
album:plans
i am at my big brother's house watching his girls overnight. its about a 40 minute drive over here on a good day, but when there is more than a foot of snow on the ground and the county that they live in doesn't believe in plowing their roads (seriously. the roads were untouched.) it was long enough to get another album in.
i haven't listened to plans in a really long time. i wasn't sure why, because the songs aren't terrible, and i generally like death cab (though this album is my very least favorite of theirs) so i figured id give it a go and figure out why.
i am willing to bet that its been about a year since i listened to that album. i think this because when i heard the song what Sarah said, i almost started crying right there in the car. its coming up on a year since mom-mom died, and that was a really difficult time for our family. i mean, i had just turned 30-i was starting to think that maybe her and my pop-pop were just going to outlive us. that wasn't the case.
the lyrics to that specific song, though, talk about just waiting for someone to die, basically. just sitting around the waiting room and just watching them deteriorate, and that's more or less what happened with mom-mom, though she was able to stay in her home to pass over.
when she died, i didn't really talk about it to anyone. i was at work when i got the call, and of course i fell apart, but pulled it back together after a few minutes and went back to work like nothing happened. i didn't really talk to my friends about it, either. I'm way more private with my feelings than even i realize sometimes, and I've always been that way. there was only one person that i even felt comfortable talking about this stuff with, and that was because his grandma had passed within the last year, and he was really close with her, so i knew he would understand.
in two weeks, we will be at a year. I'm not looking forward to that day. i hope it passes by quickly and without much thought, because while i think of her every day, id really rather not feel that sadness again.
365 project"speak but a whisper. ill hear a sermon"
25.
artist:Copeland
album:in motion
there used to be this boy that i had a huge crush on. i remember telling a friend of mine that this boy was what i thought the perfect boy should look like. i mean, it was a bad news bears kind of a crush. he would come by my store on his way to school in the morning and it would never fail that id get the dropsies when id see him. id babble incoherently and lose all grasp of reality. i didn't know anything about this boy, but i liked him.
one night i was hanging out with Chris, and we went back to his apartment. when we got there, there was a bunch of talking coming from the one bedroom, so we went back to see what was going on, and the boy from above was there. of course i got all stupid and stumbled over my words and everything else all over again. Chris introduced us. i was freaking out on the inside but tried to keep my composure as best i could. we left the apartment pretty soon after that.
a little bit after that i was at work one night hanging Christmas decorations. i was in sweat pants and my Copeland track jacket. that boy came in and said "hey, you like Copeland?" of course i told him i did because i kind of really adore Copeland. turns out he did too. this was also the first conversation i had with him where i didn't stutter or drop anything. i remember everything about that moment, oddly enough.
we ended up deciding to go see them together. id seen them with Chris a few times, but this was different. i was so excited. i actually saw them once already on this tour and couldn't wait to see them again. (i cant remember who i went to see them with, because Chris was out of the picture by this time...) the night before the show i found out that Copeland had dropped out of the show. i was totally bummed, and asked him if he still wanted to go. he said yes. it was a miserable experience.
he ended up OD'ing about a year later. his death actually closed the gap between me and Chris, if you want to know the truth. well, not closed, i guess, but definitely bridged it a bit.
i still have a hard time listening to Copeland without thinking about him. i still wear that track jacket all of the time.
artist:Copeland
album:in motion
there used to be this boy that i had a huge crush on. i remember telling a friend of mine that this boy was what i thought the perfect boy should look like. i mean, it was a bad news bears kind of a crush. he would come by my store on his way to school in the morning and it would never fail that id get the dropsies when id see him. id babble incoherently and lose all grasp of reality. i didn't know anything about this boy, but i liked him.
one night i was hanging out with Chris, and we went back to his apartment. when we got there, there was a bunch of talking coming from the one bedroom, so we went back to see what was going on, and the boy from above was there. of course i got all stupid and stumbled over my words and everything else all over again. Chris introduced us. i was freaking out on the inside but tried to keep my composure as best i could. we left the apartment pretty soon after that.
a little bit after that i was at work one night hanging Christmas decorations. i was in sweat pants and my Copeland track jacket. that boy came in and said "hey, you like Copeland?" of course i told him i did because i kind of really adore Copeland. turns out he did too. this was also the first conversation i had with him where i didn't stutter or drop anything. i remember everything about that moment, oddly enough.
we ended up deciding to go see them together. id seen them with Chris a few times, but this was different. i was so excited. i actually saw them once already on this tour and couldn't wait to see them again. (i cant remember who i went to see them with, because Chris was out of the picture by this time...) the night before the show i found out that Copeland had dropped out of the show. i was totally bummed, and asked him if he still wanted to go. he said yes. it was a miserable experience.
he ended up OD'ing about a year later. his death actually closed the gap between me and Chris, if you want to know the truth. well, not closed, i guess, but definitely bridged it a bit.
i still have a hard time listening to Copeland without thinking about him. i still wear that track jacket all of the time.
365 project;"soaring on the wings of selfish pride i flew too high, and like Icarus i collide"
24.
artist:jars of clay
album:jars of clay.
there was about a four year span of my life where i listened to nothing but CCM. my senior year of college and bands like brand new and taking back sunday pulled me away from that, but there are two bands who's Cd's i haven't totally abandoned, five iron frenzy and jars of clay.
I'm actually going to see jars at the end of march so i figured it was time to start listening again. i think that mentally and spiritually it will be a fantastic trip, and i really cant wait to spend time with my western pa friends.
I've seen jars before. B and i went to see them in Trenton years ago. i don't remember much about that show, though. i also saw them out in western pa a long time ago with Kathi. i actually had totally forgotten about that show until right now.
i think, though, my most prominent memory relating to this CD is going to see full surrender play and hearing them cover worlds apart. i actually remember the first time i heard them play this song, it was the first time id ever gone to see them play. i begged Sarah to go with me to see them, and she agreed, and we went to a coffeehouse somewhere near school to see them. I'm pretty sure the bathroom doors were painted weird and i had to pee really badly but i couldn't figure out which was which so i didn't go. i also didn't really drink coffee at the time (imagine that. i cant.) so i didn't know what to order. i also didn't really know Brandon very well, so basically the entire night was awkward.
but they covered this song. they had played other songs that i knew, but this was different. I've always felt a connection to jars that i cant explain, so to hear that song was special to me. i bought the band's tape that night. anyone that knows me knows that i became pretty good friends with the guys in the band, and spent some time following them around to various parts of the country. i had a good time selling merch for them.
as the year goes on, ill share more jars-related stories, as i have others that pertain to different albums.
artist:jars of clay
album:jars of clay.
there was about a four year span of my life where i listened to nothing but CCM. my senior year of college and bands like brand new and taking back sunday pulled me away from that, but there are two bands who's Cd's i haven't totally abandoned, five iron frenzy and jars of clay.
I'm actually going to see jars at the end of march so i figured it was time to start listening again. i think that mentally and spiritually it will be a fantastic trip, and i really cant wait to spend time with my western pa friends.
I've seen jars before. B and i went to see them in Trenton years ago. i don't remember much about that show, though. i also saw them out in western pa a long time ago with Kathi. i actually had totally forgotten about that show until right now.
i think, though, my most prominent memory relating to this CD is going to see full surrender play and hearing them cover worlds apart. i actually remember the first time i heard them play this song, it was the first time id ever gone to see them play. i begged Sarah to go with me to see them, and she agreed, and we went to a coffeehouse somewhere near school to see them. I'm pretty sure the bathroom doors were painted weird and i had to pee really badly but i couldn't figure out which was which so i didn't go. i also didn't really drink coffee at the time (imagine that. i cant.) so i didn't know what to order. i also didn't really know Brandon very well, so basically the entire night was awkward.
but they covered this song. they had played other songs that i knew, but this was different. I've always felt a connection to jars that i cant explain, so to hear that song was special to me. i bought the band's tape that night. anyone that knows me knows that i became pretty good friends with the guys in the band, and spent some time following them around to various parts of the country. i had a good time selling merch for them.
as the year goes on, ill share more jars-related stories, as i have others that pertain to different albums.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
365 project: "if you need to crash than crash and burn, youre not alone"
day 23.
artist:savage garden
album:affirmation
this album was released in 1999, making it yet another of those albums that fall into that same time-frame of my first two years of college. i have no real attachment to this album that is any different from the others from this period of my life-hanging out with mike, living on a couch, going to college in western PA.
i think the only specific memory i have of this album is listening to the animal song on a regular basis in burns hall with tatia. i feel like we had that song on repeat for a month straight (which is possible, as i did own the single). the other sister came out at this time, and that song was the main theme song in the trailers and stuff, and it kind of just stuck with us.
as far as the quality of the album goes, there were a few tracks on there that i was excited to be hearing again, but mostly it was nice background noise for working on some crafts, though i did catch myself singing along to every song. i really don't have much else to say about this album right now.
artist:savage garden
album:affirmation
this album was released in 1999, making it yet another of those albums that fall into that same time-frame of my first two years of college. i have no real attachment to this album that is any different from the others from this period of my life-hanging out with mike, living on a couch, going to college in western PA.
i think the only specific memory i have of this album is listening to the animal song on a regular basis in burns hall with tatia. i feel like we had that song on repeat for a month straight (which is possible, as i did own the single). the other sister came out at this time, and that song was the main theme song in the trailers and stuff, and it kind of just stuck with us.
as far as the quality of the album goes, there were a few tracks on there that i was excited to be hearing again, but mostly it was nice background noise for working on some crafts, though i did catch myself singing along to every song. i really don't have much else to say about this album right now.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
365 project: "you know all my favorite singers have stolen all of my best rhymes"
day 22.
artist: alkaline trio
album: good mourning
this was the first album i bought on vinyl.
i didn't really know alkaline trio at that time, but i needed to start buying things to play on my record player, and i saw this in a store and figured it was as good as anything to start with. this was a few years back and there really wasn't much in the way of vinyl at that time.
not too long after this i started hanging out with Chris. during the time we spent together, he introduced me to alk3, and i started to fall in love. between constantly listening to them while hanging out with him and it being one of the few records i had, my bond with the trio became very tight.
all of the albums they have put out have songs i love and songs i hate, but on the whole, good mourning is my personal favorite. i don't know what exactly about it that makes it my favorite. Every thug needs a lady and blue in the face are two of my all time favorite alk3 songs, and both of them are on this disk. all on black is one of my favorite songs of theirs to sing along to. fatally yours is not far behind.
this is another album that is pretty close to my heart yet which i don't have much to say about. i will say, however, that even though its about 4 degrees outside tonight (its not even warm there, not even ten degrees) i was still rocking my thin alkaline trio hoodie...its replaced my brand new hoodie as the most worn of my collection.
artist: alkaline trio
album: good mourning
this was the first album i bought on vinyl.
i didn't really know alkaline trio at that time, but i needed to start buying things to play on my record player, and i saw this in a store and figured it was as good as anything to start with. this was a few years back and there really wasn't much in the way of vinyl at that time.
not too long after this i started hanging out with Chris. during the time we spent together, he introduced me to alk3, and i started to fall in love. between constantly listening to them while hanging out with him and it being one of the few records i had, my bond with the trio became very tight.
all of the albums they have put out have songs i love and songs i hate, but on the whole, good mourning is my personal favorite. i don't know what exactly about it that makes it my favorite. Every thug needs a lady and blue in the face are two of my all time favorite alk3 songs, and both of them are on this disk. all on black is one of my favorite songs of theirs to sing along to. fatally yours is not far behind.
this is another album that is pretty close to my heart yet which i don't have much to say about. i will say, however, that even though its about 4 degrees outside tonight (its not even warm there, not even ten degrees) i was still rocking my thin alkaline trio hoodie...its replaced my brand new hoodie as the most worn of my collection.
365 project: "a singer in a smokey room...the smell of wine and cheap perfume"
day 21.
artist: journey
album:greatest hits
oh, this album. i don't even know where to begin.
my love affair with journey started when i was a little kid. my mom loved them, so i just got used to hearing them all the time and they were one of the bands that just stuck, but it wasn't until high school that i really started listening to them.
senior year is defined by this record. i remember listening to it in every car i was in. i remember playing it all of the time at drama rehearsals. i remember walking past the gym while the wrestling team was practicing and hearing it pumping out from the speakers in there. we used it in basically every video production project we did. it really did soundtrack that year for me.
my most vivid memory of this album, though, comes from freshman year of college. school was six hours away, and riding in the car with dad got old kind of fast, as we'd be forced to listen to the classical music that he listened to. its good for studying, not for a road trip.
i had my mom's Walkman and owned this album on cassette. id just play it over and over again and stare out the window at the mountains and trees that we were driving past. i still listen to this CD when i take a trip out there...it, along with Transatlanticism by death cab, are my quintessential road trip albums.
between college and now i worked for wawa. i made lots of friends while working there, and some i even took road trips with. in particular, there was Melissa, who i used to drive to Virgina with in order to eat at a sonic down there (at the time, it was the closest one to us...now theres one about 20 minutes from my house). on our first trip down and back, we were flipping through the radio and "don't stop believing" played nearly every half hour of the five hour trip. it was during this trip that i dubbed her car the "midnight train" because of that song.
i haven't listened to journey in a while, mostly because glee ruined it for me. recently, though, I've been listening to the radio a lot more, and they kept playing, so i decided it was time to break out the CD and give it a whirl, and I'm glad that i did.
artist: journey
album:greatest hits
oh, this album. i don't even know where to begin.
my love affair with journey started when i was a little kid. my mom loved them, so i just got used to hearing them all the time and they were one of the bands that just stuck, but it wasn't until high school that i really started listening to them.
senior year is defined by this record. i remember listening to it in every car i was in. i remember playing it all of the time at drama rehearsals. i remember walking past the gym while the wrestling team was practicing and hearing it pumping out from the speakers in there. we used it in basically every video production project we did. it really did soundtrack that year for me.
my most vivid memory of this album, though, comes from freshman year of college. school was six hours away, and riding in the car with dad got old kind of fast, as we'd be forced to listen to the classical music that he listened to. its good for studying, not for a road trip.
i had my mom's Walkman and owned this album on cassette. id just play it over and over again and stare out the window at the mountains and trees that we were driving past. i still listen to this CD when i take a trip out there...it, along with Transatlanticism by death cab, are my quintessential road trip albums.
between college and now i worked for wawa. i made lots of friends while working there, and some i even took road trips with. in particular, there was Melissa, who i used to drive to Virgina with in order to eat at a sonic down there (at the time, it was the closest one to us...now theres one about 20 minutes from my house). on our first trip down and back, we were flipping through the radio and "don't stop believing" played nearly every half hour of the five hour trip. it was during this trip that i dubbed her car the "midnight train" because of that song.
i haven't listened to journey in a while, mostly because glee ruined it for me. recently, though, I've been listening to the radio a lot more, and they kept playing, so i decided it was time to break out the CD and give it a whirl, and I'm glad that i did.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
365 project:"its hard to believe that i am getting by on so little from you"
day 20.
artist:dashboard confessional
album:swiss army romance
i figured that since im in this rather awful funk i might as well give into it fully and listen to some dashboard tonight. theres really nothing better for an already depressed girl.
its kind of weird that as much as i love this album, i dont really have an emotional attachment to it. i have story after story about the places you have come to fear the most but theres not a whole lot clanging around inside of this head of mine when it comes to swiss army.
there isnt a song that i still go to for mixtapes. there isnt one that still gives me chills when i hear it. thats not to say that i dont like the album, because i absolutely do, rather, though, that i was actually surprised that i owned it, to be honest. i was going through my cds the other day trying to pick something and i found this one and had to ask myself where i even got that cd from...a question that i still havent answered.
starting sometime during my senior year, i decided that it was too mainstream to like dashboard confessional anymore, so i stopped listening. just cut them out. id bash chris carabba whenever the oppertunity was given. id say things like "i liked him better before he had the band" or whatever pretentious line was appropriate at the time. yet while all of this was going on, i was still listening to the moon is down by further seems forever with stunning regularity. what can i say? my pretentiousness was not terribly sensible.
i connect a lot more to this album at thirty than i ever thought i could have at twenty. not that at either age i was ever spending my life on the road and with a significant other who was also on the road at seperate times, but i feel like the stories chris tells on this album are more adult real life situations and less "taylor swift" (note: i am not knocking taylor by any means. i adore her and am a fan. she just sings more teen romance stuff and not adult gotta-pay-the-bills stuff).
i know that when i get around to places ill have a lot more to say. as far as this album goes, though, im having more trouble concentrating on getting through this entry than i ever did getting through any homework assignment ever. if i dont end this now, its going to turn into a discertation on why more kids need to go through the scared straight program.
artist:dashboard confessional
album:swiss army romance
i figured that since im in this rather awful funk i might as well give into it fully and listen to some dashboard tonight. theres really nothing better for an already depressed girl.
its kind of weird that as much as i love this album, i dont really have an emotional attachment to it. i have story after story about the places you have come to fear the most but theres not a whole lot clanging around inside of this head of mine when it comes to swiss army.
there isnt a song that i still go to for mixtapes. there isnt one that still gives me chills when i hear it. thats not to say that i dont like the album, because i absolutely do, rather, though, that i was actually surprised that i owned it, to be honest. i was going through my cds the other day trying to pick something and i found this one and had to ask myself where i even got that cd from...a question that i still havent answered.
starting sometime during my senior year, i decided that it was too mainstream to like dashboard confessional anymore, so i stopped listening. just cut them out. id bash chris carabba whenever the oppertunity was given. id say things like "i liked him better before he had the band" or whatever pretentious line was appropriate at the time. yet while all of this was going on, i was still listening to the moon is down by further seems forever with stunning regularity. what can i say? my pretentiousness was not terribly sensible.
i connect a lot more to this album at thirty than i ever thought i could have at twenty. not that at either age i was ever spending my life on the road and with a significant other who was also on the road at seperate times, but i feel like the stories chris tells on this album are more adult real life situations and less "taylor swift" (note: i am not knocking taylor by any means. i adore her and am a fan. she just sings more teen romance stuff and not adult gotta-pay-the-bills stuff).
i know that when i get around to places ill have a lot more to say. as far as this album goes, though, im having more trouble concentrating on getting through this entry than i ever did getting through any homework assignment ever. if i dont end this now, its going to turn into a discertation on why more kids need to go through the scared straight program.
365 project:"goodbye to sleep. i think this staying up is exactly what i need."
day 19.
artist:brand new
album:the devil and god are raging inside me
on November 21, 2006 i went to a record store. i spent quite a while there browsing the selection and waiting in a very, very long line. no, the record store wasn't running a sale, or going out of business. they were playing host to a CD release party for the third album from my favorite band. i was extremely stoked for this, as it had been three years since deja was released. i had heard the single already, about a month or so prior to the release date.
a radio station in Philly (once again, y-rock) as well as one other station in the country had somehow ended up with their hands on the single "sowing season (yeah)" and it was kind of a big deal that they were playing it. we were geared up and sitting in my car waiting patiently to hear it. we were in the Starbucks parking lot, there were four of us. i remember Mandy saying "you might want to turn this down. it gets loud."
the night before the Tuesday of the release, i was informed that it was already on the shelf at a local retailer. they were getting ready to close for the night and setting up shop for the next day. i went, hoping that they'd sell it to me and they did. i knew that id be getting it in less than 24 hours, but i really couldn't wait, and i didn't think that having two copies would be a bad idea.
we listened to the album a few times the day of the instore. we got up there early to wait in line. we went in, picked up our copies of tdag and our wristbands, and headed out to the nearby mall. we came back and figured out that the line was outback and a lot longer than we though, but it didn't matter; any chance to be in the same room with Jesse Lacey was worth it to me to wait.
the instore was fun. we got in line afterwards and were some of the last people to go through and meet the band. they scribbled on our Cd's. life was good. to top of the perfect night, we left the record store and went to ihop for a very late dinner.
that night, November 21, 2006, i put that copy of the devil and god are raging inside me into the "disk 2" slot on my stereo, and it remains there to this very day. when I'm having a bad day, i go to disk 2. when i cant sleep, i go to disk 2. I've fallen asleep to that album more than i can count. when i cant think of anything else to listen to, i go to disk 2.
the other copy of this disk, the one i bought the night before, remains in my car. its been through three cars since that day, but its one of the first things that gets transferred over (along with New York City the goldfish) from car to car. of course the record is on my ipod. i own it on vinyl. i guess what I'm saying here is that i am never without this album.
I'm kind of annoyed with myself though, as I've already done three of the four brand new albums already and we are only three weeks into this project.
artist:brand new
album:the devil and god are raging inside me
on November 21, 2006 i went to a record store. i spent quite a while there browsing the selection and waiting in a very, very long line. no, the record store wasn't running a sale, or going out of business. they were playing host to a CD release party for the third album from my favorite band. i was extremely stoked for this, as it had been three years since deja was released. i had heard the single already, about a month or so prior to the release date.
a radio station in Philly (once again, y-rock) as well as one other station in the country had somehow ended up with their hands on the single "sowing season (yeah)" and it was kind of a big deal that they were playing it. we were geared up and sitting in my car waiting patiently to hear it. we were in the Starbucks parking lot, there were four of us. i remember Mandy saying "you might want to turn this down. it gets loud."
the night before the Tuesday of the release, i was informed that it was already on the shelf at a local retailer. they were getting ready to close for the night and setting up shop for the next day. i went, hoping that they'd sell it to me and they did. i knew that id be getting it in less than 24 hours, but i really couldn't wait, and i didn't think that having two copies would be a bad idea.
we listened to the album a few times the day of the instore. we got up there early to wait in line. we went in, picked up our copies of tdag and our wristbands, and headed out to the nearby mall. we came back and figured out that the line was outback and a lot longer than we though, but it didn't matter; any chance to be in the same room with Jesse Lacey was worth it to me to wait.
the instore was fun. we got in line afterwards and were some of the last people to go through and meet the band. they scribbled on our Cd's. life was good. to top of the perfect night, we left the record store and went to ihop for a very late dinner.
that night, November 21, 2006, i put that copy of the devil and god are raging inside me into the "disk 2" slot on my stereo, and it remains there to this very day. when I'm having a bad day, i go to disk 2. when i cant sleep, i go to disk 2. I've fallen asleep to that album more than i can count. when i cant think of anything else to listen to, i go to disk 2.
the other copy of this disk, the one i bought the night before, remains in my car. its been through three cars since that day, but its one of the first things that gets transferred over (along with New York City the goldfish) from car to car. of course the record is on my ipod. i own it on vinyl. i guess what I'm saying here is that i am never without this album.
I'm kind of annoyed with myself though, as I've already done three of the four brand new albums already and we are only three weeks into this project.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
365 project:"and wondering what you're dreaming when it came to mind that i didnt care"
day 18.
artist:matchbox 20
album:mad season
i have been walking around in kind of a funk lately. this time of year usually does that to me, with my birthday right around the corner and another year looming on the horizon, but it felt different than just the normal growing pains. there was something else that i couldn't figure out. it occurred to me just now what else was bothering me...this project.
it was inevitable that as i was going through my Cd's i was going to have to get personal. music is such a big part of who i am, and i attach things to parts of my life mostly to help me remember, but sometimes it affects the way i hear those songs in such a way that it just ruins that album for me. lately I've been stuck on the Cd's that i was listening to right around the turn of the millennium. they are relate back to one specific person and the few years that he was a major part of my life. this entry is no exception.
when i moved out for college in august of 1998, my sister took over the bedroom completely. up until that time, we'd shared a room for most of our lives, and she was excited to have her own space, so she more or less removed whatever traces of me I'd left behind in that room. that was mostly okay for me, because i had my own life going on 350 miles away and wasn't worried much about my bedroom (or anything, honestly) that was going on back home.
this was all fine and well until i came home for the summer. i had nowhere to put my stuff, so the living room basically became my bedroom...i was sleeping on the couch and living out of Rubbermaid totes. my Cd's and CD player were set up on an old TV cart that sat in the room that I'm currently in, and i wheeled it into the living room at night when i was ready to go to sleep.
not having your own space in your own house can be kind of bothersome, though. i was always in the way when the kids were getting up in the morning and wanting to watch TV. i couldn't go to sleep until everyone else had left the living room. i had to carry clothes back and forth up the stairs to get changed because i had no privacy. it got old quick, so by the second summer, i started spending more and more time at his house. he lived right up the street by this time so i could walk back and forth, and i did so often. sharing his twin bed was miles better than sleeping on the couch, so i did that when i could. his mom loved me and didn't mind having me around, and i didn't mind being there. for what it was worth, i was happy.
there were nights, of course, when id have to stay home. i couldn't spend every night out, and sometimes he had things to do. sometimes i worked late at Marty and barbs and was tired and just wanted to come home and sleep. sometimes i went out with other friends. on those nights, i stayed home and fell asleep the same way i always have since i was very young-id listen to music. mad season was one of the Cd's that i played the crap out that second summer. it had just come out in may and i was obsessed with the song rest stop. there was so much going on that summer, though, that it just got lost in the gears of change.
when school started that following august, i was no longer going to school in western pa, but was starting a new life in a new school in jersey. i found out on my birthday that year that this particular guy had been running around behind my back with my good friend, and so that ended those relationships immediately. this CD went into a binder that was filled with predominately CCM stuff that i used for our shows, and i just never bothered with it. i was listening to Nelly and Justin timberlake and Brittney and other pop crap with the eight girls i was living with. things were changing, he was being left behind, and so were the reminders of him.
maybe this project will help me exercise those demons. there are a lot more to follow.
artist:matchbox 20
album:mad season
i have been walking around in kind of a funk lately. this time of year usually does that to me, with my birthday right around the corner and another year looming on the horizon, but it felt different than just the normal growing pains. there was something else that i couldn't figure out. it occurred to me just now what else was bothering me...this project.
it was inevitable that as i was going through my Cd's i was going to have to get personal. music is such a big part of who i am, and i attach things to parts of my life mostly to help me remember, but sometimes it affects the way i hear those songs in such a way that it just ruins that album for me. lately I've been stuck on the Cd's that i was listening to right around the turn of the millennium. they are relate back to one specific person and the few years that he was a major part of my life. this entry is no exception.
when i moved out for college in august of 1998, my sister took over the bedroom completely. up until that time, we'd shared a room for most of our lives, and she was excited to have her own space, so she more or less removed whatever traces of me I'd left behind in that room. that was mostly okay for me, because i had my own life going on 350 miles away and wasn't worried much about my bedroom (or anything, honestly) that was going on back home.
this was all fine and well until i came home for the summer. i had nowhere to put my stuff, so the living room basically became my bedroom...i was sleeping on the couch and living out of Rubbermaid totes. my Cd's and CD player were set up on an old TV cart that sat in the room that I'm currently in, and i wheeled it into the living room at night when i was ready to go to sleep.
not having your own space in your own house can be kind of bothersome, though. i was always in the way when the kids were getting up in the morning and wanting to watch TV. i couldn't go to sleep until everyone else had left the living room. i had to carry clothes back and forth up the stairs to get changed because i had no privacy. it got old quick, so by the second summer, i started spending more and more time at his house. he lived right up the street by this time so i could walk back and forth, and i did so often. sharing his twin bed was miles better than sleeping on the couch, so i did that when i could. his mom loved me and didn't mind having me around, and i didn't mind being there. for what it was worth, i was happy.
there were nights, of course, when id have to stay home. i couldn't spend every night out, and sometimes he had things to do. sometimes i worked late at Marty and barbs and was tired and just wanted to come home and sleep. sometimes i went out with other friends. on those nights, i stayed home and fell asleep the same way i always have since i was very young-id listen to music. mad season was one of the Cd's that i played the crap out that second summer. it had just come out in may and i was obsessed with the song rest stop. there was so much going on that summer, though, that it just got lost in the gears of change.
when school started that following august, i was no longer going to school in western pa, but was starting a new life in a new school in jersey. i found out on my birthday that year that this particular guy had been running around behind my back with my good friend, and so that ended those relationships immediately. this CD went into a binder that was filled with predominately CCM stuff that i used for our shows, and i just never bothered with it. i was listening to Nelly and Justin timberlake and Brittney and other pop crap with the eight girls i was living with. things were changing, he was being left behind, and so were the reminders of him.
maybe this project will help me exercise those demons. there are a lot more to follow.
Monday, January 17, 2011
365 project:"why do you let me stay here all by myself?"
day 17.
artist:she & him
album:volume one
so after three failed attempts at getting through a complete album for today (plus the album to make up for yesterday), i was reminded that today was zooey deschanel's birthday and i realized that i had no choice other than to do volume one today.
its been a good while since i listened to this album all the way through. volume two has been out for quite some time and that seems to be the one that i go to when im in the mood for she & him, which admittedly isnt much these days.
zooey ruined this band for me as much as she made me fall in love with them. i was super excited when they announced last year that they were playing a summer gig at the great plaza in philly. i jumped right out of this very seat and probably let out a teeny scream. volume two would be out by that time and id have the chance to see this band that i was going to miss because i wasnt attending bonnaroo, and they were one of the acts i was pissed most about missing.
things changed and i ended up going to 'roo, which is an entirely different story for an entirely different day (when im not already in a bad mood...) but i saw them and got to hear them cover you put a spell on me, at which time i got chills, despite it being easily 110 degrees outside in the shade. at this point, i was even more stoked for the great plaza show.
so after gushing anticipation for months, july second rolled around and tony and i headed over to philly to meet up with lauren and manda, and then with cherie so that we could get inside. we were informed that zooey was being a bit bitchy, but that wasnt going to get me down. surely she wouldnt be that way to a crowd of fans who (most of which, at any rate) paid good money to come see her. we stayed tucked behind the bar as we were told until we noticed a few people trickle in, at which point we ran down front to get a good spot. we were front and center, it was a beautiful night, i was with some great friends, and i was determined to have a fantastic time.
that wasnt really the case...
the openers played and we just stood there and drank beers and talked. we discussed the band with the security guard and the group of kids next to us, and decided that the girl on stage was high or something, because she just slurred her words and her we couldnt understand anything that was happening on that stage. we perservered though, because OMG ZOOEY was coming up.
zooey hid her eyes through the entire first song, and then said "we have people that do the lighting for us. please stop taking pictures. the flashes are bothering me." whatever, lady. she carried on in this manner through another few songs and then said "even the orange lights on the cameras from the flashes are blinding me. its disorienting." at this point, i was over zooey. being mean to jason beforehand was one thing, but i was going to excuse that because it happened during soundcheck, and like i said, SURELY, i thought, she wouldnt be so insane towards her paying fans.
WRONG.
she had no personality. she didnt smile until the last few songs of the set. m. ward was doing a pretty good job of creating a bond with the audience and what i can only guess was an attempt to make up for her insanity, but they never came anywhere near the front of the stage and didnt bother with the fans after the show, either.
it was enough to turn me off to the band totally for a while. the zooey that i hated in (500) days of summer reared her ugly (yes, i just called her ugly. thats how frustrated i was after this show) head in real life that night in philly.
artist:she & him
album:volume one
so after three failed attempts at getting through a complete album for today (plus the album to make up for yesterday), i was reminded that today was zooey deschanel's birthday and i realized that i had no choice other than to do volume one today.
its been a good while since i listened to this album all the way through. volume two has been out for quite some time and that seems to be the one that i go to when im in the mood for she & him, which admittedly isnt much these days.
zooey ruined this band for me as much as she made me fall in love with them. i was super excited when they announced last year that they were playing a summer gig at the great plaza in philly. i jumped right out of this very seat and probably let out a teeny scream. volume two would be out by that time and id have the chance to see this band that i was going to miss because i wasnt attending bonnaroo, and they were one of the acts i was pissed most about missing.
things changed and i ended up going to 'roo, which is an entirely different story for an entirely different day (when im not already in a bad mood...) but i saw them and got to hear them cover you put a spell on me, at which time i got chills, despite it being easily 110 degrees outside in the shade. at this point, i was even more stoked for the great plaza show.
so after gushing anticipation for months, july second rolled around and tony and i headed over to philly to meet up with lauren and manda, and then with cherie so that we could get inside. we were informed that zooey was being a bit bitchy, but that wasnt going to get me down. surely she wouldnt be that way to a crowd of fans who (most of which, at any rate) paid good money to come see her. we stayed tucked behind the bar as we were told until we noticed a few people trickle in, at which point we ran down front to get a good spot. we were front and center, it was a beautiful night, i was with some great friends, and i was determined to have a fantastic time.
that wasnt really the case...
the openers played and we just stood there and drank beers and talked. we discussed the band with the security guard and the group of kids next to us, and decided that the girl on stage was high or something, because she just slurred her words and her we couldnt understand anything that was happening on that stage. we perservered though, because OMG ZOOEY was coming up.
zooey hid her eyes through the entire first song, and then said "we have people that do the lighting for us. please stop taking pictures. the flashes are bothering me." whatever, lady. she carried on in this manner through another few songs and then said "even the orange lights on the cameras from the flashes are blinding me. its disorienting." at this point, i was over zooey. being mean to jason beforehand was one thing, but i was going to excuse that because it happened during soundcheck, and like i said, SURELY, i thought, she wouldnt be so insane towards her paying fans.
WRONG.
she had no personality. she didnt smile until the last few songs of the set. m. ward was doing a pretty good job of creating a bond with the audience and what i can only guess was an attempt to make up for her insanity, but they never came anywhere near the front of the stage and didnt bother with the fans after the show, either.
it was enough to turn me off to the band totally for a while. the zooey that i hated in (500) days of summer reared her ugly (yes, i just called her ugly. thats how frustrated i was after this show) head in real life that night in philly.
365 project:"do you hear the static of 1000 detuned radios? shut the window, love. keep the world outside."
day 16.
artist:thursday
album:war all the time
I'm kind of cheating, here. i listened to this album today (which would be day 17) but am counting it for yesterday because i didn't listen to anything yesterday but the new iron & wine (about six times, at least) and because that is not an old album from my collection, it defeats the spirit of the project. i figured i was going to cheat either way, but i like the idea of fudging days better than going against the idea of what I'm trying to do here, so you will get two entries today, after i finish this one i will go listen to a different album and write about that to catch up.
now that the business junk is out of the way, onto the regularly scheduled entry:
war all the time is my favorite thursday album. thursday is quite the limit of the hardest stuff i listen to, and even they tend to get on my nerves with all of the screaming. this album, however, is much more mellow and easier for me to handle, which is why its the one that i generally listen to.
this song is brought to you by a falling bomb is my absolute favorite song on the album, and it has been since i first heard it. i love the imagery it produces-staying in bed, hiding from the world but still being able to hear it all happening outside of the window. this song is probably the main reason that i listen to the album, though there are other good tracks, this one stands out as the best.
remember when i said that records were time machines? this album is no exception to that idea. listening to it takes me right back to college (of course. I'm starting to think that the years between 2003-now produced NO music, as everything i seem to listen to is either recent or from college...) and especially to driving along the beach. i must have listened to this album a lot doing that because the memory of the beach in my mind is extremely clear.
the other thing about listening to thursday is that i always have the immediate and overwhelming desire to dye my hair jet black. i know that this is a stereotypical "emo kid" statement, but its the honest truth. the band references black hair dye on more than one occasion, and to be quite honest with you, i used to listen to the song jet black new year when i dyed my hair in college, so theres that. i actually almost ran out to the drug store to buy a box of hair dye between record sides, but thought rationally about that and decided it was a terrible idea. or at least, not a well-thought-out one. i do miss having black hair though.
i feel like i should have more to say about this band and album than it appears i do.
artist:thursday
album:war all the time
I'm kind of cheating, here. i listened to this album today (which would be day 17) but am counting it for yesterday because i didn't listen to anything yesterday but the new iron & wine (about six times, at least) and because that is not an old album from my collection, it defeats the spirit of the project. i figured i was going to cheat either way, but i like the idea of fudging days better than going against the idea of what I'm trying to do here, so you will get two entries today, after i finish this one i will go listen to a different album and write about that to catch up.
now that the business junk is out of the way, onto the regularly scheduled entry:
war all the time is my favorite thursday album. thursday is quite the limit of the hardest stuff i listen to, and even they tend to get on my nerves with all of the screaming. this album, however, is much more mellow and easier for me to handle, which is why its the one that i generally listen to.
this song is brought to you by a falling bomb is my absolute favorite song on the album, and it has been since i first heard it. i love the imagery it produces-staying in bed, hiding from the world but still being able to hear it all happening outside of the window. this song is probably the main reason that i listen to the album, though there are other good tracks, this one stands out as the best.
remember when i said that records were time machines? this album is no exception to that idea. listening to it takes me right back to college (of course. I'm starting to think that the years between 2003-now produced NO music, as everything i seem to listen to is either recent or from college...) and especially to driving along the beach. i must have listened to this album a lot doing that because the memory of the beach in my mind is extremely clear.
the other thing about listening to thursday is that i always have the immediate and overwhelming desire to dye my hair jet black. i know that this is a stereotypical "emo kid" statement, but its the honest truth. the band references black hair dye on more than one occasion, and to be quite honest with you, i used to listen to the song jet black new year when i dyed my hair in college, so theres that. i actually almost ran out to the drug store to buy a box of hair dye between record sides, but thought rationally about that and decided it was a terrible idea. or at least, not a well-thought-out one. i do miss having black hair though.
i feel like i should have more to say about this band and album than it appears i do.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
365 project:"a thosand clever lines unread on clever napkins"
day 15.
artist:taking back sunday
album:tell all your friends
i didn't really want to do this album so early in the year, but i was driving yesterday and at a loss for what to listen to, and it was one of the few Cd's i had in the new car, and my friend Patrick had mentioned it to me the night before, so it is what it is. i suppose i have to get through all of the Cd's that i know i like to get to the ones that otherwise never will.
i don't even know where to start to talk about tell all your friends. I've been through so much with this record along side me. this album was one of the three albums that absolutely defined my senior year of college (the others being your favorite weapon by brand new and the used's s/t are the other two, if you were curious.) its been with me through several road trips all over the eastern half of the county. its survived boys, friends, and life-changing decisions. its been there as a comfort to me when a lot of other things fell by the wayside.
i remember sitting on my bed in my house at college senior year and realizing for the first time about the similarities between there's no "I" in team from this album and brand new's seventy times seven. i remember hearing the lyrics "and with my one last gasping breath id apologize for bleeding on your shirt" and thinking that they were just about the best that id ever heard. (thankfully, Iver moved on to other favorite lyrics, because that one is really sort of depressing.)
there is not a whole lot to do around here. my friends and i found ourselves hanging out at walmart in the middle of the night quite frequently because it was something to do. i remember one particular night, parked under the streetlight near the garden center, a friend and i weren't ready to go home yet, so i pulled tayf out, popped it into the CD player, turned up the volume, and we just screamed all the lyrics along with Adam. it was one of the most fun nights that we had together.
even driving home yesterday, i was on my way home from my friends' Tarah and Rob's place, and decided that was absolutely the CD that i needed to listen to. no other options. i was driving home from near my college and it just felt right. i turned the volume up and sang along as loudly as i could, and theres a chance that i danced a bit, too, though ill never verify that (though the other drivers on 195 probably would.) i was actually sad when the album was over, because I've always said that it wasn't long enough.
this album is quite often compared to YFW, and while brand new outranks TBS by a long shot on my "fav bands" list, i will always pick this album over YFW in a battle. it just stood up better to the test of time in my opinion. TBS took a huge dive after this release, because the band split, and I've always contended that neither TBS nor Straylight Run would ever be as good separately as they were as a whole unit. luckily for everyone who likes music, the guys recently put their differences aside and got back together for a tour. i was happy as a pig in shit the night that i was able to see this band reunited...of course it helped that my awesome friends have connections and we ended up in VIP that night. Adam Lazarra sang directly to me on more than one occasion. needless to say, i had NO voice left after that show, but i left there feeling about 9 years younger.
i feel like I'm forgetting so much about this album that i should tell you, but the reality is that you probably have heard it yourself and have a list of memories as long as mine. if you haven't heard it yet, i have two questions for you. 1-what the hell are you waiting for? and 2-why am i friends with you?
artist:taking back sunday
album:tell all your friends
i didn't really want to do this album so early in the year, but i was driving yesterday and at a loss for what to listen to, and it was one of the few Cd's i had in the new car, and my friend Patrick had mentioned it to me the night before, so it is what it is. i suppose i have to get through all of the Cd's that i know i like to get to the ones that otherwise never will.
i don't even know where to start to talk about tell all your friends. I've been through so much with this record along side me. this album was one of the three albums that absolutely defined my senior year of college (the others being your favorite weapon by brand new and the used's s/t are the other two, if you were curious.) its been with me through several road trips all over the eastern half of the county. its survived boys, friends, and life-changing decisions. its been there as a comfort to me when a lot of other things fell by the wayside.
i remember sitting on my bed in my house at college senior year and realizing for the first time about the similarities between there's no "I" in team from this album and brand new's seventy times seven. i remember hearing the lyrics "and with my one last gasping breath id apologize for bleeding on your shirt" and thinking that they were just about the best that id ever heard. (thankfully, Iver moved on to other favorite lyrics, because that one is really sort of depressing.)
there is not a whole lot to do around here. my friends and i found ourselves hanging out at walmart in the middle of the night quite frequently because it was something to do. i remember one particular night, parked under the streetlight near the garden center, a friend and i weren't ready to go home yet, so i pulled tayf out, popped it into the CD player, turned up the volume, and we just screamed all the lyrics along with Adam. it was one of the most fun nights that we had together.
even driving home yesterday, i was on my way home from my friends' Tarah and Rob's place, and decided that was absolutely the CD that i needed to listen to. no other options. i was driving home from near my college and it just felt right. i turned the volume up and sang along as loudly as i could, and theres a chance that i danced a bit, too, though ill never verify that (though the other drivers on 195 probably would.) i was actually sad when the album was over, because I've always said that it wasn't long enough.
this album is quite often compared to YFW, and while brand new outranks TBS by a long shot on my "fav bands" list, i will always pick this album over YFW in a battle. it just stood up better to the test of time in my opinion. TBS took a huge dive after this release, because the band split, and I've always contended that neither TBS nor Straylight Run would ever be as good separately as they were as a whole unit. luckily for everyone who likes music, the guys recently put their differences aside and got back together for a tour. i was happy as a pig in shit the night that i was able to see this band reunited...of course it helped that my awesome friends have connections and we ended up in VIP that night. Adam Lazarra sang directly to me on more than one occasion. needless to say, i had NO voice left after that show, but i left there feeling about 9 years younger.
i feel like I'm forgetting so much about this album that i should tell you, but the reality is that you probably have heard it yourself and have a list of memories as long as mine. if you haven't heard it yet, i have two questions for you. 1-what the hell are you waiting for? and 2-why am i friends with you?
first reaction:iron & wine "kiss each other clean"
is January 16th too early to claim the album of the year spot for 2011?
I'm terribly, terribly in love with kiss each other clean, the latest offering from one of my most beloved and favorite bands, Iron & Wine. it isn't anything groundbreaking in terms of Sam Beam's body of work, but its phenomenal in its own right. every song on this album made me dance just a little bit harder while i was sitting here listening, and i think I'm going to have to put my life on hold for a bit so that i can learn this album inside and out...thank goodness for the day off tomorrow.
the album's opening track, walking far from home has been in rotation on my itunes for a few weeks now, as the single has been around since the end of November, so I've had a chance to get used to that song. i still don't love the extra noise at the beginning of the track, i find it distracting and rather annoying, honestly, but once that goes away, its pure bliss. no one can begrudge Sam beam's lyrical ability, and i think that this song exemplifies that quality. he just has this insane ability to paint a picture with his words and the music transports the listener right into that picture. when i listen to iron & wine, everything is happening on a sunny summer Saturday, and I'm sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade watching these scenes play out in front of me.
i think that my favorite track, on first listen at least, is the closing track your fake name is good enough for me. i have always been a sucker for the CSN&Y sound, you know? wicked harmonies and a very folk-y feel. that's exactly what i hear when i heard this song for the first time. i was nearly 8, sitting in the Tower Theater in Philly watching CSN&Y (i actually cant remember if neil young was with the band at that time or not. i should ask my parents, as that's a rather important detail) and taking in life in all its glory.
tree by the river has my favorite line in the entire album "now I'm asleep in a car/i mean the world to a potty mouth-ed girl/a pretty pair of blue-eyed birds." the very first time i ever heard that line it stuck with me and stood out, because i feel like i am Mary Anne in that scenario. there's an acoustic version of this song that Sam recorded with Rosie Thomas that just kills.
honestly, i could write forever about how much i love this album, but id rather just sit and listen to it and soak it in.
if you want to check out Iron & Wine for yourself, you can start with their daytrotter session that was posted a few days ago. that can be found on daytrotter's website.
once again, i think I've found my aoty for 2011. i adore this album.
I'm terribly, terribly in love with kiss each other clean, the latest offering from one of my most beloved and favorite bands, Iron & Wine. it isn't anything groundbreaking in terms of Sam Beam's body of work, but its phenomenal in its own right. every song on this album made me dance just a little bit harder while i was sitting here listening, and i think I'm going to have to put my life on hold for a bit so that i can learn this album inside and out...thank goodness for the day off tomorrow.
the album's opening track, walking far from home has been in rotation on my itunes for a few weeks now, as the single has been around since the end of November, so I've had a chance to get used to that song. i still don't love the extra noise at the beginning of the track, i find it distracting and rather annoying, honestly, but once that goes away, its pure bliss. no one can begrudge Sam beam's lyrical ability, and i think that this song exemplifies that quality. he just has this insane ability to paint a picture with his words and the music transports the listener right into that picture. when i listen to iron & wine, everything is happening on a sunny summer Saturday, and I'm sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade watching these scenes play out in front of me.
i think that my favorite track, on first listen at least, is the closing track your fake name is good enough for me. i have always been a sucker for the CSN&Y sound, you know? wicked harmonies and a very folk-y feel. that's exactly what i hear when i heard this song for the first time. i was nearly 8, sitting in the Tower Theater in Philly watching CSN&Y (i actually cant remember if neil young was with the band at that time or not. i should ask my parents, as that's a rather important detail) and taking in life in all its glory.
tree by the river has my favorite line in the entire album "now I'm asleep in a car/i mean the world to a potty mouth-ed girl/a pretty pair of blue-eyed birds." the very first time i ever heard that line it stuck with me and stood out, because i feel like i am Mary Anne in that scenario. there's an acoustic version of this song that Sam recorded with Rosie Thomas that just kills.
honestly, i could write forever about how much i love this album, but id rather just sit and listen to it and soak it in.
if you want to check out Iron & Wine for yourself, you can start with their daytrotter session that was posted a few days ago. that can be found on daytrotter's website.
once again, i think I've found my aoty for 2011. i adore this album.
Friday, January 14, 2011
365 project:"here we go again, another hump'em' dump'em' situation"
day 14.
artist:wheatus
album:wheatus
you may or may not have seen my status update on facebook this morning. in it, i noted that i woke up with the chorus of teenage dirtbag by wheatus stuck in my head. its been playing with some frequency on 104.5 which is why i was even thinking of it, but since i couldn't stop singing it, i figured that album of the day had been selected for me.
this is another terribly uninspired album for me, aside from coming back from dreamland with it stuck in my head. i don't really feel any connection to it at all, which is why its been sitting in a binder for years untouched. i mean, its not a bad album. it has its moments. in fact, some of the songs are downright fun. i really dig the cover of a little respect that they do. i had forgotten it existed until i got to track four, though, but even still...
i did listen to the album a few times through while driving around today running errands (yeah, i had a lot of errands to do...i haven't been paid in three weeks because of Christmas so i had some things that needed taken care of) and it just didn't grab me. its likely that ill keep listening to the radio and catching teenage dirtbag when it comes on and just putting that particular album back in its binder, just like i said yesterday about SR71. I'm starting to question what the hell i was thinking 11 years ago in terms of music. I've always thought that i had a pretty fantastic taste in music, but I'm starting to doubt that. haha.
I'm going to have to pick something good to redeem myself tomorrow :)
artist:wheatus
album:wheatus
you may or may not have seen my status update on facebook this morning. in it, i noted that i woke up with the chorus of teenage dirtbag by wheatus stuck in my head. its been playing with some frequency on 104.5 which is why i was even thinking of it, but since i couldn't stop singing it, i figured that album of the day had been selected for me.
this is another terribly uninspired album for me, aside from coming back from dreamland with it stuck in my head. i don't really feel any connection to it at all, which is why its been sitting in a binder for years untouched. i mean, its not a bad album. it has its moments. in fact, some of the songs are downright fun. i really dig the cover of a little respect that they do. i had forgotten it existed until i got to track four, though, but even still...
i did listen to the album a few times through while driving around today running errands (yeah, i had a lot of errands to do...i haven't been paid in three weeks because of Christmas so i had some things that needed taken care of) and it just didn't grab me. its likely that ill keep listening to the radio and catching teenage dirtbag when it comes on and just putting that particular album back in its binder, just like i said yesterday about SR71. I'm starting to question what the hell i was thinking 11 years ago in terms of music. I've always thought that i had a pretty fantastic taste in music, but I'm starting to doubt that. haha.
I'm going to have to pick something good to redeem myself tomorrow :)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
365 project:"i dont mean to piss you off with the things i might say"
day 13.
artist:SR71
album:now you see inside
I'm not sure if it is my subconscious trying to tell me something or what, but something keeps dragging me back to albums from the late 90's/very early 00's. those were good times, as I've talked about...the beginning of college, the group of friends that i was hanging out with, the partying like it was 1999-because it was. something happened though, whether it was the change in colleges, the change in friends, the change of the decade, but i just stopped listening to all of those Cd's.
when i was going through my CD binder last night to find stroke 9, i also came across this CD-well, more accurately, i came across the liner notes for this CD. the actual CD took some time to find, as it wasn't in the binder. i sorted through the HUGE stack of homeless Cd's on the top of my rack and near the bottom i found that yellow piece of plastic with the little robot on it. no words or anything, but i knew what it was.
as has been the case with every CD so far, i still knew all the words, yet was still surprised to find that i did. i don't really have an emotional attachment to this album like i did with a lot of the others we have covered so far. i bought it because i liked the single right now and that was that. i don't remember buying it, which is weird for me. my collection is rather absurdly large, but i remember at least something about the acquisition of most of the albums i own. i guess I'm getting old and am starting to forget.
there is a song on this disk called alive that i think that the guys from red jumpsuit apparatus need to listen to. its a song about getting out of a violent, abusive relationship and starting over, and i think its done better than the song from rja-basically, i can stand to listen to it.
mostly, though, this is just a fun, poppy album. the normal topics are discussed-relationships, love, cheating...the same stuff that most of the other albums EVER are written about. there's nothing groundbreaking or earth-shattering within the confines of this album, just a good time.
sadly, ill probably put this one back into the binder and forget about its existence for another 10 years, until something else comes up to remind me that i even own it.
artist:SR71
album:now you see inside
I'm not sure if it is my subconscious trying to tell me something or what, but something keeps dragging me back to albums from the late 90's/very early 00's. those were good times, as I've talked about...the beginning of college, the group of friends that i was hanging out with, the partying like it was 1999-because it was. something happened though, whether it was the change in colleges, the change in friends, the change of the decade, but i just stopped listening to all of those Cd's.
when i was going through my CD binder last night to find stroke 9, i also came across this CD-well, more accurately, i came across the liner notes for this CD. the actual CD took some time to find, as it wasn't in the binder. i sorted through the HUGE stack of homeless Cd's on the top of my rack and near the bottom i found that yellow piece of plastic with the little robot on it. no words or anything, but i knew what it was.
as has been the case with every CD so far, i still knew all the words, yet was still surprised to find that i did. i don't really have an emotional attachment to this album like i did with a lot of the others we have covered so far. i bought it because i liked the single right now and that was that. i don't remember buying it, which is weird for me. my collection is rather absurdly large, but i remember at least something about the acquisition of most of the albums i own. i guess I'm getting old and am starting to forget.
there is a song on this disk called alive that i think that the guys from red jumpsuit apparatus need to listen to. its a song about getting out of a violent, abusive relationship and starting over, and i think its done better than the song from rja-basically, i can stand to listen to it.
mostly, though, this is just a fun, poppy album. the normal topics are discussed-relationships, love, cheating...the same stuff that most of the other albums EVER are written about. there's nothing groundbreaking or earth-shattering within the confines of this album, just a good time.
sadly, ill probably put this one back into the binder and forget about its existence for another 10 years, until something else comes up to remind me that i even own it.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
365 project:"and dont say 'really are you in this?' cause i can feel you pulling away"
day 12.
artist:stroke 9
album:nasty little thoughts
today when i opened up my CD binder to find something to listen to, a note from a fellow DJ at my college radio station fell out...i haven't been in the station since May of 2003, so I'm going to guess that its been a while since I've listened to this album.
of course i bought this CD because of the song little black backpack. i told the story of my first encounter with this song a few days ago, so i wont get into that again. the fact is, i was in love with it from the beginning and that was all there was to it. however, as quickly as i fell in love with this CD, it seemed to fall out of favor, not because it wasn't good, but because something else came along to take its place. When i transferred colleges, and even more so after my first year at Monmouth, my musical taste took a drastic change. by my junior year at MU i was listening to pretty much non-stop pop-punk and everything else had been left in the dust.
once again, i was surprised by how many of the lyrics i remembered after years of forgetting about this album's existence. i find myself often feeling that way and then wondering why we don't teach kids using music more often...i cant tell you what i did last week, but i can remember every line to a song i haven't heard since i was six. that seems like it could be very valuable in education, but i digress.
i actually listened to today's selection twice; not because i couldn't sit through it but because i couldn't get enough of it. I'm really starting to find, through this project, that i have a lot of really great stuff hiding in my collection that i just don't pay any mind too. at least for a while ill have some stuff to listen to on those days when the stuff i normally listen to gets boring again, as it tends to do. there is a very good chance that i will spin the disk once or twice more before the end of the day.
nasty little thoughts is full of songs that deal with cheating, breaking up, and unrequited love. while the content is dark and depressing, the music tends to be a bit more upbeat and fun...for instance the single little black backpack is totally about beating the tar out of someone that the singer's girlfriend cheated with, but have you heard that song? it is so much fun to sing along and it makes me smile every time i hear the first few chords on the radio.
i suggest that you go into your CD collection, brush the dust off of this gem, and give it a spin. chances are you are going to have as much fun with it today as you did back in 1999.
artist:stroke 9
album:nasty little thoughts
today when i opened up my CD binder to find something to listen to, a note from a fellow DJ at my college radio station fell out...i haven't been in the station since May of 2003, so I'm going to guess that its been a while since I've listened to this album.
of course i bought this CD because of the song little black backpack. i told the story of my first encounter with this song a few days ago, so i wont get into that again. the fact is, i was in love with it from the beginning and that was all there was to it. however, as quickly as i fell in love with this CD, it seemed to fall out of favor, not because it wasn't good, but because something else came along to take its place. When i transferred colleges, and even more so after my first year at Monmouth, my musical taste took a drastic change. by my junior year at MU i was listening to pretty much non-stop pop-punk and everything else had been left in the dust.
once again, i was surprised by how many of the lyrics i remembered after years of forgetting about this album's existence. i find myself often feeling that way and then wondering why we don't teach kids using music more often...i cant tell you what i did last week, but i can remember every line to a song i haven't heard since i was six. that seems like it could be very valuable in education, but i digress.
i actually listened to today's selection twice; not because i couldn't sit through it but because i couldn't get enough of it. I'm really starting to find, through this project, that i have a lot of really great stuff hiding in my collection that i just don't pay any mind too. at least for a while ill have some stuff to listen to on those days when the stuff i normally listen to gets boring again, as it tends to do. there is a very good chance that i will spin the disk once or twice more before the end of the day.
nasty little thoughts is full of songs that deal with cheating, breaking up, and unrequited love. while the content is dark and depressing, the music tends to be a bit more upbeat and fun...for instance the single little black backpack is totally about beating the tar out of someone that the singer's girlfriend cheated with, but have you heard that song? it is so much fun to sing along and it makes me smile every time i hear the first few chords on the radio.
i suggest that you go into your CD collection, brush the dust off of this gem, and give it a spin. chances are you are going to have as much fun with it today as you did back in 1999.
365 project:"if i cant let myself be happy now then when?"
day 11.
artist:jimmy eat world
album:clarity
the first jimmy eat world song i heard was the middle. id be willing to bet that was most people's first j.e.w. song. i really loved that song and of course ran out and bought bleed American (this was either right before or right after the name change...) and listened to it all of the time. my roommate at the time, cricket, was also really into j.e.w. right then, so she had clarity as well. i can remember listening to that album for the first time and just not "getting" it. i would bet that a lot of that was the fact that i really didn't WANT to get it, but regardless, i just didn't understand.
i used to spend a lot of time in college with these boys who were in this band. one of these boys was always ahead of the musical curve and introduced us to a lot of stuff. i remember specifically being in the station wagon on the way to a gig, guitar case against the back of my head and all, and hearing Tim tell whoever was in the front seat to find the CD that said "can you still feel the butterflies." we listened. i still didn't really "get" it.
over time, of course, i came to appreciate the album for the beauty that it is. its even become one of the albums that i recommend to others when they ask what Cd's they need to hear that they haven't yet (mostly pertaining to people who are just getting into my musical "scene.") 11 years later, that album has become a staple in my collection.
i haven't listened to it in about two years, though. in February of 2009, j.e.w. did the Clarity X10 tour. ten shows. ten dates. ten years since clarity was released. the second i heard this was happening i knew id be in attendance come hell or high water. Christa bought tickets, and we were set.
from beginning to end, that set was amazing. they played the album in its entirety from start to finish. then they encored with a bunch of songs from the other albums...work and pain were both in there, i think they played sweetness. they capped off that night with 23 which is a song that brings me to tears within the first five notes. there were a lot of us in the crowd that night with eyes that were less than dry. the crowd was older and we all kind of grew up with that band, and most of us had some sort of emotional attachment to this song in particular.
clarity is one of those albums that, while i don't listen to it often, sticks with me. ill find myself singing parts to songs in my head or quoting song lyrics to confused conversationalists. its just one of those albums that "gets" you, even if you don't "get" it right away.
artist:jimmy eat world
album:clarity
the first jimmy eat world song i heard was the middle. id be willing to bet that was most people's first j.e.w. song. i really loved that song and of course ran out and bought bleed American (this was either right before or right after the name change...) and listened to it all of the time. my roommate at the time, cricket, was also really into j.e.w. right then, so she had clarity as well. i can remember listening to that album for the first time and just not "getting" it. i would bet that a lot of that was the fact that i really didn't WANT to get it, but regardless, i just didn't understand.
i used to spend a lot of time in college with these boys who were in this band. one of these boys was always ahead of the musical curve and introduced us to a lot of stuff. i remember specifically being in the station wagon on the way to a gig, guitar case against the back of my head and all, and hearing Tim tell whoever was in the front seat to find the CD that said "can you still feel the butterflies." we listened. i still didn't really "get" it.
over time, of course, i came to appreciate the album for the beauty that it is. its even become one of the albums that i recommend to others when they ask what Cd's they need to hear that they haven't yet (mostly pertaining to people who are just getting into my musical "scene.") 11 years later, that album has become a staple in my collection.
i haven't listened to it in about two years, though. in February of 2009, j.e.w. did the Clarity X10 tour. ten shows. ten dates. ten years since clarity was released. the second i heard this was happening i knew id be in attendance come hell or high water. Christa bought tickets, and we were set.
from beginning to end, that set was amazing. they played the album in its entirety from start to finish. then they encored with a bunch of songs from the other albums...work and pain were both in there, i think they played sweetness. they capped off that night with 23 which is a song that brings me to tears within the first five notes. there were a lot of us in the crowd that night with eyes that were less than dry. the crowd was older and we all kind of grew up with that band, and most of us had some sort of emotional attachment to this song in particular.
clarity is one of those albums that, while i don't listen to it often, sticks with me. ill find myself singing parts to songs in my head or quoting song lyrics to confused conversationalists. its just one of those albums that "gets" you, even if you don't "get" it right away.
Monday, January 10, 2011
365 project:"she's got boys on board and boys on deck"
day 10.
artist:the hold steady
album:stay positive
i picked today's record because a friend of mine is doing a song a day project and his song for the day was a hold steady song, though not from this album. this was just the album that was most easily accessible to me and the one i didn't mind listening to.
i had a great big giant crush on the hold steady. to put it in middle school terms, they were the name written on my notebook and the picture hanging in my locker, but like all crushes, the love affair faded. i don't know why, exactly, but sometimes love just fades.
i am feeling very uninspired tonight, and cannot think of a single thing to say about this album. i have typed out and erased several different paragraphs in an attempt to make some sort of entry here, but tonight I'm just tired. i don't know.
i wish i could still love the hold steady. maybe its a summer-time thing. there are some bands that i can only listen to in the summer, and others that are winter bands. i don't know. i haven't even been able to listen to the new album all the way through because i just don't have it in me.
its frustrating to not have anything to say. i reserve the right to come back and redo this album at a later date. my project, my rules.
artist:the hold steady
album:stay positive
i picked today's record because a friend of mine is doing a song a day project and his song for the day was a hold steady song, though not from this album. this was just the album that was most easily accessible to me and the one i didn't mind listening to.
i had a great big giant crush on the hold steady. to put it in middle school terms, they were the name written on my notebook and the picture hanging in my locker, but like all crushes, the love affair faded. i don't know why, exactly, but sometimes love just fades.
i am feeling very uninspired tonight, and cannot think of a single thing to say about this album. i have typed out and erased several different paragraphs in an attempt to make some sort of entry here, but tonight I'm just tired. i don't know.
i wish i could still love the hold steady. maybe its a summer-time thing. there are some bands that i can only listen to in the summer, and others that are winter bands. i don't know. i haven't even been able to listen to the new album all the way through because i just don't have it in me.
its frustrating to not have anything to say. i reserve the right to come back and redo this album at a later date. my project, my rules.
365 project:"the time has come for colds and overcoats..."
day 9.
artist:brand new
album:deja entendu
i didn't want to do this album so early in the year, but yesterday was just a "deja" kind of a day...if you have heard this album before, i think you understand what that means. if for some reason you have not, what the hell are you waiting for? go listen, so you know what I'm talking about when i say "its a 'deja' kind of day."
i absolutely remember the day this album came out. whats weird is that i can distinctly remember the purchase of each of the four brand new albums, as Cd's as well as on vinyl. yes, i own all of them on both forms of media. if they were released on cassette, id buy those as well. what about 8-track? surely. even if don't listen to this band on the regular, they are still my favorite, and i want to support them and that in any way possible.
back to the day the CD came out. it was a Tuesday in June, 2003. i was just graduated from college and not doing much with my days, so i slept in. i very clearly remember waking up, coming downstairs in my pajamas and sitting down to eat breakfast. my mom was at the table watching television and going through the newspaper. i noticed a best buy ad on the table, literally screamed "OH MY GOD" in my mom's direction, grabbed my car keys off of the hook and ran out of the house.
i could not wait to get back into my car and start listening to that album. i think it was one of my favorite albums of all time before i even heard it. i just KNEW that i was going to be in love. i was not wrong.
that Friday or Saturday after its release, i went to a tower records in Philly with my friend Danielle. the band was doing an in-store performance and a signing. i was so excited that i thought i might pee my pants. id seen the band several times before, but this was different. i was going to get to talk to them. they were going to play a show for us. just us. there weren't that many of us in that store, and it was perfect.
they played six songs. four from deja, and two from YFW. i knew every word to every song they played...we all did. at one point, Jesse commented to the crowd how awesome it was that we knew all the words to this album that had only come out days before....i remember thinking "well, duh, Jesse. its the only thing I've listened to since Tuesday, and its been non-stop."
i got to meet the band. i asked them what the song was on the beginning of their DVD. none of them knew. eventually Vinny had an answer for me. it was a Dave Matthews song, which explained why i never heard it. i got to talk to the guys in the band, and the autographed my CD. i was on cloud 9. if my love affair with the band hadn't been evident, it became official after that moment. we wont even go into my obsession with Jesse Lacey.
this album is so different from their first effort. each of the following albums are different from the first two. this is a band that truly evolves with each album. people aren't so into that, there are several out there that stopped liking the band after this disk. in my mind, its the best of the four releases. i think its the most accessible to the general audience. i think the songs are the "catchiest."
ill repeat what i said in the beginning of the entry...if you haven't listened to this album, what the hell are you waiting for? go. listen. tell me how much you love it.
artist:brand new
album:deja entendu
i didn't want to do this album so early in the year, but yesterday was just a "deja" kind of a day...if you have heard this album before, i think you understand what that means. if for some reason you have not, what the hell are you waiting for? go listen, so you know what I'm talking about when i say "its a 'deja' kind of day."
i absolutely remember the day this album came out. whats weird is that i can distinctly remember the purchase of each of the four brand new albums, as Cd's as well as on vinyl. yes, i own all of them on both forms of media. if they were released on cassette, id buy those as well. what about 8-track? surely. even if don't listen to this band on the regular, they are still my favorite, and i want to support them and that in any way possible.
back to the day the CD came out. it was a Tuesday in June, 2003. i was just graduated from college and not doing much with my days, so i slept in. i very clearly remember waking up, coming downstairs in my pajamas and sitting down to eat breakfast. my mom was at the table watching television and going through the newspaper. i noticed a best buy ad on the table, literally screamed "OH MY GOD" in my mom's direction, grabbed my car keys off of the hook and ran out of the house.
i could not wait to get back into my car and start listening to that album. i think it was one of my favorite albums of all time before i even heard it. i just KNEW that i was going to be in love. i was not wrong.
that Friday or Saturday after its release, i went to a tower records in Philly with my friend Danielle. the band was doing an in-store performance and a signing. i was so excited that i thought i might pee my pants. id seen the band several times before, but this was different. i was going to get to talk to them. they were going to play a show for us. just us. there weren't that many of us in that store, and it was perfect.
they played six songs. four from deja, and two from YFW. i knew every word to every song they played...we all did. at one point, Jesse commented to the crowd how awesome it was that we knew all the words to this album that had only come out days before....i remember thinking "well, duh, Jesse. its the only thing I've listened to since Tuesday, and its been non-stop."
i got to meet the band. i asked them what the song was on the beginning of their DVD. none of them knew. eventually Vinny had an answer for me. it was a Dave Matthews song, which explained why i never heard it. i got to talk to the guys in the band, and the autographed my CD. i was on cloud 9. if my love affair with the band hadn't been evident, it became official after that moment. we wont even go into my obsession with Jesse Lacey.
this album is so different from their first effort. each of the following albums are different from the first two. this is a band that truly evolves with each album. people aren't so into that, there are several out there that stopped liking the band after this disk. in my mind, its the best of the four releases. i think its the most accessible to the general audience. i think the songs are the "catchiest."
ill repeat what i said in the beginning of the entry...if you haven't listened to this album, what the hell are you waiting for? go. listen. tell me how much you love it.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
365 project:"and it may take some time to patch me up inside but i cant take it so i run away and hide..."
day 8.
artist:vertical horizon
album:everything you want
i lost this album to a relationship gone bad. it was connected to a very specific time in my life and after that all fell apart i couldn't listen anymore. I've been over that particular boy for a very long time, but never really went back to this album. I'm very glad that i decided to listen to it today.
listening to this album was one of those instances where even though its been years and years since i've heard these songs, i still knew every word to each and every one of them. obviously songs like you're a god and best i ever had (grey sky morning) are on the radio with some frequency even today, but others like you say and miracle aren't as prominent yet are still etched in there.
upon hitting play, my mind travelled back to a bright, sunny day in 2000. i don't know what day it was, or why that is the particular day that comes to mind, but "who knows where thoughts come from? they just appear." (~Lucas; empire records) this was a time when songs like best i ever had and stroke 9's little black backpack ruled the airwaves. i was 20 years old, going to college six hours away, and missing Y100 like crazy. (now i miss that radio station for entirely different reasons.)
i was 20 then. I'm nearly 31 now. i don't feel like life was a whole lot different ten years ago than it is now. i mean, the actors are different, but the scripts still read the same. in many ways, it feels like that sunny day was yesterday. of course in reality much has changed over the last ten years, however sitting here right now i cant think of very many things. i guess that's why i like music so much...it really is a time machine. it never ceases to amaze me that i can hear a particular song and it will take me right back to a moment in my lifetime that could be years and years ago, but it will help me to remember that moment exactly. i can remember sitting in Eric's car on our way home from Waynesburg. er, mike and bob came out to get me and bring me home for thanksgiving. we were sitting on 76, nearly home, under an overpass, and as per the norm on 76, traffic was anything but moving. Eric's car was overheating and we were listening to Y100 on the radio. best i ever had came on, and then right after that was the first time i heard little black backpack. the boys were all singing along and i was excited to hear a song i hadn't heard before. during that break i went out and bought both of those albums, and they are forever linked together in my mind, as well as linked to that moment.
there really isn't a song on this album that i don't like. as a matter of fact, after i made it all the way through, i went out to the kitchen (i listened downstairs today. I've been home alone for most of the day and i wanted to listen while i was on the computer) and restarted the disk because i just wanted to hear it again. i probably would have played it through again, but i went outside to shovel snow and then came in and now mom and dad are home.
at any rate, this is a CD that should be revisited and I'm glad that i did. I'm going to definitely have to keep it in rotation and not let it go back on the shelf to sit and collect dust. i don't want to wait another ten years to listen to it again.
artist:vertical horizon
album:everything you want
i lost this album to a relationship gone bad. it was connected to a very specific time in my life and after that all fell apart i couldn't listen anymore. I've been over that particular boy for a very long time, but never really went back to this album. I'm very glad that i decided to listen to it today.
listening to this album was one of those instances where even though its been years and years since i've heard these songs, i still knew every word to each and every one of them. obviously songs like you're a god and best i ever had (grey sky morning) are on the radio with some frequency even today, but others like you say and miracle aren't as prominent yet are still etched in there.
upon hitting play, my mind travelled back to a bright, sunny day in 2000. i don't know what day it was, or why that is the particular day that comes to mind, but "who knows where thoughts come from? they just appear." (~Lucas; empire records) this was a time when songs like best i ever had and stroke 9's little black backpack ruled the airwaves. i was 20 years old, going to college six hours away, and missing Y100 like crazy. (now i miss that radio station for entirely different reasons.)
i was 20 then. I'm nearly 31 now. i don't feel like life was a whole lot different ten years ago than it is now. i mean, the actors are different, but the scripts still read the same. in many ways, it feels like that sunny day was yesterday. of course in reality much has changed over the last ten years, however sitting here right now i cant think of very many things. i guess that's why i like music so much...it really is a time machine. it never ceases to amaze me that i can hear a particular song and it will take me right back to a moment in my lifetime that could be years and years ago, but it will help me to remember that moment exactly. i can remember sitting in Eric's car on our way home from Waynesburg. er, mike and bob came out to get me and bring me home for thanksgiving. we were sitting on 76, nearly home, under an overpass, and as per the norm on 76, traffic was anything but moving. Eric's car was overheating and we were listening to Y100 on the radio. best i ever had came on, and then right after that was the first time i heard little black backpack. the boys were all singing along and i was excited to hear a song i hadn't heard before. during that break i went out and bought both of those albums, and they are forever linked together in my mind, as well as linked to that moment.
there really isn't a song on this album that i don't like. as a matter of fact, after i made it all the way through, i went out to the kitchen (i listened downstairs today. I've been home alone for most of the day and i wanted to listen while i was on the computer) and restarted the disk because i just wanted to hear it again. i probably would have played it through again, but i went outside to shovel snow and then came in and now mom and dad are home.
at any rate, this is a CD that should be revisited and I'm glad that i did. I'm going to definitely have to keep it in rotation and not let it go back on the shelf to sit and collect dust. i don't want to wait another ten years to listen to it again.
Friday, January 7, 2011
365 project:"what were the words you said to me that made me feel so special now"
day 7.
artist:finch
album:what it is to burn
thinking back on 2000-2003, i got to experience a lot of really fun pop-punk music. i was listening almost solely to bands like finch, the starting line, new found glory, taking back sunday and brand new. i was going to shows as much as possible and having a lot of fun in life. honestly, though, how can you not have fun with upbeat pop-punk bands soundtracking your life.
i remember the first time i saw finch. i was going to warped tour in asbury park and my friend Tim said that they were a band i needed to check out. Tim usually knew what he was talking about in terms of bands, and i trusted his advice, so i went over to check them out and was totally floored. they had the sound that i was loving at the time, and and weren't afraid to have fun on stage.
this CD is one of the few that i don't actually remember how i got. i have a vague feeling that it was via the radio station, but i could have just as easily picked it up at that very warped tour or at skate and surf at the drive thru tent. its unlikely that i bought it in a store, though that might be the case. its weird that i don't know how i got it, but thems the breaks.
what i do know is that this wasn't a disk that i listened to for a while and then put away. actually, in order to sit down and listen to it for today's blog, i had to go out to my car and bring it inside. it is absolutely still a go-to album for driving or for a generally good day. I'm sad that this band's later efforts just didn't grab me the way the first album did, because i have a feeling that even at 40 or 50 years old ill still be listening to what it is to burn.
artist:finch
album:what it is to burn
thinking back on 2000-2003, i got to experience a lot of really fun pop-punk music. i was listening almost solely to bands like finch, the starting line, new found glory, taking back sunday and brand new. i was going to shows as much as possible and having a lot of fun in life. honestly, though, how can you not have fun with upbeat pop-punk bands soundtracking your life.
i remember the first time i saw finch. i was going to warped tour in asbury park and my friend Tim said that they were a band i needed to check out. Tim usually knew what he was talking about in terms of bands, and i trusted his advice, so i went over to check them out and was totally floored. they had the sound that i was loving at the time, and and weren't afraid to have fun on stage.
this CD is one of the few that i don't actually remember how i got. i have a vague feeling that it was via the radio station, but i could have just as easily picked it up at that very warped tour or at skate and surf at the drive thru tent. its unlikely that i bought it in a store, though that might be the case. its weird that i don't know how i got it, but thems the breaks.
what i do know is that this wasn't a disk that i listened to for a while and then put away. actually, in order to sit down and listen to it for today's blog, i had to go out to my car and bring it inside. it is absolutely still a go-to album for driving or for a generally good day. I'm sad that this band's later efforts just didn't grab me the way the first album did, because i have a feeling that even at 40 or 50 years old ill still be listening to what it is to burn.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
end of year
i never did get around to finishing up my end of the year post. i just looked over it, and i dont have the heart to finish it now. i dont know why, but i cant bring myself to complete that list, so im just going to rattle off an arbitrary list so that i can at least say that ive accomplished something. haha.
in no particular order, except for number one:
jenny & johnny~we're having fun now
mumford & sons~sigh no more
danny gokey~my best days
broken bells~broken bells
the arcade fire~the suburbs
the gaslight anthem~american slang
biggest dissapointments:
bad books~bad books
the hold steady~heaven is whenever
note: i didnt outright dislike either of these albums, i just had very high expectations for both of them, and neither met those expectations.
there is only one album that i can honestly say im excited for in 2011:
iron & wine~kiss each other clean
this entry is bare bones, but i felt like i should get something up before december.
in no particular order, except for number one:
jenny & johnny~we're having fun now
mumford & sons~sigh no more
danny gokey~my best days
broken bells~broken bells
the arcade fire~the suburbs
the gaslight anthem~american slang
biggest dissapointments:
bad books~bad books
the hold steady~heaven is whenever
note: i didnt outright dislike either of these albums, i just had very high expectations for both of them, and neither met those expectations.
there is only one album that i can honestly say im excited for in 2011:
iron & wine~kiss each other clean
this entry is bare bones, but i felt like i should get something up before december.
356 project:"i think we're going somewhere. we're onto something good here"
day 6.
artist:Relient K
album:the anatomy of tongue and cheek
back in college i was a DJ on the college radio station. i did this at both schools i attended, and i loved it. obviously i kind of really like talking about music and sharing new stuff with people, otherwise i wouldn't be doing this blog at all.
at any rate, for the entire five years i was on air, i dj'ed Christian music shows. i did a few others during my time, but this is the one that i stuck with all the way through college. i had my favorite artists to play, as anyone would, and relient k was right up there at the top.
relient k, for us, was a band that was just always around. we were playing them on the radio. they were playing shows in our area. B's band was playing shows WITH them in our area. they were always touring with five iron, so i saw them a lot. they played skate and surf one year (i just recently came across a picture of us up in the seats at convention hall with Matt and Brian), i mean, at some points in time i felt like i was seeing this band more than i was seeing my friends or my own family.
i was interviewing them for some reason or another at a show, and when i walked in, i distinctly remember Matt theissen saying "oh, genesis lomax!" like i was the one about to get up on stage and play (i really DO have that kind of a name, though...)
i haven't listened to relient k in a really long time. its probably been a few years. i know i busted out an EP a summer or two ago, but before that i cant even remember the last time i listened to this band that i used to love so much, so i decided that for today's aotd, id listen to anatomy of tongue and cheek. i used to love the poop out of this album, and it was in regular rotation on our radio show, so i figured it would be fun to throwback and also the upbeat music would keep me motivated to clean my room.
i was right, it was motivation to clean, because i had made a deal with myself that i couldn't leave the room until i was through the album, and my options were to clean or to die a slow and painful death while all of my blood escaped out of my ears.
alright, that might be a bit much, because there are still some bright spots on the disk, but overall its not something that i think ill ever spin again. i don't know why i went from love to hate with this album exactly, but I'm not about to sit through it again anytime soon to figure it out.
at best, ill add a few songs to itunes and add them to mixdisks here and there, and that will be that. but i guess that's what the point of this whole experiment is, to see what i still like or what I've grown to hate...to see how I've grown and changed since i started buying Cd's.
artist:Relient K
album:the anatomy of tongue and cheek
back in college i was a DJ on the college radio station. i did this at both schools i attended, and i loved it. obviously i kind of really like talking about music and sharing new stuff with people, otherwise i wouldn't be doing this blog at all.
at any rate, for the entire five years i was on air, i dj'ed Christian music shows. i did a few others during my time, but this is the one that i stuck with all the way through college. i had my favorite artists to play, as anyone would, and relient k was right up there at the top.
relient k, for us, was a band that was just always around. we were playing them on the radio. they were playing shows in our area. B's band was playing shows WITH them in our area. they were always touring with five iron, so i saw them a lot. they played skate and surf one year (i just recently came across a picture of us up in the seats at convention hall with Matt and Brian), i mean, at some points in time i felt like i was seeing this band more than i was seeing my friends or my own family.
i was interviewing them for some reason or another at a show, and when i walked in, i distinctly remember Matt theissen saying "oh, genesis lomax!" like i was the one about to get up on stage and play (i really DO have that kind of a name, though...)
i haven't listened to relient k in a really long time. its probably been a few years. i know i busted out an EP a summer or two ago, but before that i cant even remember the last time i listened to this band that i used to love so much, so i decided that for today's aotd, id listen to anatomy of tongue and cheek. i used to love the poop out of this album, and it was in regular rotation on our radio show, so i figured it would be fun to throwback and also the upbeat music would keep me motivated to clean my room.
i was right, it was motivation to clean, because i had made a deal with myself that i couldn't leave the room until i was through the album, and my options were to clean or to die a slow and painful death while all of my blood escaped out of my ears.
alright, that might be a bit much, because there are still some bright spots on the disk, but overall its not something that i think ill ever spin again. i don't know why i went from love to hate with this album exactly, but I'm not about to sit through it again anytime soon to figure it out.
at best, ill add a few songs to itunes and add them to mixdisks here and there, and that will be that. but i guess that's what the point of this whole experiment is, to see what i still like or what I've grown to hate...to see how I've grown and changed since i started buying Cd's.
365 project:"what's the point of holding on to what never gets used?"
day 5 (a day late)
artist:death cab for cutie
album:narrow stairs
this morning i was leaving work for my break, and when i started my car the song cath... was on the radio. that reminded me of the fact that your new twin sized bed has been bouncing around inside of my head for last week (although i was getting rid of my twin sized bed, the situation still reminded me of this song.)
i own narrow stairs on CD as well as on vinyl. the vinyl was a mission of mine. i don't really like ordering things online when i can find them in a store, and i really wanted to hold this album in my hands when i purchased it, so i held out until i found it in a record store. i looked all over and couldn't find it anywhere, but had been planning on heading up to New York City, so figured if i cant get it there, i cant get it anywhere.
i drug my friends into Bleeker Street Records and began my search. i looked high and low (literally, as the store is multi-level) and came up empty-handed. i was frustrated and about to admit defeat when "helpful Brian" (nickname ours) came over and asked if there was anything i needed. i told him that yes there was, and that i was looking for two specific records. the man downstairs basically told me "good luck, those are impossible to find" and that was that, but Brian went out of his way to help me complete the task at hand. several phone calls, a store-to-store delivery, and a credit card malfunction later, i had narrow stairs in my hands. needless to say, i was pleased as punch and from that moment couldn't wait to get home to my record player.
have you heard the song i will possess your heart? of course you have. have you heard the actual song, though, or the radio edit? while the radio edit gets right to the point, the album version has this like six minute build-up before the lyrics come in that i just cant get enough of. every once in a while, ill catch the 8:35 version on the radio and it makes me giddy.
the video for grapevine fires might just be one of the saddest pieces of animation i have ever seen in my entire life. i guess the song is really pretty sad, as well, because its about the actual Grapevine fires in Cali back in 2007, but also because of the imagery that it creates. the idea of just sitting on a blanket on a hill, drinking wine from a paper cup and watching everything you own go up on flames is just...that is depressing as hell. i suppose that death cab wouldn't be much if they weren't depressing, though.
the one low spot on the album for me is bixby canyon bridge. i disliked that song immensely the first time i heard it. subsequent listens yielded no better results. i thought that the possibility of seeing the song live would change my mind, as is the case with bad songs by good bands, but not even seeing that song live at bonnaroo could make me like it. if that doesn't do it, nothing will.
overall, i really love this album. death cab changed after signing with a major, but i wouldn't call it a sell out by any means. more of an evolution than anything.
artist:death cab for cutie
album:narrow stairs
this morning i was leaving work for my break, and when i started my car the song cath... was on the radio. that reminded me of the fact that your new twin sized bed has been bouncing around inside of my head for last week (although i was getting rid of my twin sized bed, the situation still reminded me of this song.)
i own narrow stairs on CD as well as on vinyl. the vinyl was a mission of mine. i don't really like ordering things online when i can find them in a store, and i really wanted to hold this album in my hands when i purchased it, so i held out until i found it in a record store. i looked all over and couldn't find it anywhere, but had been planning on heading up to New York City, so figured if i cant get it there, i cant get it anywhere.
i drug my friends into Bleeker Street Records and began my search. i looked high and low (literally, as the store is multi-level) and came up empty-handed. i was frustrated and about to admit defeat when "helpful Brian" (nickname ours) came over and asked if there was anything i needed. i told him that yes there was, and that i was looking for two specific records. the man downstairs basically told me "good luck, those are impossible to find" and that was that, but Brian went out of his way to help me complete the task at hand. several phone calls, a store-to-store delivery, and a credit card malfunction later, i had narrow stairs in my hands. needless to say, i was pleased as punch and from that moment couldn't wait to get home to my record player.
have you heard the song i will possess your heart? of course you have. have you heard the actual song, though, or the radio edit? while the radio edit gets right to the point, the album version has this like six minute build-up before the lyrics come in that i just cant get enough of. every once in a while, ill catch the 8:35 version on the radio and it makes me giddy.
the video for grapevine fires might just be one of the saddest pieces of animation i have ever seen in my entire life. i guess the song is really pretty sad, as well, because its about the actual Grapevine fires in Cali back in 2007, but also because of the imagery that it creates. the idea of just sitting on a blanket on a hill, drinking wine from a paper cup and watching everything you own go up on flames is just...that is depressing as hell. i suppose that death cab wouldn't be much if they weren't depressing, though.
the one low spot on the album for me is bixby canyon bridge. i disliked that song immensely the first time i heard it. subsequent listens yielded no better results. i thought that the possibility of seeing the song live would change my mind, as is the case with bad songs by good bands, but not even seeing that song live at bonnaroo could make me like it. if that doesn't do it, nothing will.
overall, i really love this album. death cab changed after signing with a major, but i wouldn't call it a sell out by any means. more of an evolution than anything.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
365 project: "and nobody nowhere understands anything about me and all my dreams"
day 4:
album:mellon collie and the infinite sadness (twilight to starlight disk)
artist:smashing pumpkins
i remember when this album was first released, i read a review on it. in the review, it was stated that the album would have been much better as one disk, because there were only a handful of good songs and the bulk of both of the disks were filler. i had just turned 15, and i knew from that point on that i could never trust a reviewer (the irony of that statement is not lost on me, believe me).
because this album is two disks, I've decided that I'm going to split it in half, and only do the second half of the album, the "twilight to starlight" disk. while i really enjoy both halves of this album, the second half has always been my favorite, because it was more mellow than the first, and because it is the half of the album with the song Stumbleine. i have no idea what it is about that song that makes me love it so much, even 15 years later, but its still one of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. the message, as far as i gathered, was one of lost youth and attempts at being a savior. something about those ideas i guess really resonated with me when i first heard the song, and i guess in a way still does. on paper, the lyrics don't make a whole ton of sense, but something about the way billy corgan sings them and the music that accompanies them seem to make them make all of the sense in the world...like those words just belong together.
in my junior year of high school, for my peer leadership program, i had to create an autobiography to share with the rest of my class and the peer group i lead in order to give them an idea of what made me tick. i don't remember much of it, aside from typing it up on my daddy's Brother Word Processor (oh man, we were so cool to have a word processor. ha.) and including, in full, the lyrics to the song that i loved the most at the time-thru the eyes of ruby.
"if you spin your love around
the secrets of your dreams
you may find your love is gone
and is not quite what it seemed
to appear to disappear
beneath all your darkest fears"
I'm finding through doing this project that, even 15 years later, the same exact songs provoke the same exact emotions in me. I'm not naive enough to think that i have not changed, but i believe in music enough to believe that its sentiment resounds forever. i still feel the same chills listening to this song now as i did hearing it for the first time on my tape deck in my bedroom the spring of my freshman year of high school.
youth is wasted on the young.
album:mellon collie and the infinite sadness (twilight to starlight disk)
artist:smashing pumpkins
i remember when this album was first released, i read a review on it. in the review, it was stated that the album would have been much better as one disk, because there were only a handful of good songs and the bulk of both of the disks were filler. i had just turned 15, and i knew from that point on that i could never trust a reviewer (the irony of that statement is not lost on me, believe me).
because this album is two disks, I've decided that I'm going to split it in half, and only do the second half of the album, the "twilight to starlight" disk. while i really enjoy both halves of this album, the second half has always been my favorite, because it was more mellow than the first, and because it is the half of the album with the song Stumbleine. i have no idea what it is about that song that makes me love it so much, even 15 years later, but its still one of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. the message, as far as i gathered, was one of lost youth and attempts at being a savior. something about those ideas i guess really resonated with me when i first heard the song, and i guess in a way still does. on paper, the lyrics don't make a whole ton of sense, but something about the way billy corgan sings them and the music that accompanies them seem to make them make all of the sense in the world...like those words just belong together.
in my junior year of high school, for my peer leadership program, i had to create an autobiography to share with the rest of my class and the peer group i lead in order to give them an idea of what made me tick. i don't remember much of it, aside from typing it up on my daddy's Brother Word Processor (oh man, we were so cool to have a word processor. ha.) and including, in full, the lyrics to the song that i loved the most at the time-thru the eyes of ruby.
"if you spin your love around
the secrets of your dreams
you may find your love is gone
and is not quite what it seemed
to appear to disappear
beneath all your darkest fears"
I'm finding through doing this project that, even 15 years later, the same exact songs provoke the same exact emotions in me. I'm not naive enough to think that i have not changed, but i believe in music enough to believe that its sentiment resounds forever. i still feel the same chills listening to this song now as i did hearing it for the first time on my tape deck in my bedroom the spring of my freshman year of high school.
youth is wasted on the young.
Monday, January 3, 2011
where do we go from here? the words are coming out all weird...
day 3.
today i discovered something. i am not a fan of radiohead.
i like to listen to their radio-friendly singles. songs like the bends and fake plastic trees are fine. but it almost pained me to sit patiently through the entire the bends album today. i actually started and stopped on three separate occasions before i forced myself to focus and listen to the entire thing. honestly, i was cleaning while listening, and i didn't really pay attention to it (this isn't to say i haven't heard the album before, but the purpose of this project is to really pay attention and revisit with these albums, not listen to them in passing or as background noise) the first time through, so i tried again after i decided to stop cleaning for the night, and almost fell asleep.
on both listens, i got to track 8-my iron lung-and was hoping that it was the last song on the album, but both times i realized that i still had four to go.
its not that radiohead is a bad band. i wouldn't go around making fun of them with the same attitude as i dobands like nickelback (i cant, in good faith, call them a band. sorry if you like them. that's just not music, and its definitely not something id like to torture my ears with.), but at the same time, i don't hold them in the same regard or on the same pedestal as some people that I've met in my lifetime.
I've seen radiohead live. i saw them at bonnaroo a few summers ago. the set was average. i was way more impressed with tom petty that summer. i didn't hate it. it wasn't the worst thing id seen that weekend. it just...it was just average.
that's how i feel about radiohead in general, i think. thom yorke is no dope. i just feel like maybe sometimes i need to be on dope to listen to an entire album straight through. maybe that's the problem. maybe i don't "get it" because I'm not a pot head. i don't know.
the album did have its highlights for me. of course, it was stuff that i already knew i liked, and its the stuff I've already mentioned in this post. fake plastic trees. the bends. high and dry. given the chance, id probably listen the shit out of a greatest hits album. i just cant find it in my musical heart to care enough about the other tracks to sit through an entire album.
today i discovered something. i am not a fan of radiohead.
i like to listen to their radio-friendly singles. songs like the bends and fake plastic trees are fine. but it almost pained me to sit patiently through the entire the bends album today. i actually started and stopped on three separate occasions before i forced myself to focus and listen to the entire thing. honestly, i was cleaning while listening, and i didn't really pay attention to it (this isn't to say i haven't heard the album before, but the purpose of this project is to really pay attention and revisit with these albums, not listen to them in passing or as background noise) the first time through, so i tried again after i decided to stop cleaning for the night, and almost fell asleep.
on both listens, i got to track 8-my iron lung-and was hoping that it was the last song on the album, but both times i realized that i still had four to go.
its not that radiohead is a bad band. i wouldn't go around making fun of them with the same attitude as i do
I've seen radiohead live. i saw them at bonnaroo a few summers ago. the set was average. i was way more impressed with tom petty that summer. i didn't hate it. it wasn't the worst thing id seen that weekend. it just...it was just average.
that's how i feel about radiohead in general, i think. thom yorke is no dope. i just feel like maybe sometimes i need to be on dope to listen to an entire album straight through. maybe that's the problem. maybe i don't "get it" because I'm not a pot head. i don't know.
the album did have its highlights for me. of course, it was stuff that i already knew i liked, and its the stuff I've already mentioned in this post. fake plastic trees. the bends. high and dry. given the chance, id probably listen the shit out of a greatest hits album. i just cant find it in my musical heart to care enough about the other tracks to sit through an entire album.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
365 project. less of you is more than i can take...
day 2.
album: the moon is down
artist: further seems forever
say what you want about Chris Carabba (i know i have) but this album is one of my favorite albums lyrically of all time.
with lines like "And those with defeat on their faces/are those that we must keep alive" from the title track and "but pasted wings and foil rings do not an angel make" from the bradley make this a CD that i find myself coming back to time and time again.
a few years ago a friend of mine was starting to widen her taste in music and asked me to help her out in this process. i love to share the stuff that i love, so was happy to help, and the first CD i shared with her was this one. i feel like it never gets stale and that i can spin it and still feel the same emotions i felt when i first listened to this album back in 2001. i may be a different person now than i was ten years ago (that's so gross that all of my favorite albums are or have celebrated their tenth birthdays recently) but the music still hits me the same exact way as it did then.
its hard for me to pick a favorite song on the album, and even harder to pick a least favorite. this album does not contain a song that i skip over. there are only 10 songs, and its a rather short album, but it goes full force for the entire 38 minutes and 53 seconds.
the only disappointment i have about this album is from skate and surf in 2005. i was SO excited to see the band reunited with Mr. carabba and playing this album in its entirety, but the fire marshall decided to be a huge dick that day and closed off the entrances so that many of us who had been waiting to get in weren't allowed. on the upside, i did get to hang out with the one and only Matt Pryor (the get up kids, new amsterdams, terrible twos) by the vagrant records merch tent, where he played for us a whole mess of songs acoustically, which was pretty sweet.
i did get to catch the whole set later as someone that was there recorded it and put it out on the interwebs for everyone who wasn't allowed in, but it depressed me to watch knowing that i was just outside of those doors and couldn't get in...(side note, i saw Kevin Divine for the first time on the acoustic stage during this skate and surf. i was hanging out waiting to see...straylight, i think, and i didn't want to miss them so i went in early and stayed put. i didn't fall in love with Kevin for several years, though, because i suck.)
anyway, i love this album dearly and will go to my grave recc'ing it to anyone who wants a solid record with a lot of emotion. go ahead, call it emo. its a better definition of "emo" than the one used today.
album: the moon is down
artist: further seems forever
say what you want about Chris Carabba (i know i have) but this album is one of my favorite albums lyrically of all time.
with lines like "And those with defeat on their faces/are those that we must keep alive" from the title track and "but pasted wings and foil rings do not an angel make" from the bradley make this a CD that i find myself coming back to time and time again.
a few years ago a friend of mine was starting to widen her taste in music and asked me to help her out in this process. i love to share the stuff that i love, so was happy to help, and the first CD i shared with her was this one. i feel like it never gets stale and that i can spin it and still feel the same emotions i felt when i first listened to this album back in 2001. i may be a different person now than i was ten years ago (that's so gross that all of my favorite albums are or have celebrated their tenth birthdays recently) but the music still hits me the same exact way as it did then.
its hard for me to pick a favorite song on the album, and even harder to pick a least favorite. this album does not contain a song that i skip over. there are only 10 songs, and its a rather short album, but it goes full force for the entire 38 minutes and 53 seconds.
the only disappointment i have about this album is from skate and surf in 2005. i was SO excited to see the band reunited with Mr. carabba and playing this album in its entirety, but the fire marshall decided to be a huge dick that day and closed off the entrances so that many of us who had been waiting to get in weren't allowed. on the upside, i did get to hang out with the one and only Matt Pryor (the get up kids, new amsterdams, terrible twos) by the vagrant records merch tent, where he played for us a whole mess of songs acoustically, which was pretty sweet.
i did get to catch the whole set later as someone that was there recorded it and put it out on the interwebs for everyone who wasn't allowed in, but it depressed me to watch knowing that i was just outside of those doors and couldn't get in...(side note, i saw Kevin Divine for the first time on the acoustic stage during this skate and surf. i was hanging out waiting to see...straylight, i think, and i didn't want to miss them so i went in early and stayed put. i didn't fall in love with Kevin for several years, though, because i suck.)
anyway, i love this album dearly and will go to my grave recc'ing it to anyone who wants a solid record with a lot of emotion. go ahead, call it emo. its a better definition of "emo" than the one used today.
its time for you to chose: the bullet or the chapstick
I'm still working on the end of the year list...don't worry. I've just got some fine-tuning left to do.
but i was just talking with a friend of mine about her 365 photo project, and as things generally do between audiophiles, it turned into a discussion about music. I've decided that I'm going to make it a point to listen to one full album from start to finish every single day of this year. I'm probably going to start the 365 photo project, too, and they may coordinate at some points, but this will give me something solid to keep me writing, keep my ears open, and help me revisit some older records in my collection that haven't seen the light of day in a while.
1/1/11~i was cleaning my room yesterday and couldn't settle on a record to clean to, and as i was flipping through the wax, Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New jumped out. pop punk=perfect cleaning music.
I've talked before about my love affair with brand new. although over the course of 2010 my obsession with Jesse Lacey died off to almost non-existent, i will always have a spot in my heart for this band. this record WAS my senior year of college. i have pictures of my housemates and friends singing along to "jude law and a semester abroad" while drinking margaritas made with the use of a snoopy snow-cone maker.
i saw this band for the first time when they were still playing this album, and for subsequent shows after.
not to sound totally pretentious, but this album on clear vinyl is probably my prized possession.
"no seatbelt song" is one of my favorite songs ever..."its only you/beautiful/or i don't want anyone." in my eyes, those are some of the sweetest lyrics ever written...and yes, i am a sucker for anything acoustic.
but i was just talking with a friend of mine about her 365 photo project, and as things generally do between audiophiles, it turned into a discussion about music. I've decided that I'm going to make it a point to listen to one full album from start to finish every single day of this year. I'm probably going to start the 365 photo project, too, and they may coordinate at some points, but this will give me something solid to keep me writing, keep my ears open, and help me revisit some older records in my collection that haven't seen the light of day in a while.
1/1/11~i was cleaning my room yesterday and couldn't settle on a record to clean to, and as i was flipping through the wax, Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New jumped out. pop punk=perfect cleaning music.
I've talked before about my love affair with brand new. although over the course of 2010 my obsession with Jesse Lacey died off to almost non-existent, i will always have a spot in my heart for this band. this record WAS my senior year of college. i have pictures of my housemates and friends singing along to "jude law and a semester abroad" while drinking margaritas made with the use of a snoopy snow-cone maker.
i saw this band for the first time when they were still playing this album, and for subsequent shows after.
not to sound totally pretentious, but this album on clear vinyl is probably my prized possession.
"no seatbelt song" is one of my favorite songs ever..."its only you/beautiful/or i don't want anyone." in my eyes, those are some of the sweetest lyrics ever written...and yes, i am a sucker for anything acoustic.
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