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.
The first song I heard was actually bleed american. They played it on the radio once and I immediately had to know who the band was. I spent forever trying to find it online and thne went and bought the album. But for some reason the existence of "clarity" eluded me for another year, until a friend asked me what I thought of their first album... I thought that WAS their first album. I then had to go download clarity bc I couldn't find it anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI used to wonder what it would be like to listen to 23 at that age bc it seemed so far away at 19... funny now :) That concert was one of my all time favorites, and I'm glad I came down from NY to be there.