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.