"Roller Skates," Steel Pulse
My favorite song of all-time is "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby.
In "Semi-Charmed Life," Stephen Jenkins, the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, muses "...and the four right chords can make me cry." I TOTALLY get that. I've always been a music-lover. I owe this to my parents; two music-fiends who constantly had awesome music playing in the car or on the stereo at home. While my brother and I certainly had our fair share of Sesame Street and Raffi tunes growing up, we were equally well-versed in The Eagles, Chicago, Steve Miller Band, Dire Straits, Meat Loaf, The Police, The Beach Boys, Dan Fogelberg, Starship, Van Halen, Springsteen, and Genesis. I have vivid memories (albeit, thanks to HOURS of video footage my parents valiantly logged) of my brother and I, fake guitar and drum-set in hand, RUINING Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place on Earth," George Harrison's "I Got My Mind Set on You," and Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us."
I can't remember if my first CD was Alanis Morrisette, Jagged Little Pill, or Ace of Base, Happy Nation. I do, however, clearly remember sitting cross-legged on the floor of Jen's parent's house, in 7th grade, blasting "You Oughta Know" and "Hand in My Pocket" until the CD started to skip. I remember trying to force Paul to learn the dance moves to "The Sign," CERTAIN he was going to win the Monte Vista talent show as long as my choreography could hold up. While I'd always been heavily influenced by music, these were the two CDs that shaped my junior high years-- well, these and Mariah Carey's Music Box. I definitely rocked out to "Dreamlover" and "Hero" more times than I care to admit.
In high school, I got caught up in the world of One-Hit-Wonders, and joined three CD clubs despite my parents' wishes. Within the course of a year, I was the proud owner of hundreds of CDs, MOST of which I bought for one song: Dunkin Sheik, "Barely Breathing;" The Presidents of the United States, "Lump;" Sir-Mix-a-Lot, "Jump on It;" Dog's Eye View, "Everything Falls Apart;" Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Cars;" Jars of Clay, "Flood;" Primitive Radio Gods, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand;" Deep Blue Something, "Breakfast at Tiffany's;" Toadies, "Possum Kingdom;" Martin Page, "In the House of Stone and Light;" The Verve Pipe, "The Freshmen," Harvey Danger, "Flagpole Sitta;" The Verve, "Bittersweet Symphony;" Eagle-Eye Cherry, "Save Tonight;" and Semisonic, "Closing Time," just to name a few...those CDs are now lost inside the confines of our littered closet.
I like to think I have pretty good taste in music, and I pride myself on (most) of my iPod's varied and unique contents. However, for about two years in high school, I caught the 'N SYNC pandemic and fell prey to every brutal advertising ploy and awful dance move the five manufactured pretty boys could throw at me. My friends and I attended five (yes, FIVE) of the gooey-pop-ridiculous spectacles masquerading as concerts. Embarrassing now, absolutely; but at the time, our goal in LIFE was to get a picture with Justin Timberlake. Meagan and Vanessa were sly enough to sneak a video camera into one show, and at the end of one of the songs Justin coyly pointed a finger directly into the video lens. Needless to say, this one shot was watched and rewound and watched AT LEAST 1,000 times before the summer was over.
Clearly, my musical tastes in high school were pathetic and humiliating, but my four saving graces (music-points-wise) during those years were Nirvana, Pearl Jam, the RENT Soundtrack, and REM. Somehow, among the shattered pieces of 'N SYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" and Skee-Lo's "I Wish," I managed to save face with these three bands. I was HOOKED on REM the second I heard "Losing My Religion," and immediately bought Out of Time, Green, Automatic for the People, Eponymous, Monster, and Murmur. I had an REM poster on my bedroom wall for most of my high school years, and viewed Michael Stipe as a musical genius. (I have a feeling he wouldn't have approved of the 'N SYNC fiasco).
In college, my brother was in a pop-punk band, and I dove head-first into the punk scene. Krissy and I easily went to 50 "punk" shows during our college days...I don't mean the more hard-core stuff like Velvet Revolver or Snapcase or Black Flag, but (among others) we saw Green Day, Blink, Sum 41, Finch, The Starting Line, Something Corporate, The Ataris, Yellowcard, Unwritten Law, Common Rider, Further Seems Forever, Saves the Day, Millencolin, Taking Back Sunday, The Early November, Thursday, Fall Out Boy, MXPX, Boxcar Racer, Jimmy Eat World, Sugarcult, Thrice, Senses Fail, The Used, Straylight Run, Alkaline Trio, AFI...MOST of these bands we saw two or three times, and I'm sure there are many others I'm forgetting. There's a feeling unlike any other, in the middle of a punk rock show, that's hard to explain. The amps are turned up so loud it's hard to focus on anything other than the beat of the music pulsing through your veins, the room is hot and people are packed like sardines; jumping and screaming and throwing limbs with reckless abandon...describing it here makes it sound awful, although it's one of the most euphoric experiences in the world.
While my college years were musically shaped by the above bands, the most influential three were Dashboard Confessional, Brand New, and New Found Glory. I saw each of these bands live at least 3 times, memorized every NUANCE to every album, and knew in which cities each were touring at any given time. After shows, I'd keep the House of Blues style wristband on for almost a week, even though it caught on the lane-line during swim practice. I wore out my copies of Brand New's Your Favorite Weapon AND Deja Entendu. To this day, I still think Brand New has some of the sharpest, darkest, most haunting lyrics I've ever heard. For example, Jesse Lacey wrote "Guernica" for his dying grandfather; the title is taken from a Picasso painting of the same title, in which the artist depicts the bombing of Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and the invariable tragedy of war/death. Sample lyrics:
If I could I would shrink myself
and sink through your skin to your blood cells
and remove whatever makes you hurt
but I am too weak to be your cure.
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind.
With the exception of 'N SYNC and the one-hit-wonders brigade, I still listen to everything listed above. My favorite concert to date is The Eagles (SECOND ROW CENTER!), although Tom Petty and Jimmy Buffett are close seconds. I LOVE country music, blast all the trendy rap and hip-hop songs LOUD when they come on the radio, and can't ever turn down a Michael Jackson hit-- (this even includes "Will You Be There?") I can't imagine my life without music, and I hope I never have to...
But when the night is falling
And you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget you only get what you give
-New Radicals
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