As I am driving home after 10 p.m. I decided that when I get home, instead of going to bed like I should be, I am instead going to blog about music. Why you may ask? Because the last couple days have been less than stellar, and both writing and music make me feel better. So there you go.
Some people have already suffered through two past blog posts about some of my favorite songs, so I thought "how can I mix it up this time?" And as I drove home it hit me. Let's talk about albums, since I was listening to an artist that has one album in particular that just slays with every track.
Deciding on albums worth writing about was interesting. The thing about an album is it really has to be more than a sum of its parts to be worthy of being an awesome album. One amazing song cannot save an otherwise just okay (or worse, shitty) album. And in this day where we can access individual songs, we're no longer stuck with buying crap albums for that one good song.
Now, I don't already have a playlist of my "favorite albums", not like my top 200 favorite song playlist that currently needs an update. Or like how I have a formalized mental list of my top 6 favorite bands. Really, my "fav" albums at this point is just my scrolling through my iTunes going "oooh, yeah, I love that one," or "that one really reminds me of that thing and oh the feels." So I am just going to jump in wherever.
Disclaimer - I admit to NOT having any kind of normal taste in music, which I really like about myself. You've been warned.
Secrets - Everything That Got Us Here (2015)
I figured I would start with the album in the aforementioned car ride home. I am going to say that this album is just solid and awesome. It doesn't hurt that when I first really listened to it I was in a really rough place, and so many of the songs resonated with me. Surprisingly, it starts with a fun a capella intro that makes this Glee loving nerd very happy. I feel like half the songs I just absolutely freaking love, and even those that I'm not head over heels for are super solid.
I really like the lyrics of Left Behind and the use of metaphor. Plus, I like the mix of clean and unclean vocals, well here and all over the album pretty much.
I absolutely love Half Alive. Such a great song. Plus I was listening to this while I was writing my book, and I really liked the song being about your passion leaving you half alive and how sometimes things you really want to do can also being really draining and emotionally hard.
"Tear open my chest to dig around and tell me why I’m such a mess
I got a fear that my heart got up and left"
Granted I am not a man, but I love this song, particularly the imagery of the above lyric. Plus, I was definitely in a place where I felt I had plateaued in my life, even when I wanted to do other things. Now I am glad I don't feel that way, but it was nice at the time to have music to relate to.
Usually I am NOT a fan of albums that end in a slow song, mostly because if an album does end in a slow song, the album has already been on a lame energy decline. Ending with a slow song is how I have many albums where I don't know the last 2-3 songs because they are total skip bait. NOT this song though. It's about a 50/50 chance when listening that I'll either belt this out at the top of my voice or I'll break down into uncontrollable tears. I don't really personally relate to the verses, but for sure the chorus hits me in some vulnerable places.
Set It Off - Duality
Let's do something peppier!! Why do I love this album? Well, first I think this is where Set It Off really came into their own, embracing more of the pop/peppy sounds without losing that darker edge. I think Duality really fits the kind of vibe this band has. Plus it's a vibe I relate to. I love how this album has a mix of up beat positivity songs, some "wait, that's kinda messed up" songs, and some more mustache twirling sinister (but fun!) stuff.
This song is my jam! I may be a little to old to be Forever Stuck in Our Youth but I do love jamming out to this song on the highway, and of course singing along at full volume too.
I relate so much to this song! Many people my not get that, but those that know will be "oh yeah, that makes total sense."
I really like this song because it's really high energy, uses nursery rhymes, and is not very nice. Plus, I really like the dichotomy of the attitude in the bridge portion of how it goes from much sweeter to much nastier, before going back to the chorus. (I swear there are some really sweet, wholesome songs on this album, which I like but I guess don't match the mood to share here. If you want to hear then, you now have homework.)
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
I bought both this album and The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters in the same trip to SoCal. I happen to like this album as a whole better. I bought these when I was a senior in high school and felt really f'ing cool at the time, especially since I was mostly into boy bands at the time. Granted these albums were only 5-7 years old when I bought them, but for some reason at the time it felt cool and retro. 17 year olds are lame.
Continuum - John Mayer
Boy was I really into John Mayer. And even though I don't like his music since the late 2000s, it doesn't mean I wouldn't date him if he was into it.
I'm not always the fan of slow songs (you have to work harder to make it not boring), but Gravity is seriously so beautiful and sad and amazing.
What You Don't See - The Story So Far
With 11 songs and clocking in at just under 30 minutes, there may be room for being a little cranky at the smaller size of this album. (If you don't get the title yet, I think an album with less than 12 songs if a rip off, which is based purely on an arbitrary number determined by me in my prime cd buying days). There's something very elegant about this collection of songs (mostly) under 3 minutes - so much song goodness condensed into neat packages. Also, this band got its name from a song by my favorite band, and they are from Walnut Creek, where I've been before.
Empty Space is by far my favorite song on this album. I like to listen to it 2-3 times in a row, sometimes listening to the vocals, sometimes slipping into the background to listen to the different layers of the instruments.
Let's Talk Fav Albums from my Fav Bands!
Since it's after midnight, let's rapid fire some stuff!
New Found Glory is my favorite band, but I don't really consider any of their albums in my fav albums lists. I think it's just that I find all of their music solid - like not a lot jumps out at me as "OMG this is so freaking good I have to listen to it 100 times in a row" but nothing either strikes me as "meh" or "ick". Just lots of solid contributions. And maybe there's just too many to pick one - but if I had to it would be Catalyst because that's just a sick album.
Motion City Soundtrack is my 2nd fav band, and I could possibly throw some albums in a favs list.
- I Am the Movie is super solid, and as my first delve into MCS, I have mad love for this album. The Future Freaks Me Out is my fav songs of all the songs in existence. Modern Chemistry was my go to angsty college song when only music could express how I felt when my mouth couldn't.
- Commit This to Memory is also very solid, although there are a couple songs in there that kinda bring the album down for me. But since Let's Get Fucked Up and Die is the 3rd most listened to song on my iTunes, it gives some credit to this album. Plus the 1st three songs set a great tone. I heard someone on YouTube describe MCS as really dark, which yeah maybe, but like in a sometimes melancholy, sometimes super peppy nerd kinda way.
- My Dinosaur Life is also a huge love of mine. Seriously, MCS would probably be my first favorite band if (1) I hadn't discovered NFG first, (2) MCS hadn't broken up first, and (3) I didn't aspire to be a person with a more NFG vibe even if I often live more of a MCS vibe. But hey, let's listen to a peppy song with surprisingly sad lyrics - and a V Mars name drop! And then another song with a title I don't what to call (@!#?@!) that's about the Legend of Zelda!
All Time Low is my 3rd favorite band. I think Dirty Work is my fav album by them. So it made me really sad reading an article where they said that's their album they like the least. Booooo.
I feel like Fall Out Boy suffers from the same fate for me as NFG, as in I don't think I can really name one of their albums I love as an album. Rather, I just freakin' love them as a band and they have so many amazing songs. I do have to give a special shout out to American Beauty/American Psycho for being the album that put FOB back on my fav bands lists. They got kicked off the list when they broke up, and while I liked Save Rock and Roll, I didn't like it enough for an immediate placement back on the list.
Legitimately, if I had to name a favorite album, I would probably say A Shipwreck in the Sand by Silverstein. Why you may ask? Obviously, the album is full of amazing music. On top of that, there are some elements that really pull it together cohesively as an album instead of just a collection of songs. I like the story woven across the songs. There are even a couple interludes to break up the album that only suck in that they are so beautiful and so short. And then the album ends in an epic 7+ minute masterpiece that ebbs and flows beautifully. Plus I always related to the chorus, whether or not factually true.
And I knew you could never love me
I had so much sorrow inside
You could never reach
But can I still keep a place in your heart
Coheed and Cambria have some solid albums. I think In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 is one of my fav albums. So many great songs, if you don't mind 2/3 of the songs clocking in at 5+ minutes each. But I also need to give a shout out to the Afterman Ascension album for being so amazing. I haven't owned it long enough to say for sure if it will be a fav, but it's really good. And iTunes has a dual album with Afterman Descension and a bunch of live songs for less than a full priced album - sometimes it pays to fall years behind on a band and then catch up.
Let's Talk EPs
They are like mini-albums, so less songs to mess up a vibe with!
- Ed Sheeran has this old Loose Change thing that is only 5 songs, but so good! I may listen to these two songs back-to-back over and over and over again.
- The Front Bottoms Rose EP is probably my fav collection of The Front Bottoms songs (although I love all of their stuff!)
- Issues' Black Diamond EP blew my mind for the magical mix of music that band could do. Honestly, although I like all of their music, everything after this EP has just failed to live up to how much I love the songs on this EP.
Now Some College Throwbacks
Because even if I don't love them enough now, at one time I did.
- Trainwreck by Boys Night Out. I am a huge fan of concept albums. This album tells the story of a dude with night terrors who accident kills his wife in his sleep, is difficulty coping including cutting of his own hands, and his decay into insanity and whatnot. Plus it's really cool that all the song titles are single word "-ing" names.
- The Silence in Black and White by Hawthorne Heights. There was one particular semester where I listened to this album ALL THE TIME! I was pretty moody at the time. Also, it's this band's fault that I for years thought it really was Ohio that is for lovers. It wasn't until the 2018 season of The Bachelorette that I learned it was Virginia that's for lovers. But hey, shout out to my peeps from Ohio - it can be for lovers too.
- MmHmm by Relient K. So much fun peppiness! I love pop punk bands so hard. And I don't know how many times I've felt the truth of Who I Am Hates Who I've Been. Continual self improvement, am I right?
So maybe I could go on, but it's almost 1 a.m. I'm tired, you're probably tired if you got this far. So I bid you adieu. And I feel better now, so that's nice.
