These are the ten most impacting records on my life, in chronological order.
1. Project 86 - Drawing Black Lines
Before I heard this album, I really only listened to Weird Al and the Star Wars soundtracks. This record began to show me what kind of power music had.
2. The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits/End is Forever
I listened to these two records back to back to back in eighth and ninth grade--during which time I saw my first relationship, my first break up, my first kiss with a stranger, and my first real rebellion. The Ataris both enforced that rebellion and, in more introspective moments, helped me realize that I wasn't happy there.
3. The Juliana Theory - Emotion is Dead
The first emo record I ever heard, and I immediately started growing out my hair and playing acoustic guitar. No joke.
4. Weezer - Pinkerton
I don't think this needs an explanation. Just a metal fist. lml =w=
5. Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On
During a time in my life when I was playing mostly Thursday and Thrice influenced heavy emocore, SDRE grabbed a hold of me and showed me just how pretty emo could be.
6. mewithoutYou - [A-->B] Life/Brother, Sister
Because I can't choose. These albums represent such different periods in my life. I first bought A-->B for six dollars at the church camp bookstore. I hated it at first, but I forced myself to listen to it. A few weeks later, my girlfriend of two years broke up with me. Needless to say, that record got a lot of play. Brother, Sister came out during my sophomore year of college, and it opened up so much about God that had been clouded previously. Lyrically, musically, and spiritually, it crushed me and built me back up the first time I heard it the whole way through. And the Jeremy Enigk cameo didn't hurt.
7. Mae - The Everglow
At the time of this album's release, I had finally done most of my wandering and found my way back to God (in one way or the other), and I identified myself so much with the journey taken by the main character in the record. It was also during a time where I had thrown out all of my secular music, and this album was one of the first 'Christian CDs I bought after the great Purge, and I was pleased with it.
8. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium/Sigur Ros - ( )
These were the first secular albums I let myself listen to after months of listening to only 'Christian' music. And God let me know that He'll dwell wherever creation is, no matter what the people who create it think of Him. They're just so dynamic and crushing. I would often put on ( ) and just lose the next hour and a half, and I would awake from the trance feeling like I was just born.
9. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
The first folk record I ever bought. It set me off on three years of writing primarily folk songs.
10. Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
Ear and heart shatteringly vulnerable. Very few records have ever had the emotional impact on me that this record does. It had way more to do with the almost disturbingly personal portrayal of spiritual struggle that my music has taken on than any other record. I sometimes feel like Jesse Lacey is a very close friend of mine, and we're just exchanging these narratives.
Before I heard this album, I really only listened to Weird Al and the Star Wars soundtracks. This record began to show me what kind of power music had.
2. The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits/End is Forever
I listened to these two records back to back to back in eighth and ninth grade--during which time I saw my first relationship, my first break up, my first kiss with a stranger, and my first real rebellion. The Ataris both enforced that rebellion and, in more introspective moments, helped me realize that I wasn't happy there.
3. The Juliana Theory - Emotion is Dead
The first emo record I ever heard, and I immediately started growing out my hair and playing acoustic guitar. No joke.
4. Weezer - Pinkerton
I don't think this needs an explanation. Just a metal fist. lml =w=
5. Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On
During a time in my life when I was playing mostly Thursday and Thrice influenced heavy emocore, SDRE grabbed a hold of me and showed me just how pretty emo could be.
6. mewithoutYou - [A-->B] Life/Brother, Sister
Because I can't choose. These albums represent such different periods in my life. I first bought A-->B for six dollars at the church camp bookstore. I hated it at first, but I forced myself to listen to it. A few weeks later, my girlfriend of two years broke up with me. Needless to say, that record got a lot of play. Brother, Sister came out during my sophomore year of college, and it opened up so much about God that had been clouded previously. Lyrically, musically, and spiritually, it crushed me and built me back up the first time I heard it the whole way through. And the Jeremy Enigk cameo didn't hurt.
7. Mae - The Everglow
At the time of this album's release, I had finally done most of my wandering and found my way back to God (in one way or the other), and I identified myself so much with the journey taken by the main character in the record. It was also during a time where I had thrown out all of my secular music, and this album was one of the first 'Christian CDs I bought after the great Purge, and I was pleased with it.
8. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium/Sigur Ros - ( )
These were the first secular albums I let myself listen to after months of listening to only 'Christian' music. And God let me know that He'll dwell wherever creation is, no matter what the people who create it think of Him. They're just so dynamic and crushing. I would often put on ( ) and just lose the next hour and a half, and I would awake from the trance feeling like I was just born.
9. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
The first folk record I ever bought. It set me off on three years of writing primarily folk songs.
10. Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
Ear and heart shatteringly vulnerable. Very few records have ever had the emotional impact on me that this record does. It had way more to do with the almost disturbingly personal portrayal of spiritual struggle that my music has taken on than any other record. I sometimes feel like Jesse Lacey is a very close friend of mine, and we're just exchanging these narratives.
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3 comments:
There you go.
Nat, I was in love with the Juliana Theory...especially Emotion is Dead. Happy to see I wasn't alone and glad you grew your hair out because of a single album. Nice.
Well...I bought that album for my fifteenth birthday, along with Understand This is a Dream, and Dashboard Confessional's first two. But Emotion is Dead was by far the most influential. But yes. Lyndsey and I were both in love with the Love album. We listened to it on the way to school everyday for like a month.
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