Absolute Beginnings (May 2011)

[Adam Pfleider]

Blake said it best the last time this feature ran: "Music has a tendency to stop us in our tracks...Embrace your roots." So I'm not going to try and top that. Instead, keep scrolling for the new staff entries for the second round of Absolute Beginnings (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=266187). To those of you new to the feature, head to the replies and let us know the road that got you lost in the ongoing soundtrack of your life. - Adam Pfleider
=================================== =========



http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ug-w0J1eL._AA115_.jpg

Underoath – They’re Only Chasing Safety
Record Label: Tooth & Nail / Solid State
Release Date: June 15, 2004

Not only was They’re Only Chasing Safety my introduction to Underoath, it was my introduction to heavy music, and the standard sing-scream formula. This record shaped that style of the genre in a myriad of ways. Spencer Chamberlain’s high scream mixed with Aaron Gillespie’s soaring clean vocals paved the way for this sing-scream style for many bands. For me, this record was my kick into heavy music. Lyrically, Gillespie’s lyrics here still stick in my head, creating genuine replay value for this record, year after year. Chamberlain’s dominating growl throughout tracks such as the opening “Young and Aspiring” and “I’m Content With Losing” paved the way for Underoath’s return to heavy roots with their later follow up Define The Great Line. On the other hand, Gillespie’s vocal deliveries on “Reinventing Your Exit” and the ambient closer “Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape” proved his skill as a clean vocalist – and drummer. If it were not for this album, there is no way I would be as into heavy music – Norma Jean, The Chariot, ETID – as I am now. This record was my hardcore beginning, as it allowed me to slowly experience screams amid clean vocals. Albeit the powerhouse DTGL or LITSOS still battle for my favorite Underoath record, They’re Only Chasing Safety still stoutly holds its place in my music library, and UO are now my favorite band. (Ryan Gardner)

I'm Content With Losing


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41L0xm037JL._AA115_.jpg

Blink-182 (http://absolutepunk.net/blink182) - Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
Record Label: MCA
Release Date: June 12, 2001

It only took me to my junior year of college to figure out what the album title really meant. When it hit me, I felt a wave of confusion, immaturity, and humor all at once. Take Off Your Pants And Jacket is one of the reasons why this site is one of the most prominent music news sites out there. This album, front to back, doesn't have a filler song on it. It still kept the Blink-182 immaturity like "Happy Holidays, You Bastard" and "Reckless Abandon" but we got to see the 3 gentlemen known as Tom, Mark, and Travis grow up before our very eyes on songs like "Stay Together For The Kids" and "Roller Coaster." The singalongs and the "na na na nas" pervade my middle school experience and I wouldn't change it for anything. I can remember bringing my Sony CD player on the school bus and playing this every morning and after school. Is it still amazing that 10 years later I can still sing every word verbatim? Thanks Blink, you guys made me who I am today. (Christian Wagner)

Stay Together For the Kids


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2BBHBGtLrL._AA115_.jpg

RX Bandits - Progress
Record Label: Drive-Thru Records
Release Date: July 17, 2001

There were a few albums that I really sunk my teeth into before discovering the RX Bandits. Everything I (thought I) knew about music changed completely. It was the first album that I couldn't define or put a label on. When people asked me what it sounded like, there was no short explanation. It was the brightest and biggest melting pot of music I had tasted in my life up until that first moment where "VCG3" kicked in. It was the first time I looked at something remotely "punk" and began to think about life, my life and the effects of the world around me. It didn't help mold a concrete opinion, but it molded me actually beginning to have an opinion on music, politics, and how to live life. It was the first standard I remember adhering to when it came to music thereafter. There was no pinning down the blend of blues, rock, punk and reggae across such a passionate album that to this day still sounds as truthful as the first time I laid my ears upon it. (Adam Pfleider)

VCG3


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AUT-afobL._AA115_.jpg

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
Record Label: Columbia Records
Release Date: August 25, 1975

This album got me into music. Not music in the general sense, but music in its most powerful sense, the kind that presents a whole buffet of emotions that overwhelm the heart. I’ve heard a lot of great albums, but to this day, not one trumps Born to Run. I mean, maybe I’m exaggerating, but this album is practically exclusively responsible for my current fascination with everything Americana. It takes me to dark San Francisco alleyways, downtown Detroit on Thanksgiving Day morning, and rural Virginia farmlands – and that’s just one song. And the common fabric in all those places is the stories of the people in the lyrics, the blue-collar characters dealing with love, loss and life, their ordeals described in one of the most beautiful ways possible. But ok, I’ll admit it: Maybe what really makes the album for me is that sax solo in “Jungleland,” which might be the most spiritual section of music I’ve ever heard. (Matthew Tsai)

Born to Run


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516cJedvJ8L._AA115_.jpg

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It
Record Label: Mercury Records / Big Rig Records
Release Date: March 11, 1997

Most of me wishes Let's Face It was the first CD I ever bought. But sadly that distinction goes to Eagle Eye Cherry's non-opus Desireless. HOWEVER, I'd like to think I wised up pretty quickly. After hearing "The Impression That I Get" at a party, where I may or may not have played spin the bottle, I became hooked on this (to me) new sound. Horns and gruffness and fast rhythms - I was enthralled. And to think that this is still a CD I keep in my car, and have almost ruined due to overuse, makes me seem like some sort of pre-teen musical genius (at least in terms of listening habits). I knew what I liked early, sweet. Even though I never really got into lots of ska-punk, this CD taught me that harmonies and melodies are much more varied than I had previously thought. It made me see that "rock" or whatever was something I could get into. And for that, I am eternally grateful. (Blake Solomon)

The Rascal King


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61vPvmzwHNL._AA115_.jpg

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
Release Date: June 8, 1999
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records

Everyone's path into music is different. I usually credit New Found Glory and Yellowcard with introducing me to pop-punk, but the record that got me into modern rock music in general was Californication. Perhaps the grand opus of California's Red Hot Chili Peppers, the funk rock-driven 15-track masterpiece was the first album I can remember buying with my own money. I was in sixth grade, taking guitar lessons to learn how to become more like Bruce Springsteen, and my guitar teacher was showing me the opening guitar/bass lines to the title track, so I had to buy the record to play along at home and practice. What I found was something I didn't really expect - the entire album was, for lack of a better phrase, fucking fantastic. After Flea's deafening bass line on opener "Around the World" melted into John Frusciante's guitar riff and then Anthony Kiedis' really long yell and Chad Smith's drum fill, I found myself at a loss for words. Then, my mom told me to lower the volume because I was listening to "crappy rock music," setting a standard for a phrase that I would hear A LOT throughout middle and high school. Songs like "Scar Tissue," "Easily," and "Road Trippin'" are still favorites, and the title track was my most played song on iTunes for a long period of time. While I still consider the album a great one, its most extensive imprint on me was what it led me to discover in the following years. Without ever hearing Californication, it's safe to say that my life would be very, very different from how it is today. (Thomas Nassiff)

Around the World


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-BRpoB67L._AA115_.jpg

Green Day - Nimrod
Record Label: Reprise
Release Date: October 14, 1997

It seems like most people got into Green Day through Dookie or American Idiot, but for me it was through Nimrod all thanks to my older sister. During a move when I was nine, she stopped by to help us unpack and she brought some CDs for me to listen to. I still remember some of the others, but Nimrod was the one that stood out to me the most. I loved how they actually played their own instruments, unlike the Spice Girls who most of my friends were into at the time. Mostly though, I just loved Billie Joe’s voice and I thought the songs were really catchy. I spent hours listening to the CD and following along with the lyrics booklet wide open. Lines from “The Grouch” and “Uptight” went over my head until I was older, but I loved it all the same and without Green Day, I don’t know if I’d be into pop-punk today. Even 12 years later I can listen to Nimrod and enjoy it just as much as I did back then. “Scattered” is one of the best songs Green Day have written and I love how diverse Nimrod is compared to their earlier stuff. (Deborah Remus)

Scattered


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WSv5InbJL._AA115_.jpg

AFI - Sing the Sorrow
Record Label: DreamWorks Records
Release Date: March 11, 2003

Elementary school was a very bleak time for me musically thanks to overly religious parents, but middle school changed all that. My group of friends were mainly into skating culture, which was riding another wave of popularity at the time, so I was bombarded constantly with bands like Millencolin, Descendents, and Lagwagon. They were interesting, fun, and completely different from anything I had ever heard before. But, I remember being intrigued most by a sticker in my friend's locker. It was small, simple, and to the point. AFI. Only three letters long. For some odd reason, I never asked him about it, but it stuck in the back of my mind for quite some time. Fast forward to 2003. I'm in the family car, running errands with my dad after school. As I'm waiting for him to finish something up at some random building, I turn the radio on to my favorite station: KWOD 106.5, which is unfortunately no longer with us. It was something I normally did late at night in secret, substituting hours of valuable rest for hours of musical discovery. Catching a song midway through one of its verses, I sat back and closed my eyes. As it continued, I slowly leaned forward. To be blunt, I was blown away. It was both similar to the the old skate punk I heard with my friends and completely different. The song eventually ended, and I waited for the DJ to announce the name of the band. To my surprise, it was the latest single from that mythical band whose glorious sticker was etched deeply in my mind...AFI. I ended up buying Sing the Sorrow, the album the single “Girls Not Grey” originated from, without my parents' knowledge, keeping it hidden in my room like some sort of precious gem. From the opening crowd vocals of “Miseria Cantare – The Beginning” to the closing poem leading up to the hidden track “This Time Imperfect,” I was hooked. While lead singer Davey Havok would eventually perfect his unique mixture of high-pitched and screamed vocals, I was blown away by the power with which he showcased them on this album. AFI and their music have been a huge part of my life ever since, and Sing the Sorrow is one of the albums that threw me into the deep end in the early part of my musical life. (Ian Walker)

Girl's Not Grey


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MW05hV-xL._AA115_.jpg

Everclear - So Much For the Afterglow
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: October 7, 1997

Your first CD purchase, no matter how humiliating or degrading it might have been, is a lot like comfort food. It will always be there to make you feel better about yourself and you will continue to look back on it fondly, even if it was Limp Bizkit's Significant Other or a Now That's What I Call Music compilation. It was your very first compact disc, or vinyl record or cassette tape (in case you're that old, or square) - who are we to judge you for what got you into purchasing music? Mine was in 1998, as a late blooming 14 year old who had just received his first boombox as a birthday present. After mom and pops doled out my $20 weekly allowance, I had a big decision to make: which CD to buy and pop my stereo's cherry. After hearing "I Will Buy You a New Life," I thought Everclear sounded nice. Upon seeing their latest record, So Much For the Afterglow, priced at a reasonable $12.99... I had made my decision. The Beach Boy harmonies at the start of the title track lashed out in to furiously melodic and punk distortion - and I loved every note. I was already a midway-decent fan of Green Day and Weezer, but something clicked with myself and Art Alexakis' raspy grunge-meets-punk vocals and penmanship. He told stories I honestly couldn't relate to but felt so intrigued and compelled by, I wanted to know more about how he knew these individuals in songs like "Amphetamine" and "Father of Mine." Plus, the heavily-distorted instrumental cut made my eye sockets rattle and nearly brought them to boiling point. "Normal Like You" was whiz-bang pop-rock with a hint of dark humor and "Why I Don't Believe in God" still remains one of the sadder and more desolate tragic-laden songs I have ever listened to. I still own and play the original CD, and while I continue to repurchase old DVDs and books... for whatever reason, I cannot find it within my bones to repurchase my first batch of CDs. Call it sentimental, but they have left such a valuable and visable imprint on my composure and makeup... it would be like removing a tattoo only to cover it back up with a reprint. Similar, but never quite identical. (Chris Fallon)

So Much For the Afterglow


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61y0Q%2B3cG-L._AA115_.jpg

Duran Duran - Seven and the Ragged Tiger
Record Label: Capitol
Release Date: November 21, 1983

"So, how did we end up here?" When Dom Cobb posed this question mid-dream to Ariadne in Inception, it didn't have an answer. With dreams, "you always wind up right in the middle of what's going on." Trying to recall a "turning point" album for me feels sort of the same way, because I don't remember a time when I wasn't swept up in the vortex of auditory pleasure. It's sort of been one long evolving journey with signposts along the way. My earliest memory of being struck by music may very well be my earliest memory, period. It's inextricable from memories of my parents' old t-top Firebird. It's all in medias res; I don't remember getting into the car. There's no other context. It's probably not a recollection of one distinct event as much as a mental composite of many similar occasions. But I'm riding in the back, and in the cassette player is a copy of Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The visual, olfactory and tactile are vivid to the point of being surreal. All it takes is a few notes of "New Moon on Monday" to bring it all back. Few people will champion Seven as a classic of its time or even the strongest work of the band that made it. However, its straight-forward pop appeal was powerful enough to draw in a very young, moldable me and create a strong and enduring impression. A great many more records would come to shape my current tastes, but when it comes to absolute beginnings, this is the one. (Jeremy Aaron)

New Moon On Monday


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yFisGjaEL._AA115_.jpg

Blur - Parklife
Record Label: Food / SBK
Release Date: July 7, 1994

Whilst I don’t remember listening to it around it’s immediate release date, I do recall Parklife entering my conciousness at a time when even a single-digit-aged child was bored of the music that was being released and talked about in the playground. Enjoying old records from my uncle for years such as The Smiths, The Stranglers or Blondie I was dying for something to come along and belong to me, something new that summed up the “now” and Parklife was the perfect answer to my pleas. The album kick-started the “Britpop” scene (for better or worse) and whilst it seemed that the majority of people around me were wrapped up in the Oasis side of the bout or listening to the abundance of American punk and grunge that seeped into the publications and charts, I was rebelling in my own way by wearing this band like a badge of pride and honour. It was a quintessentially British album in every sense but most importantly it felt like it was able to turn the mundane into the magnificent. With tracks like the irresistibly catchy youth culture anthem “Girls & Boys”, the wry, poetic social commentary of title track “Parklife” or the heartbreaking closer in the form of “This Is A Low” it was clear that Blur was the captain of a revolution that even pre-teens, like myself, were able to join in on. It’s the kind of album that continued to be the soundtrack to many of my days and nights as I grew up and still is even now. Once I put it on I’m transported back to being a young “lad”, being care-free, drenched in sweat and dust at music festivals in the hot summers or to drunken nights with great friendships forming. It is, without a doubt, this band and this record that created the mold of my musical tastes. The undeniable connection and affiliation with a lot of British music, new and old, which I experience now is all thanks to this band. (Kyle Huntington)

Girls & Boys


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/2198GE9XBEL._AA115_.jpg

Saves the Day - I'm Sorry I'm Leaving
Record Label: Immigrant Sun Records
Release Date: 1999

Rather than pay attention during our high school math class, my friend would pass me notes containing song lyrics (a "guess the lyrics" sort of game). Most of the songs were familiar to me, but one day he scrawled this down: "Oh oh oh wanted to pull you down. Roll on top of me baby, yeah just roll roll roll." I was stumped. My first thought was that he had passed me an old blues or R&B song, because the lyricist sounded like his heart was really bleeding for this girl. But no, it wasn't a soulful old-timer I was being introduced to. It was a scrawny suburban kid names Chris Conley. "Emo" wasn't a loaded word when I was a kid (I only knew it as the title of a very cool Blink-182 song), but Conley's band Saves the Day sounded hella emotional, and their EP I'm Sorry I'm Leaving is sticky sweet with sentiment. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, Conley sings the kind of songs that a teenage romantic can mesh with. From the title track, which contains the aforementioned "oh oh oh" lyrics, to the Modern English cover of "I Melt with You," I'm Sorry I'm Leaving is full of love and completely lacking in shame. Conley doesn't mind sharing that he "dreamt of wrecking [his] underwear" with his one-time lover, and I loved him for it. After finding Saves the Day, I didn't start wearing black eyeliner or covering my face with dirty locks. But I did discover music that made suburban life and puppy love all the more complete. (Adrian Villagomez)

Jessie and My Whetstone


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3183DN2YVVL._AA115_.jpg

Copeland - Beneath Medicine Tree
Label: The Militia Group
Release Date: 2003

Anyone that knows me, knows that my love for this album runs real deep. This is an album I consider perfect and helped shaped the person I am today and the music I live for. To this day I don't think an album has hit me half as hard as Beneath Medicine Tree did on my initial listen. Aaron Marsh's haunting vocals, layered guitars, soaring melodies and some of the most heartfelt lyrics ever written. This album opened my musical tastes to another world, showing that not everything had to be initially catchy to become absorbed. To this day I spin this album at least once a week and bask in it's glory. It doesn't matter what kind of mood you are in, you can find something, somewhere on Beneath Medicine Tree that hits home and that stands as it's true testament of greatness.The band's future albums all hold a special place in my heart but nothing compares to you're first love. (Keagan Ilvonen)

There Cannot Be A Close Second


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61RtqWrukvL._AA115_.jpg

The Offspring - Americana
Record Label: Columbia Records
Release Date: November 17, 1998

It must have been March of 1999 when I received my first CD player along with my first compact disc, The Offspring's Americana, for my birthday. Like many others at the time, I discovered the album thanks to the success of its first single, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)." I had never heard of the band before, but I knew I liked the song whenever it came on the radio. At this point, the radio was how I discovered all of my music, with a tape collection that was headlined by the likes of Will Smith, Hanson and "Weird Al" Yankovic. But The Offspring's music was different. It still had the melody and catchiness that I liked, but the driving drums and chunky power cords also embodied an underlying aggression with which I instantly connected. I was only 10 when I received the CD, and I had to listen to it exclusively through headphones for fear of my parents taking it away upon hearing the passioned exclamations of "Fuck you!" in the title track. (Much to my delight, the album did not carry a Parent Advisory sticker, or else I would have been suck with the edited version.) While I admittedly don't revisit The Offspring too often these days, I give Americana full credit for opening the doors to punk rock for me. It wasn't too far after that I discovered bands like Blink 182, Sum 41, Green Day and New Fond Glory, and the rest is history. (Alex DiVincenzo)

Americana


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41oP4ndbR2L._AA115_.jpg

Slowreader - Slowreader
Record Label: Fueled by Ramen
Release Date: November 26, 2002

I have been lucky enough not to be affected by band hiatuses as much as many other music fans because my favourite bands have always managed to stay together. However, Elliott Smith aside, Slowreader’s disappearance has been one of the most depressing moments that I can recall as a music fan. It’s hard to listen to their one and only album when it has had such a great impact and means so much. I found Slowreader as I was looking for bands to fill the void left by Elliott Smith in late ’03 and early ’04, and the description that I read who-knows-where described them as the “love child of Elliott Smith and Ben Folds.” I was excited but not hopeful because every band seemed to want to be associated with Elliott Smith at the time, thus my expectations were fairly low. I’m happy to say that my pessimism couldn’t have been more wrong. While they never filled the void, Slowreader provided me with one of the few albums that I would call perfect. It truly is folk music at its finest; the gentle vocals and music are beautiful. Everything about it is beautiful. (Lueda Alia.)

Anesthetic For The Amputee

[Adam Pfleider]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412cVi02IEL._AA115_.jpg

Glassjaw - Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Record Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: May 9, 2000

if you are in your early 30's and now wear a tiny leather jacket, then there's a great chance this record is your pick as well. It was given to me by a friend whose brother was touring with them at the time. He said "My friends from back home just put out this record. Check it out." He said it as if it was half of a sandwich he wasn't going to eat, expecting no more than a cursory glance, unaware of how it would change not only how i heard music but how i made it. It's obviously hard to describe the way a riff or a melody effects you when it reaches beyond the intellectual and into the visceral because it's an experience that is cheapened when you try to apply descriptors and the more you long to associate with it, the further it moves away from the nucleus of the purpose. But this record cornered me. When I put it on in my car it was almost as if my life as a 20 year old was another instrument that automatically quantized with the existing rhythm of the songs. that my being there hearing it not only heightened the sound but deepened the meaning of what these total strangers, existing independently of me, had written who knows how much earlier. It was what I considered a "life checkpoint" because it seemed as if the lyrics described what I was looking at at that moment-had been looking at for months- not just visually but emotionally. I had never heard a vocalist do what Daryl was NOT doing. He was not making sense. He was cutting himself off before cussing, He was singing with such poignant madness that I literally could NOT STOP listening. It was like a movie I had seen hundreds of times still firmly believing that if I watched it just once more the characters will become self aware and give me the resolution I needed. but they never did and to this day they never have and I think it's their inveteracy that reinforces the importance of the record they made over 10 years ago. (Keith Buckley - Every Time I Die (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=2398) / The Damned Things (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=39982))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61eDtnLWh8L._AA115_.jpg

Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Record Label: Temporary Residence Limited
Release Date: November 4, 2003

I first heard this album when I was a junior in college. Up until this point, I listened to nothing but aggressive music my entire life: metal, hardcore, punk. Nothing else spoke to me on an emotional level until I heard The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard, and still is. So beautiful, in fact, that it completely changed my relationship with music and opened my eyes to the fact that incredible music came in all shapes and sizes; folk, hip hop, classical, whatever. After falling in love with this album, my ears were completely open and it changed my taste forever. This album is also very dear to me because it came into my life right after I went through a pretty dark period. It was a rebirth of sorts into much happier times, and I think that's what the artwork is symbolic of - a new beginning. I've since tattooed the inner artwork on my arm and back as a constant reminder that no matter how hard life may get at times, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel if you keep a positive attitude and are determined to overcome whatever it is that is weighing you down. {Aaron Neighbor - The Saddest Landscape (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=27211))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51misdR6LCL._AA115_.jpg

Descendents - Milo Goes To College
Record Label: New Alliance Records
Release Date: January 1, 1982

I was lucky enough to have grown up with an older, "in the know" sibling, and therefore had multiple potential gateway records presented to me by the time I was a teenager. It's hard, though, to really understand what exactly the fiber that binds all of these records/ideas together is until you find out for yourself. At the age of 14, I finally had that serendipitous experience that suddenly clued me in and put me on the right path. While washing dishes in an Italian restaurant in Shelburne, VT, I stumbled across a dough encrusted CD on the very bottom of a pile of long forgotten about albums. While it seemed that all the other employees' musical repertoires consisted mostly of a couple Phish records, at some point somebody worked there that was perhaps like my sister, as I vaguely recognized the style of artwork on the Milo Goes To College disc by The Descendents. I used some 409 to clean off the CD, put it in the stereo and quickly felt connected to the music in a way I never had before. From the brattiness of "Parents" to the juvenile subversion of "Suburban Home," and the frustrated, unrequited love in "Hope," The Descendents articulated my feelings in a way I could not have and gave form to the profound disconnection I had sensed with my peers and coworkers. This record is not just a great intro to Descendents, but also into the entire punk rock genre. The subject matter continually straddles the lighthearted (though not too lighthearted; no fart sounds on this record!), the angering and the melancholy facts of life. The serious/funny duality the album presents gives it a very genuine voice and has become a useful tool for me as I gauge the personality of other records as I discover them. Musically, it's catchy as hell and therefore an easy transition from radio pop/rock, but it has just the right amount of edge to compliment the overall mood and to make you feel like you're definitely listening to something a little weird, maybe a little dangerous. I should mention, too, that watching Descendents from the stage at last year's Fun Fun Fun Fest with these very high expectations did not disappoint in the slightest. 28 years after its release, and the songs still carry the same message and energy they did back then. (Max Gregor - Lemuria (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=42432))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lF6VCacOL._AA115_.jpg

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: April 21, 1992

Beastie Boys were my first major musical obsession - like, only thing I listened to for a couple of years obsession - when I was 13/14 years old. I was already really into music, mainly punk, but the Beastie Boys opened my mind further yet and helped bridge some gaps. "Musical freedom" springs to mind when I listen to these guys, and Check Your Head is far more punk than those carrying that tag around the time. I loved their hardcore stuff too, which, digging a bit deeper, helped me discover bands like Reagan Youth, Minor Threat and Bad Brains. I love all of Beastie Boys' records in different ways because there's so much character behind each one. But Check Your Head was my first discovery and was a gateway to many things for me. But the most impressive quality about it is how unique and creative it sounds to the point of never growing old. It's nostalgic, uplifting and everything I love about music. (James Mattock - Sharks (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=44481))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kAS5S48ML._AA115_.jpg

Green Day - Dookie
Record Label: Reprise Records
Release Date: February 1, 1994

I can remember sitting in my parents basement watching music videos on Much Music. Nothing interested me too much: Pearl Jam was okay, Nirvana not so much, Metallica was heavy, but there was always something missing for me. Then came "Basket Case" by Green Day on the TV screen, I thought to myself, "Holy Shit, this is the coolest music I have ever heard." Dookie is potentially the most influential record that has ever graced my ears. Musically, the songwriting is seamless. Lyrically, it provided this little dude from the suburbs (me) with something I could latch onto and really relate with. Even to this day, the lyrics ring true with my day to day. 17 years later, Dookie is an album that I always come back to. It's one of my favorite pop punk records and maybe even the best pop punk album... ever! (I'm sure it could be debated amongst modern day pop punk fans. However, they are wrong if they disagree.) Without Dookie, I never would have discovered bands like No Use for a Name, NOFX, Pennywise, Rancid, Bad Religion, etc. Without Dookie, I never would have picked up a guitar, I never would have started writing my own songs, and I definitely wouldn't be in this hotel room crushing old Milwaukees while I write this while on tour with my band. So yeah... Dookie. (Stuart Ross - Living With Lions (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=6131))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XJRYT216L._AA115_.jpg

NOFX - Punk in Drublic
Record Label: Epitaph Records
Release Date: July 19, 1994

I was 12 when Punk in Drublic came out. I broke into a neighbor's house and stole $12 in change out of change jar to order it from the Fat Wreck Chords mail order catalogue. Mailed them the change in an envelope and got the CD a few weeks later. It wasn't the first record that I got and I had already been playing guitar for a year or two, but it had a bigger impact on the course of my life and the path that I went on with that guitar than any other record. It was the first time I learned the feeling of discovering a band that not everyone else knew about and how incredibly rewarding it was. It made me feel thankful that I found it. It made me feel thankful to be a part of something that was only for kindred spirits. Like most people that frequent AbsolutePunk could relate to, there is the record where you knew you liked music and then there was the record that you knew you like music more than most other people. I was just floored the first time I heard it. It was fast and angry and it was the musical embodiment of a middle finger, but it was catchy and musical. The best of everything and everything that I was feeling at the time and everything I still feel now. Punk has a way of balancing nihilism and activism; the sense that somehow nothing matters but, at the same time, everything is important. The fact that "Don't Call Me White" and "My Heart Is Yearning" can be heard back to back is what punk is. It says "Fuck you. I have some important shit to get off my chest. Oh, and by the way, let's have some fun. Life's too serious." Punk in Drublic also says that you can be a punk and a musician which is another ideal that I have taken with me ever since and defines who I am today. (Anthony Raneri - Bayside (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=2031))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cZUISrihL._AA115_.jpg

Green Day - Insomniac
Record Label: Reprise Records
Release Date: October 10, 1995

Most people would say Dookie, but for me it was Insomniac that changed it all. I guess I was 12 or 13 when I discovered this record. At the time, I was still listening to Michael Jackson and Van Halen, whatever my parents listened to, whatever radio rock hit was playing on the top 40 station my parents listened to. This was the record I had to hide from my parents, inspired me to play guitar (I could actually play some poor man's version of "Brain Stew" when I was first learning guitar). I even somehow convinced my dad to take me to see Green Day play. We stood in the back and watched the pit go crazy. Billie Joe divided the crowd and got them to shout "Fuck" and "You" back and forth. My dad was horrified. I went out and bought Dookie. (Ryan Slate - Look Mexico (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=8811))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61oTpynmIsL._AA115_.jpg

Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets
Record Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: August 7, 2001

I had been a fan of Neurosis for a while already by the time this record came out. I had an older cousin that listened to a lot of heavy music and gave me a bunch of CDs, included were Pantera, Slayer, The Offspring, Pink Floyd and a Neurosis album, Through Silver in Blood. That album had constant play and replay on my various CD players for many years. As time had gone by, I ventured into other realms of music: a bit of hardcore, a lot of indie and hip hop, and then I was in a record shop in Iowa City and saw the newest Neurosis record that had been out for about a month or so. I bought it and went straight to my car to listen to it as loud as I could. At this time, I was heavy into Poison the Well and anything melodic hardcore, and listening to this record I recall just staring at my car stereo thinking it was the heaviest thing I had ever, ever heard. The guitar tones, how big the drums sounded, the soundscapes and everything in between, and how angry the vocals sounded, it was all so overwhelming. Later, the album was released as a visual album on DVD, every song had a video that all flowed into each other. Since the release of A Sun That Never Sets, it has shaped my tastes in other music, my guitar playing, what amps I buy because of how they sound and music making in general. It has been my monumental album that will always be played over and over again. (Jacob Belcher - Drop Dead Gorgeous (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=4344) / Of Legends / Its Teeth (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=44991))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ntKGgKiDL._AA115_.jpg

Nirvana - Nevermind
Record Label: DGC Records
Release Date: September 24, 1991

As a kid, my exposure to music was very reliant on what the radio and MTV were playing. I loved pop music. I still do. But at age 11, the radio started playing a song called "Smells Like Teen Spirit." As soon as I had a copy of Nirvana's Nevermind in my stereo, my world began to change. That record gave me rock music. It opened the door to so many other records that would be released throughout my teenage years. It wasn't two years after Nevermind came out that my grandmother bought me my first guitar and I started my first band. (Ryan Key - Yellowcard (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=1533))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61uaJqc94qL._AA115_.jpg

Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
Record Label: Death Row Records
Release Date: November 23, 1993

When I think back to the albums that shaped who I am as a musician and ultimately what I find appealing in music as a whole, a lot comes to mind. Sure there was Zeppelin, The Minute Men, Bon Jovi (I'm serious), but one record that took my taste in music and completely turned it on its head was Snoop's first full length, Doggystyle. I was 13 when I first heard it. Although I had always loved hip-hop, I was on a steady heavy metal diet of Ozzy and Zeppelin and then Boom... motha fuckin' Doggystyle! Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that record has taught me more about music than any other. And it introduced me to P-Funk! What a classic! (Josh Eppard - Terrible Things (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=32362) / Weerd Science (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=3213))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rUwUptxKL._SL160_AA115_.jpg

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle, Vol. 1
Record Label: Fantasy Records
Release Date: January 1976

I was raised in a household where music was embraced but also chosen carefully. At an early age, it was rare that I was allowed to listen to rock and roll or anything "worldly." I grew up surrounded by spirit-driven gospel hymns, bluegrass, country, creole music or whatever I could find on the radio when my folks weren't around. I certainly was curious of what the rest of the world was listening to. At the age of 12, I found skateboarding to be the most revolutionary discovery of my life at the time, which subsequently directed me to punk rock, metal, rock and roll and of course rebellion. The list of bands that drove and inspired me or even scared me is long, but there's one record that seemed to always bridge the gap between what I was raised on and what I related to. The Richard family in Lafayette, LA had kids that my brother, Paul, and I always skated with. Some of my greatest memories then were when we killed our bodies on the launch ramp in front of the house, while Mr. Richard built our ramps. He was kind enough to let us help and learn how to build them and let us play the music we wanted - that is, until he was over it and was ready for his. That was the first time I ever heard Creedence Clearwater Revival's Chronicle, Vol. 1. Even though it was a far stretch from what we put on, somehow it all made sense. It held an energy that I won't soon forget. We all skated, built, BBQ'ed and rocked to that record, and it became a staple. I grew to love that record and listened to it more than most. It was one of those and still is a piece that I could easily play in about any mood or time of year. To me, it truly is and will always be some of the "greatest hits." (Chuck Ragan - Hot Water Music (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=4632))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XJRYT216L._AA115_.jpg

NOFX - Punk in Drublic
Record Label: Epitaph Records
Release Date: July 19, 1994

When I was 11 years old, I heard a loud, low hum emanating from under my older sister's bedroom door. Instantly I was intrigued, and when she was out I'd sneak into her room and listen to her stereo. The band was not NOFX. In fact, it was Metallica. I was changed. I instantly loved it, and all I wanted to do was listen to metal. It got heavier and heavier, from Pantera to Slayer to Cannibal Corpse. I picked up a guitar and learned every Metallica song, I bought the box sets, I even went to the shows. I was a pre-teen metalhead. But when I was 14, my friend brought over a CD with a bright orange cover. It didn't look like my other CDs, with black covers and skulls or snakes, and it didn't sound like it either. From the first song, the guitar frantically playing a high E chord, and the drums even more frantic, I loved it. I looked at my friend and couldn't believe what I had been missing. I thought punk rock was The Ramones or Green Day, who I liked and thought were pretty good, but this was way more aggressive. It had the speed of metal as well as the aggression, but it didn't have to be ominous and serious all the time. It could be in a major key, and it could even be funny. My mom, who grew up on Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, thought this "punk thing" was a trend. In fact, I even thought she might be right. But the more punk bands I heard, the more and more immersed in it I got. I saved up all the money I could to order records from Fat Wreck Chords, Hopeless, and Epitaph. I went to my first Warped Tour in 1997. I couldn't believe there were so many people just like me that loved punk rock like I did. When I was only 16, I went with my friend across the border from Canada to Cleveland, Ohio to see NOFX for the first time. After that, I knew I was a punk rock kid for life and my days of metal were over. Punk In Drublic is the whole reason I got into underground music. It's still one of those perfect records from start to finish, and it never sounds dated at all, even though it's now almost 17 years old. Every time I listen to the record, even today, I still take something new from it. (Shane Told - Silverstein (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=4238))


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51O995%2BH-WL._AA115_.jpg

Saves the Day - Through Being Cool
Record Label: Equal Vision Records
Release Date: November 2, 1999

Looking back at the last ten years of my life in retrospect, there have been at least five records that have significantly influenced my musical tastes for a number of reasons. At the top of the list is Through Being Cool by Saves the Day. I was first introduced to Saves the Day at the age of twelve by my oldest friend and his sister, who played drums for an early Blink-182-style pop-punk band that practiced in their parents' garage. My first listen got me hooked. Through Being Cool was my first introduction to punk music, the iconic "fast-beat," and would help me discover bands like MxPx, Blink-182, Lifetime and the classic Punk-O-Rama compilations released by Epitaph Records. Those comps introduced me to Epitaph's vast catalog of diverse punk bands, many of which I still often listen to. Without Through Being Cool, I suspect my life would have turned out very differently. (Nate Derby - Such Gold (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=37742))

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BAYG1DdGL._AA115_.jpg

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Record Label: Columbia
Release Date: August 25th, 1975

From what I remember, I was 3 years old the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen live. Fully equipped with my plastic silver guitar, I ran up and down the aisles of Detroit's Pine Knob belting every word at the top of my lungs. Fast forward to 18 year's later and I've upgraded from the aisles to the stages, but my endless love for Springsteen has stayed ever the same.

I was born in a house where the only religion was Springsteen, and "Born To Run" was the bible. I'm pretty sure my Dad, the biggest Boss fan I know, had "Backstreets" spinning on a record player next to my crib as an infant. As i grew up and became a musician myself, my appreciation for the album naturally increased. There's a certain magic behind the 8 tracks that I've never heard anywhere else. From the opening "screen door slam" of "Thunder Road", to Bruce's final outcry at the end of "Jungleland", this album moves me in a way I've never been moved.

As a young musician and songwriter today, what I've taken in the most from Born to Run is Bruce's mastercraft of storytelling. His ability to capture you in prolific poetry seems effortless. I love the way he describes the beginning of each song as an "invitation". The piano/harmonica cadence at the beginning of "Thunder Road", to the anthemic opening chords of 'Born To Run", and the piano and string ensemble that gracefully enters "Jungleland", do exactly that; invite you in. From that moment on you are engulfed in Bruce Springsteen's world of cinematic majesty. Stories of Mary, dancing across her front porch to the sounds of Roy Orbison, (Thunder Road), horn driven tales of Bad Scooter (Springsteen) forming the E-Street band and meeting "The Big Man" (10th Avenue Freeze Out, love letters to Wendy about escaping Asbury Park (Born To Run), a film noir of a down-on-his-luck criminal desperate to find his friend Eddie (Meeting Across the River), and over the bridge into the New York City set 10-minute epic finale (Jungleland). The Boss opens the door, and there is no turning back.

In retrospect, my Dad over-saturating my childhood with Springsteen's word was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. No album has shaped me as a musician, songwriter, or let alone a person the way "Born To Run" has. I would widely regard it as his "Magnum Opus". If you haven't gotten into it I suggest you give it a few spins (in chronological order, take my word for it). Nearly 36 years later, it still stands the test of time.

"I always wanted my music to influence the life you were living emotionally-with your family, your lover, your life, and, at a certain point, with your children." -Bruce Springsteen (Brian Logan Dales - The Summer Set (http://absolutepunk.net/thesummerset))

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31PjRdUdT8L._AA115_.jpg

Pedro The Lion - Control
Record Label: Jade Tree
Release Date: April 12, 2002

Throughout my life there have been a handful musical relationships that truly shattered my expectations and understanding of music - while altogether altering my tastes and preferences for good. These relationships were permanent game-changers so to speak, not like that girl you fell madly, passionately and profoundly in love with for a single weekend in Paulo Alto! We're talking down-on-bended-knee, refined-piece-of-coal in hand, marriage material type of girls.

Hot and steamy musical first dates are of course very exciting, but quite often only for a very brief period of time. Any chance for a lasting partnership is likely to be left in the fogged up back seat of your parent's mini-van, along with all that temporary pleasure, all those easily divulged secrets and a fleeting sense of dignity. While reflecting back on transactions of this nature, an adverse reaction is usually first to arise. Introduce burning battery acid to the top of my throat.

I suppose what I'm getting at is, when all there is to gain, to feel, to experience is easily offered up on the surface level of a thing, my attention is hard to keep. When very little work is required to discover the substance of an interaction and all of our expectations our met and delivered to us on a silver spoon; we as humans have a natural propensity to disengage from said "thing". No sooner have we completed sucking any significance from our subject, than we are on the hunt for our next victim. Records like this market themselves as soul mates and end up regrettable one night stands.

On the contrary, there have been a few albums that have left a lasting impact on my life and my overall view of music. Since engaging with said albums, all new music I experience now shoulders the weight of being scrutinized against the standards and groundwork these albums have set in place. As opposed to their counterparts, records like this conjure up favorable memories and act as the cornerstones to my musical likes and dislikes.

"Life in General" by MxPx is my first recollection of being head over heals for a record. For the majority of middle school, most of my skater friends were listening to The Offspring and Green Day, serenading their bedroom mirrors in fake English accents. Meanwhile, I contemplated what Candy Rain would look and taste like, amidst performing mediocre renditions of radio hits from Boyz II Men and Soul 4 Real. I remember daydreaming of auditioning for these groups and eventually becoming their newest member - as if there were any tonal gaps that needed filling. My friends, finally disturbed enough, banded together and bought me Green Day's "Dookie", "White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean" by NOFX, and the aforementioned "Life in General" for my 12th birthday. "Chick Magnet", the album's most well known track, soon became my middle school anthem and provoked the purchase my first bass and bass amp.

Turning points rarely announce themselves in the moment but in hindsight this certainly was one. I spiraled into an unquenchable desire for this "new" style of music. Pennywise, Murphy's Law, Minor Threat, Operation Ivy, The Circle Jerks, The Suicide Machines, Lagwagon, Slick Shoes, Sick of it All, Civ, and Face to Face were just a few of the albums that soon replaced my catalog of R&B cassettes. All the while, MxPx's "Life in General" never lost that special place in my heart. I traded in my soulful vocal runs and all the Philly steaks I could eat for a pair of Chuck Taylor's and dreams of one day moving to Bremerton, WA.

A few years of covering punk rock songs in horrible punk rock bands went by and most of this time I carried a profound certainty that I would never stop loving MxPx the way I did. Then Saves the Day's "Through Being Cool" happened to me. I say "happened" because falling in love with this album was never the intention. To be honest, I acquired "Through Being Cool" via five finger discount and I snagged it only because I couldn't believe how young the band members on the front cover appeared to be. I just had to hear this record! However, having never heard of Saves the Day, I wasn't about to pay for it. Oh how I miss the misdirected virility of youth.

At first I hated Saves the Day. I didn't get it and I was jealous that this whiny version of Lifetime got to be in record stores, while I was still trying to figure out Rancid bass lines in my parent's garage. But slowly and unintentionally, I found myself wanting to give them "one my try"...and then another and another. Initially my return to this record was due largely in part to the intrigue of such a young looking/sounding band and then the lyrics got to me and finally the overall compositions started to make their mark. It took some time to grow accustomed to Chris Conley's style for writing, which required little to no rhyming and Saves the Day's use of minor keys was a completely foreign sound and concept to my ear. That said, each new listen was a claw deeper into me. Faster than you can say "Holly Hox Forget Me Nots" five times fast, I had found a new end all and be all to music. MxPx soon stood to the side as an abandoned lover and envious onlooker, as the remaining years of high school would be spent making out behind the bleachers youthfully and madly in love with Saves the Day.

Little did I know that college would soon come and change all of my thoughts and concepts of music. Freshman year, Radiohead's "Kid A" grew my mind and my tolerance for experimentation. She was the academic upperclassman that let loose on the weekends- teaching me the ropes.

Then there was Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism". This record was inexplicably able to capture all of the movements my body made and all of the thoughts that ran through my mind as I listened to it. She would then attach these recorded actions as permanent memories to a sonic landscape. "Transatlanticism" is and was my memory glue. My thought Velcro. The soundtrack to my 19th year of life. She, I will never forget - my memories of her are still so vivid and to this day, every time I hear her voice I am suddenly no longer here, but there.

I imagine "Transatlanticism" moving out of my cramped, back-bay apartment in late 2004 but just as noteworthy, I imagine myself not stopping her. We both knew Boston was too small for her but mutually sensed this wasn't the last time we'd be together. In a strange way I must have felt as though letting her go meant the memories that clung to her would leave as well. There was a time of silence and the memories remained.

The rebound relationships that followed "Transatlanticism's" departure stood in stark contrast to the incumbent. She was beautiful, with a straight and narrow history. The new girls, Cave In's "Jupiter" and Refused's "The Shape of Punk to Come" had checkered pasts. They both shared a similar neurotic quality about them, that for some reason drew me closer. Not to mention, after such an emotionally intensive relationship and break-up, these "wild flings" turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

Cave In's "Jupiter" was a local girl who had recently redefined her image from an angst-ridden crazy broad, to a forward-thinking woman. "Jupiter" was able and willing to show me things I had never even considered possible before. She was my cougar. However, "Jupiter" came with some serious baggage. A good amount of my friends had previously dated her and a worn-in reputation for being a bit of a psycho was well distributed amongst my inner social circle.

Thankfully, I snagged "Jupiter" in the prime of her life and her transformation appeared to be genuine (at least until her 2005 mid-life crisis entitled, "Perfect Pitch Black"). "Jupiter" taught me how things should sound, how songs should be constructed and recorded. "Jupiter" developed my palette for guitar, bass and drum tones. She taught me how delay, reverb, bass synth and pitch-shifting pedals could be used and should be used. To her I owe a lot of my musical sensibilities and am still thankful for the lessons I learned in my time I spent with her.

Around this same time "The Shape of Punk to Come" by Refused was slowing working her way into my life. She was a foreign exchange student from Sweden, whom most of the other girls that were vying for my attention looked up to. Everything she did was just so cool. So innovative. She was wild but systematic in her chaos. She was fun but undeniably stood for something true and commendable. Most importantly, "The Shape of Punk to Come" challenged me and each and every assumption I brought into our relationship. This girl chewed me up and spat me out, but in doing so made me much more suited to enjoy my next relationship and molded me into the musical partner I am today.

At first I ignored her. There was nothing particularly eye catching about the way she moved or dressed or sounded. As a matter of fact, I had heard her name for years but never paid much attention to anything she did or said. However, unaware as I may have been, somewhere inside me a change was taking place. All of my previous musical romances were preparing me for this one girl...

Pedro the Lion's "Control" is without question my musical soul mate. She was like no other girl I had ever courted, although it took quite some time for me to understand her allure and a fair amount of serendipity to intersect our life's at the moments they did. "Control" was the plain dressed girl that never considered wearing makeup and put no effort into stealing my attention with outward acts of "prettying" herself up. At times I wondered, "Wouldn't you love to be on the cover of a magazine? Healthy skin, perfect teeth. Designed to hide what lies beneath." but she never had to. There was nothing to hide.

"Control" floated high and isolated above her predecessors, natural in her confidence and her beauty- thankfully, patient enough to wait for me to come to this realization as well. As time wore on and I matured, different elements of her composition began to endear themselves to me. She always spoke with an honesty I envied. She never struggled with addressing the hard to ask questions and topics that I so often scurried away from, saying things like, "I could never divorce you but it's good to have options" or "Ultra-violet rays are washing over all the boys and girls - As their moms lay tanning by the pool - Oh, look, their dad's arriving home - And all the children hug his neck unaware of their inheritance - All of the experts say you ought to start them young -That way they'll naturally love the taste of corporate cum." This album challenged me conceptually, mentally and spiritually, all the while making me work harder than any other to understand the meaning of musical love.

However, "Control's" confidence is still the most influential element in my infatuation. She never tried too hard or bothered herself with auto-tune; the fake nails and fancy hair of our musical generation, slick and fancy production tricks; the makeup used to cover up a song's natural blemishes, or overdubbing more tracks than she could naturally produce; the musical equivalent of a push-up bra. Within her musical simplicity, a lyrical and melodic complexity thrives and so does my affinity for this album.

Now, six years removed from our first date, "Control" has never done me wrong. She has never wavered from what she stood for and the continued challenge to truly comprehend her essence has allowed me to realize true musical euphoria and joy.

In conclusion, as a prepubescent middle-schooler, the output of a musical relationship was quantified less on true meaning and more on how it made me feel about how I felt, about other's feelings about me. The music I loved at an early age was my image. It was my attempt at directing an outward perception inward and about feeling confident in the results I was achieving. To skinny it down, I listened to music that made me feel better about myself. To this day, this is still the case, just with a different set of means to arrive at the same end result. This is the end goal of most things we do in life anyways, isn't it? To feel better.

I suppose as I got older, there were just different elements within a musical relationship that began to take precedence. I became less preoccupied with what my favorite music said about me and more focused on how it truly made me feel, outside of any external variables or influence. Just me and my music.

A common trait that all of these "favorite" records I've found throughout my life, is all of them were difficult for me to like at first, nevermind love! They each took some time and some work. In some ways, I guess my primal instinct and joy for hunting down my prey was rewarded in these musical endeavors. All of the other records, I at one point or another thought I loved, ended up like humans playing dead for a bear and no one wants to partake in anything that easy. There's just so little satisfaction to be extracted from such an easy kill. Furthermore, what has set "Control" apart from even this upper echelon of musical relationships and positioned it as my all time favorite album, is a set of external circumstances that have further distinguished "Control's" contrast at an exponentially faster rate than the rest.

As production gets shinier, as perfection becomes the norm and the natural imperfections of music get sifted out more and more everyday, Pedro the Lion's "Control"stands farther and farther apart from the mass-produced, run of the mill garbage the music industry crams down our throats. In other words, she gets more and more human everyday and as I mature I am finding it harder to love anything or anyone who is not. (Brendan Brown - The Receiving End of Sirens (http://absolutepunk.net/thereceivingendofsirens))

[Spartan789013]

I have to agree with Thomas' choice. I had the same experience with that album.

Also, Thomas have you heard the b-side Quixolicelixer or whatever its name is? Apparently it came down between that track and porcelain. What I mistake that was >_>


I love this list too!

Also, EITS's TEINACDP is up there with my all-time favorite albums and I can relate entirely.

[Kyle Huntington]

Sweeeet.

[alert=danger]

Some brilliant choices.

[Alex DiVincenzo]

Love this feature. It brings up so much nostalgia. The band portion is rad too!

[Holly HoX!]

I fucking love Nimrod and Insomniac. Insomniac is one of the only CDs I keep in my car, otherwise it's my iPod. For me, Insomniac may overtake Dookie.

I can't believe I was ten years old when I bought Nimrod.

Nice write ups. I'll have to check out Slowreader.

[Aphasia17]

I love you Kyle. Parklife is my favorite Blur album, and I've been spinning it almost non-stop for weeks.

[xapplexpiex]

Keagan, I feel the same way as you about that Copeland album. So perfect indeed. AFI and Springsteen are great, too. But if we're talking "gateway albums", I'd agree the most on Underoath. They're Only Chasing Safety is the album that got me into the genre.

[alert=danger]

Sweeeet.
single-digit-aged child was bored of the music that was being released and talked about in the playground... I was dying for something to come along and belong to me

I particularly liked this part. Not due to the album, but I knew this feeling of "There must be something out there that is "my music"".

[Kyle Huntington]

I particularly liked this part. Not due to the album, but I knew this feeling of "There must be something out there that is "my music"".
Thanks man, yeah it's why I had to write about this album really. It was that first one that I really felt was something that I'd discovered by myself and adored. Not that it's a necessity but as I said, after growing up on hand-me-down recommendations and stuff my Uncle adored, I wanted to be able to have something I found and probably also something I could finally recommend to him.

[bojl]

nice read

[Kyle Huntington]

I love you Kyle. Parklife is my favorite Blur album, and I've been spinning it almost non-stop for weeks.
That's so awesome, definitely my favourite too. Barely a week goes by when I don't listen to at least some of it. Cheers for reading.

[alert=danger]

Thanks man, yeah it's why I had to write about this album really. It was that first one that I really felt was something that I'd discovered by myself and adored. Not that it's a necessity but as I said, after growing up on hand-me-down recommendations and stuff my Uncle adored, I wanted to be able to have something I found and probably also something I could finally recommend to him.
It was the recommending something to someone part I liked about discovering music.
I had just kind of gone through ages of listening to what everyone else did, and a friend of mine still recalls the day he said "God, Chris do you listen to anything of your own?"
It's now an ongoing joke within my friends that if anyone is listening to anything or says have you heard this, the response is now "Chris probably has".

and now I just sound like a dick, pretending I know everything haha Not how it was intended.

[Lueda Alia]

I'll be surprised if anyone listens to Slowreader, so I don't really expect anyone to comment on it. But yeah, do check that album out if you enjoy folk music. It's incredible.

[Lueda Alia]

I fucking love Nimrod and Insomniac. Insomniac is one of the only CDs I keep in my car, otherwise it's my iPod. For me, Insomniac may overtake Dookie.

I can't believe I was ten years old when I bought Nimrod.

Nice write ups. I'll have to check out Slowreader.
Yes, yes, definitely check it out!

[Jason Tate]

Adrian's writing for STD was awesome.

[COREhorizon]

They're Only Chasing Safety was definitely one of the albums that influenced my musical tastes the most. But the first album I really got attached to was The Silence in Black in White by Hawthorne Heights. Before listening, I never heard an album that dark and emotional. Needless to say, the album didn't inspire me to cut myself or anything else, but it helped me realize how different musicians express themselves and use music as an outlet. I don't listen to the album anymore, but it still showed me a different side of music, one that isn't always sugar-coated or socially normal.

[Holly HoX!]

Adrian's writing for STD was awesome.

Thought the same thing. Was eager to read one from you.

[Holly HoX!]

Yes, yes, definitely check it out!

Wait until you hear Woods' new album Sun and Shade - I think you'll cry. I did. Other than Bon Iver, it's the best folk record this year.

[Lueda Alia]

Wait until you hear Woods' new album Sun and Shade - I think you'll cry. I did. Other than Bon Iver, it's the best folk record this year.
Haha maybe.

[Star Slight]

Slowreader, eh?
I'll listen
EDIT:
If I can find it

[UnderMyDreams]

Good Charlotte - Self Titled.

[georgedcc]

I'll be surprised if anyone listens to Slowreader, so I don't really expect anyone to comment on it. But yeah, do check that album out if you enjoy folk music. It's incredible.
That's the only band/album on this list I wasn't already familiar with. I generally trust this website rec's, so I'll make sure I check it out. I am a little confused by the fact that a folk band is on Fuelled By Ramen, but I'll definitely try and get around to listening to it.

Edit: I'm actually having real trouble finding it, so if some kind soul could Point Me in the right direction, I would be very grateful.

[Thesleepingwell]

Good album choices. Make for great reading.

When it comes to absolute beginnings, the first record that grabbed me was 'Siamese Dream' by The Smashing Pumpkins. This record was recommended me when I was 16. Life wasn't too grand at the time and this album somehow helped me get through it. Some of Billy Corgan's lyrics really hit home at the time. This was the first epic record moment and it seems to sound more amazing every time I listen to it.
You always have to remember that first record. It's always the one that remains your favourite album.

That's me though.

[8SlicesOfPie]

Californication is so fucking good.

[Ryan Gardner]

Good Charlotte - Self Titled.
Grew up on that, The Young and the Hopeless, Story of the Year's Page Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Simple Plan's No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, NFG's Sticks and Stones, etc haha

[Deadbolt23]

Where is Alex Djaferis's pick?

[ellie117]

Did not see this feature the first time around, so reading through both has been delightful. Definitely agree with a lot of what was chosen and said. I love this place.

[Thomas Nassiff]

I read through Born To Run, and I was like, when did I write this? This doesn't sound like my voice. Then I got to the end and remembered that I did Californication for this feature. LOL.

[Thomas Nassiff]

Also, love the Saves The Day writeup. "Jessie And My Whetstone" is my favorite STD song.

[awakeohsleeper]

That Underoath record was my first 'heavy' record too.

[JimmyAveningo]

Ian I fucking grew up listening KWOD 106.5. I loved that station and was so pissed when they got rid of it. I also have literally the same story of being introduced to AFI. Except mine included and introduction to thrice at the same time. Changed my entire fucking life.

[thelastturtle]

Take Off Your Pants And Jacket was my gateway. Christian sums it up perfectly. I feel like I've spun that album a thousand times over the last 10 years. My mom was pretty hesitant to buy me the album (I wasn't fully aware about Blink's humor at the time) but she was cool enough to get it for me, unedited and all. Needless to say, I was both shocked and incredibly enthusiastic upon my first full listen.

[Simulcast]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zow0NKUTtjI/S_J2voLm-LI/AAAAAAAAAls/Y5ig4qhPpvw/s1600/1997-around-the-fur.jpg

First album that I discovered independent of my friends and parents. It kicked off a love affair that attracted me to all sorts of heavy and atmospheric music.

[Drow Swordsman]

Ballin choices.

[uglystar03]

Damn, Slowreader is good. I've been meaning to check them out for a while and now I'm kicking myself for waiting!

[cubsml34]

Really can relate to Thomas' and Ian's Reviews, although on the Sing the Sorrow album I'm pretty sure the hidden track is This Time Imperfect :-p

Good album choices. Make for great reading.

When it comes to absolute beginnings, the first record that grabbed me was 'Siamese Dream' by The Smashing Pumpkins. This record was recommended me when I was 16. Life wasn't too grand at the time and this album somehow helped me get through it. Some of Billy Corgan's lyrics really hit home at the time. This was the first epic record moment and it seems to sound more amazing every time I listen to it.
You always have to remember that first record. It's always the one that remains your favourite album.

That's me though.

Same. I had listened to other classic rock records before, and really good ones at that, but none hit me like this did. The emotion that poured out of this was unparalleled to what I had previously listened to as I started diving into the lyrics and figuring out the true meanings of the songs. I'm still listening to this record constantly, why just today i was strumming out Luna on acoustic in my English class.

[Ian Walker]

Ian I fucking grew up listening KWOD 106.5. I loved that station and was so pissed when they got rid of it. I also have literally the same story of being introduced to AFI. Except mine included and introduction to thrice at the same time. Changed my entire fucking life.

This is really cool. Internet high-five!

Really can relate to Thomas' and Ian's Reviews, although on the Sing the Sorrow album I'm pretty sure the hidden track is This Time Imperfect :-p

Gah, I feel so stupid. :-d

[The Grey Man]

Awesome, I actually was just looking at the first absolute beginnings a month or two ago

[BornUnderPunches]

Hah, right when I saw the Parklife cover I knew who wrote it.



Also listen to Slowreader people cmon.

[CarouselBoy]

Nice feature. I was semi-surprised not to see MxPx on here then I saw Jason's was Slowing Going the Way of the Buffalo for the first feature and I thought that was pretty cool. They don't seem to get much love these days but The Ever Passing Moment was what got me into the "scene". Prior to 8th grade all I'd heard was Christian rock (Newsboys, DC Talk etc). MxPx was more or less considered a Christian band at the time so that's how I heard them but that kind pop-punk fed my 8th grade emotions and opened my eyes to a world of music I'd been missing. I felt like every song spoke to me. Plus, compared to what I had been listening to, the music was so fast. From there I got hooked on Blink 182, who quickly became my favorites, as well as Green Day and Jimmy Eat World.

[Kyle Huntington]

Hah, right when I saw the Parklife cover I knew who wrote it.



Also listen to Slowreader people cmon.
It may not be meant as a compliment, but I'm taking it!

[BornUnderPunches]

It may not be meant as a compliment, but I'm taking it!

Hah it is. I'm one of the few people that have ever posted in the blur thread w/ you haha, but it was probably before I changed my username. My old one was k-eyes28

[kazuma_ootaro28]

Not surprised by Kyle's and Eda's picks, haha. Both are great albums.

[phillipjacob]

this is an awesome and insightful feature. It's cool to see what bands helped shaped peoples lives.

[fanberlinboy]

Props to Keagan for picking There Cannot Be a Close Second from Beneath Medicine Tree. Seems like that song doesn't get enough recognition.

[Lueda Alia]

Not surprised by Kyle's and Eda's picks, haha. Both are great albums.
Didn't you check out the record a while ago?

[saturday_snow_squall]

interesting feature!

[FourStarters]

That Everclear album is fantastic. Nicely done!

[zwdavis4]

"3 gentlemen known as Tom, Mark, and Travis grow up before our very eyes"

Being someone who grew up on Dude Ranch, Take off your pants and Jacket was a dissapointment to me. Blink really got noticed with Enema of the State and i feel like this was the beggining of them selling out. It wasn't the same in your face punk music I grew up listening to, it was cheesey pop music with a little blink immaturity mixed in. I can't even stand to listened to their self titled album. However there is something about "Give me one Good Reason" that keeps this album on my turntable. I give it a listened probably once a week and I understand that it's catchy and a different side of Blink that what I was used to. As for this being a beginning album, I would have to say a beginning of bad things for Blink.

[BornUnderPunches]

I can't even stand to listen to their self titled album.
smh

[Explode]

I enjoyed reading these, thanks!

[Deborah Remus]

I fucking love Nimrod and Insomniac. Insomniac is one of the only CDs I keep in my car, otherwise it's my iPod. For me, Insomniac may overtake Dookie.

I can't believe I was ten years old when I bought Nimrod.

Nice write ups. I'll have to check out Slowreader.

Yeah, both those records rule. Although I love everything Green Day has done. With the exception of 21st Century Breakdown, that was the first time Green Day has ever disappointed me a little bit.

[kazuma_ootaro28]

Didn't you check out the record a while ago?
Yes I did. I never got to post my thoughts on it though, but it's been a while since I listened to it. "Politics, Music, and Drugs" and "On That Day" are couple of my favourites from the album. "Anesthetic for the Amputee" does remind me most of Elliott Smith.

[Eva Friedman]

I'll be surprised if anyone listens to Slowreader, so I don't really expect anyone to comment on it. But yeah, do check that album out if you enjoy folk music. It's incredible.

I wouldn't say I'm surprised you picked Slowreader, but I can't say I was expecting it. I'll definitely revisit this today.

[yayitsjoe]

like alex, the offspring's americana was mine.

[UnderMyDreams]

Grew up on that, The Young and the Hopeless, Story of the Year's Page Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Simple Plan's No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, NFG's Sticks and Stones, etc haha

Hell yeah!!! Never got into Story of the Year though. Don't know why, everyone seems to love Page Avenue.

[Kyle Huntington]

Hah it is. I'm one of the few people that have ever posted in the blur thread w/ you haha, but it was probably before I changed my username. My old one was k-eyes28
Ohhhhh okay, got you! Makes sense now, awesome.
Not surprised by Kyle's and Eda's picks, haha. Both are great albums.
:-)

[Ryan Gardner]

Hell yeah!!! Never got into Story of the Year though. Don't know why, everyone seems to love Page Avenue.
Grew up in St. Louis, so they were a local band for me

[Christian Wagner]

Take Off Your Pants And Jacket was my gateway. Christian sums it up perfectly. I feel like I've spun that album a thousand times over the last 10 years. My mom was pretty hesitant to buy me the album (I wasn't fully aware about Blink's humor at the time) but she was cool enough to get it for me, unedited and all. Needless to say, I was both shocked and incredibly enthusiastic upon my first full listen.
Thanks man!

[Christian Wagner]

"3 gentlemen known as Tom, Mark, and Travis grow up before our very eyes"

Being someone who grew up on Dude Ranch, Take off your pants and Jacket was a dissapointment to me. Blink really got noticed with Enema of the State and i feel like this was the beggining of them selling out. It wasn't the same in your face punk music I grew up listening to, it was cheesey pop music with a little blink immaturity mixed in. I can't even stand to listened to their self titled album. However there is something about "Give me one Good Reason" that keeps this album on my turntable. I give it a listened probably once a week and I understand that it's catchy and a different side of Blink that what I was used to. As for this being a beginning album, I would have to say a beginning of bad things for Blink.
I completely see where you're coming from. Unfortunately, my Blink upbringing was WAY different. It was TOYPAJ, then Enema, then Self-Titled, then Dude Ranch so I didn't get to appreciate Dude Ranch the way a lot of people did and still do.

[Alex DiVincenzo]

like alex, the offspring's americana was mine.
:beerbros:

[prefix-core]

Dookie changed my life and set the tone for my musical tastes throughout high school, college, and beyond. I've expanded my musical horizons beyond pop-punk but...I'll be fucked if listening to some early 90's, Lookout!-style pop-punk or "Ramones core" doesn't fix a bad mood every time.

Of course, Blink-182, the Offspring, Less Than Jake, Rancid, and Goldfinger all played a role early on to varying degrees for different reasons. But Green Day was "the band" for me.

[Ryan Gardner]

Some really cool artist features

[Kid Amnesiac]

Yay, I love the AFI love, Ian! Something we see not-so-often on the site.

Definitely gotta check out Slowreader, Lueda.

[yayitsjoe]

:beerbros:
:buddies:

[PerfectChaos337]

Great to see Sing the Sorrow on the list. It changed my life and I wouldn't be writing this right now without it. Glad someone feels the same.

[UnderMyDreams]

Grew up in St. Louis, so they were a local band for me

That's sweet. Everyone else in the band loves that album!

[SmallFrailBoy]

Pedro the Lion. That was a story... and an incredible album.

[LexXchaos]

I love reading these sorts of things. A lot of amazing albums listed up there.
I also found it kind of cool how Anthony and Shane both picked the same album.

[xsinkshipsx]

great read. mine were

Blink-182 TOYPAJ
Underoath TOCS
Norma Jean BTMKTC
Copeland BMT
Death Cab For Cutie Trans
Kanye West Graduation

[suicidalmoose]

this was a really great initiative ap.net folks. a lot of interesting reading

[honkyg88]

Love this feature. It brings up so much nostalgia. The band portion is rad too!
Agreed, the band portion is an awesome read.

[honkyg88]

Love this feature. It brings up so much nostalgia. The band portion is rad too!
Agreed, the band portion is an awesome read.

[ACA]

In order:

94 The Offspring - Smash -- got me into new music

96 AFI - Answer That and Stay Fashionabe -- got me into non-popular music

01 Thursday - Full Coallapse -- got me into heavier music

03 Brand New - Deja Entendu -- got me into softer music

[johnnyferris]

This is a really good read. I love Green Day and Blink, but Underoath and Silverstein were the bands that got me into heavy music and screaming. And that's what I predominantly listen to today.

[InaGreendase]

My first "heavy" record was the Bled's Pass the Flask (when it first came out), strangely enough, due to the AP.net hype of a one Jon something whose name escapes me. Kid Dynamite and Lifetime finally followed later that year.

[PillsAndAdvice]

Silverchair - Neon Ballroom (got me really interested in music in general)
The Movielife - This Time Next Year (got me into the whole "scene" in general)
Comeback Kid - Turn It Around (got me into hardcore)

[kazuma_ootaro28]

Still need to get Check Your Head, but hooray for Beastie Boys, an early favourite of mine.

[Spencer Control]

I'll be surprised if anyone listens to Slowreader, so I don't really expect anyone to comment on it. But yeah, do check that album out if you enjoy folk music. It's incredible.
I actually do like folk music when I'm in the mood, so I may very well check them out.

Nice feature overall. Ryan summed up my thoughts on They're Only Chasing Safety exactly.

[saturday_snow_squall]

wow. brendan's entry was incredible. m@d pr0pz!

[cococrisp20]

Blink, Offspring, NOFX, Green Day, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones best music of the 90s right there

[bencoles]

Found myself nodding at a lot of these, especially EITS, RX Bandits and Underøath.

[punk89]

This was a really cool feature! Props to everyone who contributed.

[snowboarderkid]

Great feature, opened my eyes to some albums that i would have just passed by otherwise

[plentymad]

Nice to see Josh Eppard participating in this. Doggystyle is a classic. Also very glad to see/read about The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, Through Being Cool, Check Your Head, and So Much For The Afterglow. Oh, and CCR of course. Good stuff.

[plentymad]

Also, 3EB's self-titled popped my CD cherry.

[MBIIdollaBill]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412cVi02IEL._AA115_.jpg

Glassjaw - Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Record Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: May 9, 2000

if you are in your early 30's and now wear a tiny leather jacket, then there's a great chance this record is your pick as well. It was given to me by a friend whose brother was touring with them at the time. He said "My friends from back home just put out this record. Check it out." He said it as if it was half of a sandwich he wasn't going to eat, expecting no more than a cursory glance, unaware of how it would change not only how i heard music but how i made it. It's obviously hard to describe the way a riff or a melody effects you when it reaches beyond the intellectual and into the visceral because it's an experience that is cheapened when you try to apply descriptors and the more you long to associate with it, the further it moves away from the nucleus of the purpose. But this record cornered me. When I put it on in my car it was almost as if my life as a 20 year old was another instrument that automatically quantized with the existing rhythm of the songs. that my being there hearing it not only heightened the sound but deepened the meaning of what these total strangers, existing independently of me, had written who knows how much earlier. It was what I considered a "life checkpoint" because it seemed as if the lyrics described what I was looking at at that moment-had been looking at for months- not just visually but emotionally. I had never heard a vocalist do what Daryl was NOT doing. He was not making sense. He was cutting himself off before cussing, He was singing with such poignant madness that I literally could NOT STOP listening. It was like a movie I had seen hundreds of times still firmly believing that if I watched it just once more the characters will become self aware and give me the resolution I needed. but they never did and to this day they never have and I think it's their inveteracy that reinforces the importance of the record they made over 10 years ago. (Keith Buckley - Every Time I Die (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=2398) / The Damned Things (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?do=showdetails&l=39982))



That is some powerful shit Keith says about EYEWTKAS... as corny as it sounds, that album was the only thing holding me together for a while there, and it still hits me hard every time I listen to it. Such raw, visceral expression of emotion is hard to come by. Very underrated album.

[steve-0]

Mxpx- life in general. No lie, I bought the cassette in 96 when it came out.

Although the true, first gateway album I bought before that was Driver Eight -watermelon. That was another tooth and nail band back in the day.