In any case, that summer (2005), I visited Nicaragua with my aunt and cousin for two weeks. Around the second day, I met my cousin's cousins (my second cousins?) whom were teens like us. When I entered their room, I saw "Be Yourself" playing on the TV. I ended up spending the majority of the trip making up for lost time alongside MTV Latin America.
Not too long afterwards, I saved up the earnings of my 15th birthday and went to Best Buy to purchase a cheap Durabrand CD player, From Under the Cork Tree, American Idiot and Demon Days. And now, almost 6 years later, I'm here updating a blog about my not-so-secret passion.
Because it's so close to when I first began engrossing myself in music, I have to say that my favorite year in music is 2006. When I started out, I watched music videos like it was nobody's business. But after a few months of that, I got tired of just singles and delved into the albums of my favorite artists, discovering the gems no one cared to search for. Below are a few of my top picks...
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#10 - Panda - Amantes Sunt Amantes
A young, lonely, pop-punk listening Hispanic teenage boy was eventually going to come across this CD. It was one random day at my other cousin's house that I saw the video for "Narcisita Por Excelencia" on MTV Tr3s. I was instantly hooked by the sound and energy, and I also had an ear catered to "emotional" music. When I picked up Amantes Sunt Amantes, I became a fan overnight. What I liked most about the album (and still do) was the unconventionality of the composition, characteristic of post-hardcore. I wouldn't know it until later, but their previous release, Para Ti Con Desprecio, was the product of heavy plagerism. Panda writes some pretty catchy tunes, but sadly these are songs to slit your wrists to (and unfortunately the band doesn't make that a subtle point =///).
"Los Malaventurados No Lloran" by Panda
#9 - Angels & Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper
I didn't appreciate this album enough in my younger days. Quite frankly, it put me to sleep. But I just wasn't ready for the level of maturity that Tom DeLonge (of blink-182 fame) presented in the debut of his side project Angels & Airwaves, We Don't Need to Whisper. This album, like all other AVA releases, is about love. All about love. About all love. The good, the bad, the ugly AND the beautiful. Whenever you feel just the slightest bit of butterflies in your stomach, I encourage you to immerse yourself in this awesome space rock concept album... that is if you want those butterflies to turn into a tornado.
"It Hurts" by Angels & Airwaves
#8 - My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was one of my first albums, and I knew that MCR breakthrough like the back of my hand. When The Black Parade came out, I was so excited that I bought it the week of its release. The first time I heard it all the way through, I thought, "This is... different." Not bad different, but this was a totally new band. Luckily, I was somewhat prepared. Having seen the video for "Welcome to the Black Parade," I knew what I was getting into. It definitely was a step in the right direction, showing the world the capacity of creativity the band possessed. The rock opera details the battle of The Patient, suffering and dying from cancer in an unloving world. Simple, straightforward and tastefully executed, the prescence of each song possesses the perfect union of Queen stage and Floyd attitude.
"I Don't Love You" by My Chemical Romance
#7 - Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
If you want to stand up and fight against oppressive governments and abusive relationships, then pick up Absolution. But if you want to mellow out and contemplate to the background sound of symphonic rock mixed with progressive-pop and some Spanish guitar, then listen to Black Holes and Revelations. I mean, there's still enough of the conspiracy theories you've come to expect from Muse and frontman Matthew Bellamy, but it's all jumbled up enough that you can pick and choose what to pay attention to, and not jumbled up in a bad way. The album doesn't force you to follow a set concept all the way through, thus making you feel less guitly when you replay "Supermassive Black Hole" just so that you can jam out for an extra three minutes.
"Starlight" by Muse
#6 - Incubus - Light Grenades
In Light Grenades, Incubus takes the quiet-loud dynamics of alternative rock song composition and projects it into the structure of the album itself. You'll have the the soothing "Love Hurts" followed by the bold-and-brash title track before you reach the lofty "Earth to Bella (Part I)." As a whole, it's Rage without all the rage and Muse with more feeling than thinking. You may not get into all of the tracks, but somewhere in all of the funk metal there'll be at least two songs that'll keep you coming back.
"Anna Molly" by Incubus
#5 - Meg & Dia - Something Real
I may have found these girls in 2007, which is much too late to be introduced to these half-Korean beauties. Sisters Meg & Dia Frampton are indie rockers from Utah whose sentimental songs make frequent references to classic literature and are themselves poetically written. Following up on their acoustic 2005 debut Our Home Is Gone, Something Real brings a more alternative edge while still maintaining the characteristic sweetheart-ness of the band. Something Real brings something real to the table, doing for pop-rock what Sheryl Crow, Natalie Imbruglia and Anna Nalick do for soft rock and Serena Ryder, KT Tunstall and Brandi Carlile do for folk rock.
WARNING: Listening to Something Real will cause you to fall in love with Meg & Dia and influence you to actively seek out the rest of their amazing discography. =]
"Nineteen Stars" by Meg & Dia
#4 - The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
The Strokes was one of the first "cool" bands that I came across. I mean, just take a look at Julian Casablancas... it's ridiculous! Come on, how can someone be so... cool? Oh yeah, and there's the rest of the band, and the whole of this quintessential quintet is responsible for the awesome experience that is First Impressions of Earth. Projecting post-punk revialism to where it should be at the time (the mainstream), these NYC hipsters deliver 50+ minutes of droning lyrics, driving bass, jangle rhythm, indie lead and Britpop percussion. My only complaint: "Ask Me Anything." This track (right in the middle of the album) knocks me out everytime, but luckily "Electricityscape" electrifies me back to life.
"You Only Live Once" by The Strokes
#3 - Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
At heart, Arctic Monkeys are post-punk revivalists like The Strokes, and this is made increasingly apparent with every subsequent LP release. But their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, is supersaturated in garage-punk energy. The songs are infused with a bit of everything, both in the sound (indie, psychedelic, jazz-fusion) and in the content (technodiscos, vampires, the red-light district). I guess you can take the boys out of Sheffield, buy you can't take Sheffield out of the boys. And I have a feeling that they don't fancy the idea of renouncing their roots either.
"I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by Arctic Monkeys
#2 - Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now
Pop culture math review: 2006 + (quiet 15-year-old boy) + fuse = "Makedamnsure"
I remember the first time I listened to Louder Now. I was alone at home, so I popped the CD into the DVD home theater so I could listen in surround sound. I was eating an afterschool meal and by the time "Twenty-Twenty Surgery" came one, I was already bored with the album. But because I still had food on my plate, I held on till the end. Although I cared little for it the first time around, Louder Now would become one of the albums I would know by heart.
Currently, Louder Now is the middle of five albums for Taking Back Sunday, and in my opinion is the best of them all. It is as emotional as all TBS CDs but it possesses the adequate level of ambiguity for it to be relatable and approachable for many different audiences during many different stages in their respective lives. I mean, the songs aren't too boyfriend-girlfriend specific like "Great Romances of the 20th Century" or too coming-of-age broad like "Sad Savior."
The music lies on that thin line between pop-punk and post-hardcore that the chemistry between the talented shrill voice of frotman Adam Lazarra and the eccentric guitar playing of backing vocalist Fred Mascherino is known for treading. If you want cathartic head flailing, there's "Spin." If you want a catchy chorus with some emotion behind it, there's "Miami." If you want to cry out the tears that are inside without actually having to cry, there's "My Blue Heaven."
Above all, what impresses me about this album is the sheer honesty in the songwriting. When a TBS song finally touches me like it was meant to, I'm left with a feeling of awe. It's like, "How could I have listened to this song 50 times before, but it's not until now that I truly understand it?" It serves as a little reminder every now and then that we're not alone, even in our most base and seemingly pathetic concerns. I express my thanks for the band in putting their hearts on the line time and time again for their fans and the unsuspecting world. Kudos.
"Divine Intervention" by Taking Back Sunday
#1 - Switchfoot - Oh! Gravity.
If the only exposure to Switchfoot you have is "Meant to Live," then you are sadly missing out on an absolutely amazing band. Oh! Gravity. is the name. Please listen to this album. Everyone. Right now. I'm not saying it's the "best of " anything, even of 2006. Just go, shell out $10 and enjoy some music. Real music. You won't regret it and you'll thank me later.
The reason behind using such an imperative tone is simply that I can't put into words how much I love Oh! Gravity. It starts out engaging ("Oh! Gravity.") before segwaying into sentimental ("Yesterdays"), with some uniquely bouncy pop put into the mix ("Amateur Lovers"). Every song flows into one another and the album finishes on contemplative terms ("Let Your Love Be Strong"), but it's not so much gut-wrenching thinking as fluid peacefulness. When it's all said and done, you feel like you've spent the right amount of time with the music... not too much and not too little.
And don't get me started on song structure and composition, mostly because it leaves me spechless. Like album length, individual track presentation isn't too bland or too over-your-head, but just what you needed. You know Switchfoot is ready for more, capable of more (like progressive metal even), but at the same time you're grateful that the band humbles itself to produce Oh! Gravity. for your sincere entertainment.
"American Dream" by Switchfoot
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Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me! And there is a slew of other releases (When Your Heart Stops Beating, Decemberunderground, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, Saosin, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, United We Stand, Shine On, Empire, Lights and Sounds, Until There's Nothing Left of Us, Sam's Town, Liberation Transmission, Teenage Graffiti, Decomposer, Stadium Arcadium, Carnavas) that I wish I had time to discuss... but I think you get my point.
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me! And there is a slew of other releases (When Your Heart Stops Beating, Decemberunderground, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, Saosin, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, United We Stand, Shine On, Empire, Lights and Sounds, Until There's Nothing Left of Us, Sam's Town, Liberation Transmission, Teenage Graffiti, Decomposer, Stadium Arcadium, Carnavas) that I wish I had time to discuss... but I think you get my point.
Don't believe the hype,
Kelvin
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