Music Monday, 7/16

So J2 is actually the one who indirectly suggested this to me. (I'll do a post soon kind of detailing who J2 is, because I'm sure the boys will be mentioned a lot.) And I say indirectly, because he has no idea that he did such a thing. He was telling me about a group e-mail he has going on Gmail, in which him and a bunch of his buddies e-mail each other songs every Friday. Sometimes there are themes and sometimes there aren’t, but it’s just a fun way to share music that you like with others, and a way to learn about, or even reminisce, about music.

This isn’t Gmail, and you guys aren’t technically my buddies, but in a lot of ways this is like Gmail, and you guys are my buddies. Hence the post.

Mondays kind of suck in general. What better way to get you through the week than some new music? Since the invention of Spotify and my willingness to fork over $10 every month for mobile streaming, my own music library hasn’t grown the way that it used to. That being said, I still have over 11,000 songs to my name and I am always learning about new music that I love, even if it came out decades ago. I listen to almost everything, with the exception of screamo. I have a thing about being yelled at. Scares me.

Anyways, today’s theme is going to be a reminiscent one: 2007.

2007 was a great year in a lot of ways, and it really fucked me over in a lot of other ways, so I have a lot of emotions. Back then, I was desperate to be cool in an understated way, puffing on Marlboro Lights and drinking Arizona green tea and pretending to not give a damn. (I am aware I still do these things when I’m drunk, but for some reason people think I’m cool despite that.) 2007 was also part of my musical awakening. I started listening to new (and old) bands, and while I’m sure it initially started in an effort to impress some guy, I’ve become really hooked on some of them to this day. (I remember listening to ‘Rock the Casbah’ for the first time, and being shocked that they used the same tune from Will Smith’s ‘Willenium.’ How coincidental!)

1.)    The Hoosiers – Worried About Ray

I came across this song completely incidentally. In 2007, I was really big into Last.fm, and this song continuously popped up on my custom radio, so it had to be made for me, right? I have no backstory as to the band, or why they’re so worried about Ray, but this song instantly transports me to the first day of college. (Yeesh.) Think Hot Hot Heat meets Ted Leo, with poppier vibes. It’s a fun song. Very head bob-able. Which, if you know me at all, is a main factor with absolutely everything I listen to.

2.)    Elefant – Make Up

Elefant is an indie band from NYC that I don’t think is still together (fact check me!) but when they were, man, I loved them. The bass riff in this song is so catchy and you just can’t help but be drawn into it. The lyrics are totally what every 17 year old wants to hear (You finally take your make up off/I like your eyes. You finally take your lipstick off/I like your smile) but you never feel like you’re listening to cliché bullshit, oddly enough. They had another song “Misfit,” which had some airplay back then too. The whole album is really worth listening to if you dig it. (Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid)

3.)    Desaparecidos – Man And Wife, The Former (Financial Planning)

Side project of Bright Eyes front man Conor Oberst, Desaparecidos never got the love that they deserved if you want my opinion. A bit harder and a lot edgier, Desaparecidos entire album Read Music/Speak Spanish was a commentary on the economic and sociopolitical state of America. The lyrics are brilliant and witty, and ‘Man And Wife, The Former’ tells the story of a couple trying to make it in the middle class, despite it sucking pretty hard. My idealistic self in 2007 was truly touched by the lyrics, “Cause I sold some shit, I’m saving up/We can get that house next to the park/I’ll get more hours at my dad’s shop/Yeah, we’ll plan for everything.” I guess I didn’t want to examine the track that would come later in the album – ‘Man And Wife, The Latter,’ which details the inevitable divorce resulting from an abundance of debt and resentment.

4.)    William Tell – Like You, Only Sweeter

I’m trying to refrain from mentioning Something Corporate or Jack’s Mannequin because I preach those songs so much, mostly because they are the soundtrack to my life. But William Tell isn’t necessarily cheating, right? Just ‘cause he was the guitarist for SoCo for most of their tenure doesn’t mean anything. Whatever. Time and time again it has been proven that no matter how old I get, I will always love any piano driven rock music. I’m a sucker like that. This song hurts and soothes all at once – my fragile 16 year old heart was stomped on when a guy told me, in no certain words, that he had met a girl that was “just like me, only sweeter.” What girl doesn’t love to hear that you met someone else that has all of her good qualities, and then none of her really shitty ones? That happened before this album had come out, but I can still recall countless hours of me listening to this on repeat, wondering why I sucked and was “emotionally unavailable.” (Little did I know that this would be a trend that would continue into my adult life.) Give this song a listen and give my 16 year old self a hug, would you?

5.)    Regina Spektor – On The Radio

The song that spawned my Regina love! It also spawned my predilection for crudely pasting lyrics over pictures, a habit which I have luckily grown out of. Few too many people have had this luxury, and for that, I apologize to the internet. This song is great in pretty much every single way – the music, the lyrics, the vibe. It is a fun and bubbly song and if nothing else, - wait. Why do you need more? It is fun and bubbly. And it’s Regina Spektor. Just listen and love this, Jesus.

And now I’m going to try and squeeze into those pants from high school, look at some yearbooks, and pretend that those highlights I had actually did make me look like Kelly Clarkson.