Albums that Stir Up Memories of Past Relationships

I mentioned in my post “A little more about the mission…” that i believe music is closely related to memory.  I was thinking the other day about how certain albums in my collection remind me of past relationships and i thought i would share them with you (within reason, this is the Internet so I’m not gonna get too personal…)

• 1. Christina —— Albums: Cries of the Past by Underoath and The Changing of Times by Underoath.

Christina was my first girlfriend.  We dated for a few months late freshman year, or perhaps the summer after freshman year.  These two albums in particular bring up memories of that period of my life.

This was a really weird time in my life.  I had just transferred from christian middle school to a public high school.  My closest friends were my friend Tim from my church youth group and my friend Kevin from my old school.  Kevin and his older brother introduced me to underoath and i really got into them and that kind of heavy music at the time.  Then in high school i met my friend Andrew and he downloaded these to underoath albums and burned one for me and i had him burn me a mix for Christina.

• 2. Jamii —— Album: About a Burning Fire – Blindside

Jamii was my second girlfriend.  We dated from winter to spring of my sophomore year of high school.  During the previous year of high school Blindside had become my favorite band and I anxiously awaited the releases of this album for months, on that day in February when it finally came out i remember Jamii’s Dad driving me and her to Best Buy so that i could get the album.  Later that year i used the song “Eye of the Storm” off this album to make the first video i ever produced myself.  That year of my life was the one that set the course for what i would later choose as a career.  I was in a Mass Media class in which we produced three videos, a commercial, a fake news segment, and a music video.  I used the blindside song as the song for my music video and had my friends Matt, Clare, Tim and Josh act in it for me.  For my first production ever i thought it turned out really good.   Anyway, that class sparked an interest in me.  The next year i signed up for a class in which we would put on the news for the school everyday via video production.  i took that class for the next two years and i think it was what i enjoyed most about high school.  When i had to try and pick a major for college, TV production sounded great because i would get to do the same stuff i enjoyed in high school for a living, and that’s how i ended up at Ferris State University.

• 3. Christine (not Christina — this is a different girl, lol.) —— Albums: I am Hollywood by He is Legend and Mmhmm by Relient K

Christine was my third girlfriend and my first semi-serious one.  She was a really sweet girl.  We dated for about 7 months during my junior year of high school.  These two albums remind me of that time because they both have to do with birthdays… hers and mine.  I got her mmhmm by Relient K for her birthday because Relient k was her favorite band at the time.  Then when it came time for my birthday she ordered I am Hollywood of the Internet for me because i couldn’t find it in any stores.

• 4. Katie —— Albums: Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest by As Cities Burn and How to Live With a Curse by Stavesacre

Katie was my fourth girlfriend but i consider her my first serious girlfriend.  We dated from the summer before my senior year of high school to the fall of my freshman year of college.  There are way to many albums that remind me of that year and three months of my life so i picked two that some things up well (again without getting too personal).  Son, I Loved You At Your Darkest came out that summer and i remember cruising around listening to it with her.  More specifically i remember listening to it as we drove to the place where i then asked her out.  Our youth group (well, my youth group at the time) was remodeling their building so they were having Wednesday night meetings at another church.  i asked her out in front of that church before a meeting one night.  I was kind of a big dork, but she said yes…  That was the beginning of our relationship.  The other album sums up not quite the end of the relationship but the point at which things started to go downhill.  Don’t get me wrong, i loved her until the day we broke up (may a bit longer…) but looking back now i can see where things started to go wrong.

Stavesacre’s album came out in may.  May was ugly in a lot of ways…  The first a can’t share with you but let’s just say that something big happened.  About a week before that happened i was hanging out with Katie and her  dog Echo got really sick.  She had to be put down.  I went with her and her family to the vet and was there with Katie holding Echo’s paw as they put her to sleep.  It was a very sad day and it is even now hard to think about.  I stayed with her as long as i could but she just wanted to spend the night with her family.  I was crushed that i could do nothing to comfort her.  That just happend to be the same day i had gone to Tree of Life, our local christian bookstore, to pick up my special order copy of Stavesacre’s new album.  I remember driving to youth group early, it was a wednesday, and sitting in my car and listening to the album a couple of times and thinking about that crappy day.  I think the music made me feel better…   That is a memory that still rears it’s head every once and awhile when i pop that album into my stereo but thankfully i can still enjoy that album.  It’s bittersweet.

Those are the albums that stir up memories of my past relationships… i hope that the only albums i add to this list will be the ones that remind me of my future wife.  After Katie i realized i had been going about dating kind of the wrong way and i made a commitment before God to take a break from dating until my junior year of college.  Well, that is quickly approaching but i am not going to dive back into the mode of always seeking someone to be my girlfriend.  i am only going to get into a relationship again after a lot of praying and hopefully that girl will be the one i spend the rest of my life with.

Ep. 10 – The Pop-Rock Section – July 5, 2008

I returned from vaction yesterday and worked a full day.  After i got off work tonight i decided to swing by record time.  I recently made a few additions to the hunt-list and amoung them were a few albums by Rush and U2.  I had remembered seeing a few of their albums in the pop-rock section (as apposed to indie, or metal) at record time so i looked through the entire pop-rock section tonight and i found a couple good albums.

“Achtung Baby” – U2

This is a really great album.  I got really into U2 right around the time “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” came out but i quickly learned that older albums were better.  Though “Achtung Baby” is not really that much older than HTDAAB (2004-1991=13yrs.)  13 years, musically, is a long time.  I have to be in the mood for this album to really listen to it, but it is really a great album!  So many great ballads and full-sounding rock songs.  I’ve liked U2 for awhile, and i know a lot of the newer bands i like were influenced by them, its good to own an album now.  Price Paid: $8

“A Thought Crushed My Mind (Re-Release)” – Blindside

I laughed when I found this.  Blindside was my favorite band for most of my teenage life and if this album had been in the indie section i would have bought it already.   This album defiantely does not belong in the “pop-rock” section… anyways, this album contains one of the best Blindside songs to date “Nothing But Skin”  – 9 minutes of awesome, pure and simple.  The rest of the album has good energy and intensity but some of the songs can get a little repetitive.  I was a little disapointed that this was the re-release but considering the original was mostly a european release, with not huge distribution in the states, it would be quite a lucky find… i’m fine with owning the re-releaese.  Price Paid: $6

I also picked up one of the few albums left at record time that i’ve been consistantly considering and then passing up:

“Can’t Stop Eating EP” – Starflyer 59

I have only listened to this once so far and my first impression of it was good.  It is really rare that SF59 dissapoints me (the Fashion Focus). Price Paid: $4

Another productive hunt.  See ya next time.

Ep. 5 – Un-freaking-Believable! Blindside, Brave Saint Saturn, and More! – June 19th, 2008

Today was pay-day, and my day off so i went out hunting…  I decided to check out some other record stores in my area this time so today i stopped by “Blast in the Past.”  It was located on gratiot (again), between Utica and Martin (i don’t know why, but there are three record stores within a mile of each other on gratiot, go figure…)   I liked the place, kind of a half was point between Record Time and Hot Hits…  It wasn’t as nice as Record Time but i didn’t get bad vibes from the place like i did from Hot Hits.

Today’s trip was hands down the most productive one yet!  I am still in shock over what i found.

So here goes:  I walked in the store and started browsing the rack and as i am i listen to this owner of the store talk to a couple other old guys.  They are reminiscing about the days when gas was $1 and White Castle Burgers were 12 cents.  Then he launches into a story about how he hitchhiked with these guys once and they where smoking weed in the car and they rolled a joint as “big as a cigar” and he got a contact high… They sat and reminisced more about the days when anyone would give you a ride if you just stuck your thumb out, i was mildly amused.  I could tell that they didn’t get new CDs in very often and that their regulars probably didn’t like the obscure bands i do because i found some real gems, check it:

“Silence” – Blindside

This album is one of my desert island top five for sure.  If you would have asked me a few years ago it would have been my #1!  I got into Blindside right around the time this album was released, right as i began high school.  I had my new best friend Andrew download this album for me, amoung others.  I was in love with this album for years to come, i listened to it so many times and i know the whole album front to back…  This album quickly made Blindside my favorite band and they stayed that way until early in college when another band i had also loved for awhile eeked their way to the top, that band, of course is the great Stavesacre.  Like I said, when i found this album today i was blown away.  And what’s more, it was unopened – never before used!  Price Paid: $5

“Tales of the Knife” – Lucerin Blue

This album is closely related to Silence by Blindside in my life.  My friend downloaded and burned this album for me on the same day as silence but i actually didn’t listen to it until atleast a few weeks later because as soon as i put silence in my CD player it stayed there for that long!  This under-rated album by what anyone in the world of popular music would call a “One-Hit Wonder” band, is one that i have loved for a long time.  You may remember the song “Monday in Vegas” getting some secular radio play back in 2003… i specifically remember one time it was on the radio while i was in the dark room of my high school photography class, i was shocked because i normally didn’t listen to the radio and i had no idea that anyone even knew about Lucerin Blue, let alone they were being played on secular radio stations… This is a good hard rock albums with some nice piano parts here and there, has kind of a rap-rock sound at times, but it is very good.  Found it today, unopened as well!  Price Paid: $5

“Adventures in Tokyo” – Calibretto 13

Not much to say about this band except that I’ve always liked their original sound (horror / surf punk) and the content of their lyrics.  Listened to them a lot last summer, now i finally own one of their albums! Price Paid: $5

“The Light of Things Hoped For” – Brave Saint Saturn

In the wake of the demise of (in my opinion) the best christian ska band ever, Five Iron Frenzy, i was sad… I mean really sad, you must understand how much i loved FIF…  In that post-mortem stage i desperately searched for something to fill that Five Iron shaped hole in my heart.  A few years earlier i had heard about a side project some of the band members had done (most notably Reese Roper) called Brave Saint Saturn.  The “Space-rock” band was an outlet for some of Reese’s sadder lyrics that didn’t quite fit with Five Iron…  I downloaded there albums because i wanted more FIF, i kept them because i love BSS.  I doesn’t really sound anything like Five Iron Frenzy, but their albums are beautiful!  I am proud to now own one of the two they have released (so-far ).  Also found this one unopened but it was a little more pricey.  Price Paid: $9.50 (it was worth it)

All in all this was they best day of hunting i’ve had since i began this project!  i saw a few other albums from the list there but i am out of spending money at the moment so maybe next week.  To some up my excitement let me just say that on the way back to my car from the record store i couldn’t help myself from periodically exclaiming “No Freakin Way!”