A lot has happened in my past four years here at LU. My first article was on the Bright Eyes / Britt Daniel split EP. I called it one of the best things I had heard in awhile. That EP, coupled with “Lifted,” made me think that Bright Eyes would soon be one of the greatest artists of our time. This year he released one of his better albums, and his worst, drastically changing my opinion of him. As I said a lot has happened in four years.
So as my time winds down here I can’t help but look back at some of the greatest moments in music. Here’s a list of some of the most important and greatest moments in rock history (as it relates to my life):
MTV in the 80’s. I remember as a child watching a good amount of MTV. In fact, my parents almost had it blocked from our TV because I told them about a Guns and Roses member’s skeleton or snake tattoo. I also remember vividly being scared by Robert Smith of The Cure. In the video for “Lovesong” Bob is decked out in makeup, drenched in blue light, and surrounded by stalagmites. There was something about that video that stayed with me for years. Looking back, that was the start of my devotion to The Cure.
The day I bought a Hayden and a Golden Smog album. These two albums were like gateway drugs to me. Hayden’s “Everything I Long For” contained songs about being in love with his next-door neighbor (and her mother), fighting with his brother, and hanging out with his girlfriend while his parents are away. It was my first glimpse of the flawed perfection of lo-fi singer songwriters.
The second album I bought that day was Golden Smog’s “Down By The Old Mainstream.” With members of Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, Wilco, Run Westy Run, and the Honeydogs, this album is a bunch of eclectic alternative country masterpieces. These two albums taught me so much.
My first three albums. My first three albums were Soul Asylum’s “Grave Dancer’s Union,” the Gin Blossoms’ “New Miserable Experience,” and – I can’t believe I am admitting this – Meat Loaf’s “Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell.” Needless to say these three diverse albums prove that my musical tastes have never stayed stagnant. And I can’t help but feel my love for Meat Loaf helped to fuel my love for the new albums by Destroyer.
Well those are three of the most influential moments of my musical life. They shaped who I am and they might have shaped yours, or they might still shape yours. To rap up the year I will be looking at my favorite albums and songs, so until my next column, farewell.
I Got My Name From Rock and Roll
