Music Blog
Cataloging Albums and my thoughts to create a time capsule of music I grew up with and discover
I am wanting to capture my thoughts on albums that have shaped my music taste over my lifetime. I am trying to reclaim aspects of my youth while ensuring I do not forget about the music that I have long loved and new music I am discovering today. Hidden gems exist and I want to ensure those are not forgotten. This blog will be a long catalog of my thoughts and feelings towards music.
Boys Like Girls (BLG)
Around the same time I dove into the All American Rejects was when my music discovery phase snowballed. Alongside the album Move Along, Boys Like Girls self titled album demanded my attention as soon as I heard it.
One thing to know about me is that I listen to albums in order and fully through over and over until I can’t stand it. At that point I find another album to repeat this process and then I will eventually return to listen to these albums again. Boys Like Girls’ self titled album was such an easy listen front to back and consumed numerous bus rides to school growing up.
The standout tracks to me likely align with the popular tracks.
The great escape
- what an opening track to set the tone for the album
Hero/Heroine
- The dichotomy of the soft vocals being consumed by the drop of the beat in the chorus made this such a fun listen and one I still enjoy.
Up Against the Wall
Broken Man
Holiday
For a while I only listened to this album of theirs, I enjoyed Love Drunk as a single but it was not quite the same for me to listen to and it never grabbed me. The tracks on Love Drunk were much bigger on the radio but it did not resonate with me.
Crazy World came out towards the later end of high school and it was much different than their previous sounds. However, I found it to be fantastic. This was a fun album to listen to and it reignited my love for this group. Crazy World certainly leaned a bit closer to country, which I did not like, but it was just enogh pop/loosely americana that made it fun.
I have both of these major albums on Vinyl and they are fun to spin.
The All American Rejects (AAR)
It was 2005. The super bowl was coming up and all I could hear is the hit song “Move Along” by The All American Rejects”. This is a core memory for me as this was the moment I knew the style of music I truly liked. This song gripped me and took me down a rabbit hole. The music video was also captivating and still is. I get goosebumps hearing this song and watching the music video. This isn’t necessarily the year I got this album or even knew it was The All American Rejects signing it. It took a few years for me to stumble upon it once again and I had a serious moment of deja-vu recognizing the hit single.
Key tracks that I enjoyed on this album (while the entire album is fantastic front to back) are
Dirty little secret
Stab my back
Move along
It ends tonight
Night Drive
dance inside
- this track in particular is such a great song to put on loop. The atmospheric sounds are captivating and the lyrics are gripping to me, or at least were at the time.
Top of the world
Can’t Take It
Their self titled album came out before Move Along did but Move Along is what drove me to listen to their first album. this one did not grab me as Move Along did and I cannot say I have many specific tracks I enjoy. It’s not that I dislike the album, it’s simply that I do not listen to it much and never did.
When the World Comes Down is an album that I know every ebb and flow of. I played this album front to back so frequently during drives to work, school and any event that I went to. I know how each track finishes and how it transitions into the next song. While Gives You Hell was their smash hit on this album I find the rest of the album more enjoyable and cohesive. The continuity of the music in this album is sensible and airy.
Another Heart Calls is my favorite track on this album with the duet and the progression of the song it is one I put on loop. I still enjoy this album to this day.
AAR’s albums afterwards were fairly disappointing in my opinion. Their sound changed in a way that did not and still does not resonate with what I like to listen to. Perhaps I will come back around to try them out, but I find them too experimental and weird for my liking.
Queen’s Greatest Hits
This album was gifted to me when I around 10 years old. I distinctly remember opening this album on Christmas day with my brother. He received Steve Miller Band’s greatest hits. Up until this point I had been influenced by my dad’s music tastes. This largely consisted of Sting and The Police. Now I had my own album.
This album was a fantastic introduction into rock and I loved every hit. I fondly remember we will rock you and bohemian rhapsody as monumental tracks while finding hits like bicycle a bit weird but interesting nonetheless.