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Posts tagged emo
Emo Side Project // It Could’ve Been Different
I hope for your sake you’re not as fucked as I am.
You Blew It! - “Grow Up, Dude”
I listen a lot of music, and on rare occasions I feel compelled to write up a little something regarding an album I’ve listened to. On average, I’ll listen to 200+ new releases from a given year - that’s albums and EPs. Now when I say I rarely do these write ups, I mean I rarely do these write ups. Over the past two years, 2010 and 2011, I’ve written something like this up for one album and it was last year’s release by La Dispute.
But then, on April 24, Topshelf Records released You Blew It!’s debut full length album entitled Grow Up, Dude.
“When will I see that superstitions mean everything?”
Although the short, 46 second title track starts things off, the second track, “Pinball House” is where the album truly feels like it begins. These songs all radiate a sort of positive vibe, and “Pinball House” is certainly no exception, ending with the hopeful lines “We made our way through state lines and ended up alone on the road, so complete though, searching for something we thought we’d never find. I found home.” The lyrical content throughout the album is something that every late teen to young 20 something can relate to - feelings of lost love or friendship, or the need to find yourself or simply having a good time. The songs provide a safe haven of sorts, something to listen to and embrace when the only cure for the way you’re feeling is music.
The 5th track, entitled “Medal Of Honor,” may just be the highlight. It starts off with an inquisitive yell, “Are you kidding me? Because you’ve got to be joking on a night like tonight especially.” This song is the type that couldn’t be more perfect for driving around with the windows down and yelling along at the top of your lungs, not giving a fuck who hears or sees you. But that’s what all these songs are - they’re relatable anthems that’ll change your mood and mindset in the best way possible.
If “Medal Of Honor” isn’t the best track then it’s simply got to be “The One With Marc.” To be completely honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever related as closely to a song as I have with this one. “I’m still lacking confidence in what I’m saying, and I’m not feeling better about anything.” These lyrics resonate with me like no others, and I’m sure they resonate with many other people just like me. The best songs are always the ones that you can relate to, and this album is chock full of those.
The album ends with the song “There’s Nothing I Love More Than Baseball,” and this song wraps up the album quite nicely. It’s one of the calmer, more subdued songs on the album and is a fitting end, sticking with the overall theme and keeping that hopeful yet introspective vibe going. “When will we see that superstitions won’t do anything? When will I see that superstitions won’t do anything?”
This is not an album that you simply listen to. This is an album that you feel and connect with. I’m not going to slap some arbitrary number out of 10 onto this album and say it’s a score. It’s better than that. It’s better than a number or letter grade and it’s different for every single person. The enjoyment you receive from this album will depend on your experiences and feelings, and I feel as if a score will only degrade that.
Grow Up, Dude. I think I did.
Mineral // Slower
It’s been so long since I’ve been by myself
And I need this more than you will ever know
People like you and me never felt the breeze
People like you and me will never know the easy way
I scream into the wind and laugh
As the words slap me in the face
I would gladly trade a lifetime of convenience
For an honest day or two
It’s just not the same when you’re staring
Into a perfect golden sunset
And thinking about how you sold your soul
To send the rain away
It’s been so long since I’ve stood on my two feet
I’d really rather lay here and pretend
But people like you and me never get that peace
It comes from denying that everything is so screwed up
It’s so screwed up
I stand on a building and throw up my arms to the sky
I swallow my pride and admit
That it’s not always best to understand the reason why
It’s just not the same when you wake up in the morning
With a smile on your face
When you know you lied yourself to sleep to make it better
To make it better
the bolded parts are just so perfect. unbelievable.
Hightide Hotel // Your Bed
Our fourth week in bed you said to me
With undertones of dread that he
Was riding the rails and would be
Visiting the city that week
You recommended that I leave
And I reluctantly agreed
Then when he blew his funds on weed
You dialed and whispered to me
“Come home, boy, I’m lonely and you are my only joy
Come home, boy, I’m all alone, boy.”
Most days I don’t answer my phone
Most days I crave to be alone
You Blew It! // Just To Make A Sound
Playing records through the night and staring at the moon light.
I’ve never felt so calm, and that’s all I’ll ever need.
“But I know I’ve got to live my life
And roll around on the ground and feel the strife
And realize along the way that I’m nothing more
Than a grain of salt in the salt of the earth
And everything is grace”
“80-37” by Mineral
Of innocence and purity
And the noonday sun at ninety degrees
The things I carry with me
The ice cream man at four or five
How we’d flag him down and ask for rides
And evenings when we’d sit outside
And name the cloud shapes in the sky
Those days are gone now and we must carry on
But I will not forget the things I learned on your front lawn
And how we rode those dusty trails
On Huffys and Schwinns from Christmas sales
Made forts out of crates with rusty nails
And only came home when our stomachs failed
Those days are gone now and we must move forward still
But I will not forget the things I understood at your window sill
I walked your street again last night
And laughed to dull the sting of spite
But your door was dark and it made me cry
Cause mother always kept you shining bright
But things they change and people grow
And move in step with the green paper flow
But deep inside I wonder, or maybe I already know
That they never really find the answers
Owen - “May First Brings Lots Of Laughs”
I love this man and his beautiful voice.
I Hate Myself - “Caught In A Flood With The Captain Of The Cheerleading Squad”
Depressing song.
How’s your bell-curve? Mine’s right-skewed average low. Very low. And the river - she has grown very high. Fell from the sky. And I’m wasted on cancer and bible school - not like you. Yeah, you’re wasted, full and drunk from too much rain and pain and anger at tumors like me. If it would make you comfortable, I’d jump out of this tree, or maybe we could get married and be happy. These few words could be the last we ever speak. Do you think, maybe, you could love me or like me maybe? Maybe you’d look at me, you’d talk to me, we could marry, live in this tree. But it’s unlikely. You don’t like me, and I don’t like me, and it’s unlikely.
