Q101: 1999

How did we get here?

1999 (Or, the year Napster turned me into an insatiable song-acquiring beast)

5. “Learn To Fly” – Foo Fighters

Run and tell all of the angels / This could take all night / Think I need a devil to help me get things right

Foo Fighters were the only group to crack my top 5 in three consecutive years after looking back at this project.  Spoiler alert:  this may not be the last we hear from them.  This is a fun music video.  How many different characters can Dave Grohl play?  We even get cameos from the fellas from Tenacious D.

4. “What’s My Age Again?” – Blink-182

And that's about the time she walked away from me / Nobody likes you when you're 23 / And you still act like you're in freshman year / What the hell is wrong with me?

This is the song that introduced me to Blink-182. From that first listen in my old Bonneville, I knew I had found a group that would tag along for the ride in my life.  I’ve heard all the knocks against Blink and their limited musical talents.  Whatever.  I don’t care.  Enema of the State is still one of my favorite albums.  It doesn’t have to be sophisticated music.  I like to think I’m making grown-up decisions now but I’ve still got a lot of immaturities.  I don’t want to completely abandon all forms of my youth.  When the time calls for it, I can pop in some Blink and forget how old I am.  

3. “My Own Worst Enemy” – Lit

It's no surprise to me / I am my own worst enemy / 'Cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me

I feel like if I could get out of my own way, or my own head, things would be so much better for me… Alright, enough serious talk.  This is another song that doesn’t require too much work for the old brain cells.  I’d nominate this song as one of my go-to’s when I’m looking to play something on the jukebox and turn back the clock.  Who doesn’t enjoy a little Lit?  I haven’t met that person.  My high school memory of this song revolves around giving a couple “popular” kids a ride home after practice one day.  The ride was pre-arranged so I tried to stack the deck of coolness in my favor.  “My Own Worst Enemy” was a really popular song and it wasn’t the Backstreet Boys.  I had the song on a mix cassette tape and I queued up the song so that it would just be starting when we got in the car.  The idea, of course, was that I would be seen as someone with good taste in music.  Word would spread and doors would open.  In theory, it seemed like a brilliant idea.

2. “Everything You Want” – Vertical Horizon

He says all the right things / At exactly the right time / But he means nothing to you / And you don't know why

I should have copied & pasted the entire song in here.  Truer words have never been echoed for the way I feel almost all the time.  I’ll talk to a single girl I have a crush on and she’ll seemingly enjoy the conversation as much I do.  I’ll wait for someone to push us together or push us apart.  The girl never does ask me to hang out.  WHY?  I’m everything she wants and everything she needs.  Maybe she just doesn’t realize it.  Or maybe she does but the feelings just aren’t there and she can’t explain why.  And that’s where this song fits in.  It’s the justification I use when I’m convinced I couldn’t have said things any better during our conversation.  On another note, Vertical Horizon may be the nicest group of famous musicians out there.  My friend Tom (who’s in the radio business) met a guy whose band was the opening act for Vertical Horizon on some tour.  Apparently, VH went out of their way to befriend the random guy’s band.  They even helped the random guy’s band set up on stage beforehand when I’m sure there were plenty of lackeys to do that sort of thing.  Therefore, I have been charged with holding Vertical Horizon as the gold standard for musicians when it comes to being friendly and accommodating.  You may have met some musicians that were really nice, but you’ve got to ask yourself, “Were they Vertical Horizon nice?”

1. “Slide” – The Goo Goo Dolls

And I'll do anything you ever dreamed to be complete / Little pieces of the nothing that fall

I’m not really a big concertgoer, perhaps because I don’t have the necessary appreciation for live music.  My brother is probably even less likely to attend a concert than I am, but even he got to see the Goo Goo Dolls and even has one of their guitar picks.  I’m a little jealous.  “Slide” tops them all in what I consider to be a pretty strong top 5, all years considered.  The Goo Goo Dolls do happen to be one of my favorite groups and Dizzy Up The Girl happens to be my favorite album by them.  For whatever reason, I never drew the connection that this song was about a young couple deciding between abortion and marriage.  I guess I just got swept up by the song and never questioned why.