Q101: 2003

How did we get here?

2003 (Or, the year I really wanted to date a girl named Stacy with a hot mom and my radio could seemingly do no wrong…yes, even including OutKast)

5. “Swing, Swing” – The All-American Rejects

Wish cast into the sky / I'm moving on / Sweet beginnings do arise / She knows I was wrong / The notes are old / They bend, they fold / And so do I to a new love

As you’ll see even more in subsequent years, I’m kind of a sucker for songs with non-traditional rock elements in them.  I mean, who opens a song with a church organ?  All-American Rejects - that’s who.  These guys put out a lot of solid stuff back in the mid-2000s and this is the song that started it all.  The sports guy in me wanted to tie the “swing, swing, swing” lyric to baseball.  In my head, when I hear the song, there’s a crack-of-the-bat sound in the background during that part of the chorus.  I’m weird, I know. 

4. “Hands Down” – Dashboard Confessional

My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me/ So won't you kill me / So I die happy / My heart is yours to fill or burst / To break or bury, or wear as jewelry / Whichever you prefer

It’s debatable whether or not Dashboard Confessional should be allowed on this list.  Chris Carraba’s emo-driven lyrics of despair and hope are perhaps best suited for teenage girls, so my inclusion of this song may also be questionable.  And yet, Q101 played it, and I liked it, so here we are.  We’ve all got some guilty pleasures and I guess Dashboard is just one of mine.  (It’s like he’s singing everything my blog is trying to say.)  Anyway, the song is about Carraba’s best date ever, hands down.  He means it.

3. “Send The Pain Below” – Chevelle

I liked having hurt / So send the pain below / So send the pain below / Much like suffocating

Ok, good.  I redeemed myself, right?  The brothers Loeffler gave us several alternative staples from their debut album Wonder What’s Next.  It left us all pondering the same question.  Chevelle was never a group I got fully behind but I did enjoy their singles.  This song works on so many levels.  I can use it to suppress that sickening feeling which emerges after my body decides that it’s had enough running for one day (usually after 30 steps or so).  I can use it to fend off the lingering feelings of rejection when I’ve been ignored yet again at a social function.  Last weekend was not one such time, however.  At my buddy’s wedding, I met someone I’m never going to see again.  That’s a good thing though because it gave me the courage to practice faking some confidence.  After a night of conversation, wacky photo booth pictures, dances, and drinks, I’d call the experiment a success.  Thank you, Chevelle, for helping me send the pain below and do some things I would have never done otherwise.

2. “Buried Myself Alive” – The Used

I think I made it a game to play your game / And let myself cry / I buried myself alive on the inside / So I could shut you out / And let you go away for a long time

The Used’s self-titled debut album gave us a few hits and they’ve been reasonably solid players in the game since.  The lead singer’s tendency to wail in their songs works in this case because it makes you believe he really is buried alive and trying to get out.  We can all probably sympathize with shutting someone out to get them off of our minds.  I think I much rather prefer my fortress of solitude as opposed to an earthy, underground dwelling with limited oxygen, but hey, to each his own.

1. “Fine Again” – Seether

It seems like every day's the same / And I'm left to discover on my own / It seems like everything is gray / And there's no color to behold

Back in the days of the JJC car rides, this may have been the song I looked most forward to hearing on the radio.  Even now, I have no problem letting “Fine Again” bear the flag for that period of my life.  The song’s intro flashes me back and generally puts me into a satisfied state of mind when I hear it.  Like anybody in a rut, I could identify with the lyrics.  However, they’d have more meaning a few years down the road.  The song was included in the soundtrack for Madden 2003, which was pretty damn solid if I recall.  This won’t be the last we hear from Seether on my countdowns. 

Q101: 2002

How did we get here?

2002 (Or, the year that Q101 was a glorious companion on all those trips to and from JJC)

5. “Get Over It” – OK Go

Aren't you such a catch? / What a prize, got a body like a battle axe / Love that perfect frown, honest eyes / We ought to buy you a Cadillac

Ohhh, there’s so very much to say about this song, which probably helped it crack my top 5.  Long before these guys became famous for playing on treadmills, there was “Get Over It.”  There was some spirited discussion between myself and my best friend Tom over what exactly a battle axe body was.  I’m still not sure I know.  It means she has blades growing out of her skin, right?  This song will also forever be associated with the discovery of Matt’s (my other best friend) girlfriend and (now) wife.  Tom drafted a contract to verify the female’s existence and I reviewed it.  It was also somehow decided that I needed to get the female’s number so a thorough line of questioning could be administered.  This all ties back to OK Go because “Get Over It” was stuck in our heads and Tom continually hounded me to “get get get the number.”  Matt and Shannon have been happily married for years now.  I guess he gets the last laugh.  Me?  Well, some of us are better suited for writing little-read blogs.

4. “Crawling In The Dark” – Hoobastank

Help me carry on, assure me it's okay / To use my heart and not my eyes to navigate the darkness / Will the ending be ever coming suddenly? / Will I ever get to see the ending to my story?

I don’t have a ton to say about this one.  It’s a good song to get you pumped up.  It’s better than “The Reason.”  The song was featured in a Mountain Dew commercial, which is a product I enjoy on occasion.  Dave’s health tip of the day:  changing nothing else in your diet except cutting out pop, or severely limiting it, will go a long way towards losing weight.  It worked for me.  I guess I could focus on the lyrics.  Um, yeah, will I get to see the ending to my story or is this as good as it gets?  I’m a pretty patient guy but even I’ve got my limits…

3. “Here Is Gone” – The Goo Goo Dolls

I'm not the one who broke you / I'm not the one you should fear / We got to move you, darlin' / I thought I lost you somewhere / But you were never really ever there at all

For years, this was my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song among many favorites.  It has lost its place perched atop that list but it obviously still ranks pretty high.  The Gutterflower album was a strong offering from one of my top artists.  Musically, I’m a huge fan of those sinewy guitar riffs.  Lyrically, it’s a song I can readily identify with.  When I’m left wondering where I lost it in my pursuit of someone, “Here Is Gone” can provide some soothing justification.  It’s a lot easier to convince myself that I never had a real chance.   

2. “Blurry” – Puddle Of Mudd

Everyone is changing / There's no one left that's real / To make up your own ending / And let me know just how you feel  

Puddle of Mudd is a band that I had higher hopes for back in the early 2000s.  They gave us a few other popular songs but the bar was simply raised too high with the Come Clean album.  Nonetheless, “Blurry” is an enjoyable song with an attractive opening.  Fun fact:  this song is about lead singer Wes Scantlin’s longing for his son.  Interestingly enough, that’s also his kid in the video.

1. “Sweetness” – Jimmy Eat World

I was spinning free, woah / With a little sweet and simple numbing me / Stumble till you crawl, woah / Sinking into sweet uncertainty

Cool.  Mandie and I shared the same top song for 2002.  I dare anybody not to sing along with this catchy tune when it comes on.  Jimmy Eat World is another of my favorite groups and Bleed American is obviously a fantastic album all the way around.  I was a custodial engineer cleaning schools for the Peotone School District for several summers in high school and college.  With all due respect to Applied Systems, it’s still probably the best job I’ve ever had.  I could write a hundred stories about the antics we pulled and the memories I have from that job.  One of them is of Jason Thomas pushing a broom at 5:30 AM.  I was half awake but I remember “Sweetness” blaring out of our little stereo and Ja bouncing along to the beat.  Go ahead.  Sing it back, woooooaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Contract of the Holy Quest

When you got down to it, our high school gang was a bunch of jerks to each other.  But we did it in our own lovable way.  We particularly liked to give my best friend Matt a hard time, which was fine by me because it diverted the attention away from me.  Most of our group had stayed in the area to attend JJC AKA Peotone High School Grade 13.  Matt had gone away to EIU so we weren’t as up to date with his social life.  Therefore, we couldn't believe it when he proclaimed to have found a girlfriend at EIU.  If anyone was less likely to have a girlfriend than me, it was Matt.  At least that’s what I told myself for moral support.  

Our disbelief and jackass nature led to the creation of this document back in 2002.  I'm unearthing it from the archives for your viewing pleasure.  Its purpose was to verify the female’s existence and gain some intelligence on her (you know we love you, Shannon).  The initial draft was created by my other best friend Tom.  I then reviewed the document and offered my own suggestions.  We got the entire group (names at the bottom) to sign the document and I still have a signed copy of it to this day.  Tom and I were taking a Business Law class together at the time.  We decided to have our professor review our “contract.”  After reading it and confirming for the third time that this is actually something we wasted our time on, his reaction was something along the lines of, “You guys really are assholes.” Yes, Professor O’Neil, yes we are.  I’d say things turned out alright for Matt though; he and Shannon have been happily married for years.

 
            Being of Unsound Confusion and Intension, The Group, Founded in the year nineteen hundred and ninety-one during the period of Third Grade, Does hereby present this Declaration of the Mission to identify and possibly remove the suspected Girlfriend as related to Member of The Group Matthew Richard Meinheit if and when a noted Member of The Group chosen as an Agent verifies her existence.

            Upon the date of 10 September in this year 2002, the message containing the words “meet my girlfriend, yeah, that’s right” written by Member of The Group Matthew Richard Meinheit himself was received by Member of The Group Joshua Bult, a known and respected member since The Group’s establishment in Peotone’s own Elementary School. At the time of the message’s influx it was immediately conveyed to Member of The Group David William Younker, Team Leader in Charge of Meinheit Surveillance for nearly two decades. Upon receiving the message Member of The Group David William Younker immediately put the questionable document into circulation to the remaining affiliates of The Group and the following plan was formulated and condoned with full knowledge and support of all parties.

The Agent chosen to infiltrate the compound labeled Eastern Illinois University will be required to undertake the following and gather the desired information:

1.    Verify the existence, or lack there of, of the female in question,

2.    Extrapolate a reasonable hypothesis as to why she has chosen Member of The Group Matthew Richard Meinheit

3.    Observe and Record the behavior of the couple in question to verify if it is in fact indisputable

4.    Provide evidence to support any findings in the form of:

a.      Photographs of the couple engaged in actions to substantiate Member of The Group Matthew Richard Meinheit’s claim,

b.       In addition to photographs, acquire live video to ensure the possibility of her being a mannequin is not possible,

c.       Attain DNA and finger print samples to allow for background checks in an effort to be made to search for any history of mental illness,

d.      If necessary, which will be discussed and deemed so by examination of presented evidence by The Agent, bring the female in for questioning,

5.    If The Group deems it necessary by examination of presented evidence brought forth by The Agent, it may be obligatory and mandatory for The Agent to eradicate any threat presented by the Union of Member of The Group Matthew Richard Meinheit and the other Female,

As a viable contract of a Crusade ordained by The Group itself, this parchment does hereby give The Agent full power to carry out previously stated tasks with possibility of Amendment and altered interpretation due to unforeseen circumstances such as:

1.    Said female is larger than The Agent

2.    Said female is meaner than The Agent

3.    Said female is smarter than The Agent

With the signing of all present Members of The Group this parchment becomes law and shall be feared as Gospel. No one without expressed written consent through a unanimous decision of The Group may disobey the evidence found by The Agent. With signatures below, The Group as a Brotherhood agrees that this contract is pertinent, righteously envisioned, and urgently needed for The Group’s own survival,

So Say You One,

So Say You All

With Signatures presented, may fortune guide The Group

May Luck smile on The Agent,

And to whomever the woman in question may be,

Good Luck to her as well,

For she prepares to boldly go where no woman has gone before.

Original Members

From the Founding Elementary School

Of the Peotone 207-U District

3^rd Grade

Joshua Bult                                                                David William Younker

 

Jonathan James Solita                                                Thomas Andrew Coursey

 

Ryan Thomas Herbert                                                  Ryan Joseph Van Ham

 

Added Affiliates of Later Years,

 

No Less Part of The Whole

Richard Matthew Boskey                                                Timothy John Reyling

 

Charles Thomas Korenic                                                 Clayton James Thompson

 

Robert Neil Geiger                                                         Keith Michael Krysowaty

 

                                                                              As an Unspoken Choice

of Action and Agreement,

Agent of the Group

Thomas Andrew Coursey

Q101: 2001

How did we get here?


2001 (Or, the year Hybrid Theory reaffirmed that alternative music was still in good hands)

5. “Movies” – Alien Ant Farm

I want you to be free / Don't worry about me / And just like the movies / We play out our last scene

“Smooth Criminal” would have been the obvious Alien Ant Farm choice but I’ve preferred this song over the years.  Somewhere along the line, I downloaded a slightly different version that I prefer to the linked version, but I promised videos when applicable.  To be honest, “Courage” is actually the song off of ANThology that evokes the best memories.  It was included on the soundtrack for the PS2 game ATV Offroad Fury 2.  The game had this add-on hockey mini-game that was incredibly addicting.  You tried to push an oversized hockey puck into a goal while riding your 4-wheeler.  Back in the day, we’d have tournaments and play that game until the wee hours of the morning (Hey, is it getting light out?).  Here’s what I’m talking about (no need to watch the whole thing).

4. “Flavor Of The Weak” – American Hi-Fi

Her boyfriend, he don’t know / Anything about her needs / He’s too stoned, Nintendo / I wish that I could make her see / She’s just the flavor of the week

This is another one of my adopted jams that I’d lean on when wondering why women I knew (and may have liked) continued to be oblivious to the fact that their boyfriends were giant douche-y jerks.  Fun fact:  the video parodies the heavy metal documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot.  “New music?  Man, all these bands are just ripping off Judas Priest.” – Otto

3. “One Step Closer” – Linkin Park

Everything you say to me / Takes me one step closer to the edge / And I’m about to break / I need a little room to breathe / Cause I’m one step closer to the edge / And I’m about to break

Whoa, who are these guys?  Linkin Park’s mix of alternative, metal, and rap was a welcome arrival as the alternative landscape was beginning to shift.  Hybrid Theory became my 1^st album of the 2000s decade to be played over and over; it remains one of my all-time favorites.  “One Step Closer” is just what the doctor ordered when I’m feeling angry or frustrated and want to blow off some steam.   Yell your lungs out, Chester Bennington.  On another note, if any of you can find this version of Linkin Park, I think we all want them back.

2. “Hanging By A Moment” – Lifehouse

I’m falling even more in love with you / Letting go of all I’ve held onto / I’m standing here until you make me move / I’m hanging by a moment here with you

In most years, this song would have topped the list, but 2001 had a lot of fierce competition.  Lifehouse has a way of peering into your soul and producing music that you can completely relate to.  It’s even more impressive when they compose those songs in 5 minutes as lead singer Jason Wade did with this song.  I’m instantly taken back to senior year in high school when I hear this song.  Even now, at this very point in time, these lyrics still ring true.  As someone who often waits for the other half to make a move, I’m constantly hanging by that proverbial moment.

1. “Be Like That” – 3 Doors Down

‘Cause in his life he is filled / With all these good intentions / He’s left of a lot things / He’d rather not mention right now / … If I could be like that / I would give anything / Just to live one day / In those shoes

This is another nomination for my Mount Rushmore of songs.  The song skyrocketed up my personal charts when the song was included in one of my favorite movies:  American Pie 2.  In terms of movie soundtracks, you’d be hard pressed to convince me of a better one.   Check out the list top to bottom.  Even the music video (sadly, not the linked one) contains movie footage.  Who among us has not sat down and wished we could be like somebody else for just one day?  I’m not looking to be a Hollywood star; my wishes seem a lot more realistic.  Maybe one day…