2009
(Or, the year “Wheels” helped resuscitate the corpse of alternative music)
5. “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” – The Offspring
A rose that won’t
bloom / Winter’s kept you / Don’t waste your whole life trying / To get back
what was taken away
The lyrics in this one are pretty easy to connect. It’s an outreach to a girl who was raped at a young
age and the singer feels obvious remorse over his passive reaction to the situation. I liked the song pretty much right
away, but I didn’t know who the group was.
An internal conversation with myself went something like this. “Hey,
wait a minute. That voice sort of sounds
like Dexter Holland’s voice.” “Nah, it
can’t be. Just listen to the song.” “No, I really think it is.” “Since when did The Offspring have a softer
side? Come on, they’re penning the
lyrics that will incite the next great riot or accompany some WWE wrestler into
the ring.” “Yeah, you’re probably right. That mediocre ‘Hammerhead’ song they came out
with recently is what I’ve come to expect from them.” Weeks passed, and I heard the song a few
more times. I still couldn’t shake my
belief that maybe, just maybe, it was The Offspring. Sure, I could’ve just looked up who performed
the song. I have an idiosyncrasy (I
know, right?) where sometimes I like to let the discovery of an artist or song
come naturally in the flow of the day. There
is fun in the anticipation. It’s sort of
like the notion that the pursuit of something is better than what you’re
actually after. Needless to say, I did eventually
discover that “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” was by The Offspring. A mixture of shock and approval ensued. A meaningful contribution by The Offspring helped serve notice that alternative music wasn't dying. Those past
couple years were pretty rough. No, the genre wasn’t the vibrant being I had come to love, but it was taken off life
support. My total number of downloaded
tracks for this year pales in comparison to the glory years, but the top of the
list is certainly worthy of attention. In an era
where my musical tastes were more diversified, that was all I could ask for.
4. “Wheels” – Foo Fighters
Well I wanted
something better man / I wished for something new / And I wanted something
beautiful / I wished for something true / Been lookin' for a reason man / Something
to lose
Yesyesyesyesyes! This
one’s for you, Mandie. I couldn’t wait
to formally acknowledge the greatness of this song in blog form. (Mandie has spewed so much vitriol in its direction
and I’m not entirely sure why.) I can
honestly say that her disgust had nothing to do with its inclusion in my top 5,
but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a little smirk because of it. I’m very proud to capture some of that past
musical nirvana (pun only slightly intended) with the inclusion of a song from
one of my old favorites. I simply adore
those stutter stops throughout the song.
Sometimes I find my body rhythmically tensing up in conjunction with the
stops as I’m listening along. Kentucky
Fried Chicken. What does “Wheels” and
the Foo Fighters have to do with KFC?
Nothing, but this is 2009, and my family took a vacation to the Smoky
Mountains that year. We toured and ate
at the original KFC restaurant along the way.
If ever there was a time to re-enact the scene from Family Guy where Peter tries to meet The Colonel, this was it. I ordered my meal and made my request, hoping
they were familiar with the show and I didn’t sound like too much of an
idiot. (They hadn’t and I did.)
3. “Panic Switch” – Silversun Pickups
When you see yourself
in a crowded room / Do your fingers itch? Are you pistol-whipped? / Do you step
in line or release the glitch? / Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?
I’ve really grown to like this group. The lead singer’s voice and their distorted
melodies reminded me of one of my favorite groups, the Smashing Pumpkins. They’ve even got a female band member like
the Pumpkins. Silversun’s emergence also
indicated a potential resurgence of the alternative scene for me. They would never have the impact of someone
like The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, or even Fall Out Boy, but I was just
glad to have a new group I could get behind. Carnavas
was a solid album but Swoon took
it up a notch. “Panic Switch” is meant to
represent a nervous breakdown. You’d
like me to launch into some story about how this song symbolizes some moment in
my life or parallels some underlying feelings of insanity, wouldn’t you? Sorry to disappoint. I may be weird but I ain’t crazy.
2. “Second Chance” – Shinedown
Tell my mother, tell
my father / I've done the best I can / To make them realize
this is my life / I hope they understand / I'm not angry, I'm just
saying / Sometimes goodbye is a second chance
Fun fact: this is the final song legendary disc jockey Casey
Kasem played before signing off for the final time. I can remember eating lunch in my car while
attending USF, listening to Shinedown sing about “staring down the barrel of a
45,” and I fully expected them to become just another one of those groups from
the early 2000s that would fade away. “Second
Chance” is off The Sound of Madness
album, which had some major crossover success.
I know I enjoyed several songs off the album. The lyrics of this song are ones that I
always wanted to sing with some meaning.
Living at home all those years and being frustrated with the way things
were going, I had dreams of breaking it off and moving far away to start over. This is the song I was going to leave them
with. You know now that I’ve moved out
but I’m still very much in the area. I’m
close with my family and you can’t deny what feels right. I know many friends who weren’t as fortunate
as I have been. Some of them barely talk
to their siblings or parents. I know I’ve
been blessed and I was raised the right way.
Maybe I never needed a second chance after all. Here’s a picture taken during that
aforementioned family trip to the Smokies.
This was shortly after shaving off all of those glorious shoulder-length
locks I had. I remember we left our
house on this trip not knowing our destination.
My boss, in particular, was miffed at the notion of such uncertainty
when I told her our “plans.” What can I say?
That’s just how the Younkers operate sometimes. I shrugged and told her we didn’t have to
decide until we got to a certain fork in the road. If my dad turned left, it was going to be
Gettysburg. If it was right, we’d see
the Smoky Mountains.
1. “Audience Of One” – Rise Against
We're all ok until the
day we're not / The surface shines while the inside rots / We
raced the sunset and we almost won / We slammed the brakes, but the
wheels went on
Here’s another submission for my Mount Rushmore of
songs. Its place on that hollowed
monument is pretty secure because I’d arguably call it my favorite song of the
decade. I don’t agree with the decidedly
liberal agenda being pushed throughout the video but if a band’s political
views were a prerequisite to liking to their music, I suspect there would be very
few songs up for top 5 consideration.
There is no doubt that the lyrics are the best part of “Audience of One.” I could have pasted the full set of lyrics
above because they all apply. Some days,
I feel like I’m slowly rotting away. I
just know that something’s missing. You
wouldn’t see it if you weren’t looking for it.
I don’t want to wake up one day wishing I could’ve done it all
differently. I feel like I’ve positioned
myself nicely for a fulfilling life. I’ve
made good choices and tried to do it the right way. Does it get better? Tell me I’m on the right track. I’m sure there’s a greater plan in the works
and nobody likes a backseat driver; I’d just like to know where we’re going. This song represents the natural progression
of life. You drift apart from many
people that you knew. I’m sure I’ve broached
the subject before in prior blogs but it’s rather difficult to make new friends
after college and it only gets harder with each passing year. Have you met people recently through mutual
friends? Are you now hanging out
together? Doubt it. If so, you’re much better at life than I
am. You just have to hope that you’ve
still got an audience to play in front of when the dust settles. For most people, this is a spouse and kids. My two best friends growing up, Matt and Tom,
have since moved to away (to Texas and Bloomington, respectively). Matt has been happily married for years and
Tom probably will be sooner than later. I
guess I’ve never really replaced them. Your
wife and kids should be the most
important part of your life, and I’d be fully committed to mine like any good
husband and dad. It’s selfish for us out
there on our own to expect the attention we used to get. I’m reasonable, if nothing else. A blog with limited followers has prepared me
to accept my audience of one but I don’t ever want to be OK with it. Life can be a long trip by yourself. Maybe you’ll just let me ride along once in a
while.
*vomiting emoticon*
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