I felt half in a funk for a good portion of this week. Something was gnawing at me, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Feeling stuck, a lack of forward progress, and unable to get out of my head. Around Wednesday, I tossed on The Dangerous Summer’s ‘Reach for the Sun’ and all of a sudden, I could feel the fog start to clear. It’s an album of catharsis, of reinvention, of moving beyond the past. Or maybe I’m just projecting. But it is exactly what I needed, when I needed it.

#vinyl #thedangeroussummer

This one turns 27 today (feeling old yet?) so I figured I’d take it out for a spin. My copy is pretty worn around the edges, but I do love having one of the “red eye” versions.

I discovered this album after ‘Dude Ranch’ when a friend told me his brother had “their first album” and I didn’t believe him. Oh, the days before the internet. I was sure and certain they didn’t have more than one album. He came to school the next day with a copy of ‘Cheshire’ and my mind was blown. And thus, my first copy was a tape made from that CD — which I promptly wore out. And then the following Christmas my mom found me a copy of the CD, blowing young-and-unable-to-drive Jason’s mind that she could find such a thing.

After all these years, “Wasting Time” remains my favorite from this album.

#vinyl #blink182

One of my very first (and only) jobs was working at Borders and selling books and CDs. Mostly that meant sitting behind the counter and reading Calvin and Hobbes comics between checking out customers. The store was maybe a ten minute drive, at most, from my parents’ house. But, I’d always take the long way home so I could get a little extra time, alone, just listening to music. This EP must have been played at least a thousand times on those drives. I sure as hell tried to blow out that little Jetta’s speakers.

While not as immediately accessible or “big” sounding as the band’s hits. It still showcases their unique spin on pop-punk and has the hints of where they were headed. I’ve been revisiting it quite a bit this week and it’s funny how quickly the specific memory of driving to Borders to lazily sell overpriced CDs came to mind when I hear these songs.

#vinyl #yellowcard

It’s simply not possible to talk about the albums that shaped my life without including this one. This and ‘Dude Ranch’ were why I started a little MxPx/Blink-182 fan page called “AbsolutePunk” all those years ago. And I still get a shot of adrenaline the moment I hit play with one of my all time favorite “Track 1’s.”

I literally wore out my CD copy, so I’m trying to be much more gentle with this one.

“Tomorrow is another day
Another chance to make things right
A chance to fully live your life…”

#vinyl #mxpx

I’ve been on a massive Green Day kick to start this week. They’re great for just about any occasion, and this album pulls me right back to 2004 and watching the band blow up, again, into the mainstream.

Still a classic.

“Remember
Whatever
It seems like forever ago…”

#vinyl #greenday

I’ve been listening to this tonight while working and it really does fit the late cold night mood just about perfectly. It expands on the ‘Futures’ vibe without feeling like a collection of b-sides. One of my favorite EPs by one of my favorite bands.

#vinyl #jimmyeatworld

I tossed this on at the gym tonight and came home to finish it on the better speakers. I still think it’s my favorite @sum41 album and holds up as a perfect example of their aggressive and yet dastardly catchy brand of pop-punk. (I’m also a huge fan of this green variant.)

#vinyl #sum41 #sum41vinyl

Sometimes an album grows on you. Sometimes you hear it and just don’t think it quite gets there. This was not one of those albums. I remember hearing the original demos and being impressed, I remember hearing the album and knowing this band was about to take over the world. Ridiculously catchy is an understatement, and to this day I can’t think of a band that won me over faster. It was within the first thirty seconds of the first song that I was like, “yep, this is going to be massive.”

“Well, we’re just a wet dream for the webzine. Make us it, make us hip, make us scene…”

#vinyl #panicatthedisco

This week had me reaching way back to an old blue classic. I think there’s an old photo of this record somewhere on my feed, but it needs that high-quality camera glam up. What can I say about this record that I haven’t already said probably a thousand times? I think it redefined the genre almost over night and set the stage for an era of music I look back on quite fondly (an era also apparently very lucrative to the current festival industry).

Sophomore year of college had some all-timers released during that stretch, and this one’s near the top. And, the band’s rocket ship success practically propelled my little website right along with it.

“Tonight the headphones will deliver you the words that I can’t say…”

#vinyl #falloutboy