Oh hell yes.

There are mail days and then there are good mail days. This one is up there in the upper echelon. I’ve been wanting to add these to the collection for a very long time.

😍

I had to do it, really. I had no other option. None at all.

It feels a little surreal to actually finally own this on vinyl. One of those little gems of an album I never thought would get pressed. But it did, and I’m happy. The last slide is the actual promo hype sticker from the CD version of the album all the way back in 2005.

Pretty perfect purple mail day. Already owned that +44 record (pink variant) but … I just couldn’t say no to this combo. Gorgeous.

I am beyond excited to add this one to the collection. I can’t wait to open it up and give it a spin later tonight.

Yeah, that’s a pretty nice mail day. ‘Dyed’ is definitely one of my favorites of the year so far (and I had to grab that covers album).

Finally. This is a holy grail addition to the collection for me, an album I’ve wanted and been chasing for years.

Having this in my hands has made my entire week. One of my favorite albums of the last decade, easily one of my most played, and a modern classic.

July 22, 2003 was one of my favorite album release days of all time. Over the years I’ve collected many versions of these two albums, and they remain two of my favorite albums, ever. What I wrote in 2018:

On July 22nd, 2003 both Yellowcard’s ‘Ocean Avenue’ and Thrice’s ‘The Artist in the Ambulance’ were released. I was home between my sophomore and junior year of college and both albums imprinted on me like few ever have. Driving around my hometown, seeing old friends, reigniting old flames, these two albums became a part of my summer. AbsolutePunk.net was just becoming something I thought I wanted to do with my life and much of what that website would become was created with these two albums as the soundtrack. I was still very much trying to figure out who I was as a person, and these albums felt like a foothold of hope on the future. Watching Yellowcard’s meteoric rise, a bunch of kids that felt almost like peers, gave me a boost of confidence during a time I needed to think things could get better. The world was changing, my world was changing.

15 years later that summer remains one of the best of my life. The friendships made, the hearts broken, the speakers blown out, it all feels like a moment frozen in time. An idealized summer that probably wasn’t nearly what I’ve made up in my mind all these years later. But I hold it dear nonetheless. And when I put on ‘Ocean Avenue’, and hear “Back Home,” I’m transported back 15 years ago when that song meant everything to me. A rallying call for what my life was and a romanticized version for what I wanted it to be. And that feeling of home intersplices with the intensity of Thrice’s ‘The Artist in the Ambulance,’ an album I used as an outlet for my anger at the world, at the war, at myself and all the chaos that felt just beyond the borders of my hometown. Two sides of me dueling it out through two albums released on the same day, during the same summer.

So, here’s to you July 22nd, 2003. I’ll always remember you fondly.

I shared an article on the website today that talks about why music tastes solidify in our youth and we return to the music of our teens through thirties for basically the rest of our lives. I (obviously) still seek out new music on a weekly basis and love nothing more than discovering a new favorite band, but there is something so comforting about returning to an old musical friend. One of my pet theories is those summer albums you spent your late teens blasting in the car right after getting your license find an even deeper way into your heart. Summer break, that first taste of (relative) freedom, and nothing to do but drive around trying to blow out your speakers. Boys Like Girls’ debut is one of those albums for me. It’s always screamed of summer and ushering in sunny days and warm evenings. Not surprisingly, Martin’s songwriting has continued to stick with me all these years later. (Do not sleep on those Night Game albums.)

Anyway, here’s to growing up and still spinning our youthful faves. And here’s to summer 2024.

#vinyl

The weather is starting to turn here in Portland. You can feel it in the city. People are starting to spend more time in the park across the street, the temperature is creeping upward, and this week has been ideal to break out this pop-punk gem from last year. Reminding me of the best parts of Sum-41 and early Blink-182, with a fresh youthful perspective, this is easily one of my favorite pop-punk releases in a long time. A worthy addition to not only one of my favorite genres, but my favorite summer albums playlist as well. (And once I saw this t-shirt I knew I had to order it. Could that be anymore me?)

Brian Fallon has long been one of my favorite lyricists, with dozens of classics under his belt, but there’s a line on the new Gaslight Anthem album that I keep running over and over in my head. Midway through “Autumn” he sings, “I wish I could do my life over, I’d be young better now,” and that lyric has haunted me ever since I first heard it. Such a damning description of growing older, looking back at life, and reflecting on the passing of time. At its core, ‘History Books’ feels like an album full of reflection, rejuvenation, and grace. It’s an album I was unsure we’d ever get, but one that sits proudly alongside the band’s storied catalog.

Sitting here by the fire on another Sunday evening, music softly playing, and thinking about a future where I’ll look back on today as when I was younger. I find it easier to start each week with that as my perspective.

Congratulations to @blink182 on another number one album! My two variants have arrived and I’m just as happy with them as I am the album itself. Beyond my wildest dreams of what I could have hoped for when we heard Tom was coming back.

My full review is up on the website and the feedback has been a little overwhelming. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and for sharing with me how much this band has meant to you over the years. I had a good feeling I wasn’t the only one that felt the way I did, that grew up with blink-182 and experienced much of life soundtracked by their music.

With October coming to an end, I realize how little I’ve posted here over the past year. Not for lack of record buying. 😬 I guess I should try and step that up over the next few months and share some of the new additions.

#blink-182 #blink182 #vinyl