Apropos of nothing, some day I would like to start a blog entitled “Damn This Inebriated Brain!” I’m saving that for when I’m famous, though.
And lo, in the darkness, there would come a light. And said light would be kind of sappy and a little poppy and occasionally even cheesy. But I would love the hell out of it, even until this very moment. Yes, 2003 was the year that I rediscovered Nada Surf.
Laugh all you want, but I love me some Nada Surf. They’re overly sincere, but their lyrics are generally abstract enough so that they don’t sound trite. Hell, an argument can be made that half of their songs don’t make any kind of sense. And, sure, I generally dislike singers who feel the need to rhyme everything, but when the end result is as bizarre as some of Nada Surf’s songs are, I’m more than willing to look past that.
While discovering Nada Surf’s classic album “Let Go” might have been the most enduring musical moment from 2003, I’d be remiss if I also didn’t mention Pretty Girls Make Graves. Their first full length is unbelievable, and just the perfect blend of pretty much everything I love about music. I was blown away by it. Their second record was good, but couldn’t really match up. After that, they lost a guitar player and added a keyboard player and the band I once knew and loved had morphed into a completely different thing. Still, the day I first heard Pretty Girls Make Graves will always be an important one to me.
And off we go.
“The Getaway” by Pretty Girls Make Graves
“It’s Over” by the Fire Theft
“Happy Kid” by Nada Surf
“Sound of Settling” by Death Cab For Cutie
“This Is Our Emergency” by Pretty Girls Make Graves
“Hands Down” by Dashboard Confessional
“CT Catholic” by Rainer Maria
“Killian’s Red” by Nada Surf
“Fade Out/In” by Palo Alto
“B” by Pinback
“2+2=5” by Radiohead
“Ears Ring” by Rainer Maria
“Teen Titans Theme” by Puffy AmiYumi
“Get Your Hands Off My Woman” by the Darkness
“Art of Losing” by American Hi-Fi
“High Wire Escape Artist” by Boy Sets Fire
“Silhouette” by Thrice
“Signals Over the Air” by Thursday
“Absent Stars” by Year of the Rabbit
“All That’s Left” by Thrice
“Asleep in the Chapel” by Thursday
Yes, that’s the theme song from the Teen Titans cartoon; it’s awesome.
I went through a bit of a screamo period, too, with new albums from Boy Sets Fire, Thrice, and Thursday. I also think “Long Knives Drawn” could be Rainer Maria’s best album.
This was a good year for music, although not a particularly good year for me. Next year, however, would be both.
KyleGarret.com 