Musical Thoughts

Over the last few days, my mind has been playing musical chairs. This isnt what you think. The music in my head never ends, but each chair plays something different. For some reason, maybe the amount of studying/downtime I have enjoyed, my musical preferences have been going crazy. As most of you know, I dont have a condition I call musical ADD. This is an affliction many people has that shows itself by not being able to listen to one song or artist before skipping to the next one. I take pride in the variety of my musical catalogue, but when I am listening to something, let me listen to it!

Because of this musical chairs, I have found myself in the middle of a very hard situation...finding new music to listen to. Even though I have a lot of music, I think I am rather picky when it comes to music that I really like. Maybe I am just picky within a genre. Just because something may "sound like" The Format, doesnt mean I will automatically like it. Yesterday, after studying to near exhaustion, I set off on a grand quest for new music. I browsed the pages of the most recent Alternative Press, to which I will be subscribing very soon, and made a list of potential suitors. Next, I jumped from myspace page to myspace page listening to random samplings of these different groups. Some found themselves immediately removed from the list, others stayed on, while others even got stars next to them. I still wasnt satisfied with what I had found. I spent the next hour or so browsing the sites of my favorite record labels and previewing more music on itunes. In the middle of this stage, I decided that for this music purchase I would support my local music store, Groovacious, instead of just clicking "buy now." Finally, I decided on a few groups who I though would make good purchases. Interestingly enough, of the three cds I chose, one was a compilation CD benefitting the Dear Jack Foundation, the other two were very new releases and were the first albums from both artists.

I arrived at Groovacious determined to find these cds on my own. I really like the owner of the store, but it seems that everytime I am in there something comes up that strikes a chord with him and he rants on and on. After much searching, I could not find any of the CDs I was looking for. To me, this is actually a good sign. For the most part, cds that are out are all established groups that will catch the browsing eyes of someone who is looking for nothing in particular. Finally, I decided I really needed Tim's help on this quest. After requesting Farewell and The Color Fred, he pulled Farewell out from right behind the counter. He then told me that he hadnt ordered any copies of The Color Fred because he didnt think anyone would be interested, but he had received a promotional copy that he would sell to me for 8 bucks. I was fine with that as all 8 dollars would go straight to him and it was cheaper than itunes. Finally it was time to find that compilation cd. I could not remember the name of it for the life of me and of course didnt write it down. Tim checked a few places on the net but had no luck either. I knew I could find it, so I left, promising to call in a bit with the name.

Upon arriving home, I found the name of the CD, Punk the Clock Vol. 3, and called Tim. He told me he would have it by thursday. I sat down to listen to my new finds. It would be an understatement to say I was very excited. It has been a while since I found really good new music on my own. The first was The Color Fred's Bend to Break. Fred Mascherino was the former guitarist/backup vocalist for Taking Back Sunday, which is why I had faith in buying the cd. It did not disappoint! In fact, when I go back to Groovacious on thursday, I will let Tim know that he should push this album on anyone who comes in for Taking Back Sunday album. To me, it feels like a more personal take on Taking Back Sunday. Any TBS fan would love it, and any fan of Andrew McMahon would be pretty into it also. Following The Color Fred was Farewell's Isnt This Supposed to be Fun? From the first note I knew I had found greatness. It is a pop-punk mix that is heavier on the punk than the pop. It is a sound I have been looking for for a long time. The lead singer sounds like the guy from Blink 182, but that isnt necessarily a bad thing. This album is a must for anyone who enjoys Sherwood or early Blink.

This morning was the real test for the music. It is one thing to enjoy the first time through, but can it stand up to my overly critical brain? Obviously by what I have written both CDs passed with flying colors. In fact, I would not be surprised to see songs from both of these albums on my Top 100 Most Played list in the near future. On a side note, Farewell has a song called Hey Heather. Since I have a good friend named Heather, I decided to give her a call and sing her the song. I couldnt sing it because I dont know it yet, so I just read her the lyrics. It was an ironic thing, because I could have written very similar lyrics about how I felt about her just a few months ago!

To cap off my musical journey, I finally got my hands on a copy of the newest AP, with my musical idol Andrew McMahon on the cover. I think his music has influenced me more than anyone else, with Ben Folds and Chris Carrabba coming in a close second and third. I have had a hard time hearing about his recent activity other than rumors of an early 2008 release. It was great to find out what he is doing and hear some early reviews of the new CD, tentatively titled, The Glass Passenger. Since Everything In Transit, he has switched record labels, broken up with then married his longtime girlfriend and overcome very serious leukemia. I cant even begin to imagine how these events will be expressed through music. I am excited, to say the least. Also, we were given a little SoCo update. He said Something Corporate is in "Suspended animation" and even though he says that right now he's "not creatively charged to go do a Something Corporate record; I'm nostalgically charged towards [that]." Jessica, that gives you some hope!