Send Me On My Way

A staple of any high school experience is your first job. My first job was working at a local mom-and-pop sporting goods store downtown in my hometown. it was conveniently located next to a hippie store and just down the block from an old-fashioned record store. Hours were flexible, it was easy, and one of the perks was that I got to work with many of my friends. My friends and I often worked the shift from 4 to close. We were never really busy and mostly got our "checklist" done early. To say it was a local version of Empire Records may be a bit of an overstatement, but it definitely felt like that to me. One of my fondest memories of working there was the small CD player that we would break out when the owners were gone for the evening. The small sporting goods store suddenly turned into our own radio studio.

Mind you these were the days when all of my friends were driving and having a CD player in your car was essential. We all had those massive binders with the clear pages that you would insert your CDs. You guarded your CD collection with your life. Just think about it, you had hundreds of dollars invested in those small, circular discs. Today we worry about our phones or computers being stolen out of our cars, but back then it was your CDs. We all would bring in our CD binders from our cars and listen away. These were also the days before you could custom make mixtape CDs using a burner. Once you popped in that compact disc, you had to roll with it from to track 1 to track 14. In these days of streaming, how many people really know every track to a newly released album? My guess would be not many.

One of the perks of working at this mom-and-pop sporting goods store was that former employees would come back and work on their college breaks. We had several of them. The benefit - college trends and college music. If you wanted to be a cool high schooler - the easiest way was to figure out what was cool in college. I remember working on these breaks and just soaking up all of their information like a sponge. I suddenly had to have Birkenstock sandals and vintage t-shirts. I wasn't going to the normal stores in the mall anymore, but to Hot Topic for the latest concert shirt. I was engrossed in Rusted Root, Ben Harper, and a new artist by the name of Jack Johnson. I would go home and immediately download as many of those songs as I could on Napster. Like I've eluded to in previous posts, you're always trying to find where you fit in during adolescence. I felt like when I discovered that music it was exactly what I had been looking for.

I have many great memories of working at that sporting goods store. It was therapeutic in many ways. Our own little version of Empire Records. We really didn't get a lot of work done there, but it was a chance for us to talk and lose ourselves in the music of the time. Everything from Stone Temple Pilots to Matchbox 20 to Nelly and Bob Marley - it was all there. I still have all of my CDs from that time and consider them treasured possessions. I'm also very grateful for those that were older than me and exposed me to music I may never have come across. I have been listening to a lot to Rusted Root's When I Woke recently, and it just brings back so many great memories. It definitely defines what I feel is unique about my generation. I feel like we're just all chameleons that could blend into any environment. At least that was always my goal.

A Bridge

You often find things you were looking for when you weren't looking for them. Sounds cliche right? When laying the groundwork for this blog I felt that I had it thoroughly planned out in a "written down on a restaurant napkin” fashion. Posts were flowing from my brain until I hit a block. It happens. I wouldn't say it was writer's block, but I was coming up on a transition. I needed a "bridge" post. We all know what a bridge is in everyday life. A bridge in music is loosely defined as a section of music that helps a song reach its resolution. I'm nowhere near the end of this blog, but I needed a bridge.

Being a fan of music and growing up in the 90s, everything seemed to evolve so fast. Technology, trends, genres - really just about everything. And then I felt, all of that cultural momentum slowed down towards the end of high school. For me, that momentum slowed due to priorities and just becoming more self-aware. Essentially - growing pains. As the Drake song title states, I was "In My Feelings". I kept thinking to myself what was one album that defined the transition from happy-go-lucky kid to surviving high school and transitioning to college?

We all have that guilty pleasure when it comes to music. It may be an artist, a song, or an album. Think back to your playlists that you may have running through your head. You have a guilty pleasure. I don't think my guilty pleasure is really that embarrassing, but I feel it is definitely a very underappreciated album. Give it a listen and I think you'll agree. I was driving to work the other day and the 90's on 9 was dialed in. A quiet glance out the window as I drove through campus and then BOOM! it hit me. I had my bridge and it was Third Eye Blind's first album

I may be going out on a limb with this one, but the first Third Eye Blind album is absolutely incredible. Many of you will agree. This album was a bridge for me in high school. It was post-grunge alternative, but pre-soft alternative and emo. It was before I got into Dave Matthews Band/Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Rusted Root and the list goes on. To put it simply it was a bridge between Pearl Jam and Dashboard Confessional or Nirvana and Matchbox 20. Lyrically, the album is heavy, but I feel it describes a lot of the experiences of a teenager in transition. The poppy feel of the album really masks some serious content. The album is that splash your face with water and stare in the mirror or just laying on your bed and staring at the ceiling. It was your parents telling you to get a job/being urged to complete a college application/your circle of friends shrinking/a girl rejecting you/depression - just all that comes with adolescence. Semi-Charmed Life, Jumper, Graduate, How's It Going To Be, Losing A Whole Year - all of these songs represent the highs and lows of growing up to me. Besides Weezer's El Scorcho, the introduction to Third Eye Blind's Graduate is my second favorite introduction of all time. I think I repeated that line all the time in high school and college. 

Third Eye Blind's first album was an important bridge for me and one that I did not realize until I was halfway through my 30's. It hold's the same significance for me that Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News does. Music that just helps you get through some tough times. Music isn't always meant to evoke positive emotions, but can also be a powerful reminder that you've made it through some tough times. A bridge from one place to another. 

Sir Dave

Taking a break from writing about memories and albums to expand on a random thought I had during the middle of the night. By no means is it scholarly analysis, but certainly great conversation over a beer after work.

I've always been a Beatles fan. A very, surface level Beatles fan. I did not get into them heavily until college, but I knew many of their songs growing up. I mean, who didn't? I'm a huge fan of their psychedelic years. I admittedly get goosebumps when I turn on the Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band album and every external distraction around me immediately fades away. I feel a bit like Chuck Klosterman when I say the Beatles were ahead of their time. Duh!! Enough of stating obvious facts about the Beatles that the whole world knows. I'm writing now to talk about Sir Paul McCartney. For many, Paul McCartney is a god-like figure and rightfully so. He's had enormous success in whatever he's touched. Whether it be from the Beatles, Wings, and a successful solo career - Paul has been relevant in almost every decade since the 60s. When people see Paul they are immediately transformed to their youth listening to Beatles records. When The Beatles broke up in 1970, there was a huge void left in pop music. Paul filled that void for millions purely based on his love of music. As icons from that generation have come and gone - Paul has remained relevant with more than one musical venture. He receives genuine joy from creating art for others. He knows his significance, not based on popularity, but what his art has meant to people's lives. He could be a recluse quietly basking in his success, but he chooses to be present because he knows his work is important to people. When James Corden featured Paul McCartney on Carpool Karaoke it was one of the best moments I've ever seen. To see James get emotional talking about his dad and grandfather and their recollections of their favorite Beatles' songs is what this blog is all about. Music creates memories - ones that last a lifetime. You make connections based on the emotions tied to songs. Wherever he went, someone had a story relating to some moment in Paul's career. I watch that video over and over. It just brings me so much joy.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that my generation has a Paul McCartney. He may not be as accomplished as Sir Paul (plus he's not in his 70s), but he embodies all of the same qualities. That person for me is Dave Grohl. That's right, I'm comparing Dave Grohl to Paul McCartney. My reasoning mirrors many of the points in the paragraph above about Paul. Nirvana was one of the biggest bands of the 90s, if not a generation. When I think of alternative/grunge I immediately think of Pearl Jam and Nirvana. The band's run ended in 1994 after the death of Kurt Cobain - leaving a musical void for many. When I watched an interview with Dave on CBS Sunday Morning, Dave talks about how lost he was and then details the dark times that followed. He was heartbroken, to say the least. Dave knew that he had to continue to create music not only for himself but for those who felt the same as he did when Nirvana's run ended. Dave is being completely real and you feel it. You watch that segment and you see the genuineness in his answers and more importantly - the laughter coming out of the interviewer's mouth. Dave Grohl is a guy that I want to hang out with, not because he's a mega-famous rockstar, but he's a guy that understands his importance to others. He ends the interview on CBS Sunday morning with this quote, "I love music and I love life." From Nirvana to the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl has been that bridge for my generation. When I see him or hear his work, I'm immediately transported in my memories just like those who grew up in the Beatles-era are with Paul McCartney. He's a link to Kurt, flannel, and that Seattle sound.

If the Queen of England were still in charge of America - I'm almost certain that Dave Grohl would be knighted, thus the title of this post - Sir Dave. Thank you, Dave Grohl, for not only making fantastic music but for being a fantastic person. I hope that one day I can hang with Dave and the Foo Fighters.

P.S. James - please do the Carpool Karaoke feature you did with Paul with many more musicians. It was incredibly powerful.