music

I was born in November 1983. I'm starting to realize that when you are born has a much larger impact on your life.

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I'm trying to remember the music that I was listening to, when I first started listening to music. Not songs from previous generations like Michael Jackson or the Beatles, but rather the songs that were on the radio when I first cared about music.

I guess I peaked late. Sure I listened to music as a kid, but didn't really think about it. I can remember my first albums: Ace of Base, All-4-One, Boyz II Men. I remember songs on the radio and music videos on MTV: Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, Linger by Cranberries.

To me, this feels like an eternity ago. The absolute nadir of my musical knowledge. And yet through the magic of Wikipedia, I've nailed down this was 1994. That summer I was about to turn 11. I didn't know anything about anything. And yet that was only 14 years ago.

That's shocking. I mean, Bush has been president for 8 of those years. It's simply incredible that it's only 14 years ago. In fact, the last time the Chiefs won a playoff game was January 1994.

In 1995, I first heard 311. In 1996, Sublime. This became my foundation of my musical taste. Nirvana's Nevermind came out in 1991. If I had been born in 1978, I might be a completely different person.

By 1997, the boy band movement was in full swing and I was luckily able to avoid it's wrath. I bought my first 311 album, and they are still my favorite band to this day.

In the summer of 1998, I was old enough to think rationally, but young enough that I didn't have to get a summer job. I was 14. I remember wanting to wake up early on weekdays to watch Olbermann and Patrick do SportsCenter. I remember watching the World Cup in the morning and I was into the Beastie Boys new album, "Hello Nasty."

In 1999, I was listening to Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, one day, and Fatboy Slim, Moby the next. At this point, I was only finding out about bands through MTV or the radio. So I heard about Incubus and the Foo Fighters. But then something changed.

In 2000, I still wasn't using the internet to find new bands, but through friends and high school acquaintances, I discovered music that wasn't getting any airplay. This was new. This was exciting.

While getting a ride in someone's car for a school project, I heard New Found Glory's debut album. Rishika and Chris played a new cd by a guy that called himself Dashboard Confessional. Someone else, maybe Ray, played me Alkaline Trio. This was my senior year in high school and it changed what I new about music.

Jack Johnson, Jimmy Eat World, Flickerstick, and the Get Up Kids are just some of the new sounds I got hooked on. I remember falling asleep to the sounds of Dashboard Confessional and Get Up Kids playing on repeat.

I remember the summer of 2001, before I was headed off to college, Ray told me that there was a new album that I had to listen to. My initial reaction was that I had enough CDs right now. (This was the same reaction I had when Burnsy said he wanted to start watching Arrested Development. Of course it became my favorite show of all time.)

Ray was talking about the album "Stay What You Are" by Saves The Day. I took that album to Jamaica later that summer and even though it is now 7 years later, it feels like yesterday.

In college, I found yet more music through word of mouth (The Impossibles, Ozma, The Stereo) and finally caught on to using the internet to discover bands (Brand New, Cartel). I even found Motion City Soundtrack via the local Champaign scene before they became more mainstream.

And since then, I've caught on to The Hold Steady and Against Me. But that fact is that the music I listen to is a direct result of developing my musical preferences in my high school years.