this is a ranting comment i just posted in ashley’s journal. she posted something about albums that remind you of happy times when you listen to them all the way through. i thought of one, which led me to a rant about baboon albums. here goes:
“this is a bit of a rant, so please forgive me. i’m actually going to post this comment as an entry in my journal, just because it came out a lot longer than i’d planned.
Secret Robot Control by Baboon…i bought that album immediately after being dumped (back in 1997), and it helped me a lot. i had purchased their Numb E.P. right before said dumping, and it really helped, too. i was just getting into it, because it was cool, and the band rocks live…then the dumping occurred, and i started to actually pay attention to the lyrics, particularly to “Why’d You Say Die?” can’t hear that song without thinking about that time. but yes, Secret Robot Control is amazing…i guess the memories it brings back aren’t that great…but it did help me get through the bad ones, so i think of it quite fondly. and actually, some of the songs (“Nation of Twos”) is way more applicable to me now then it was when i first heard it. at that time, i thought it was too damn happy (though it’s really just hopeful), but not it’s probably my favorite song on the album (though you still can’t go wrong with “Bring Me the Head of Jack Skinner”).
Actually, every Baboon album brings back some memories for me. i bought their first record after i already had Secret Robot Control (their only “major” label disc - on the same label as Creed, their album came out about the same time as Creed hit, so they lost their backing and eventually their contract, since their stuff wasn’t third-rate Pearl Jam-inspired drivel). anyway, Face Down in Turpentine, though it was older when i got it, helped me a bit, too. it reminds me of driving to and from work one summer (1998), since it was all i had in my car at that point. the song “Sucker” (from that album) also helped me through my next instance of being dumped.
their super-E.P., We Sing and Play reminds me of fond memories, though it was also a hard time. i got it when i lived in san angelo and was driving to lubbock every weekend to see liz. good times (the weekends), bad times (the weeks). great album/E.P.
their live album, A Bum Note and a Bead of Sweat, reminds me of happier times, simply because when i listened to it incessantly, things were good (and still are). it was cool because most of the songs were the same as the ones on their earlier records (since that’s how live albums usually work), but i was much happier this time around, hearing the same songs. i could think, “wow, this used to depress the hell out of me…not anymore, though.” it’s another one that reminds me of driving to and from work one summer (2001).
Something Good is Going to Happen to You, their latest album, also reminds me of happy times that are still going on. the album is definitely happier than their earlier work, so i can relate to it more. steev of 1997-1998 could relate to the older stuff, steev of 2002-2004 can relate to their new stuff. probably because the band members are happier themselves, what with marriages and children and whatnot. their emotional development seems to have gone in the same direction (and, interestingly, at approximately the same rate) as mine.
again, sorry for the length of this. how’s it going, ashley?”
yes. ranting comment-turned-post. other albums, when listened to the whole way through (e.g. Sublime’s 40 oz. to Freedom) remind me of happy times…certain songs also make me want to hear a whole album…i’m sure i’m not the only one.
why am i posting this? i don’t know. it’s my journal, so nyah.
post about this weekend forthcoming.
