Welcome
to part four. These five albums were the end of university which concluded with
a broken engagement the year after. An emotional rollercoaster to say the
least.
TITLE: Yourself or Someone Like You
ARTIST: Matchbox 20
YEAR: 1996
YEAR: 1996
GENRE: Alternative Rock
ALBUM TRACKS: Real World;
Long Day; 3AM; Push; Girl Like That; Back 2 Good; Damn; Argue; Kody; Busted;
Shame; Hang
FAVOURITE TRACK: Push
WHY THIS TRACK: The
lyrics of this song became more meaningful to me when I was struggling with my
relationship with my fiancée. Things were falling apart and I was feeling
insignificant. Just to be clear, the pushing was never physical, just emotional
manipulation from both sides.
ALBUM INFLUENCE: I
listened to this album a lot when I was working the desk during graveyard shift
at the warehouse. I really just sat around from 11pm to 7am doing logic puzzles
and entering some container data from time to time. I pretty much memorized the
lyrics as there was nothing much else to do. Nothing seems to go right in the
lyrics and as I contemplated my life in those early hours, it really spoke to
me.
TITLE: Third Eye Blind
ARTIST: Third Eye Blind
YEAR: 1997
YEAR: 1997
GENRE: Alternative Rock
ALBUM TRACKS: Losing a
Whole Year; Narcolepsy; Semi-Charmed Life; Jumper; Graduate; How’s It Going to
Be; Thanks a Lot; Burning Man; Good for You; London; I Want You; The
Background; Motorcycle Drive By; God of Wine
FAVOURITE TRACK: Motorcycle
Drive By
WHY THIS TRACK: This
is the song I continuously blasted in my car on the drive up to Terrace while
licking my wounds after my broken engagement. Lyrics like “I've never been so
alone, and I’ve never been so alive” and “I’ll get over you, you’ll wonder who
I am” hit me like a brick. I was doing the loud singing you see in movies. Lost
my voice a few times.
ALBUM INFLUENCE: Other
than the ultra-catchy “Semi-Charmed Life”, the rest of the album is quite the
downer and was the perfect emo music as my life was getting more reflective
with graduating and contemplating an unsure future.
TITLE: Play
ARTIST: Great Big Sea
YEAR: 1997
YEAR: 1997
GENRE: Folk/Celtic Rock
ALBUM TRACKS: Ordinary
Day; When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down); The Night Pat Murphy Died; How Did We Get
From Saying ‘I Love You’; Donkey Riding; Haven’t Seen You in a Long Time; End
of the World; General Taylor; Seagulls; Recruiting Sargeant; My
Apology; Jakey’s Girl; Something I Should Know; Jolly Roving Tar; Jolly Beggar
Dude
FAVOURITE TRACK: Ordinary
Day
WHY THIS TRACK: I love
the morse code opening and the upbeat lyrics. I sometimes need to be reminded
that everything’s going to be all right. Just hang in there.
ALBUM INFLUENCE: The
rockin’ folk music would lift my spirits during some of my lower points. This
album always reminds me of the fun I’d have at 11:07, doing comedy improv to
distract me from other dramatic stuff in my life.
TITLE: Clumsy
ARTIST: Our Lady Peace
YEAR: 1997
YEAR: 1997
GENRE: Grunge / Alternative Rock
ALBUM TRACKS: Superman’s
Dead; Automatic Flowers; Carnival; Big Dumb Rocket; 4am; Shaking; Clumsy; Hello
Oskar; Let You Down; The Story of 100 Aisles; Car Crash
FAVOURITE TRACK: Automatic Flowers.
WHY THIS TRACK: Love
this track from the opening “doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” to Raine Maida’s final
vocal inflections which is reminiscent of Eddie Vedder’s work in Pearl Jam’s
“Jeremy”. This is a depressing yet rocking song about a lonely woman who has a
hard time finding happiness. It reminded me of someone.
ALBUM INFLUENCE: I
always felt this band was Canadian’s answer to Seattle’s grunge scene. A little
behind the times, but that’s okay. This album helped me out when things were
getting more tense in my love life and I needed to vent.
TITLE: So Much for the Afterglow
ARTIST: Everclear
YEAR: 1997
YEAR: 1997
GENRE: Rock
ALBUM TRACKS: So Much for
the Afterglow; Everything to Everyone; Ataraxia; Normal Like You; I Will Buy
You a New Life; Father of Mine; One Hit Wonder; Distorto de Melodica;
Amphetamine; White Men in Black Suits; Sunflowers; Why I Don’t Believe in God;
Like a California King
FAVOURITE TRACK: Everything
to Everyone
WHY THIS TRACK: I felt this song was speaking to me. “I
think you love to play the clown; I think you are blind to the fact that the
hand you hold is the hand that holds you down”. I was feeling stretched in all
directions and had a little pity party for myself. Sometimes you need a song
to tell it to your face in order to smarten up.
ALBUM INFLUENCE: This
album was a little harder than the emo-alternative music I was listening to at
the time. I don’t have the daddy issues that are found in some of the songs;
but I could relate to some of the anger and frustration from failed
relationships.
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