The Albums That Changed My Life

BY JEREMY HAAS

Throughout my life, like any other music lover, there have been a few albums that really influenced my taste and overall musical outlook.  When initially discovering an artist, rather than picking and choosing hits, or diving in headfirst and downloading an entire discography, I choose an album.  Like authors, an artist releases an album like a novel, documenting aspects of a certain theme and portraying a tone for the entirety of the record.  Being the typical high school student I am, I’ve gone through a lot of the typical trends: metal, punk, indie, electronic, pop, folk etc. and from each, I take a few favorites.  These few have stayed with me for a long time, and even though many of my preferred artists were discovered in an embarrassing past of hair straightening and a Hot Topic based wardrobe, they have still written spectacular albums that made lasting impressions on my tastes, my own songs, and my life.

Say Anything –  …Is a Real Boy

Say Anything is an indie-rock band based out of California.  They’ve been making music since the early 2000’s, with a rotating cast of band members, excluding front man Max Bemis as the one constant, accompanied by his longtime drummer Coby Linder.  To date, they’ve released five full-length albums, and numerous EP’s.  However, most Say Anything fans would agree with the notion that their 2004 album …is a Real Boy the band’s most spectacular work.

…Is a Real Boy follows the hectic mind of Max Bemis, through self-medication, depression, and dealing with the terrible world we live in.  Even through all the negativity that is behind the writing, Bemis has a certain way with words.  In “Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat” Bemis takes a simple, repetitive musical base, and analyzes himself with extended metaphors and a darkly comedic sense of self-deprecation.  The song builds up and slows down to represent these perpetually fluctuating emotions.  He expresses extreme rage and sadness through witty one-liners, chaotic ideals, and a modernized punk rock tone.  “The Futile” blatantly states troubled thoughts in Bemis’ head.  In the track “Woe (The Optimist,)” Bemis takes that pent up angst and turns it into a epic song about overcoming obstacles, and through it all “forging ahead/past all the plutocrats who sold me out” to become a strangely heroic persona of The Optimist.  …Is a Real boy fluctuates between distorted, anarchic ruckus (in the good way) to emotional love ballads, all while maintaining a strong sense of who’s telling the story; the awkward, perpetually-teenage antihero that is Max Bemis.

I discovered Say Anything in 5^th grade, watching MTV’s Rock Countdown as an attempt to get into something besides the classic rock my dad played in the car.  At the time, I was a naïve little kid learning to play guitar and going through the usual stages of adolescent rebellion.  This was right around the time …Is a Real Boy was released, and its hit “Alive With the Glory of Love” was my first taste of what I would later consider a favorite band.  Since then, I always held the band in high regard, but it wasn’t until freshman year that I truly appreciated …Is a Real Boy for what it was, an album that took the genres I loved, the emotions I felt, and stories of awkward teenage years confined in a suburban prison to create something beautiful.  …Is a Real Boy is Say Anything’s relatable masterpiece that got me through the tedious hell of freshman year.

Wingnut Dishwashers – Union Burn the Earth Leave it Behind

Wingnut Dishwashers Union is a folk punk band and another group created and led by a charismatic songwriter.  His name is Pat Schneeweis, more commonly known as “Pat the Bunny.” Pat started recording music in 2003 under the alias “Johnny Hobo and The Freight Trains.”  Using primitive methods of recording, copious amounts of illegal substances, and a raspy voice, this act released numerous demos, EP’s, and albums following the life of a drug addicted teenage punk rocker.  After maturity and attempts to sober up, Pat took on a new persona; he began touring and writing music as Wingnut Dishwashers Union.  This short lived act released one full-length, professionally recorded album featuring an entire band in 2010.  This album, Burn the Earth Leave it Behind, is Pat’s first true masterpiece.

Burn the Earth Leave it Behind is punk rock, to say the least.  There is no polish; just vigorous guitar chords, simplistic drums, and passion-filled words.  The beauty of Pat’s brand of punk rock is that there is no image he tries to achieve; no colorful hair, abundant piercings, or skintight clothing; rather just a man with emotions and an inclination to sing about them.  In “Jesus Does the Dishes” Christianity is mocked and anarchy is praised through wit, anger, and a surprisingly accurate depiction of Jesus Christ in the punk rock world; which is sung over noisy guitar and a fast paced drum line.  Burn the Earth… parallels its beautifully raucous songs with heartfelt, acoustic ballads.  In “Just because I don’t say anything,” Pat spills his insecurities and regrets through over a simple four chords on an acoustic guitar.  There’s something about the simplicity of his acoustic confessionals that turn a rough voice and angry strumming into so much more.  Burn the Earth, Leave it Behind is punk at it’s finest, a songwriter who doesn’t care about the opinions of anybody.  It ranges from heartfelt acoustic to fast paced distortion, and through it all, Pat shows some of the most powerful emotion punk rock has to offer.

An annoying punk fanatic in middle school showed Johnny Hobo to me.  Had it been any other time in my life, I probably would have dismissed the music as a whiny sloppy wreck.  However, when I first heard Johnny Hobo, I was just starting to sing and write my own music.  As I realized I wasn’t as great of a vocalist as I hoped to be, disappointment set in.  The music I was shown had something beautiful that a good voice can sometimes lack; emotion.  Ever since then, I have become a Johnny Hobo enthusiast.  Through his music I realized you don’t have to look a certain way or sound a certain way, simple passion could be enough if applied correctly.  Through Wingnut Dishwashers Union I learned that musical beauty didn’t always mean a polished sound and a large fan base.  Music can be created by anyone, even a drug-addicted anarchist with a crummy voice and an acoustic guitar.  Burn The Earth, Leave it Behind is simply an album that catches Pat’s true punk ideals in its most wonderful form.  To this day, I turn to the album whenever I feel insulted, depressed, or simply not good enough, and I probably will be for the rest of my life.

Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

Bright Eyes is an Omaha, Nebraska based indie act.  Conor Oberst, who is considered by some to be “the modern Bob Dylan”, leads Bright Eyes.  Other than Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, the band features numerous temporary members for touring and recording purposes.  Since 1998, Bright Eyes has released eight full-length albums, all showing tremendous variation.   In 2005, they put out I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning along with Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.  While the latter featured heavy electronic instrumentation, I’m Wide Awake… worked symmetrically, with an acoustic, folky sound.

I’m Wide Awake… sprouts a fresh sense of maturity and lack of angst in Bright Eyes’ music, in addition to that, the experimental writing of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn allowed Oberst to focus on his forte; folk.  Not folk in the traditional sense, which can grind on nerves after a twelve minute long ballad about, well, nobody really knows for sure.   It’s folk in the way that a man writes a profound emotional confession that reaches a listener on so many levels.  In “Lua” true musical beauty is displayed through Oberst’s ability to turn insecurity, loneliness, and alcoholism into an exquisite revelation, with only a soft sung voice and a guitar.  “Landlocked Blues” begins the same way, but the addition of Country singer Emmylou Harris changes everything.  Her voice complements Oberst’s perfectly, and the song builds up musically in such a delicate way, adding one instrument at a time, the low hum of a bass guitar, the lead riff providing a lovely background tune, the spontaneous trumpet solo gives a heroic bridge from one verse to the next.  Perhaps the greatest moment of the album occurs in its final track “Road to Joy,” which borrows melody from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”  The song is another that builds upon itself, but this case contains a lot more anger and obvious passion, giving the album an energetic, climactic closing.

I found Bright Eyes when my idolization of punk rock faded, but my struggle with songwriting was in full fledge.  I had listened to everything I could from Max Bemis and Pat the Bunny, and it was time for a new role model.  Naturally, my musical taste was maturing, so anarchy and distortion just weren’t cutting it anymore.  I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning featured the same emotion I found in Say Anything and Wingnut Dishwasher’s Union, but in a new, intelligent way.  Its confessional narratives were sung rather than shouted, many curse words were replaced with clever phrases, and punk rock was taken out of the equation entirely.  I should’ve seen it coming sooner, but when I finally heard Conor Oberst’s brand of passion, I realized this would be the new iconic musician in my life.  I’m still in the Bright Eyes state of musical interest, and I hope to stay for a long time.

I realize there are subtler ways to display emotion, and I also realize most avid music listeners would consider my tastes “whiny.”   I’m not sure why lone, troubled songwriters write all of my favorite albums, and I’m not sure why that style appeals to me so much.  With time, music tastes will mature again and a new album will provide new influence; but still, no matter how embarrassing my past is or will be these albums will stay with me forever.