Do We Choose The Songs?

We all like music. Some of us even love it. There is no better feeling than finding a new song, album, or band. There is that first minute where you are not sure if its any good. Then the chorus hits and suddenly this thing that two minutes ago didn't exist is something you can't live without. Right this now for me its Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear. What is it about a song or an album that can capture a moment so clearly for us? Over time a song can become intertwined with a person, place, or a time in your life. It becomes so imprinted that you can have trouble separating the two.

My life is split up not by years but bands. High school was the Beastie Boys. Every water polo trip, every late night at Dennys, was always scored with Beasties. We use to rhyme along to Ill Communication while we would do drills in the pool. Other things just remind me of moments. When I hear The Bouncing Souls I think of the day my Grandpa died. The same day he died was my first time at the front of a punk show for The Bouncing Souls. I am sure that I would have always loved them but because of timing they became something more.

College is all about Rancid and AFI. It seemed like every other weekend Rachael and I would run into each other at a AFI show. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs remind me of riding around Sacramento in a red Jetta during the summer. My Chemical Romance take me to the day I left California for good. I saw them on a side stage at Warped Tour and they just destroyed. A week later I left the country and didn't really come back for four years. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge was my constant companion. Shake your head if you want but the album was always around for a few years.

Mos Def and Handsome Boy Modeling school always remind me of Brian Schlick and that fact that if it wasn't for him I may have never have liked hip hop. We listened to those two albums every day for six months. Alaska, Mexico, and Australia flash right back into my head whenever I hear either of those albums. My Bloody Valentine was playing when a girl told me she didn't want to marry me anymore. I love that album and it always takes me right back to that exact moment. But sometimes it reminds me of seeing them live with my friend Brandon. Eventually good stuff starts to replace the bad stuff.

Chicago is The Hold Steady. Is there a better band than The Hold Steady that sums up a town like Chicago? Songs about late nights, drinking, and kids on the edge of the middle. That is the Chicago way (always quote Mamet when in doubt). I had a girl tell me once that we were like a Hold Steady song. I always wondered if it was one of the happy ones or one of the sad ones? I guess it was probably both, which kind of makes sense. My best friends in Chicago are Radiohead. They know why.

My dad is a Jimmy Buffet song. Goofy and great. My mom has to be any Christmas song. I can't separate the two. The second the table is clear of Thanksgiving she starts with her Christmas mega-mix. We always pretended to hate it but walking into a house while those songs are playing just makes you feel right. My Brother is a little harder to pin down. The kid loves Rancid in a way that defies logic. So here's to you Ruby Soho. My sister has the best taste in music in the world. This is one of life's indisputable facts. After last weekend she gets The Decemberists. Which makes sense. My sister is wordy, cute, much smarter than I am. Much like a Decemberists album.

I don't know if I have a band or an album. Things seem to change so much. One day I feel a little Beastie, the next a little Smithy. But today right this second while the town is overcast and I am unsure about my next step, it's Grizzly Bear. Next week? Who knows?