Thoughts following the reunion of Blink 182.

A flashback to 1999: Carlos Santana finally got his big pop hits, boy bands were coming into focus, and one specific record was released that would change my life forever. That record? Blink 182: Enema of the State. I had heard the songs on the radio when they were first released and seen the music videos on TV, but it wasn't until two years later when I actually bought that album on my birthday that I really decided that I only wanted to focus on rock alone. To the point where i actually wrote a persuasive essay in 8th grade on why rap was terrible (little did I know how extensive my collection of rap records would become, but that is another matter entirely), and somehow pulled off a high b on it. Everything about that album stands out in my mind as far as where I am now with my tastes in music. I never left home without my cd player for the rest of middle school, and probably into the beginning of high school. To this day I can still recite every lyric to all twelve songs word for word.So I guess all this reminiscing needs some kind of explanation. You see, Blink 182 just got back together, and seeing as how if it was not for them, I would not be who I am today, I wanted to take a look at all the records that changed me as a person. No, this is not one of those simple list things. I hate them; they have no depth and provide simple facts where insight is clearly necessary. I do not plan on going in any particular order, as I don't want you to think I am ranking anything.
As I previously stated, Blink 182's influence on me is pretty profound, and I can certainly say that every album they have put out has one or two songs that I just love, except their 2003 self-titled effort, which I hated because they went more for image than content. Their demo Buddha is without a doubt my favorite thing they ever put out, top to bottom solid songs, one of which was about appreciating what you are, not wanting what anyone else has. I would at least like to think that moral has stuck with me over the years, and every time that song comes up on my iPod, I feel reaffirmed in that belief.
Moving away from Blink now, NOFX was a band that I was actually nervous to start listening to. Their album covers scared the hell out of fourteen year old me, but Fat Mike's voice was so coarse and distinctive, I couldn't turn it off. Pump up the Valuum has some of the defining songs of my youth on it. Take Two Placebos and Call Me Lame stands out in my mind as the best song by NOFX, hands down. Given they have put out much more political stuff in the time since that record came out, but that song still makes me want to punch a corporate lawyer in the face 7 years later.
Right before September 11th, I bought an album called "Bleed American" by a band I had never really heard of, but had been recommended pretty strongly by a lot of the bands I was listening to at the time, Jimmy Eat World. This was a masterpiece in terms of a solid album. Bleed American and The Authority Song are just staples in every good mix tape I ever made for someone, and it remains the same today. It was my first reach for a lesser known band, and boy was I ever rewarded. This was the record that made me look under the surface to find the music that really made me happy.
Right as I got into high school my friend MP has been big into the whole Jackass thing, and there was one specific song from the show that I could never get out of my head. It was called "96 Quite Bitter Beings", and I scoured what was the internet in late 2002 to find even a taste of that song. I found out through all that searching that the band (CKY) was putting out a new record. About a week later I went to some mall in Monmouth County and bought Infiltrate. Destroy. Rebuild. To say that this album got fifty times the play of any other cd I have ever owned would be an understatement. Since that day, I have seen CKY four times and have never had a bad time once. Everything about CKY is different, they don't write about love, hate, or any emotions really. They write about slasher movies and how fake the music industry is. Infiltrate. Destroy. Rebuild. is the definitive record by CKY, and believe me, I wouldn't be the same person writing this if it weren't for that album.
I was 16 years old when I first heard My Chemical Romance, and they were a whole different animal in those days. They weren't into image records, they hadn't had free surgeries courtesy of the record label, and they certainly didn't suck like they do nowadays (See: The Black Parade). Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge got me through a really tough time in my life. My uncle was dying of cancer before my family and we hadn't received the entire story regarding what would become his downfall. The song that still puts me right in that time period is "Hang 'Em High". Just listen to the lyrics, and you'll see why seeing someone dying while listening to that song is particularly fitting. My whole life changed during his final weeks. I became a man, and this is undoubtedly the soundtrack to that transformation.
While I understand some of the recent events that have surrounded this band are incredibly negative according to one of my college friends, Kids Like Us changed me in so many positive ways that I still have to say that Outta Control is up there in my mind. All these raw emotions expressed in such a simple manner puts me in a unique mood, one that words can't even describe. I will try to, however. Did you ever feel like you could simultaneously kick a baby in the head while getting the Nobel Peace Prize? That’s how Kids Like Us makes me feel. “You Know Your Life Sucks” is probably one of my favorite songs ever, and its simplicity makes it all the better.
This Is Hell's Sundowning is an incredibly good record, solid hardcore that really just makes you want to do something worthwhile. Permanence completely blows my mind in terms of profound lyrics, just listen to/ read the lyrics of the chorus and you'll see.
More recently, there have been several albums that I've bought that have blown my mind in terms of their potential to be the soundtrack of my current life. United Nations' self titled release was the best record released last year, hand down. If I ran the Grammys they would have gotten every single award. To put it into terms that people who don't listen to them can understand, it was the most progress made in what some call "experimental punk", but it seems more like they are picking up where Refused left off. To even further explain this to people who don't know who Refused was, it's as if someone took Led Zeppelin and using their framework put out a record of at least equal standing to Led Zeppelin III, if not a better record altogether. Only time will really tell in terms of the influence that particular record will have.
There are so many more that I could do, but it's getting awfully late and this is getting very long. So I'll just quickly rattle off some bands that I should have mentioned earlier. Rise Against (Every record they have ever put out), Coheed and Cambria (Everything), Bad Religion (No Control specifically, but it's all excellent), Everytime I Die (Gutter Phenomenon), Weezer (Everything), Millencolin (Haven't heard the new record yet, but everything in the past is great), The Dillinger Escape Plan (Calculating Infinity and Ire Works), Refused (Everything), Lifetime (Hello Bastards), Comeback Kid (Turn It Around and Wake the Dead), Enter Shikari (Take to the Skies).