But In A Way, Those Really Were The Wonder Years…

April 30, 2008

This is my last week of school for what probably will be the rest of my life. I have 3 more classes and a couple exams then its into the real world for me. Either because I enjoy excessive introspection or just love making lists, here is my musical (both personal and general) history of every year that I’ve been in school, with a bit of personal stuff thrown in. Nothing like a little nostalgia for your Wednesday afternoon, right? Click here to see the whole post.

Me in Elementary (w/ sister and pumpkin)

Pre-Kindergarten (1991)

I don’t think I was listening to music (except maybe Raffi) at this age but if I could go back I’d definitely reach for Achtung Baby, Loveless, Leisure, and Out of Time. I may even treat myself to Use Your Illusion or Nevermind occasionally.

MP3 U2 – One

Kindergarten (1992)

Kindergarden was all about Pavement for me. No not really, but 92 was the year that brought us Slanted & Enchanted, Automatic for the People, Bizzarre Ride II, and the songs “No Rain” and “Friday I’m In Love”.

MP3 Blind Melon – No Rain

1st Grade (1993)

When I was in first grade I was in the middle of a big move from Galveston, TX to Peoria IL, so I didn’t have much time to be listening to music. If I had though I would definitely be picking up some Wu-Tang, In Utero, Siamese Dream, Zooropa, Transmissions for the Satellite Heart, and Pablo Honey. Also I probably would be jamming out to “Whoomp! There It Is”, “Twin Princes” and “I Saw The Sign” on a daily basis.

MP3 Spin Doctors – Two Princes

2nd Grade (1994)

1994 was a great year for music. Unfortunately I was too busy watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and learning phonics in Mrs. Gullet’s class to pay too much attention. Anway, the year brought us Parklife, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Blue Album, Grace, Definitely Maybe, and Bee Thousand as well as debuts from Elliott Smith, The Sea and Cake, and Sunny Day Real Estate. The one song I remember listening to this year was Beck’s “Loser”.

MP3 Sunny Day Real Estate – In Circles

3rd Grade (1995)

3rd grade was all about Pogs. If you had an awesome slammer you were soooo in. Meanwhile Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, What’s the Story Morning Glory, Blur’s The Great Escape, Liquid Swords, and Elliott Smith’s s/t were hitting the shelves. Belle & Sebastian, Neutral Milk Hotel and Wilco released their debuts this year and Radiohead created The Bends.

MP3 Elliott Smith – Needle In The Hay

4th Grade (1996)

I really got into music this year. Unfortunately it was Christian Rock like DC Talk and the Newsboys. If I knew anything about anything I would have been jamming to Odelay, Pinkerton, Being There, Jeremy Enigk’s Return of the Frog Queen, and of course, If You’re Feeling Sinister. I did have quite a thing for No Doubt though.

MP3 Belle & Sebastian – Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying

5th Grade (1997)

In 5th grade, I was obsessed with the Chicago Bulls, everyones hormones were going out of control as puberty set in, and I spent half of the school year playing Axis and Allies in Mr. Wallace’s class (for a “WWII assignment”). Musically It was one of the best years ever. OK Computer obviously was the big one, but also: Blur, Urban Hymns, Homework, Either/Or, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, The Lonesome Crowded West, Of Montreal’s debut. Personally I was totally into Third Eye Blind’s s/t.

MP3 Radiohead – Karma Police

Click below to see the rest!

6th Grade (1998)

6th grade was the end of an era, that era being elementary school. I think I was really into Yo-Yos and drinking Surge at the time and The Beastie Boys and Goo Goo Dolls was where it was at. Wasn’t the best year for music overall, but it had some major highlights including XO, How It Feels To Be Something On, and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.

MP3 Neutral Milk Hotel – Holland 1945

7th Grade (1999)

7th grade was the first year we were broken up into hours instead of just one to two teachers per day. I played Moby’s Play over and over this year and skipped out on some gems like 69 Love Songs,The Soft Bulletin, Blur’s 13, Clarity (although I would soon discover it), Built To Spill’s Keep It Like A Secret and Summerteeth. Some awesome debuts this year like Sigur Ros, Okkervil River, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie and the White Stripes.

MP3 Jimmy Eat World – Clarity

8th Grade (2000)

This year I started to really get into some pretty decent music. Sunny Day Real Estate, Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, and Appleseed Cast were all on my radar at the time. Good thing too, because didn’t Britney Spears, N*Sync, and Backstreet Boys debut this year? Blah.

My two most listened to albums of ‘00 at the time were probably Parachutes and All That You Can’t Leave Behind, but the year also brought goodies like Figure 8, Kid A, The Moon and Antarctica, Mass Romantic, Holiday In Rhode Island, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, and debuts from Mates of State, Explosions in the Sky, and Sufjan Stevens.

MP3 Modest Mouse – Gravity Rides Everything

Me in High School, gosh that’s embarassing

Freshman – High School (2001)

First year of high school, what a time to be alive (not really). I was totally an emo kid at the time, listening to Further Seems Forever, Bright Eyes, Jimmy Eat World, and Death Cab nonstop and I started to get interested in stuff like video editing and photography.

Other than The Photo Album which I still quite enjoy, this year had Origin of Symmetry, Girls Can Tell, White Blood Cells, Amnesiac, Discovery, Rockin’ The Suburbs, and great debuts from The Shins, Rilo Kiley, and The Strokes.

MP3 Death Cab for Cutie – Blacking Out The Friction

Sophomore – High School (2002)

Got my first job this year at Schlotskys Deli and was on the golf team. Musically I was all about Bright Eyes’ Lifted, Rilo Kiley’s Execution of All Things, and The Good Life’s magnificent Black Out. Some other stuff that I wasn’t quite into yet was Yankee hotel Foxtrot, Sigur Ros’ (), Kill The Moonlight, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Turn on The Bright Lights, You Forgot it in People, and Mountain Goats’ Tallahassee.

MP3 Wilco – Jesus Etc.

Junior – High School (2003)

Got my first Apple laptop this year and which started a long history of Apple obsessiveness and I started having the reputation around High School of being the guy who always brought around a digital camera and uploaded pictures to his website (one of those cheap Apple .mac sites). This year I started to get much more music literate and went to my first major concert – David Bowie! I also made a completely awesome music video with my friends this year (which you can watch here).

Some favorites from ‘03 are Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Absolution, Mates of State’s Team Boo, Okkervil River’s Down The River of Golden Dreams, Give Up, Hail To The Thief, Chutes Too Narrow, Greetings From Michigan, Elephant, Transatlanticism, and the debuts of Arcade Fire, British Sea Power, and The Decemberists.

MP3 Muse – Stockholm Syndrome

Senior – High School (2004)

I really got into U2 this year, I pretty much collected their whole discography including EPs, singles, anything I could find. I also went to more live shows like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, The Walkmen, Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, and a bunch of local bands I don’t remember.

The big album of the year was Arcade Fire’s Funeral but releases like Seven Swans, Franz Ferdinand, Antics, Our Endless Numbered Days, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Satanic Panic it the Attic, Hot Fuss, The Futureheads, More Adventurous, A Ghost is Born, and From A Basement on the Hill also filled the musical landscape.

MP3 Arcade Fire – Wake Up

Me in College

Freshman – College (2005)

This was the year that I totally gave myself over to music. I started reading music blogs and I ended up starting my own (so you can pretty much just read the archives to see who I was listening to at the time). Anyway, I met my fiancee Celeste this year and absolutely loved Sufjan Stevens (still do really). Instead of listing the albums I liked, click here to read my best of 2005.

MP3 Sufjan Stevens – The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades Are Out To Get Us!

Sophomore – College (2006)

While I really didn’t know what I was doing my first year of blogging, I started to figure it out sometime around this year. I also started to go to tons of live shows (including Pitchfork Fest), I spent the summer in Australia/Africa and spent the rest of the time with Celeste. I got way into Belle & Sebastian this year.

Read my best of 2006.

MP3 Band of Horses – The Funeral

Junior – College (2007)

Transferred to Illinois State University this year, made a lot of new friends, went to Austin City Limits, got engaged, did other fun stuff.

Read my best of 2007.

MP3 LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends

Senior – College (2008)

Still navel gazing and writing blog posts to distract myself from studying. Both getting excited for/dreading what comes next.

Posted by Taylor in Lists, Mix