a new york uppity hipster mentions that he's listening to fenix tx ("they're old, you've probably never heard of them"). allister is playing in the locker room. i look up from my bike machine to see eisley playing on mtvu. taking back sunday is having a concert in my dream; i barely recognize the melody but find myself mouthing the words unconsciously.
these past few weeks i've been bombarded with music of years past, bands that i would religiously listen to in middle/high school but have long forgotten about now (and i'm surprised other people haven't forgotten about them either - most were, at best, mediocre). there were the mornings eating breakfast before zero period devouring my issue of ap magazine. i'd proudly wear my band shirts and almost instantly harbored crushes on the boys who'd recognize them. i was always recommending "underrated" bands to my friends (though looking back, they were all pretty overrated since emo/post-hardcore/alternative was trendy among teenagers back then, just like now it's all about electro or indie folk or whatever).
the point is, i loved music like crazy back then. i was a judgmental snotty prick for sure, but i actively looked for new music, new bands, new sounds to fuel my fire. i wondered what i'd end up listening to in five years, if i would still be into the same music then, if the scene would still exist in the future (it does! sort of.) of course, my music tastes have now changed to korean ballads and bad top 40, and revisiting new songs from all those older bands is just not the same (have they gotten worse, or has my taste just changed?). but listening to old favorites, the songs that captivated my heart, the lyrics that perfectly encapsulated what i was feeling in a way that only emo music can to a young, immature teenager, the bass lines that i could instantly identify riff per riff - even years afterward, i still recognize every beat, every word, and my audiophilic heart melts bit by bit.
i think this is what they call nostalgia.
playing | "play crack the sky" - brand new
photo | pearled ; flickr
