Seniors, upon graduating, are expected to reflect on their experiences at college. We're expected to gussy up some clich+â-¬s and fondly recall the years we spent as gentlemen and scholars.
We've got all this wisdom, right, so we're supposed to start using it to begin understanding ourselves.
But for some seniors, it's easier to put on a record. So, because I am one of those seniors, here are the eight slabs of plastic that have mattered most to me during the last four years, in nearly chronological order (what do you care):
The Dandy Warhols, "Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia": I have Scour Exchange to thank for allowing me to steal this band's intellectual property when I was but a lonely, shirt-tugging freshman in Clevenger Hall. Oh, the days of downloading 40 songs in one afternoon! The first time I heard Courtney Taylor-Taylor strum the demons out of his acoustic guitar on "Godless" was a big moment. You know, and here's one of those clich+â-¬s I warned about; I'm not so uptight that I can't say it's a relief to find a band you share some kind of immeasurable propensity with. Moving on.
The White Stripes -- De Stijl: Ball State bagged Scour Exchange during the spring of 2001; luckily, during the fall, we pirates quickly moved to the Audiogalaxy Satellite, which suddenly made downloading a gigabyte of music in a weekend a possibility. On one of those weekends, I decided to download every song I could by this two-piece blues group I'd never heard of. What I played first was "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise" and purchasing of everything the band had done soon followed.
David Bowie -- Ziggy Stardust: When my roommate brought home a copy of Bowie's "Hunky Dory" in the spring of our freshman year in 2001, I mocked him to his girlfriend behind his back. When I brought home a copy of "Ziggy Stardust" one year later, I called myself a hypocrite and my roommate a visionary, and I'm still perfecting my guitar chops and glam yelp for when I start The Rock 'n' Roll Suicides, my Bowie cover band.
Wilco -- Summerteeth: I just liked it.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club -- B.R.M.C.: When I was a DJ for WCRD during the fall semester of 2001, I played "Love Burns" by B.R.M.C. almost every Friday night. Now, I didn't really think love burned. I just liked it.
Spoon -- Kill the Moonlight: My affair with Pitchforkmedia.com forced me to drive to Best Buy on a Thursday afternoon during the spring semester in 2003 and buy "Kill the Moonlight." What initially appealed was its striking artwork, just two slender arms parallel against a pale background. After I wrestled the cellophane off, I ended up listening to the sparse, spacious incomprehensibility of Britt Daniels' genius about 15 times that evening.
The New Pornographers -- Electric Version: This time using Kazaa, I'd stumbled across "Jackie" by the Canadian super-pop power group in the summer of 2003. Upon hearing "Miss Teen Wordpower" from "Electric Version," I knew I'd finally found a band that hated misanthropic teenage girls as much as I did. Basically, lasting hooks plus oddly inventive songs plus bright lyrics equals good. -á
The Shins-- Chutes Too Narrow: So I'm a sucker for indie pop. But the Shins' second release has more good stuff on it than Scarlett Johansson (but just barely).
That's it. Enjoy your life. Or put on a record if you can't.
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