Interesting Writeup About Tragic Kingdom

[Soror_YZBL]

I'm curious forum goers - after reading through the article (or just my little blurb above) - what albums are your "belt out alone/feel empowered/get over a breakup" records?

Jagged Little Pill and Exile in Guyville. Sometimes South of Heaven.

Are there any albums that completely signify a certain period in your life? And if there are tracks from those albums in Rock Band - what did it feel like to play them the first time?

You have no idea the joy I felt when Nothing's Shocking was released. This album was pretty much the thing that transformed me from a shy nerdy wallflower freak into the full fledged art-rock goddess I am today. I got it when I was 16, a few months after it had come out, and listened to it non-stop until Ritual de lo Habitual came out. 2 months later, after I got tired of listening to Three Days and Then She Did over and over again, Nothing's Shocking was back in. It was my answering machine message ("Leave a Message, I'll call you back"), my teen-angst catchphrase ("everybody's so full of ****"), my spiritual awakening ("the fountain was the best that you could be") and my -to this day- favorite stoner song of all time (that is, Summertime Rolls is). So when it came out on rock band, I was thrilled, and still am to this day. I play Pigs in Zen, Ocean Size, and, of course, Summertime Rolls, almost every time I play the game. People like to ***** about Jane's Addiction for whatever reason they make up this week, but in 1989, there was nothing else like it.

Also, what tracks do you tend to play solo in RB? Which ones with a group - are there any songs sung by a vocalist of the opposite gender that you really get into?

That depends on the group. I normally play drums, so I stick to songs that are challenging yet fun, without any necessarily personal connection (aside from the JA songs above, plus Weezer and the Siouxsie stuff). When I'm particularly drunk, I like to sing, though. And yes, like the author, I tend to pick personal tracks that I know so well that I don't need to read the lyrics or follow the melody bar. You Oughta Know is a great one, I remember one particularly bad night when I had just broken up with a boyfriend of 2 years and spent some time at home with a bottle of Bacardi, a box of tissues and the caterwauling of a woman scorned. I thought it was caterwauling, but I gold starred it on expert, couldn't have been that bad. I also did Our Truth, which had a bit of sentimental value because the ex and I were both big Lacuna Coil fans. I forget what else I did, it was a while ago and I didn't have that fifth of rum the next day...

Any other thoughts on this piece?

Well written, and I agree with her, although not on Tragic Kingdom. I had moved on from alternative music long before this record came out. I would do it for Exile in Guyville.

[HMXThrasher]

These writeups are awesome you guys - thanks so much for sharing. I'm happy to say that after being in a huge musical rut the last few weeks I've actually been revisiting albums (Modest Mouse) and picking up a LOT of new stuff.

[Bouffant_Betty]

A couple years ago I was dating this girl who I was really close to, but ended up being absolutely crazy. I don't mean that in a general "my ex was crazy" sort of way either. She was a pathological liar, possibly manic-depressive, insanely codependent, and she varied between incredibly emotionally needy and completely emotionally detached. Needless to say things ended badly and I was pretty crushed by the whole thing.



Meteora - Linkin Park is my "angry" album. I don't care if it's "bad" music, it gets me fired up haha.

Couldn't agree more with those two, not the modest mouse per se but that exact experience, though mine got far more twisted.

After said bitter breakup, I found myself listening to SFSGSW? and Rust In Peace alot, particularly In My Darkest Hour and obviously Tornado Of Souls.

Also, sad to say this, but my first ever bought album after getting harassed at school for being the fat, stupid, OCD, bisexual, thick framed glasses kid that never tried, never talked, never cared, blared music while staring into the sun....I am not making this up....was sadly Enema of the State....Alot of people complain bout too much Blink 182 in RB, ill agree, but I become overwhelmed every single time I play Adam's Song, only wish there was Aliens Exist as DLC, or the entire album.

As a teenager one day I was walking to school, razor blade in my pocket, fully meaning to off myself at school...I was being considerate to my mother by not getting blood on the carpet...but for some bizarre reason, I put that song on on the way to school.....And my urge to commit suicide....rapidly fell....I can't explain it...anyway.....


TLDR-adam song sad.

[hiimSMAP]

Let's just say I'm a huge Pinkerton nerd and no songs have hit me quite as hard as Why Bother, Falling for You, Across the Sea, or El Scorcho.
Plus getting El Scorcho on RB made me

[Bouffant_Betty]

Let's just say I'm a huge Pinkerton nerd and no songs have hit me quite as hard as Why Bother, Falling for You, Across the Sea, or El Scorcho.
Plus getting El Scorcho on RB made me

My fiance is living with me currently in Australia, but 3 months and shes back in the US...You better believe Ive already got my music listening regime set out...Pinkerton, Pinkerton and more Pinkerton.

[JB4GDI]

Hey Thrasher,

That article was awesome, and I can think of another album that fits into the category the author mentioned.

Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down

This is one of the most perfect breakup albums I’ve ever heard. Forget and Not Slow Down deals with the aftermath of the lead singer (Matt Thiessen) having his fiancée call off the wedding and the relationship. And with that said, this album is one that was made to be belted out in solitude while dancing your heartache away.

Without going into too much detail (I never know who’s stalking me, haha) I have dealt with rejection and at one point in my life this album helped me sing out a lot of that pain. What’s incredible about the album is that while the lead singer lays all of his emotions on the table, he never deals with it in anger or bitterness. I think of that line in Say Anything where Lloyd Dobbler exclaims “I want to get hurt!” and I think this album is what lies at the end of that road. While the music itself is incredibly solid, the lyrics are absolutely incredible.

Without spoiling it all, one of my favorite lines on the whole album (and it references the movie Say Anything) is one that paints such an image of heartbreak and loss on your mind, it’s unshakable. And you can almost hear Thiessen’s voice breaking in the delivery. On Part of It, he sings “It’s been forever since I’ve gone / But I’m the Cusack on the lawn / Of your heart.” If I ever find myself in that situation, I’ll know which song to blast out of my boombox

So Thrasher, if you want to pick something up and you're into alt-rock and pop punk, you can't go wrong with this album.

Also, if you ever look on the song request spreadsheet and notice someone spamming that song, it’s totally not me

-Jaime

[HMXThrasher]

Also, if you ever look on the song request spreadsheet and notice someone spamming that song, it’s totally not me

-Jaime

Ah - ha! I actually was crunching numbers on the sheet last week and noticed a big uptick in the "R"s section since I"d last been through it. Anomaly explained.

And Betty - no need to be embarrassed about Blink 182 - Adam's Song was a mainstage on my CD player when I was about 15 and helped me really get through some bum outs (including a year of losing a lot of my friends - accidental deaths, suicides, just bad luck). Different songs speak to us for different reasons.

I was thinking today that another album I forgot to mention was Tegan and Sara's The Con. The whole narrative/concept of the album especially the title track and songs like "I was married" were pivotal during a year when I was really "finding myself" and learning how to, as an adult, really stick to my guns and prioritize what was important in my life. I listened to it all throughout a year of lots of transitions - new jobs, new apartments, new friends/saying goodbye to old friends, etc...

[dman2309]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart. The whole album is amazing. The title track is one of my favorite songs ever. "The women I've known I wouldn't let tie my shoe, they wouldn't give you the time of day" is such an inspired lyric and really spoke to me with all the relationships and girls I have known. I just love the whole meaning behind it that your life is what you make of it and everything happens for a reason. To keep your memories and learn from past mistakes.

Also, if you've noticed THAT song being requested a lot too, that was totally me. Guilty as charged.

[ShadowEclipse]

One album that comes to mind is Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park.

When I originally got the album, I was already going through so much. My parents going through a divorce and me screwing up my knee. Overall, it was just towards the worst part of my life (and to think that I was like 12 at the time, heh). Now when I listen to them, the songs have more of a meaning than they did at the time. It's still one of my favorite albums of all time and I don't think that's going to change any time soon. When I heard that we were getting One Step Closer as a on-disc song from RB2, I literally jumped for joy! I hope we get more songs from that album, studio or live, I don't care!

[Der_Lex]

When I was in high school, there were two albums that I usually listened to when dealing with existential angst, romantic troubles and all the other joys of being a teenager, and those were Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos and Brave by Marillion. The latter has remained a mainstay in my life that I listen to when I'm feeling down, even though it's not exactly a cheery album... but usually when I'm glum, the last thing I want to hear is peppy stuff. A more positive album from my youth is Monster by REM, since that always brings back memories of walks along the beach and in the forest during summer vacation.

I don't really have any particular album from my college period, although there is a bit of a 'holy trinity' of party songs from that time which I'd love to see in RB, which are A Forest by The Cure, Temple of Love by Sisters of Mercy, and She's In Parties by Bauhaus. I probably should add Eisbär by Grauzone and Our Darkness by Anne Clark to that list as well, but 'holy quintuplet' doesn't sound quite as good. This was the stuff that tended to get played at my college parties at 5-6 am when most of the Eurodance crowd had gone home, and that our gang thoroughly enjoyed. Good times.

As for recently, there has been one album that has really helped me get through a very difficult period in my life, and that is Rook by Shearwater. Unfortunately, that makes it very difficult for me to listene to that album again now, because it brings back so many unpleasant memories and emotions. That's a real shame, because it's a beautiful and very emotional album in its own right.

To close on a happier note, and on a RB-related note, an old favorite that got new meaning only recently for me is The Cars' self-titled album. It was one of the albums I brought when the missus and I went on a little road trip in Germany in the fall of last year, which was our last vacation together before our little hellspawn was born. And as much as I enjoy being a family these days, whenever I hear one of those songs or play one in RB, it brings up a very nice 'happy with just the two of us' feeling that sometimes gets pushed to the background a bit in family life.