Albums That Changed My Life: Garrett Nickelsen (The Maine)
This week's slice of "Albums That Changed My Life" goodness comes from Garrett Nickelsen of The Maine!The band will be heading out on tour this fall with Mayday Parade, in support their new live DVD "Anthem For A Dying Breed". Dates and ticket information can be found here.
The Bled - Pass The FlaskI remember in 2003 when I first heard this record and I freaked out. At that point in my life I never heard anything sound so angry. I loved it! The production was soooooo brutal, it felt like the music was actually going to rip your face off. It also has a great mix of the slower "talkie" verses to let you breath for a second before you're in the madness once again. It also might be the best air drumming record of all the time, drummer Mike Pedicone has ninja like skills with his drum sticks. It might not be in my top four favorite records of all time but it is definitely my favorite heavy record, and for sure worth talking about.
Ryan Adams - Love Is HellThis record is the saddest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It's like Adams captured what dying sounds like.
Just listen to it..
Jimmy Eat World - ClarityTo me, this record is considered a 12 out of 10. A perfect record. The first time you hear it, you love it. As time goes on and you pick apart each song, you love it even more. I remember the first time I listened to all 16 minutes and 13 seconds of "Goodbye Sky Harbor" was like an achievement, I ran into my brothers room and told him I was so excited. I'm pretty sure he said "How have you not heard that yet? It's the best song." It's funny to me now because that song is on countless amounts of playlist I listen to all the time. This is one of the only records I've been constantly jamming since I was 11 years old, and I hear something new on it every time I listen.
Wilco - A Ghost Is BornThe first ten times I listened to this record I didn't understand it. I had it for about a year and would randomly throw it on my iPod to listen to during long drives. For some reason it didn't catch my attention. I would be an "A.D.D. listener". Skipping around every song and not focusing on each part. It was very dumb. Then driving around Phoenix while we had some off time, I put this record on. It was like I never heard it before. It made my brain ooze out of my head. It was the only thing I could listen to for months. The guitar in "At Least That's What You Said" sounds like Jeff Tweedy is having an mental breakdown through his guitar. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is the bass and drums holding it down as a guitar makes you second guess if it is even a guitar. "Muzzle of Bees" is a beautiful song with two acoustics finger picking on you heart strings. The sorta punk vibe in "I'm a Wheel" just makes you realize how badass this band is. Some records take a little to realize all of its glory. Those are the ones that impact you the most though. This record went from something I skipped over, to the best sounds I've giving my ears the privilege of hearing.
