Hello Slippery Rock University and community, my goal that I hope to accomplish by the end of this article is to help you appreciate the way things used to be. So, join me in this time machine and we will journey back almost twenty years.
The year was 2007. I was just getting introduced to the music that would shape me as a person. I went to the Butler mall, and walked into a store (that is no longer there) called “FYE,” short for “For Your Entertainment.”
This store is where people would go to buy vinyls and CDs and, for a short while, they even had cassettes. There is a specific memory of this store that I would like to share with you now.
One of my absolute favorite bands is Death Cab for Cutie. Benjamin Gibbard had a side-project that he worked on, and they only produced one album named “The Postal Service.” The band released their only album in 2003. The album was called “Give Up.”
The gentleman who was working at FYE noticed that I picked out the album “Give Up” and he suggested that I buy a CD of a band that I had never heard before. Their name is “The National,” and the CD was brand new. The album was “Boxer”. I had enough money on me to buy both CDs and, on the ride home with my parents, I listened to “Boxer.” Over the next couple months, I listened to that album nearly two-hundred times the whole way through. I started listening to more of “The National” and they became my third favorite band.
The suggestion of someone who just wanted me to experience something new was greatly appreciated. If you ever get a chance to listen to either of these albums, you are in for a definite treat.
I love indie rock and these two CDs provided me with a lot of tears and a lot of late-night jam sessions. I also ended up buying “Boxer” on vinyl, and I was gifted “Give Up” on vinyl maybe six months later. These two albums were so beautifully put-together, and I love that I added them to my music collection.
I know that music will always be a sanctuary for me. The albums will remain two of the most important I have ever had the chance to listen to.
The moral of the story is to find the music that makes you move and enjoy music in every form that you can. The one thing that I love about music is that everyone has different tastes and interests. Music helps heal so many of the wounds that we face. Music has always been something that brings me joy and I hope that it can do the same for everyone else.
Songwriting has been something I have been toying with, and I have written a lot of poetry, but songs are a whole different can of worms. These two albums showed me that you can create something beautiful, and maybe someone will suggest something else that will become one of your favorites. People who share music because it is how they express their feelings will always be some of my favorites.
Life without music would be nearly impossible for me to get through. I hope that you find your own favorite albums and can enjoy music for the rest of your life.
