#As someone who makes heavy use of synths in my music; I’m enamored with how she explains everything

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Just went down a rabbit hole of YT videos about the lives of actresses in old Hollywood, and came out the other side watching Wendy Carlos demonstrate how to operate her synthesizers. I now have a massive crush on her.

[saportuh]

ok panic concert highlights

(plus some personal adventures)

this was the portland show on the 12th k

so it was a fuckin hour and a half drive bc where i fuckin live now is far away from everything i hate it anyway that sucked & i ran my phone down to 80 percent during said drive which proved problematic

we get there (me & my lil sis) & our dad drops us off & we run up & im bitching about how weird the fucking venue is (it’s normal, it’s just not what i’m used to - in vegas the venues were typically in the casino/resorts so you lined up inside the halls & sat against the walls & tourist-watched, in this venue u stood outside in a line???? ughhh)

so we approach the line & something happens, i’m gonna make a separate post about it because holy shit

befriended two excitable gay kids, maybe 8th or 9th grade?? & i was like woah i was u once. now im old & jaded. eugh. then they bailed on me so.

we got into the arena & were on the wrong fucking side so we had to JOG all the way AROUND THE WHOLE FUCKINGN PLACE UGH

THEN WE GOT IN & SAT IN THE WRONG SEATS so the guy next to me (dad w a thick accent, maybe ukranian?? it wasn’t russian but it was close) politely informed me & i was like fuck well until they get here we’ll stay, but i had anxiety so during an arizona song i pretended to go to the bathroom & came back to look for our actual seat, someone took it so i pussied out & went back, had hella anxiety about it, then before hayley the ppl showed up so we had to move & i had to kick some preps out of their seat & they called my lil sister a bitch ;-;

OK SO ONTO THE PERFORMERS

arizona was cute, gotta check them out... singer kept getting emotional & wiping his eyes, it was sweet, and he was hella feeling himself dancing & stuff lmaoo. idk em but im proud of them.

HAYLEYYYYYYYYYYY her dancing & drumming & outfit??? also all the lesbians/wlw getting crunk in the crowd was so damn good haha

ALSO shout out to hayley’s band, they were so cute??? the guitarist & her kept having moments & he seemed like a cool dude, & the girl on synths was so pretty omg??? & smiley i loved her. & the drummer, they were goin so hard i couldnt get a good look, but they had kewl hair

“if you don’t know anything about me, there’s one thing you should know: I LOVE GIRLS” there was so much gay energy at that show i was teary the whole damn time

k confession, i love everything about hayley but i find her voice a little grating on the ears, something about it, but it was super angelic live & didn’t bug me once, & wanna be missed fucked me up cuz it’s my fucking f a v

SHE DID THE DRUMMY IT WAS HOT 

her oufit was so damn iconic rlly tho, the pants & shoes totes fit her but wouldn't look good on anyone else, but that shirt, the hot dad look w the open v & all the jewelry, holy fuck that’s how im tryna be

during girls like girls, everyone had their lights out & there was a bunch of pride flags out, and i got this gorgeous shot of a gay pride flag illuminated by lights (i posted it)

most of the songs they played between the breaks were gay themed too which was powerful dude i was so damn emotional

then during the countdown to panic, they played the next episode by dre (the “smoke weed every day” song) & then africa by toto jsfndjfndjskfnjdk

THEN PANIC CAME OUT 

WHOLE ASS STRING & BRASS SECTION BDEN RLLY WENT THERE WOAH

KENNY & NICOLE WERE SO CUTE THE WHOLE TIME THEY KEPT GOOFING AROUND ESPECIALLY KENNY IT WAS ADORABLE

THEN BREB POPPED OUT THE DAMN FLOOR

ok several things about breb

one, i never was heavy into panic, but considering how obsessive i was into bandom a few years back, i still know a lot about early panic, livejournal shit, ryden bullshit, etc, so it was really weird being there with normies who were just like “he’s hot & sings good” when i was like “yall lucky fucks never heard of myrtle beach ” dsjfnjsdnfds

two, four years into panic & i never was attracted to brendon, but dude, EVERYONE fell in love with him at this show, myself included, & i was starin at this bitch ass motherfucker in a trance before i was like “wait ur a bastard STOP U ENDEARING DICKWAD” he was so fucking endearing it was ANNOYING cuz i’ve seen some of the shit he’s pulled damnit. srsly tho, so absolutely charming, wow.

three, and what stuck with me most; brendon loves what he does. a little bit of exhibitionism, i think; he likes ppl looking at & admiring him, he’s that type of person, a showman, but also, i think he just loves making music, people singing along to the music, etc. ive been to eight concerts now, and i don’t think i’ve seen someone who clearly loved being on stage so much. a lot of ppl act like it’s a chore to tour, but brendon clearly loves it, and it made me happy, especially as an aspiring musician. 

four, the straighties drooling over him and the gays drooling over him was truly straight/gay solidarity

ok what else happened... brendon would throw in random ass high notes towards the ends of songs... my sister looked at me super alarmed when he first did it during dtmwagt lmfao... ppl would cheer & it was impressive, but kinda piercing & i was like “show off” lol

HE DID THE ‘I MAKE THESE HIGH HEELS WORK’ thing, i thought he retired tht?? so i was pleased lmfao

i dont rmr anything that stands out about ready to go or la devotee but the lights & backgrounds during them were very pretty & i got some good pics of brebbois face (i finally got semi decent quality pics im rlly happy abt tht, concerts r so hard to photograph)

hallelujah was cool cuz there were, like, those catholic(?) church windows projected on the top part of the stage, it was pretty af, they rlly outdid themselves with the visuals

and mona lisa had like pipes & industrial stuff?? idk it looked dope, and it contrasted rlly cool it was super pretty

nine in the afternoon,,,, the only pretty odd song... i dont even like pretty odd but it was like,,, damn. & he had the piano, total live in denver vibes ;-; but he wasnt dripping sweat this time lmao

golden days, brebweenie knows hes hot, kept winking & doing mic flips & shit & i was like u fucken weenie ive seen that pic of u w a bowl cut in a bra, die

k he’s a fuckin bastard but hhe’s pretty & talented fuckin big ego bitch ... can yall tell i hav a lovehate relationship w him bc i do

I GOT THIS ONE PART ON VIDEO DURING GOLDEN DAYS WHERE KENNY & NICOLE R FUCKING AROUND & MAKING FACES & GOOFING IT’S SO CUTE

during casual affair in the chorus, the mic would echo each word (just lay (lay) in the atmosphere (sphere) & the ‘lay’ was rlly good on my ears idk sometimes certain vocal notes sound GOOD & that was one i keep replaying it

SO VEGAS LIGHTS as yall kno i was born & raised in vegas & a vegasfucker69 it’s my fucking home i moved last november (not my choice) & miss it violently & i was CRYING during vegas lights hard & it was so beautiful im gonna watch the video i got over & over & over that song means so much to me IM SO FUCKING HOMESICK

speaking of which, im pretty bitter i didnt see panic in vegas, this was my first panic show & that kinda bothers me, like i should’ve seen them in vegas a few yrs ago but it never worked out.... still, im grateful i saw them at all & im glad i saw the song live. i had my fob snapback on too, it says ‘las vegas’ on it cuz i got it there haha, wore that on purpose

he did the fucking running man thing towards the end & everyone cheered & i was like dONT ENABLE HIM

sat down during dancing’s not a crime cuz im a bitch who doesn’t like half the new record & also my knees hurt cuz im old apparently, anyway this chick glared at me then sang every word wat a fuckin prep lmao

o yah i forgot, in golden days he got in the crowd & let a girl sing the last chorus it was amazing i bet that made her life

AND DURING DOAB HE WALKED THRU THE CROWD that was SO FUCKING ENDEARING i was like “wow what a guy” then i was like “HE’S A BITCH U KNOW HIM” & i was like “hmm??? what a guy” but omg he made so many people happy it was really beautiful & sweet & i was like... half in love & then i came to my senses jksjfhjsdhfkjsdn

RLLY THO HE WALKED THRU THE CROWD & HIGH FIVED PPL & SHIT & GAVE HUGS & TOOK ART/LETTERS IT WAS SO DAMN GOOD HE WAS SO SWEET & LEGIT EVERYONE WAS FALLING FOR HIM & I WAS LIKE SUFFERING

legit guys, like it’s weird i used to watch his parascopes in 2015 or w/e & he’d say some Bad shit on there sometimes, like ik he does some messy shit BUT HE ACTED SO FUCKING LOVELY BLEH

also he’s very short, like he’s 2 inches taller than me but he looked so little in the crowd i was like... aw

the piano thing ;-; it was rlly pretty but my paranoia & anxiety was off the charts i was like that things gonna fucking fall & crush the crowd it’s gonna fucking fALL but it didnt ofc but i was stressed bleghh

but ok on a positive note, that was soo fucken lovely, bden stopped to try to make eye contact with as many ppl in as many places of possible, like he made the effort to get to everyone & make them have a special moment & it was ... magical ok thts fucken cliche as shit but it rlly was

ok i did smth lowkey embarrassing, i doubt he saw, but when he faced towards us i was just overwhelmed w like.. gratitude?? ive had a bad 2 years in every way, so being somewhere filled with love & fun & kindness & joy & all around good vibes, i was so grateful? i just wanted to thank him for creating that kinda atmosphere. so i like,,, blew kisses but not in a weird way, like later i was like oh that was kinda weird whyd i do that, but at that moment i didnt use my head & it was jus my instinctual way of saying thank u idk it’s lame but it happened so there ya go idfk

fun fact, my vid of it is out of focus cuz i was so enamored watching him & watching the crowd react it was pretty fucking magical it rlly was

once he got down from that piano he went “wow i feel so fucking inspired now” & i was like “bitch me too tf” 

legit it was absolutely indescribable, even watching my vid now.... wow. and u can hear me lightly crying in the back of my video too lmao, and i was shaking p hard, it was so fucking magical. like im getting emotional rn cuz it was exactly what i needed to remind myself that there is good stuff in the world thats worth staying for. 

i never was super big on panic or breb like i said but if i ever meet him im gonna thank him bc that. wow. transformative.

also that transition from the piano cover he did to dying in la was smooth af. it was all around gorgeous.

OK GIRLS GIRLS BOYS, I WAS SO CONCERNED W FILMING I COULDNT PUT MY LIGHT ON (i had a red heart) BUT OMG

he got a bi flag first, then a rainbow one, then another rainbow one... one was those hayley ones lol, and one ended up on the stage out of his eyesight & he never saw it & i felt so bad fjdnfds

G-D ALL THE GAYS SINGING WAS SO EMOTIONAL & THE RAINBOW BEHIND THEM ON STAGE (AND PAN FLAG COLORS AT TIMES?!??!?!)) IT WAS FUCKING MAGICAL & BRENDON LET A FLAG DRIFT IN THE WIND FOR A SEC BEFORE HE PUT IT ON IT WAS GORGEOUS

AND ALL THE RAINBOW LIGHTS IN THE CROWD FUCK DUDE

breb might be a turd but he’s the only one of these emo dudes who parades around draped in flags & so aggressively empowers gay fans through it, and for that, i respect him. ik the song has more perverse origins but now it’s a bi anthem that rlly connects w lgbt fans & it’s rlly beautiful, AND i got another gorgeous shot of a pride flag surrounded by lights & im just. wow.

after, breb said “that is gorgeous btw” about the rainbow lights, and “thank u for participating in love” & giggled, i got this shot of the lights in the dark lookin incredible ;-;

also said “this a record number of flags tonight, very cool” so portland is rlly gay apparently, kewl

nicole doin the nicotine bass line slayed me dead wowie u can hear me go “WOO” on the vid lmfao (im a bassist so i lov her double)

ive seen miss jackson live twice now cuz at my monumentour show, new politics brought lolo out to cover it so that’s dope lmfao

anyway bden did the fuckin valley girl voice for “the scenery is so loud” which was delightful

he had us do the ‘ayyyy’ bit woo

NICOLES BASS,,, SPARKLY

drum thingy ;-; speaking of monumentour, andy & patrick famously did a drum off & i MISSED IT cuz the stage at my venue wasnt large enough to fit both sets ;-; so they didnt do it ;-; but bden doin his own drum solo kinda made up for it a little bit

fuckin show off tho he played like 3 instruments & i was like u bitch stop

there was some kinda audio sample that went “i got a fever & the only prescription is more caffeine(?)” & bden mouthed the words along, and some girl behind me went “SAME” 

UPDATE: googled it, i knew i recognized chris walken’s voice, he says cowbell not caffeine & it’s a skit from snl that i’ve SEEN im a disgrace anyway that was fun also woo cowbell

the big screen kept cutting from bden drumming to a shot of the crowd & someone holding a pride flag & i was like yah drumming is gay now

lmao i only filmed like a minute of a song unless i rlly liked it so i could spend the rest of the song gettin funky right?? & i like king of the clouds but not a ton, but i filmed the whole thing cuz the visuals were so pretty lmfaooo i jus was staring at them like wowwww prettyyyyy

during the ‘i dont feel anything at all’ he looked rlly sad & i couldnt tell if it was genuine or if he was goin for like a pouty look djfdsjfndjks then right after he winked so ig pouty thx breb

at some point he introduced nicole&kenny plus the strings & brass ppl as “his friends” it was sweet & he was like “these lovely ladies” about the strings & “these handsome men” about the brass & i was like WOO GAY RIGHTS

FIRE DURIN CRAZY EQUALS GENIUS. BOZ FLASHBACKS. FIRE ON MY FACE HUNDREDS OF FEET AWAY. FEAR. DONT LIKE FIRE. SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. KENNY WAS TOO CLOSE. FEAR.

a whole arena singing bohemian rhapsody 25+ years after freddie mercury’s death was Incredible, i dont believe in afterlives but if there is one i hope he was watching & enjoying & knowing his legacy was staying alive bc wow that was powerful

THE END WAS CRUNK AF HOLY SHIT BDEN GOT DOWN

i cant believe i remember the day emperors came out like,,,, jeez. so lit live tho

I HAVENT MENTIONED HIS SPARKLY SUIT YET. KING OF SPARKLY SUITS

BRENDON DOIN HIS HIGH NOTE BIT & THE STAGE LIGHTING UP FULLY ON FIRE FUCK DUDE

bitchden took his shirt off when he came out for the encore..... bitch

SINS,,, FUCK DUDE,,,, MY CHILDHOOD WAS CRYING HHYSTERICALLYYY, 

in the background of my vid u can hear me do the ‘ily’ ‘ily’ from the mv emo ass

my lil sis got fucken turnt to sins lmfaooo??? danced her ass off???

us: W H O R E bden: ily

VIOLINISTS GETTIN WILD TOO

they played footage of the music vid & breb & his fuckin iconic outfit & i was a lil emo kid again omg i cant believe i saw it live

he did funny voice durin calls for a toast nerd ... least he’s not entirely bitter abt songs ryan wrote anymore tho lmao... or maybe he is considering theres only two on the 30 song setlist ;-;

i gotta listen to afycso again damn it’s so iconic

oh yah at some bit he said “ive been doing this for 14 years, im 31 now” & it reminded me like.. most of these emo bands, they started so young. & got successful at such a young age. it’s so crazy. idk. wow. 

he got growly during the chorus, that’s pstump’s thing beeb dont steal it lmao

CONFETTI fitting ending, & i got him walking off which is cool, other bands it goes dark & they just kinda disappear & it’s unsatisfying ;-;

so yah i finally saw breadman live, i got 400 pics and 30 videos so that all got spam posted over the last few days lmao

[patternsintraffic]

My Favorite Albums of the Decade

I generally don’t like to stray from the topic of my music on this site, but I’m making an exception today. With the decade coming to a close I’ve seen a lot of folks sharing their personal top albums of the decade lists, and I thought it would be a fun exercise to try out myself. I ended up creating a top 20 list and turned it into somewhat of a long-form writing project, writing a few sentences about each album and my connection with it. Rather than throw it into the void of social media, I’d rather keep it here where I can better organize and present my thoughts. So if you ever wondered what kind of music inspires me or informs my musical output, give this a read!

I love writing about and sharing music in general, so this project was a lot of fun for me. I hope you find something to love in here, or just enjoy reading a little bit about someone else’s musical journey with some albums you may or may not be familiar with. As the title says, this is a list of my personal favorite albums of the past ten years. I would never attempt to present the most popular, or influential, or even best, albums in a list like this. I wouldn’t have much interest in that endeavor, and the albums on this list are almost certainly none of the above. These are simply the albums that I found the most enjoyment in, and that meant the most to me personally, in the 2010s. Without further ado:

01. Civil Twilight - Holy Weather (2012)

I would be hard-pressed to come up with an album that better encapsulates the kind of music that I was drawn to in this decade. The tracks on Holy Weather are dynamic, emotive, and draw a perfect balance between accessible and experimental. I was so enamored with this album upon release that I felt a genuine sense of pride watching the band command a large room while opening for Mutemath during 2012's Odd Soul tour. These songs deserved to be heard in arenas.

02. Lights - Skin & Earth (2017)

This one missed the top spot by the thinnest of margins. If I want to have fun listening to music, I know I can throw on Skin & Earth at any time and have an absolute blast. Nothing else I heard this decade made me want to move as much as this album does. Wall-to-wall standout tracks on here that range from delicate to acutely powerful. There are moments on this album that carry the kind of electricity that I’ve rarely felt from music since I was first forging a connection with it as a teen. Just the perfect pop album for my tastes.

03. Bear’s Den - So That You Might Hear Me (2019)

I really enjoyed Bear's Den's 2016 sophomore album Red Earth & Pouring Rain, and was disappointed in my initial listens of this year's follow-up. Further listens have revealed an album that has grown on me as much as any in my lifetime. The depth of beauty and poignant songwriting in these 10 tracks, some of which are anthemic rock tunes and some of which are acoustic confessionals, is astonishing. Of all the artists on this list, this is probably the one that has me most excited to hear what they do next.

04. Butch Walker - Afraid of Ghosts (2015)

Butch is my favorite songwriter of all time, and I could have just as easily put 2011's The Spade or 2016's Stay Gold in this spot. While those albums are primarily fun and lighthearted, I gave the edge to Afraid of Ghosts, which is built on melancholy atmosphere and heavy-hearted lyrics inspired by the death of Butch's father. The songwriting is beautiful and dripping with longing, even when it comes in the form of dirty, lusty rock tune and album standout "Bed On Fire."

05. Wild Party - Phantom Pop (2014)

If Skin & Earth is the perfect pure pop album for my tastes, Phantom Pop is the perfect pop-rock album. These songs are breezy, fun, infectious, and charmingly quirky. It's a shame that this album never found an audience in the indie rock scene, as I could have easily seen these guys taking the torch from a band like Motion City Soundtrack. Instead they went radio silent shortly after this album's release until resurfacing this year with a couple of singles.

06. Marianas Trench - Ever After (2011)

If it's not already evident at this point, I love a great pop song. It doesn't get much poppier than these tracks, which go right up to the line of being too sugary without quite going over. Josh Ramsay's soaring vocals carry this fantasy-inspired concept album that stacks hooks upon hooks upon hooks. I was making frequent four-hour drives at the time of Ever After's release, and it was usually the soundtrack, as it would reliably keep me upbeat and awake. The constant exposure ensured that these songs would be branded in my mind forever.

07. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods (2012)

Silversun Pickups have become one of my favorite bands over the past decade, as they continue to pump out consistently great albums without, in my opinion, a misstep in their career to date. If 2009's Swoon had been released a year later, it would be here (or likely even higher), but Neck of the Woods somehow lives up to its predecessor's impossibly high bar. The driving bassline in "Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)" is a piece of music that I think about with impressive frequency even when I haven't heard the album in months.

08. Graham Colton - Pacific Coast Eyes (2011)

There was a period around the turn of the decade when Graham Colton was the 1B to Butch Walker's 1A on my list of favorite songwriters. He doesn't have the same sonic range as Butch, but there's something warm and welcoming about his southern singer-songwriter output that feels like home. Listening to Colton's records and watching him play live around this time was deeply inspirational to me. What he was doing was simple, sincere, and relatable in a way that made my dream of pursuing my own music seem attainable. Pacific Coast Eyes was also the first album that I crowdfunded, and I remember waiting with baited breath in the months before the album’s release for updates and insider info about the creative process of one of my favorite artists.

09. The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018)

This is another charming, quirky, magnetic pop-rock album that is helplessly catchy. Besides the infectious single "Turn," Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life gives us "White Lies," "Out of My Head," and "Ice Cream," which are all just undeniable. The other tracks more than hold their own. These are the huge choruses I live for.

10. Thursday - No Devolución (2011)

The first time I heard this album was on one of those aforementioned four-hour drives, and it almost put me to sleep at the wheel. This wasn't the Thursday I'd fallen in love with on War All the Time and A City by the Light Divided. The vocals were buried in the mix and the songs just weren't connecting. But I returned to it after a few months and found a beautiful and layered piece of work that I never expected from this band. Nowadays it's hard not to call this my favorite Thursday album, despite how much some of their earlier work affected me during my formative years.

11. Paper Route - The Peace of Wild Things (2012)

Paper Route crafts a brand of experimental indie rock that doesn't sound quite like any other band I've heard. A lot of that individuality stems from frontman JT Daly's unique vocal performances, which drift effortlessly from falsetto to a more speak-singing delivery. This album is full of intricate drumming, electronic flourishes, and of course, big hooks. Their 2016 album Real Emotion is just as good. I could have flipped a coin to decide which one to put on this list.

12. The Maine - American Candy (2015)

I wouldn't argue with anyone who said that this band continued to improve with their subsequent records Lovely Little Lonely (2017) and You Are OK (2019), but this is the album that I personally enjoy listening to the most. This was the moment that I realized that The Maine had graduated from their neon-scene beginnings and become a band that I could really get invested in. I love the classic, breezy pop sound of this album and how it doesn't always take itself so seriously (see "My Hair," "English Girls," and "Diet Soda Society"). Another album that always feels good when I hit play.

13. Acceptance - Colliding by Design (2017)

Acceptance somehow returned 12 years after their debut album with a near-perfect version of what their band could sound like in 2017. They carried over the tunefulness and great songwriting from Phantoms and threw in some maturity and a few synths. The end result is an album full of impressive moments that is even better than I remember every time I put it on.

14. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (2015)

Andrew McMahon is one of my favorite songwriters, full stop. However, the final Jack's Mannequin album People and Things and his first solo endeavor, The Pop Underground EP, didn't excite me as much as his previous music had. Just when I was ready to accept that his newer output may never connect with me quite like his early records with Jack’s and Something Corporate, he dropped this first album under the Wilderness moniker and pulled me back in in a big way. Tracks like "Canyon Moon," "High Dive," and "Maps for the Getaway" retained the earnestness of his early songwriting while glossing it up with a new pop sheen. I guess I'll never grow out of McMahon's music.

15. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It (2016)

The 1975 have become a buzz band during this decade, and for my money this is their strongest collection of songs to date. They took a big swing here, with 17 tracks clocking in at 74 minutes. It is remarkable that this album takes a spot on my list even though I don't care much for some of the more extended cuts, which are primarily the experimental and instrumental offerings. It speaks to the strength of the rest of the songs, which include "A Change of Heart" and "Somebody Else," two of the most simultaneously heart-wrenching and danceable songs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

16. Blindside - With Shivering Hearts We Wait (2011)

For most of the first decade of the 2000s, Blindside were my undisputed, all-caps FAVORITE BAND. I channeled all of my awkward, pubescent, high school teen angst into their 2002 album Silence, and it was such a close companion during those formative years that it might never be replaced as the most important album of my life. By 2011, my taste in music had become considerably less aggressive, and songwriters like Butch Walker and Graham Colton were assuming Blindside's former mantle. But the band returned for one last gasp, six years after the release of their previous full-length. With Shivering Hearts We Wait was easily Blindside's best output since 2004's About a Burning Fire, mixing some more experimental elements in with their brand of radio-ready (if the radio were to ever play rock music again) post-hardcore.

17. Small Talks - A Conversation Between Us (2019)

Myrtle Beach, SC native Cayley Spivey hit me out of nowhere with this album in 2019. I had never heard of Small Talks prior to this year, and decided to check out this album on a whim. What I got was a collection of pop and rock songs that are diverse, infectious, and, true to the album title, feature lyrics that sound like they were plucked from intimate conversations with a trusted friend. I saw the band perform this album in full in front of an audience of about 20 people this year. I won't be the least bit surprised to see them selling out exponentially larger venues in the near future.

18. Hellogoodbye - Would It Kill You? (2010)

I enjoyed a handful of early Hellogoodbye songs. "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn," "Call N' Return," and "Here (In Your Arms)" are catchy as hell, but the band's output as a whole was uneven. Since they had a number of tracks I would classify as joke songs, I wasn't inclined to take them entirely seriously. That all changed with the release of Would It Kill You?, which ditched the bombastic electronic noises for more natural instrumentation and featured songs about relationships and self-examination as we age into adulthood. I was a year out of college and beginning my career when this album was released, and it was the perfect pop album for the coming-of-age moment I was living.

19. Steve Moakler - Wide Open (2014)

I had never heard of Steve Moakler when I saw him open for Graham Colton in 2011. Despite his youthful appearance, I was blown away by his songwriting and stage presence, and left the show with his first two full-length albums on CD (truly a sign of the times). His 2011 album Watching Time Run captivated me with its charming approach to pop singer-songwriter fare, but the 2014 follow-up Wide Open was where Moakler really found his voice. It retained some of the pop elements of his earlier output, while the overall sound and production started leaning into country territory. His albums after this one fully embraced the country sound and put him on the map as an up-and-coming star, but Wide Open still stands above the rest to me as the perfect blend of Moakler's former and current musical styles.

20. Arctic Monkeys - AM (2013)

Arctic Monkeys aren't a band that I would have ever expected to end up on this list. Their debut album, critical darling Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, doesn't really mean anything to me. I casually followed their career and kept up with their singles, but was never tempted to dive into their full albums until 2011's Suck It and See. I enjoyed that album a fair amount, but I was truly infatuated with AM in 2013. That was a tumultuous year in my life when I was enduring a lot of change and being pushed far out of my comfort zone. This is a straightforward rock record that is brash, groovy, sexy, and exactly what I needed at that time. I latched on tightly, and am still glad to rock out to AM at any opportunity.

There you have it, folks! My decade in 20 albums. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wish everyone a relaxing holiday season and a happy New Year. My resolution is to release the next PiT full-length album in 2020! It won’t be easy, but I did treat myself to some new recording equipment this Christmas and I’m eager to get to work. When there’s news, you’ll see it here. Wish me luck!