90s Throwbacks and Jimmy Eat World
I have a terrible memory, just ask anyone. It always takes me a minute to remember my daughter’s teacher's name, my anniversary, what day of the week it is, why I came into the room, etc. I’ve made an art out of pretending to know someone who clearly recognizes me.
Imagine my surprise when my daughter started reading The Babysitters Club, the series that dominated the books shelves of young girls in the 1990s, and suddenly I’m a sleeper agent when it comes to knowledge about middle school girls starting a small business in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.
“Oh that’s Kristy, her parents are divorced and she’s the sporty one.”
“Stacey was the coolest! She used to live in New York, and she has diabetes.”
“Mary Ann is the shy one, but she's the first to get a steady boyfriend. His name is Logan."
My daughter was not particularly impressed, and I was once again annoyed that you’re not allowed to simply free up brain space for useful things. Would have been better to retain Algebra or Spanish verb conjugations rather than Claudia being the artistic one with her own phone in her room.
Having to explain to my daughter the cultural cachet that comes with having your own phone line (remember when DJ Tanner got one on Full House? I was so jealous) made me prepared for volunteering at this weekend's library fundraiser. It was 90s theme, please see my beautiful JC Penny portrait with my friend Willie:
Almost everyone dressed in theme. It was fun seeing the Macho Man Randy Savage and Tonya Harding costumes, but I was most at home among the many bucket hats. The world may as well know that I wore an Eddie Bauer bucket hat every day of eighth grade because I thought it was a proper replacement for learning how to style my hair.
But for this week’s album, I left the slap bracelets and butterfly clips behind and was instead given something for the new millennium - Jimmy Eat World, Bleed America.
This one was a suggestion from my lovely friend Shannon, who discovered it when she was 15. She was going through tough times with friends and connected with the album:
I think the lyrics to The Middle really resonated with me and those experiences I was having. I remember I was on a camping trip with my family and I had the CD in my little portable CD player, and I listened to that one song like 10 times in a row. It was like a pep talk in a song lol. Now when I listen to it, it just makes me happy.
Shannon, it turns out that’s exactly what they were going for. The Middle, the bands biggest hit to date, was written for a fan who felt like an outcast, whose friends made fun of her for not being “punk enough.” I find that adorable.
I was not aware of Jimmy’s influence. They are often credited with bringing emo music to the mainstream (emo being a type of punk music with emotional/confessional lyrics). Fun fact, in the wake of 9/11, Clear Channel released a memo with a list of songs that were "lyrically questionable" (and that included every single Rage Against the Machine song). In light of this, the band rereleased the album as Jimmy Eat World and the title track became "Salt Sweat Sugar." They went back to the original title in 2008.
If you want to waste some time, I highly recommend the Wikipedia article Impact of the September 11 attacks on the entertainment industry.
9/11 aside, I really enjoyed this album. The energy from the uptempo songs were infused with so much joy, the ballads made me feel like, yeah, life can get better, and I honestly had no skips on this one.
The album was generally well reviewed, but the biggest criticism that I could see was that it was too accessible, too mainstream, even a little bland. I don’t totally disagree with this line of criticism, and while I didn’t dislike any of the music, I could see how it’s a bit “safer” than even some of the popular music in the genre that would follow.
At least I was willing to entertain this, but then I read one of the most insufferable reviews ever from Pitchfork:
You want love, happiness and 'whoa's.' You want to cruise around the housing development with the windows down, doing donuts in the cul-de-sac with your newly obtained permit, blasting music so empty and sincere even you could have written it.
You know what? Now I love this album without reservation, ya jerk.
Personally, this is the one I’ve been singing all day, angrily loving those "whoa's":
The early 2000s were a time of unlimited downloads thanks to Napster and Limewire, and I threw myself into collecting pop punk music now that I didn’t have to pay a whole $20 for a CD.
As I listen to Yellowcard, All American Rejects, New Found Glory, Fall Out Boy, etc., it reminds me of a time where I felt anything was possible. Maybe one day I would go to banging house parties, learn how to layer my tank tops just so, and get a boyfriend that wore eyeliner. Maybe I could be cool.
None of that happened, but the soundtrack of my teens is still pretty great with the knowledge that my life got so much better after high school.