What I Was Listening to 15 Years Ago: 2010 Edition

January 12th, 2011

We’re nearly two weeks into 2011, and here I am publishing a post that I couldn’t find time for in 2010. The concept struck me some time last summer, and I believe it’s simply too good to let slip by. While I could have started with 1996, 1995 was a terrific year for music, and one that helped diversify my tastes. Even now, 15 years later, I still listen to many of the albums I saved my paper route money to buy when I was just a wee lad.

In 1995, I was wrapping up my first year of high school at the age of 15. I had just started playing drums and would form my first band by the end of the year. But most of my time was spent skateboarding and listening to music, often at the same time. I recall taking the bus out to neighboring cities with a portable cassette player and listening to the same handful of albums over-and-over.

It wasn’t until I hit high school that I was exposed to punk rock. And it didn’t take more than a single Rancid song for me to see the glorious light. That’s it, I was sold! Who the fuck needs the radio when there are dudes scraping their picks down the neck of their guitars and making the coolest noise I’ve ever heard in my life? Not this guy. And so it begins…

	Face to Face – Big Choice I was introduced to Face to Face when I saw them perform Disconnected on a local TV show. The faster songs like A-OK and It’s Not Over totally blew my mind. I couldn’t even fathom how someone could play drums that fast.
	Good Riddance – For God and Country I caught wind of many of the bands I listened to back them from compilations. Fat Music For Fat People was my bible, as it introduced me to so many great bands like Strung Out, Lagwagon, 88 Fingers Louie, Propagandhi, and of course Good Riddance. Better and All Fall Down are still two of my favourite Good Riddance songs, even after all these years.
	Lagwagon – Hoss Another disappointing album, at least at first. Hoss simply didn’t live up to my expectations that Trashed and Duh had set so high. “Is that even the same drummer?” I remember thinking. Technically, it might be inferior to the first two albums, but it’s chalk full of hits, especially the second half.
	Rancid – …And Out Come the Wolves I absolutely hated this album at first, with the exception of Maxwell Murder. I spent days on end listening to Let’s Go, and for Rancid’s follow-up to be all ska-ridden, I was not impressed. But I kept listening, and each time it would grow on me a little more. Now, …And Out Come the Wolves is one of my favourite albums of all time and I can’t imagine how many times I’ve listened to it. It’s always remained in regular rotation – 15 years strong!
	Voodoo Glow Skulls – Firme “WTF is this?” Those were the words that came out of my mouth the first time I heard Voodoo Glow Skulls, and rightly so. They play the strangest mix of punk and ska known to man. They do it really damn well, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them play several times over the years. I still smile like an idiot when Charlie Brown and Fat Randy come on.
	88 Fingers Louie – Behind Bars Love, love, love 88 Fingers Louie! Behind Bars is up there with my absolute favourites. Aside from the rather weak recording, this album doesn’t seem dated to me in the least. Pent Up, Outright Lies, I’ve Won… so many great songs on this album! Oh, and let’s not forget about the secret song at 7:05 of track 12 – a cover of Minor Threat’s classic, I Don’t Wanna Hear It.

It was super fun going through my iTunes library and reminiscing over some of these classic albums of my youth. Do the same with yours and let me know what you find. Do we have similar tastes? Do you still listen to many of the albums you did back then?