Day 7: A song that reminds you of a certain event

FYI: I added the playlist that was on the first post to the right side of my blog. Have a listen to the songs I've been writing about!

I know this song has lot of special meaning to many people, but to me, "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan holds something different for me. Most people associate it with that sad puppy commercial, and let's be honest, I do too, but more than that it reminds me of something that happened when I was in 7th grade.

Every New Years since I was little, my family has had a tradition where we invite some family friends over and they spend a night or two here celebrating. The year I was in 7th grade was no exception. New Years day my friend, Tara, and I were up late watching TV when my brother came into the room and asked, "Joe, do you know Jessica Mayer at all?" I said that yes, I did just not very well. We had band and gym together, though, and her locker was right next to mine. I asked him why he wanted to know and he said he was just wondering so I brushed it off.

The next morning, I was playing Beyond Good and Evil on my Gamecube when my mom came into the room and told me to turn it off because she had something she needed to tell me. I asked if I could just pause it and she said that no, I needed to turn it off and come sit down at the kitchen table. I did as I was told and she began to tell me something that would change my life forever.

The night before, Jessica and her two sisters were driving to the bachelorette party for their brother's wedding when they were involved in a car accident. Jessica was killed instantly and her sisters did not survive much longer. This was my first real encounter with death. I had pets that had died in the past but this was the first time that a person I knew had died.

A few days later winter break ended and we returned to school, not knowing how everyone would be reacting. I came into school and everyone was tying white ribbon on the locks of their lockers and Jessica's locker had a picture of her up on it. People were sitting in the halls and classrooms talking to each other, crying, hugging... each one trying to make sense of what had happened. We talked about it in every class that day (except math... our math teacher still tried to teach us a lesson but we were honestly too upset to really comprehend it). Teachers cried. The one that has stuck with me most was my band teacher crying... Actually, pretty much everyone in that class cried. Some were just paralyzed and sat in silence. In gym, we just sat in groups and talked about what happened. None of us could believe that Jessica was really gone.

The moment that it really hit me the most was the end of the day when I went to my locker to get my things and head home. Normally, Jessica would be there smiling and ask me what homework we had but not today or ever again, for that matter. It was strange how something so little was what affected me the most. It really made me stop to think about the little things in life and how I shouldn't take anything, or anyone, for granted.

By now you're probably thinking, "Okay Joey, that's really sad but what does this have to do with the sad puppy song?" Well, I'm getting there. Don't get your panties in a bunch.

Fast forward a week or two. Jessica's funeral, my first funeral, had come and gone, with 90% of the 7th grade class along with most of the St. Anthony Middle School staff attending. It was now time for everyone's favorite awkward middle school event, the Friday night dance (or, the P.C. version that my middle school referred to it as, the "activity night"). You know that anything starting at 7 and ending at 11 is going to be a GOOD TIME especially when coupled with a bunch of hormonal pre-teens who were just discovering the magic of grinding.

During this dance, however, something different happened, something profound that's memory still lingers with me to this day. After the DJ got done playing "Get Low" or some other raunchy generic rap hit of 2003, he stopped the music and said, "Okay guys, we're going to slow it down for one song. We'd like to dedicate this song to Jessica Mayer. We'll never forget you, Jess." And he was right; we never have.

The song he played was "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan (bet you didn't see that one coming!!!). At first, everyone just kind of stared at each other. None of us knew what to do. Then, slowly, people began to sit down. Soon everyone was sitting down and many of them, including myself, were crying. I had never heard this song before but it seemed to so perfectly fit the situation we were in. It was encouraging to see everyone, even complete strangers who had never spoken to Jessica, being so respectful and mourning such a loss with us.

Now, every time I hear this song I am reminded of that cold January night and, more importantly, of what Jessica's death taught us all: Be grateful for the simple things because you never know when they'll be gone. Take the time to appreciate those around you, no matter how well you know them, because they may not be in your life much longer. And, most of all, live your life the way you want to, never wasting even a single day, because you never know when it'll all be over.

Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere

"No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" by the Sounds reminds me a lot of my time at Purdue largely because that's when I really got into the Sounds. Actually, I really got into a lot of music there, come to think of. I really wasn't enjoying myself as much as I could've been so I guess music was my escape like it always has been. The Sounds, Lights, Paramore, and, of course, No Doubt and Metric... They made things seem alright. I also started realizing something about myself there. Something that I never thought would happen to me but these feelings and urges just kept building inside of me and I couldn't deny it any longer.

I realized that I...

FUCKING LOVE LADY GAGA.
She is glorious. Fucking glorious.

Day 5: A song that reminds you of someone

Today's song takes us way back to the 90's... or the early 2000's, I don't remember. The early 2000's are basically an extension of the 90's. But that's beside the point. The song is "Juliet" by LMNT and it reminds me of one of my BBFs, the lovely Maxi Moroni. I remember when this song first came out I used to listen to it on Radio Disney all the freaking time and sing along. Now the only thing that has changed is the Radio Disney listening to part. I remember last summer we were riding in Maxi's car and she played this song and it brought back so many memories... I wish trashy pop music were as glorious today as it was in the 90's. The only trashy pop music I'd classify as glorious these days is Lady Gaga.

Day 4: A song that makes you sad

It's day 4 of the 30 day song challenge and today's theme is "a song that makes you sad." I chose the song "Pretend" by Lights. I happen to adore Lights; not only does she make really good music but she's REAL PURTY!!!! I mean, look at this picture I stole from her Facebook:



LOOK AT THAT FACE. It's soooo... symmetrical.

But this blog isn't about me being a creep, it's about this lovely song that happens to make Joey very nostalgic. I turned 20 just over a week ago and it's been really sinking in that I'm not a child anymore and you know what? I had a pretty damn good childhood. Nothing overly traumatic happened (well, until I was like 16, anyway) and I lived a pretty easy life. And best of all, I got to just play all of the time and didn't have to work hard in school (which really fucked me over for college haha). I got to do a lot of things Lights sings about; Drinking soda (or that sparkly grape shit) instead of wine, water gun fights, play fights in general... Don't get me wrong, I love me some wine but I'd give it all up to be a child again. Things were just better back then.

Some things I miss: Game Boys, Pokemon, playing cops and robbers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, old episodes of the Simpsons, Nickleodeon, Beanie Babies, getting dressed up for Halloween, Christmas in general, playing Legos, going to my grandma's in Illinois and catching lightning bugs, the Fun Fest at my elementary school, chalk, sledding down my neighbor's hill, sleepovers, Skip Its, biking, bad 90's music, being able to get by on 7 hours of sleep, doing nothing all summer, getting special treatment because I was so young, ghosts in the graveyard, freeze tag, my friend's basement, N64 (I miss this one A LOT haha), the Spice Girls, movies like Clueless, being innocent and carefree, Joe and Tara's Bar (don't ask haha), awkward middle school dances, calling people do see if they wanted to play, looking forward to college and the future and having endless possibilities ahead of me...

I wish I could go back.

Day 3: A Song That Makes You Happy

Today's song is The Sweet Escape by God (a.k.a. Gwen Stefani) featuring Akon. How can this song NOT make you happy? It makes me just want to snap my fingers and sing along. I remember when the album of the same name came out this song was one I instantly clicked with despite that album... not being my favorite of Gwen's work.

On a related note, I'm really looking forward to No Doubt's new album. I've been waiting for this for YEARS. YEEEEEEEEARS. Apparently they have nine songs done already, too!!! Hopefully by this time next year we'll have some brand new ND and a tour to boot!

Day 2: Your Least Favorite Song

Much like my favorite song, I had a lot of trouble picking this one. Harder than picking my favorite, actually, because let's keep it real: There's a lot of shit music out there. I was going to do a Ke$ha song but I couldn't pick just one because they're all so horrible... Kate Nash almost made the cut with that "Mariella" song but then I remembered this piece of shit that I was forced to listen to back when I started working at PacSun... It's called "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" by Sandi Thom and it's just... really bad. We'd have customers stop and say to us, "What the fuck is this horrible song playing?" and none of the employees liked it either. In fact some of the people who've worked at PacSun for 3+ years still remember and complain about it. The lyrics are probably what makes it so bad. I mean, they're just really stupid. It's like... Shut yo trap, guuuuurl. No one cares. And punk rockers don't wear flowers in their hair, idiot. That's a fucking hippy. IDIOT.

Day 1: Your Favorite Song

It was really hard for me to decide on a song to do for this one. I listen to a lot of music and picking just one song as my favorite of all time? Shit. A couple came to mind. Among them: "Simple Kind of Life," "Sunday Morning," and "Rock Steady" by No Doubt, "A Man/Me/Then Jim" by Rilo Kiley, "Emergency" by Paramore, and a few others... but one song stood out and that song is "Hustle Rose" by Metric.

The first time I heard this song I wasn't blown away. It was like a few other songs where I've been like, "Whoa, this song rules!!" But for some reason I kept listening. From the beginning, from the very first line, this song rules; "Behold the fishnet slut tonight..." Behold indeed. After repeating "Now that your wallet is all lit up" over minimalist synths for around 30 seconds, the real beauty of the song starts: Emily's soft, haunting voice over piano turning... and then bursting into a musical experience like something you'll never know. I can't even come up with the words to describe it. Probably the most spectacular part, however, is the breakdown that closes out the song. Turn it up loud, close your eyes, and shut out the rest of the world and your mind will be blown in such a way that you'll never be able to recover... not that you'd want to.

This song also has a lot of personal meaning to me. Back in high school while I was going through all my depression and eating disorder shit, I'd listen to this song a lot. It honestly is one of the reasons I'm still alive today. I'd just sit there in awe and think... How can something this beautiful exist and the whole world be bad? There is good out there, you just need to search for it.

Also, for those who don't know, the tattoo on my back is from this song.