i just finished watching a live stream of alexa bliss and her husband ryan, as they were raising money for a charity. they had some musician friends on to play, and ryan also played some songs as well. i have never heard any of his music before, but for a first impression, his stuff is actually pretty decent. his vocal style is *very* close to that of dan haseltine from jars of clay. i’ve always really liked dan’s vocals, so ryan was also as equally enjoyable.
after that i had such a hankering to listen to the first jars of clay record. i have a lot of nostalgia for this album. not because it was an album i owned, but my sister owned it. i want to say she got it for either christmas or her birthday in 95, the year of it’s release. i do recall grabbing it a few times and listening in my room, but i also remember her listening to it in her room and going in there and laying on her bed and thumbing through the booklet. as a side note, that was easily the best christmas i have ever had. i have *so much* nostalgia of christmas 95. it was just a perfect christmas. once the dust was settled and all was said and done, she and i came away with 10 cds all together from that christmas, and i listened to each voraciously.
this jars of clay record though just takes me back to simpler times…. back to playgrounds, and sega, and math homework, and youth group, etc. i started youth group the fall of 95 because you had to be in the 6th grade. i remember being pretty amped cause of the girls. lol there was one girl in particular. i want to say her name was brandy? andi? i think it was brandy. she was pretty hot. brown doc martins, lucky jeans the fit her like a glove, braided belt, mossimo shirt, and her hair was brown and about armpit length. i mean.. you get it. the stereotypical mid 90s “shops at the brass buckle” type of girl. a lot of times she would take up the offering each week, so i tried to get an aisle seat 🙂 i’m almost certain she had to be my sister’s age, and with that i know for a fact we never shared one single word. i just thought she was hot.
these albums take me back to those types of memories. riding in the car with mom and sis on her way to cheerleading practice at 9am. we get to the gym and there’s still dew on the grass. mom and sis go in, i just stay in the car and listen to cds. this is the summer of 96. after i had already discovered tooth and nail records. i have very vivid memories of listening to plankeye ‘the spark’ album in the car one morning while they were inside. anytime i listen to that album i get distinct memories of being in that parking lot. just enjoying the music.
mom and dad both listened to full albums most of the time. they rarely listened to the radio. in the 80s they always played tapes. in the early 90s when they got a cd player installed in the car they just listened to cds. there’s something special about putting in a cd or record or tape or whatever, and just letting it play, and finding enjoyment from each track. there’s a very real and special connection to the full album you can make, that to me just can’t be beat with a playlist or shuffle or whatever. i’d like to say because of their listening habits is how i listen as well. they were *always* playing cds or records in the living room on sunday morning. and dad would just put on albums every now and again just to listen to. i’m glad they weren’t the type who just listened to the radio, and just took whatever a dj told them was serviceable. because i probably wouldnt have the same listening tastes today.
tl;dr: i only listen to full albums…