Healthy Body, Sick Mind

I'm person who looks back on their past a lot. I would say that I do this in a healthy way, in that sometimes I remind myself of friends I used to have and things I used to do that I wish I could bring back, but also think about things I did or ways I acted that were wrong. I think it's important to learn from your mistakes, but also that it's important that you don't forget who you are.

Since I've always been very involved in music, whether it be playing in a band, or going to shows, or buying records, looking back on musical taste is one of the main ways that I do what I was talking about in the last paragraph. Everyone's tastes evolve over time and if they don't, you are way too boring. There's nothing wrong with still loving stuff you discovered as a pre-teen, but if you don't grow in your interests that sucks.

Everyone has some bad music they used to listen to, but I try to look back on shitty bands I used to love within the context of where I was at the time. Sure, Pennywise really sucks and I can't believe I loved them at one time (let alone had the cover of Self-Titled as my MSN display picture), but me listening to Pennywise is directly tied to Punk-o-Rama 8, which was huge in introducing me to a lot of bands who I still love and are undeniably good. They also were a band that Damien and I used to play together on guitar and bass, so they are also tied to my friendship with my best friend and to me learning how to play bass.

In looking back on bands, I always find very empowering when I think about I still love a band as much as I did when I first heard them. I was listening to the Operation Ivy compilation yesterday and that is what inspired this blog post, because I still absolutely love those songs and they all still sound as fresh as the first time I heard them. If I've been listening to a band for like 15 years, then there has to be something about the band that draws me to it more than others. And that means that that particular idea has to be more important to me than other things. If that idea is more important to me and is something that draws me back to things regularly throughout my life, than it must be an integral part of my personality.

Right?

Right.

In the case of Operation Ivy this would the social awareness and criticism contained in their lyrics, and if that is an integral part of my personality, from the above logic, then that is a good thing.

It doesn't hurt that they play fast as hell too.

I don't know. This is a shitty blog. Operation Ivy rules and I still feel as powerful and positive as I did the first time I heard them in 8th grade. That's all I'm trying to say.