Case File #29: "For Once In Your Life"

The Jealous Sound
"For Once In Your Life"
Kill Them With Kindness
(2003)




The need to know: In 2003, The JEalous Sound released their debut LP, Kill Them With Kindness, a romp of indie rock with touches of emo mischief that landed on SPIN's top 40 albums of the year list. But, after signing to indie label The Militia Group in 2005, reports that the band was busy recording a follow up devolved into rumors that singer/guitarist Blair Shehan had left the band in ruins. A few years of silence and speculation followed, with an EP of the remnants of the band's studio sessions, entitled Got Friends, seemingly capping things off in 2008. In 2009, however, the band reemerged to open for emo legends Sunny Day Real Estate, and is currently back at work on a true follow up to their debut.

Why it's worthy: Being a night owl has its perks. "For Once In Your Life" celebrates (and questions) what goes on in those hours with anthemic choruses and painted-picture verses. The song plays out like a night spent picking apart the world and making revelations that never quite live long past sunrise.

Quotable lyric: "The sun's coming up/ As we're coming down"

Where you've heard it: This song was on every mix I made in 2003. If you knew me then, you've heard this song.

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Case File #18: "Where the Lines Overlap"

Paramore
"Where the Lines Overlap"
Brand New Eyes
(2009)




The need to know: Mainstream emo rock heroes Paramore made a splash in 2007 for their super catchy tunes and Hayley Williams' fiery voice. But added focus on the red headed dynamo spawned rumors of band tension and the possibility of a breakup which never materialized. In 2009, the band reemerged with Brand New Eyes their third and most mature album yet.

Why it's worthy: File this one under semi-guilty pleasure. Seriously, though, it's hard to not perk up after a listen to this song. "Where the Lines Overlap" (like much of Brand New Eyes) is Hayley Williams' love letter to her life. Yeah. Gag me. But can you blame her? If I was fronting an uber successful rock band just shy of my 21st birthday I'd be singing "No one is as lucky as us" too.

Quotable lyric: "I'm not used to it but I can learn/ Nothing to it/ I've never been happier"

Where you've heard it: Hayley Williams is an unlockable character in Guitar Hero World Tour, which is just cool. 

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Case File #7: "Admit It!"

Say Anything
"Admit it!"
...Is a Real Boy
(2004)




The need to know: A bi-polar, socially anxious frontman and one of the best young guitarists in the scene are, oddly, just two reasons why Say Anything have emerged as pop-punk's most promising band of rogues. Frank lyricism matched with furious guitars is just too good a combination to pass up, even though mental illness and rumored drug addiction, which singer Max Bemis often divulges in song, nearly sidelined the band as their true 2004 debut ...Is a Real Boy got a second lease on life, and a bonus disc, in rerelease by J. Records two years later. A manic, epic double album,  In Defense of the Genre, found the band back on its feet (and Bemis once again exorcising his demons) and their eponymous third album appeared in 2009. 

Why it's worthy: Part spoken-word diatribe, part loud, fast guitars, "Admit it!" finds Bemis at his vicious and honest best. But it's not so much a song decrying the bullies of his youth or the plague of hipster elitism as it is a victorious fist pound of underdog triumph. Far from the whine typical of the emo scene, "Admit it!" is a loser anthem without the loser and sticks to humorous and harsh criticism rather than devolve into a complacent whimper.  Ever insecure, Bemis aims his snarky crosshairs at himself as much as at his enemies and at many points it's hard to tell which is which. Either way, Bemis never apologies for his scathing mockery because, well, it's kind of the truth.

Quotable lyric: "Prototypical non-conformist/  You are a vacuous soldier of the thrift store Gestapo"

Where you've heard it: Blasting from my car windows circa 2005.

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