I was recently talking to a friend of mine about bands that we considered "ours," and how they got taken away from us when they got popular. My three main choices: Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, and Say Anything.

I first heard Taking Back Sunday in the summer of 2002, but didn't really get into them until December of that year. I remember my friend driving us to pick up his sister from cheerleading practice in the snow, and I had a dance to go to that night. I was real nervous. But, for some reason or another, "Cute Without the 'E'" came on, and everything seemed to click. My life changed from that point on. "Tell All Your Friends" was an album that defined me, and really submerged me into a music scene that I guess I have gotten out of. I just think back seven years ago and how different everything was, and I can't help to smile. Young and angsty, I guess. I miss it.

Fall Out Boy was a band that I first heard in 2003. "Chicago Is So Two Years Ago" turned me on to clever and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and made being vengeful and spiteful sound so fun. Their first three albums are still on heavy rotation, and their lyrics still go through my head (ex. "...and when this all goes to hell, will you be able to tell me 'sorry' with a straight face," and "I'm the kinda kid that can't let anything go, and you wouldn't know a good thing if it came up and slit your throat.") I saw them live in a gym in 2004, and actually met them. They were opening for Sugarcult and they were just hanging out. This was before egos took over and they got radio play, so it was early 2004. God, I miss them.

Say Anything was a band that I first heard in the summer of 2004, but didn't get into until the winter of that year. Max Bemis is a genius, and "...Is A Real Boy" helped me out during a hard time in my life. That album helped get me friends, as we would all talk about how we saw them on their first ever show in Florida, and talk about his lyrics and how crazy he was. I got the CD for Christmas in 2004, and I wore it out. I can still sing every song in its entirety, even though I don't remember the last time I listened to it. I felt such a sense of friendship when my friends and I would sing "Belt" ("so what say you and all your friends meet all of my friends in the alley tonight?"), and I still think back to it whenever I hear it. I remember telling my manager at Hot Topic back then that they were going to be huge...guess I was right.

These are bands that I wish I could have kept as my own little secret, but things never work like that. Those three bands shaped who I am today. Before wrestling took over, music was my love. I hope it goes back to that again someday.


xxx.