Friday Five

Top 5 Things that Make Me Nostalgic

Inspired by Adam's quote: "Nostalgia is powerful stuff."

1. The Starting Line. This band defined my teenage years. I was young, thought I was angsty, thought I was in love, thought no one understood me but musicians I had only met once (but who offered to "f****** kill" the dude who crowd surfed my head into a metal post.) They just released a live album and wow, do I miss them more than ever.

2. Justin. This is my old friend from Unos, who recently found me on Facebook after three years of not talking. I guess catching up with him really got me thinking about how much (and how little) changed in the past three years. And it makes me think about the days of Unos, and all that happened then. I look back at those times fondly now - I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

3. 3x5 photographs. No one seems to print 3x5 photos any more (who died and made 4x6 king?!), but the majority of my childhood is captured in just those dimensions. I guess something about 3x5 photos screams film and time and memory lane to me. Plus, it has that pretty decent John Mayer song written about them.

4. NOVA. For some reason, every now and then, I get this intense desire to go back to the days of Acting Class, getting lunch in Cascades as a class, driving around and doing nothing. When it was good, it was really good - the crazy guys, the party girls. Now, I'm past all of that, but sometimes I miss it.

5. CDs. I wrote an entry a while back about purchasing CDs for the first time in a while, and it still holds true. Though I haven't bought a CD in several months, I still get the biggest high off of purchasing my own little musical, aesthetic experience. I always think of my friend Tricia for some reason, and if that's not nostalgia, I don't know what is.

Way to Normal

Today, I went out and bought my first CD in about a year.

It started out because I didn't want to spend money on music. It continued because I didn't have money to spend on music. It continued further because I started getting music from friends and the school for free. But it's finally stopped because I've started feeling guilty and now, though still a poor college student, I've established enough of an income that when I find an album worth purchasing, I'll splurge.

It's actually a delightful feeling, as weird as that sounds. I didn't download because I got a "rush" out of it, I did it because, well, I was lazy. But holding that CD in my hand, trying to rip the damn plastic wrap off with my teeth, opening it the way Tricia showed me... it took me back, I guess, to the old days of each CD being a little adventure. A complete packing of sound, graphics and words that would rock my world for weeks at a time, never leaving my side. Something about the tangibility, the solidness of the CD and the case and the unique smell of printing the CD insert and plastic just brought on this onslaught of absolute adoration for music. I felt 15 again, buying the Gutterflower and Say It Like You Mean It and GOODbye, Moon.

I haven't felt 15 in a long time.