via//chicago

np: "storm vibrations" - guided by voices

yes, the week of GBV continues here at viaChicago. i don't know exactly what provoked this, but everytime i turn around i find myself popping in another disc. i'm not a long-time GBV fan, in fact it was with the purchase of Earthquake Glue that i've really begun my interest in all things Pollard. GBV has just always been one of those bands that i've always been aware of, even if i'm not listening closely. my earliest memory of them is having a friend include "The Official Ironman Rally Song" on a mixtape back in the year Under the Bushes... came out. i fell in love with that song, playing it over and over as it drilled its way deep into my head. still one of my favorite tracks of the '90s. after obsessing over the song for a week or so, i decided to hit the Champaign record shops and pick up something by this band with the funky name. with finances tight at the time, i was stuck picking up the only used item i could find, King Shit and the Golden Boys, having been lost forever from it's proper place in the Box set. i guess i just wasn't ready for that early GBV yet, as i only listened to it a couple times before passing it on to the forementioned friend. other than that i remember listening to Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes in my architecture studio a couple of times when the Rusted-Root obsessed frat boys were out for the night, leaving the indie kids in full reign of the studio disc player.

studio. wow, just typing out that last line has brough a full on flood of memories of sophmore year in Flagg Hall. i was there, as were most others, between every class and after dinner until 2 or 3 in the morning every night - not to mention the 13 hours per week we were required to be there for class. it seemed like hell at the time, but looking back it was one of the greatest bonding experiences of my life. i'll never forget the people i shared sweat, blood, tears, pizza, beer, and other substances with during those long nights. and of course architecture students just seem to love music, so that was never in short supply. agreeing on music was another thing, but i think a lot of musical tastes were discovered and nurtured those two semesters. without that studio time and Annie, my very own indie-rock goddess, i never would have discovered bands like Smoking Popes, Rachel's, Slint, Rodan, or June of 44. but as i think back on those days, there's certain albums that stick out in my mind as being played over and over during those long nights, for good or for bad.

Reservoir Dogs soundtrack a fun album for three o'clock in the morning, at least the first four or five times. but, as most of us discovered, not the thirtieth. we ended up having to hide this from one kid because that was the sole album he would play when his turn came around.

Tom Petty - Wildflowers this will probably always be my favorite Petty album simply because of this period of my life. it always seemed to get slipped on around 4 or 5 in the morning during an all-nighter, as we actually sat down and started to work despite the tiredness creeping in. it seemed a very fitting soundtrack for those hours.

Mad Season - Above this was a surprise hit amongst nearly everyone in the studio, although to this day i can't figure out why. don't get me wrong, i think it's some of Layne Staley's better vocal work, but it surprised me just how much everyone embraced this one for those late nights.

Rusted Root - When I Woke this album was hugely popular with the frat boys in the studio, and i'll admit that at one time i loved the hell out of that album. but i think it was studio that also ultimately killed it for me.

those were the albums almost always on at some point or another in the studio and will forever be linked with that year of my life. but like most other music fans, we ofter got obsessed with just one song - no matter how much other people hated it or not. "Fee" - Phish, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (acoustic version)" - Pearl Jam, "Regulate" - Warren G & Nate Dogg, "Oh Carolina" - Shaggy, "In the Meantime" - Spacehog, "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" - Whale, and "Been Caught Stealing" - Jane's Addiction are just a few that come immediately to mind.

when i grew sick of the studio banter and shitty music selections, i always seeked comfort in my over-sized Sony headphones and drowned myself in my own tunes. and that year was mostly about the Pumpkins. Mellon Collie had just dropped that year, and i could not take that thing out of my Discman. there was always something new to wrap my head around and soak in with that masterpiece. Siamese Dream also got huge amounts of airplay for me, as i rediscovered that album after putting it away for most of my freshman year in favor of my big hip-hop fling.

how about you, dear readers? any songs or albums that completely take you away to another time or place? a time that may have sucked, but you still get a weird sense of nostalgia for when you hear something? the comments work, share if you have a good story. thanks for reading.