It's that time of year again, when we all think about how lucky we are to live in a first world country, have a cute golden retriever, and an Aunt Lucy who makes a killer pumpkin pie. I know I'm not alone when I say that the thing that I am most thankful for is music.
Here is a list of 10 bands that I am thankful for and the reasons why. It's my way of saying Happy Thanksgiving to you!
10. Sum 41
I am thankful for Sum 41 for having a hit on Total Request Live [19] that made me ask for their CD for my 10th birthday. Because of Sum 41, I had more punk cred than all of the girls who got a Christina Aguliera CD for their birthdays that year. Because of Sum 41, when people ask what my first CD was, I don't have to tell them that it was my second CD, B*Witched.
9. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
My parents have always had killer taste in music, but Bruce and his band solidified their love for live music, which they passed onto me and changed my life forever. I used to dance around in my dad's cowboy boots while he would sing "Pony Boy [20]" to me. Some things never do change.
8. Moving Mountains
Moving Mountains is a band that makes me feel decisive. It takes me half an hour to choose between the two vegetarian options on a menu when I'm out to eat. I ask at least four friends to read over a menial text before I decide to send it. I never had a favorite song and I thought that I never would. One day, about four years ago, I heard "8105" by Moving Mountains [21] and I can say with confidence that I do now.
7. Jack's Mannequin
Andrew McMahon is easily one of the most inspiring musicians out there. I was a bit too young to appreciate Something Corporate, but when McMahon released Everything In Transit under the name of Jack's Mannequin, I was entering my "deep," high school years. These songs got me through some of my hardest (most awkward) years. I wrote my college essay about a Jack's Mannequin show, and I'm pretty sure it's the reason I was accepted.
6. Taking Back Sunday
My insomniac lifestyle was in place well before I was 12 years old. One night, at around 2 a.m., I was watching music videos on MTV. I was dozing off when I heard "I've got a bad feeling about this, I've got a bad feeling about this" coming from my television. I hopped out of my bed and rummaged around my bedroom, looking for a pen so that I could write down the title of the song when it flashed onto the screen. I didn't find a pen until after the song was over. I waited up all night in hopes that the song would come on again. Eventually, it did. I scribbled "A Decade Under The Influence [22]" by Taking Back Sunday into my journal and my love-affair with emo music began.
5. The Rocket Summer
If my happiness was a band, it would be The Rocket Summer. I'm thankful for The Rocket Summer for putting some of my best memories to music.
4. Lydia
If my sadness was a band, it would be Lydia. I'm thankful that their haunting, and hauntingly unique music has existed to soundtrack some of my not-so-great days.
3. Dream Street
You read that correctly. Am I talking about the boy band that hardly existed in 2002? Yes. Am I proud? No. Would I have had the same best friends since the sixth grade if we didn't bond over this band years ago? Probably not.
2. Foo Fighters
I'm thankful that this band has kept classic rock alive long past its prime. I'm thankful that this band gives my family something to agree on. I'm thankful that Dave Grohl [23] is the perfect human being.
1. Brand New
The band that never gets old. The band that is forever my go-to. I could never list all of the reasons that I'm thankful for Brand New but I know that this is the band I'll be forcing my kids and grandkids to listen to while I tell them stories that they don't care about.
For a spotify playlist featuring the 10 bands that I am thankful for, click here [24].
Photo via flickr / alittleoffcolour [25]
