THIS WEEK IN MY HISTORY: ALL SYSTEMS GO

(I had to amend this one to "this week" since I meant to do it Tuesday but never got a chance...whoops)

Tuesday, September 24, 2003 is etched in my mind permanently for the most random reasons. Granted, I remember most of what happened freshman year by the minute, but that's just who I am. For the most part, I remember that piece of my college tenure for being "Red Tuesday", which is a story and blog post for another day.
Most of you should know that I am a sucker for the "alternative, pop-rock" genre most people these days like to mock. Whatever. I grew up on Z100 (before the format change) and 99x, so it's in the blood (in a Better than Ezra sense...nevermind). Everyone's got their different musical preferences, and I can't stand those who think there's is so much better and demean others, but again, that's another rant for another day.
One of the first things I penciled into my calendar when I moved into Russell was this Tuesday being the release of Vertical Horizon's "Go" CD (and Nickelback's "The Long Road"...not too proud of that one I'll admit). Ironically, it was during my first freshman year that I discovered and became hooked on Vertical Horizon. "Everything You Want" is still one of my favorite songs ever (a lot because that video is so awesome), and the CD of the same name is also very good. So naturally, I was excited to hear how they followed up since I was technically a fan in development.
In hindsight, that album was one of the most important of freshman year and my college experience in general.
Musically, "Go" is a mixed bag. There's some slower, more "soul-baring" ballads but some good "radio rock" songs as well. That's what I like...a little bit of variety. What makes a great album for me though is hearing several songs and just being drawn in by the words, which makes you want to go back and listen more and more.
I remember driving back home and hearing "Forever" for the first time. In its deepest sense, "Forever" is inspired by the death of someone close to the band, and the slow tune complements it well. I couldn't help but think, "This is gonna be an important song for me", and in a way I guess I was right. For where I was at the time, that song struck a lot of the conflicts I was having with myself and a lot of other people and helped me deal.
There were others of course. "Echo" is my favorite of the rock songs probably because it sounded the most like something from "Everything You Want". If I could ever listen to "Sunshine" without it skipping, that would be up there too. And I've fallen in love with "Goodbye Again" over the years.
More importantly, Vertical Horizon became a link for some of my closest friends and best experiences of that year. Along with listening to their music non-stop, I saw them twice in concert over the freshman run. The first one at the Variety Playhouse around Halloween was kinda ho-hum, with a dead crowd and the band still working out the kinks on the new stuff. In March, the band came to Athens and played what is still one of my favorite shows ever. The energy from Vertical Horizon and the crowd was a complete 180, and my voice was shot.
The best part though was hanging out afterwards and meeting the band, taking pictures, etc. Sean Hurley (one of their guitarists) is a great guy, and I remember him talking to us about what to call Athens since Atlanta was "A-Town".
To this day, Tyler and I still play/sing Vertical Horizon songs largely inspired by the fact that we talked about their music so much freshman year. I'd say there's a rare time when we hang out and don't talk about how awesome that show was and how we need them to come back soon.
It's really hard to believe it's been five years since "Go" hit the market (and that's not counting the 2005 re-release...though I like "Better When You're Not There", it's not the same). But I truly believe that that particular album began a snowball that changed my freshman year and college experience for the better. Those songs are some of my favorites from my four years at UGA, and Vertical Horizon became a focal point for some great times with friends old and new.
Hopefully, five years from sometime in the near future I can note the impact of "Burning the Days"