Everyone's fave scene girl and future mover n shaker Ashley Overdrive is back! Check out the soundtrack to her teen years and feel old because a blink-182 song from 2011 is included! Ashley can be found on tumblr and various other places on the internet @ashleyoverdrive
One of the most amazing feelings in the world is when you hear a
song that makes you think of a certain moment; the way dust was swimming
in sunlight, the smell of a particular place, a morning commute to
school. These are literally just melodies and rhythms melded together in
such a way that our brains take us back to specific sets of memories.
If that isn't one of the coolest things about how a human brain
functions you ever heard, then gtfo right now because here are some
songs that bring on my own middle/high school nostalgia.
1. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
This
is a must-have for any middle school emo kid circa early-mid 00s. Green
Day was probably the first band I had a serious obsession with, shortly
followed by My Chemical Romance. The dramatic shift after the first two
verses of this song were so emotional the first time I heard it.
American Idiot in its entirety is truly a masterpiece, I can't even
lie...if 12 year old me was able to sit through the 9 minute tracks
without getting impatient, it must have been good. I remember when I
took guitar lessons in 7th grade and learning this song, it made me feel
like such a badass.
2. Sugar, We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy
I
don't think there's much I have to say about this song besides the fact
that if you do NOT air drum along to the intro, then I dunno if I can
be your friend. FOB was this new & fantastic blend of emo-pop that I
could not get enough of, even if they were a mainstream band constantly
on the top 40 lists [UGH what POSERS!!!!1]. They were popular well
before my parents allowed me to go to concerts in the city/by myself, so
my first chance to see them was at Skate & Surf this past May.
Standing in the pouring rain to see them after all those years and
hearing the familiar drum intro, I almost peed myself. 19 years old
going on 13 and no fucks to give, probably one of the best [and most
long-awaited] shows of my life.
3. Bite To Break Skin - Senses Fail
Holy
SHIT do I love Senses Fail. They were the perfect level of angsty for
me, nothing too aggressive - I never got into metal, so this was my way
of keeping up with my guy friends who were all into dad-rock [at age 13,
wtf]. I think this was one of my first instances of anything "melodic"
or whatever you wanna call it. I finally saw Senses Fail at Bamboozle
2011 [my glasses broke in my backpack during their set] and again last
May. They came to a venue by my school the night before I left for
summer break, and pulling an all-nighter after this amazing show to
finish packing was absolutely beyond worth it. Their energy after all
these years is fucking great, and their music keeps getting better.
4. Reverse This Curse - Escape the Fate
Ahh,
man, this album was so good. Ronnie wasn't as much of a sleazeball, the
band drama was at normal levels instead of super ultra mega drama queen
status, and their future as a Warped Tour-core band seemed bright.
Alas, an entire avalanche of bullshit rained down upon them. Now the new
Escape the Fate and Falling in Reverse are in a desperate attempt to
"bury the hatchet" and scrambling to maintain the few fans they have
left [and cash in on their so-called truce]. Will this be the end of the
ETF x FIR feud? In my opinion, hell no, but this song reminds me of
riding the bus back home in 8th grade, scouring myspace for their newest
stuff, and wondering why my makeup couldn't be as good as Ronnie
Radke's.
5. Starlight - Muse
Honestly,
I don't remember the first time I heard this song, but it makes me
think of the city and having it as my Myspace profile song and being in
8th/9th grade, a lot, so yeah that's about it.
6. It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door - Underoath
I
think Underoath was one of the first screamo bands I listened to that
felt serious; it seemed like they put a lot of thought into their image
as opposed to witty song titles and zany promo photos. The music sad but
with sophisticated lyrics, very mosh4christ type stuff but it really
drew me in. The chanting at the end of this song specifically ("drowning
in my sleep/I'm drowning in my sleep") is almost haunting, and I loved
it.
7. Natives - Blink-182
Blink's
return to the scene came the summer before my freshman year of college.
I remember jamming to Neighborhoods when it was first released, and
although there are a ton of great tracks, it was Natives that quickly
rose up as my favorite. The fast-paced rhythm, the mix of Tom &
Mark's vocals, and the opening of the second verse ("Don't start to
panic for me, 'cause I have nothing to lose/I am as bright as the sun, I
burn up all that I choose") all combine to make this track one of the
most memorable songs of that entire year for me. Just listening to this
song again makes me think of sunshine flooding my cramped dorm room and
listening to this album as I walked to class.
8. Le Disko - Shiny Toy Guns
The
only reason I found this song is because it was iTunes free download of
the week when I was in middle school. It had such an industrial,
underground, dirty rock & roll meets rave goth-type vibe that made
me feel like I was dancing in an abandoned warehouse wearing a leather
miniskirt. I still love this song, makes me feel kind of like a badass.
Also, fun fact, the last bit of the chorus ("we're the girls le disko /
supersonic overdrive") is where "ashleyoverdrive" really comes from.
9. Claims Should Echo - Dr. Manhattan
Dr.
Manhattan [yes, their namesake is the dude from Watchmen] is a group of
dudes from Illinois making alternative/indie/pop/rock music that is
just plain weird....and I love it. They were opening at the first local
show I ever went to, the summer just after 8th grade, and it was an
amazing introduction to the scene. Since I got their CD that night, I've
been hopelessly addicted to their zany style. My best friend and I were
their #1 fans, even earning a spot on their myspace blog with a video
we made for them [we baked them a cake, it was pretty sweet]. Just
hearing them again makes me think of that time we got her mom to drive
us all the way to Boston to see them play a free show on some random
college campus, which definitely ranks as one of the coolest things a
parent has ever done for me.
10. Escape Me - Tiesto
I
was never much into EDM besides the basic radio stuff and a handful of
party mixes/full festival sets I dig up on Soundcloud, but one of my
best friends in high school was obsessed with the whole scene. She loved
Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner, but Tiesto was definitely up there.
Before I had my license, she would drive me around most of the time, and
of course the driver is the DJ so we had a grab bag of stuff going on,
everything from For the Fallen Dreams to Skrillex to A Day to Remember
to Bayside. This song was one of those instantly catchy ones for me, and
I put this one more often than not whenever I got the chance to control
the music. It makes me think of her white Jeep, driving around at
night, driving to this sketchy hookah bar where her boyfriend DJ'd a few
nights a week, and the summer between sophomore & junior year.
Definitely one of those "windows down, volume up" songs for me.
