Today is a somewhat special day on the B Side. I'm doing two reviews based on the Suggestion of follower Ashley. Hopefully she reads this, as I enjoy her Suggestions and I'm almost out of them! This is a plea to all of you guys, keep the Suggestions coming! I need 'em! In case you didn't know, Five For Fighting is one man - John Ondrasik. He was born way back in 1965 out in LA to a musical family. He adopted the name Five For Fighting from the hockey penalty. Ashley specifically asked me to review the track 'Superman' off this album - and I don't think that's a song I'll ever forget. This album dropped in late September of 2000. And I'll remember this for two reasons: 1) the girl I was seeing at the time loved that track. She'd come into my dorm room and crank my speakers as loud as they go and bump that song. 2) A fairly big moment in US history happened that month - and 'Superman' was used very often on the 9/11 attack videos. I'll always remember that song and 'Only Time' by Enya on almost every video I watched for the following 3 months. Looking back at this album, that song is really the only one to have made an impact on society. This album as a whole is really bland. Now, 'Superman' might not be my favorite song in the world, but I cannot deny the emotion is invoked in people after the attacks. And some have criticzed that's not a good thing to have your song known for - but I totally disagree. Music can help us get through some of the toughest moments in our lives. If John is only remembered for helping one person get through the incredible pain of losing a loved one - that's a job very well done.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Easy Tonight
2. Bloody Mary (A Note on Apathy)
3. Superman
4. America Town
5. Something About You
6. Jainy
7. Michael Jordan
8. Out of Love
9. Last Great American, The
10. Love Song
11. Boat Parade
12. Alright
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Superman
2. Easy Tonight
3. Jainy
FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars
Well put B. She cranked that one in the dorm room huh? I can see that.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the album is sort of lackluster, however other than "Superman", I like "Michael Jordan" too. Main reason I remember this album is for a few reasons. Firstly, my mom has it. Two, we started listening to Train's "Drops Of Jupiter" around the same time (which by the way is a suggestion in itself). I was in late middle school when she purchased it. She burned it to a CD for me to listen to on the bus-ride home so I wouldn't loose my mind being around the other kids.
(By the way, I like kids, but after being at school, you kinda want a place of solitude)
I can remember I always got home at around 3:20 or so...Good times. This is kind of the background story leading up to the first song I heard from NERD which was probably "Rockstar". That song was featured on NFL Fever on the start menu, well it was tweaked a bit for content but Pharrell, Chad, and Shae remained .
Wow, I think I went off topic a bit. That's what happens with me, well sometimes. Just like you, I recall 'Superman' being the go to song during the days surrounding 9/11 and I remember it vividly. Agreed. Music has this uncanny ability to change our mood, help us get through tragedy and possibly any other less than stellar moment in our lives.
Great post. One of my favorites of all time.
ReplyDeleteI'll get to Train some day. I can tell you off the cuff, I don't care for them very much.
Maybe one day I'll be remembered for altering peoples moods via reading the B Side. Even if one person says it made their day slightly better, I'll feel great.