Album of the Week: KOL: OBTN
Album of the week: Kings of Leon- Only By The Night
I know the album is over a year old and some of my KOL friends might disown me for this but as the new year kicks off I want to take some time to remember the album that spawned some great memories this year (all the friends I made b/c of the band, Lolla, the Nashville show...).
Last year around the beginning of December Chicago had one it's worst snow storms ever! I just happened to be driving in it! My internship was about 45 minutes from the city and when I left it was rush hour and a blizzard was starting. Since all the cars were stopped it gave the snow time to pile up. That night it took me 7 hours to get home... we're talking body tensed sliding all over the road 7 hours trapped in my car alone trying to get home in one piece. It was the most miserable and scary night of my life.
I stopped about halfway to get something to eat, pee, and made a quick trip into Best Buy. If I was gonna have another 3 hours to get home I was gonna have some good music to listen to. My purchase that night was Only By the Night by Kings of Leon. Yes I know... OBTN came out in September! I was in grad school, had just moved to a new apartment, and was out of student loan money...it was all I could do to afford to eat at that time but it was close to time for another student loan so I splurged! I had been getting by on listening to the album on youtube... I know... BAD FAN!
I put the CD in my player in the car and set out back towards the expressway (not so express that night) into the city. As the first notes of Closer played I knew it was my soundtrack for the night. The erieness of the song fit with my night perfectly. The entire album blared through my speakers with perfection as I crawled (haha crawled..see what I did there!) along the expressway home. Sure, it was different from the other three albums but out of all the crap being played on the radio at the time (keep in mind this was in Chicago so it was like Fall Out Boy overload) this was brilliant. Even Use Somebody which is probably the most hated new song by old fans is still better than any other song on the radio out there!
I'll admit that the sudden influx in fans made me start to hate OBTN. I'm always known amongst my friends for my superior music taste and liking the really cool bands nobody else has heard of so I felt like SOF and US took that away from me. It took remembering that horrible night and how beautiful the album sounded being played loudly in the car with snow falling down all around me like crazy to realize that it really is great album even if it's not their best album!
I'll always love OBTN for helping me make it home safe that night. I feel like I shared an intimate moment with it especially after the fourth time it played. I'll always love Caleb, Nathan, Jared, and Matthew (and Nacho) for the music they make rather it gets played on the radio or not. They'll always be my band rather they have 100 or 100000000000 fans because my love for them goes beyond OBTN! There's a deeper appreciation in my heart for them than the new fans have! I know how hard they worked! I know how much they deserve their success! Just don't dare try to get in front of me at their shows SOF fans!
Thanks Kings of Leon for always being there when I need you! I know whatever the next album sounds like it will be amazing too!
At least now I live in Nashville and hopefully won't have to deal with all that snow! (no I don't live in Nashville because of the band I live here because there are no jobs in Chicago and I was lucky enough that Nashville is close to my parents and jobs are plentiful here!)
I know the album is over a year old and some of my KOL friends might disown me for this but as the new year kicks off I want to take some time to remember the album that spawned some great memories this year (all the friends I made b/c of the band, Lolla, the Nashville show...).
Last year around the beginning of December Chicago had one it's worst snow storms ever! I just happened to be driving in it! My internship was about 45 minutes from the city and when I left it was rush hour and a blizzard was starting. Since all the cars were stopped it gave the snow time to pile up. That night it took me 7 hours to get home... we're talking body tensed sliding all over the road 7 hours trapped in my car alone trying to get home in one piece. It was the most miserable and scary night of my life.
I stopped about halfway to get something to eat, pee, and made a quick trip into Best Buy. If I was gonna have another 3 hours to get home I was gonna have some good music to listen to. My purchase that night was Only By the Night by Kings of Leon. Yes I know... OBTN came out in September! I was in grad school, had just moved to a new apartment, and was out of student loan money...it was all I could do to afford to eat at that time but it was close to time for another student loan so I splurged! I had been getting by on listening to the album on youtube... I know... BAD FAN!
I put the CD in my player in the car and set out back towards the expressway (not so express that night) into the city. As the first notes of Closer played I knew it was my soundtrack for the night. The erieness of the song fit with my night perfectly. The entire album blared through my speakers with perfection as I crawled (haha crawled..see what I did there!) along the expressway home. Sure, it was different from the other three albums but out of all the crap being played on the radio at the time (keep in mind this was in Chicago so it was like Fall Out Boy overload) this was brilliant. Even Use Somebody which is probably the most hated new song by old fans is still better than any other song on the radio out there!
I'll admit that the sudden influx in fans made me start to hate OBTN. I'm always known amongst my friends for my superior music taste and liking the really cool bands nobody else has heard of so I felt like SOF and US took that away from me. It took remembering that horrible night and how beautiful the album sounded being played loudly in the car with snow falling down all around me like crazy to realize that it really is great album even if it's not their best album!
I'll always love OBTN for helping me make it home safe that night. I feel like I shared an intimate moment with it especially after the fourth time it played. I'll always love Caleb, Nathan, Jared, and Matthew (and Nacho) for the music they make rather it gets played on the radio or not. They'll always be my band rather they have 100 or 100000000000 fans because my love for them goes beyond OBTN! There's a deeper appreciation in my heart for them than the new fans have! I know how hard they worked! I know how much they deserve their success! Just don't dare try to get in front of me at their shows SOF fans!
Thanks Kings of Leon for always being there when I need you! I know whatever the next album sounds like it will be amazing too!
At least now I live in Nashville and hopefully won't have to deal with all that snow! (no I don't live in Nashville because of the band I live here because there are no jobs in Chicago and I was lucky enough that Nashville is close to my parents and jobs are plentiful here!)
