Albums That Influenced Me in High School

I’ve seen this floating around Facebook for a few weeks and thought I would jump on the bandwagon and do my own version of it. Instead of 10 albums, I chose my top 6. This list was tough to make because my music taste changed dramatically throughout my high school years so I chose the albums that I listened to the most. Full disclosure, I was a music snob, and borderline music hater, in high school, meaning that I hated everything that was poplar without giving it a fair shot and I actively vocalized that opinion. At the time, I thought it to be some sort of rebellion against the status quo and I thought it made me cool…but it didn’t. I am happy to say that I am no longer that rebellious, music snob and my music taste has diversified and I listen to, and enjoy, just about every genre of music there is. 

If you were wondering, I started high school in 2011 and graduated in 2015. These are in no particular order, by the way.

brand new eyes - Paramore

I’ve said in previous posts that Paramore is my favorite band and this album is why. brand new eyes came out in 2009 shortly after my 12th birthday and I fell in love with it. I listened to it almost daily throughout my junior high and, most importantly, high school years. This record is angry and angsty, yet hopeful and happy. Everyone as a high school kid has some sort of angst or anger inside which makes it easy to identify, in some way, with brand new eyes. brand new eyes was my favorite record at age 12 and, almost eight years later, is still one of my favorites.

Paramore - Paramore

Paramore’s self-titled album came out when I was a sophomore and it became the soundtrack to both my junior and senior years of high school. Junior year was the year I finally discovered what I loved, academically speaking, and wanted to study in college and, hopefully, make a career out of.* This album’s themes of growing up and moving on were something I related to immensely. During that year, I also did a lot of soul searching and finally discovered what I genuinely cared about on a personal level. My senior year, I only took classes in subjects I loved; politics and government, sociology, English, and, obviously, music. Paramore’s self-titled record helped me to build up the confidence to finally take big steps to creating the best possible future for myself.

Diamond - Stick To Your Guns

I could write an essay on how much Diamond influenced and impacted me but I’ll try to keep this short. I discovered Stick To Your Guns in 2012 when they opened for Motionless In White. I instantly fell in love with STYG because their music really struck a chord with me. (I also cried at least four times during their set.) Before this show, I had never heard of STYG and I think that if a band can make a person feel so deeply like I did, they are definitely something special. after the show, I immediately listened to (and bought) Diamond. The messages of hope and individuality that are present on that album resonated with me as a sophomore in high school still resonates with me as a sophomore in college. This record helped me to keep my head up when things got hard in school and in my personal life. Like brand new eyes, Diamond is one of my favorite records of all time.

The Hope Division - Stick To Your Guns

Another STYG album, another potential essay.  The Hope Division is one of my favorite records of all time. The first song I remember hearing from this record was “Amber” back in 2012 when STYG toured with Motionless In White, my favorite band at the time. “Amber” really spoke to me because I had turned 15 a month and half before the show and was going through a rough patch. The Hope Division and Diamond helped me get through that tough time and helped to keep me positive and hopeful. The themes of staying positive and hopeful are what helped me out during that time and still resonate with me today. I owe a lot to Stick To Your Guns.

The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New

(I’m actually listening to this album as I write this and I can guarantee that it's in the CD player in my car right now.)

One of my best friends sent me a link to the song "Jesus Christ" during our freshman year of high school without context and just told me to listen to it. I immediately knew Brand New was something special when I heard that song. After listening to “Jesus Christ” once, I immediately went on YouTube and listened to the album in its entirety and was absolutely blown away by what I was listening to. This album plays with volume and intensity that’s unlike anything I have ever heard and I found something to relate to in every single song. Brand New was my go to band for when I was ever sad or down when I was younger. Today, Brand New is one of the few bands I listen to on a daily basis regardless of my mood. TDAGARIM is one of my all-time favorite albums and I had the honor of seeing Brand New (for the first time!) play it in its entirely in October 2016. It was one of the most indescribable experiences I have ever had.

Creatures - Motionless In White

Motionless In White, at one point in time, was my favorite band on the entire planet and Creatures was my favorite album of all time. Although I don't listen to Creatures or Motionless In White at all anymore, it still holds a special place in my heart because it helped me embrace my uniqueness as a person. I was one of the few people in my classes who listened to heavy music, liked horror, and things that were just out of the ordinary. Before MIW, I had never really been exposed to artists who expressed themselves with makeup, wrote music about horror and embraced things that were considered ‘weird.’ Because of Motionless In White, I discovered The Misfits, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, and Ghost. This album, like some of the others on this list, helped me embrace my uniqueness and finally express myself in the way I wanted to.

*If you're curious, I fell in love with government and the law, specifically American government, after taking a mandatory Civics class. I'm currently a political science major working towards going to law school, eventually.