jonathandiener:

In today’s world, when people hear a new band there are so many outlets to research every little thing about them. A way to connect to fans, friends and even people who don’t like the band but just feel like keeping tabs on them. This is what music has turned into. For example, a band like The Swellers: you can read everything we’re thinking about on twitter, watch our tour videos to see literally everything we did, and even find us on myspace (fairly irrelevant nowadays). These things almost eliminate all forms of personal interaction because, well, everyone already knows what you just did.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the fact we’re an approachable band and with so many bands there are tons of outlets to get connected with them.. But there will always be one thing that I miss about getting into music while I was in my younger years.

Before mp3.com and myspace and all the ways to find music while slouching around in your computer chair, you had to actually go OUT to find it. Music was more of an adventure and it had this really cool magic to it. My cousin gave us a burned CD (crazy concept, mp3s from DIFFERENT bands… all on the same CD!?!) when I was 9 years old and it was filled with Punk and Ska music. I picked the songs I loved from it and went to go buy the bands’ full length CDs. Upon doing so, I found an amazing compilation called Punk-O-Rama (which would quickly change my whole taste in music and potentially my life).

My brother and I would jump on our trampoline while I was in 4th grade and listen to Punk-O-Rama Vol II religiously. I quickly fell in love with 2 of the bands, Millencolin and Osker. I went out and bought Millencolin’s album Pennybridge Pioneers which changed my life. I didn’t know anything about the band other than they were Swedish and they made kickass music. Everyone liked the bigger bands like NOFX and Bad Religion, but for the first time I had music that made ME different, and special. I had my own thing. I even learned how to really play drums while listening and playing along to that CD in my ghetto boombox (when it would get too loud it would just stop working… which made drumming along very difficult).

After my 14th birthday, getting a Millencolin birthday cake from my Mom and tons of shirts from www.interpunk.com I began to broaden my musical landscape… not really that much, but enough to get into the album “Idle Will Kill” by Osker.

Now this was something really special. I had no idea how old they were, what they looked like, no live videos or even got to see them tour.. Osker was just the MUSIC for me. I put the album on my Xbox and played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and bathed in my punk rock glory of a childhood (yeah, I said it).

Well, this album meant a lot to me, influenced The Swellers’ music a ton, but not even until 2 years ago did I find out the guys in the band were around 18 years old when they made the album. They’re just squirly, normal looking teenagers who were pissed off enough to make something that compelling, at least to me. When I found out all of the “real info” about the band, it began making me realize how many bands I judged based on looks as I got older. Instead of hearing music on comps first, you saw an ad in AMP or AP or some link to their myspace page and maybe the band looked like goofballs so I wouldn’t bother. Now I’m realizing how easily it is to pass judgement on a band based on looks, or their vibe. What clothing company sponsors them, etc.

Music should be about just that, MUSIC. Go listen to as many bands and artists as you can and be on a constant quest to discover new and great things. Remember, it’s what you hear that really matters, that’s what lasts a lifetime.

-Jonathan