"mEMOries" Part 2 feat. Daniel Becker (Time as a Color Records, Amid the Old Wounds)

8 years ago, back on the old site, we did start a series called mEMOries. It was all about asking new Emo-bands or other scene affiliates about their all time favourite (Midwest-)Emo-record. It was about nostalgia. And it was about connecting the new with the old. I had big plans for this series, wanted to collect 20 parts and then release some sort of a sampler with an XL-booklet attached, that features all of the text pieces...

...after 7 parts the series was buried, when the end of borderline fuckup 1.0 was on the horizon. I'm still in love with the idea and tried my best to start a relaunch in 2021, but it mainly was a chore. However, I already have some new material waiting to be released. To start it off correctly I'll recycle the parts from the old site. Now, here's part 2 for your reading pleasure!

~

// The author // Daniel Becker 

Daniel Becker from Bavaria/Germany founded his label Time as a Color Records 15 years ago and helped releasing over 80 records. He is an active musician himself, probably most know him from his time in DUCT HEARTS. Currently he carries his Singer/Songwriter-project AMID THE OLD WOUNDS.

~

// The record // Jimmy Eat World - Clarity

Release: 1999 // Label: Capitol

~

Daniel on "Clarity" by Jimmy Eat World

Being asked to take part in this i’ve been weighing pros and cons ever since… the thing is, if you say the words „most important“ or „best of all time“ or „that one you would keep if you could only keep a single one“ combined with the word „record“, i can think of nothing else but „Clarity“…

At first I thought this was way too easy. This was way too common. I think every second person who knows what Emo really is would pick this record… „me, as a label guy and blablabla, I have to come up with something more sophisticate… something more uncommon… something nobody knows…“ – so I thought of what other records got me where I am today from the Emo standpoint… I remember back then when me and Andy, the first other guitarist in Wishes On A Plane, discovered what advantages the mp3-age in its wake had (we weren’t aware all this would start over new with that totally new way of how people see music). I remember downloading songs off Napster via our 56k modem, a song took like half an hour, and we would pay per minute, kids! We discovered bands like The Ataris or Me First and the Gimmmie Gimmies, and one day that page called mp3 ranch had „Red Letter Day“ 10″ by the get up kids for download. I think this is where it all started!

All the bands were connected via labels, distros or split records, i was thrilled with all these bands that had this huge 7″ and split 7″ back catalog, I started to hunt for on the much friendlier ebay in it’s early days or, some people may remember, skylab commerce… I regularly went to my bank to get dollar bills, and snail mail them over to the U.S. to get another 7″ for my (I’d say nearly complete) vinyl collection of The Get Up Kids, Christie Front Drive or (here we are again) Jimmy Eat World. One day Andy told me that band (JEW) we knew just by name from message boards (another 90s thing) was playing in Munich on their „Clarity“-tour, so I got 3 songs from Napster and we were off for the show. The funny thing is, i remember clearly the show was good, and I bought a CD and a shirt, but we went off the venue with a „the show was ok“-feeling, nothing more and nothing less…. I burned the CD for my friends (yet another 90s thing…) and somehow it took months for us, during that time we listened to it few times, but nothing happened… and then suddenly something happened. I guess, sort of, suddenly, we got it. We understood.

Since then I often felt like this CD was my best friend. Because for every mood I found myself in, it had the right songs, the right lyrics, or only the right line. It felt like it understood me. I remember dozens of rides with my mum’s VW to and from home, a few broken hearts and the few months after, I found comfort in Jim Adkins‘ words on the tape that was playing. I don’t think a record will ever mean this much to me again. I can’t write about any other record on the given topic. I still have the CD I bought from the band, a burned copy, 2 vinyl copies, and propably the tape I listened to in the car. And i’ll keep these forever! And i’ll remember the words forever, the words that could be the mantra to everyone of us giving a shit of modern music industry:

„you cannot waste a single night. what you ignore is priceless to me.“

~

"mEMOries" Part 1 feat. Mosey Jones