"mEMOries" Part 34 feat. Fortyten (Drifting with the Ice)

9 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 got back on track somehow, with a lot of support by some lovely people. Now, here's part 34 for your reading pleasure!

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// The author // Fortyten

Despite its young age, Drifting with the Ice is one of the best sources for discovering Emo-music. The author "Fortyten" mostly features rather unknown bands from the whole world. The effort Fortyten puts into the reasearch of these articles is something else, and the final products really add something to the heritage of the whole genre. Absolutely check it out if you haven't already and complementary be sure to be up to date with the Drifting with the Ice-Youtube-Channel! Fortyten's pick for "mEMOries" Part 34 incorporates two bands who were already part of these series with their own releases...

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// The record // Boys Life/Christie Front Drive - Split

Release: 1996 // Label: Crank! Records

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Fortyten on "Split" by Boys Life & Christie Front Drive

Growing up, music was less of a companion for me than a distant acquaintance. My family never listened to anything but modern country and Christian contemporary; I didn’t like any of it, and sort of assumed, with the limited worldview of a child, that I didn’t really like music. As a tween, a friend introduced me to MxPx, which opened a lot of doors. I became a pop punk dilettante, grabbing random tracks off Napster, then WinMX. I got into Blink-182, which seemed a prerequisite for being a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s. Aside from Blink, none of these bands became a passion. I liked pop punk—I liked it a lot. But did I love it?

I would get my answer soon enough, and Dashboard Confessional was the catalyst. Through a friend, I discovered "The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most". I wanted more of it, but I didn’t know what it was. Some internet searching revealed that it was something called ‘Emo’ (a term I vaguely recalled being a Blink-182 song title). But where could I find more? A tried-and-true timewaster from school provided the solution: The ill-fated Yahoo Launchcast, an internet radio service. Lo and behold, buried in their list of stations was an Emo channel. I eagerly pressed play, awaiting more Dashboard-type acoustic stylings.

What came out of my speakers was Christie Front Drive’s “Valentine.”

I’d never heard anything like it. In fact, I was initially convinced it was a novelty song, a one-off from a more mainstream record, like Green Day’s “Time of Your Life.” The song struck at me in places other songs had never touched. All music expresses emotion, sure, but this music was emotional on my wavelength in a way nothing had ever been before. It was so gorgeous, and yet also propulsive and even harsh, quiet beauty juxtaposed with roaring, cathartic climaxes. It wasn’t until I started finding more tracks from Christie Front Drive that I understood this wasn’t unique, but a superlative example of what would quickly become my favorite genre. Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate were soon to follow.

The Boys Life / Christie Front Drive split features both bands at their best, though I wouldn’t come to appreciate the Boys Life tracks until much later (my newly christened emo-ears weren’t ready for their experimental, mathy take on midwest emo and post-hardcore). I think for most who know CFD, the split is a footnote, hidden in the shadow of Anthology and especially "Stereo". But for me, it’s the foundational record of my entire taste in music.

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"mEMOries" Part 1 feat. Mosey Jones
"mEMOries" Part 2 feat. Daniel Becker (Time as a Color Records, Amid the Old Wounds)
"mEMOries" Part 3 feat. Former States 
"mEMOries" Part 4 feat. Edie Quinn (Middle-Man Records, Coma Regalia)
"mEMOries" Part 5 feat. Human Hands 
"mEMOries" Part 6 feat. Alex Miles (Is this Thing on?)
"mEMOries" Part 7 feat. Boys' Club
"mEMOries" Part 8 feat. Keith Latinen (Mt. Oriander, Parting) 
"mEMOries" Part 9 feat. Villain of the War 
"mEMOries" Part 10 feat. John Szuch (Deep Elm Records)
"mEMOries" Part 11 feat. Flight Mode 
"mEMOries" Part 12 feat. Comic Sans
"mEMOries" Part 13 feat. Joe C (What Price Wonderland?, Plaids, Zochor)
"mEMOries" Part 14 feat. Mentah 
"mEMOries" Part 15 feat. Walking Race
"mEMOries" Part 16 feat. Against Realism
"mEMOries" Part 17 feat. Klaus Axmann (Goddamn Records) 
"mEMOries" Part 18 feat. Atlanta Arrival 
"mEMOries" Part 19 feat. Mary's Letter
"mEMOries" Part 20 feat. Sinking 
"mEMOries" Part 21 feat. Lakes
"mEMOries" Part 22 feat. Downhaul
"mEMOries" Part 23 feat. About Leaving
"mEMOries" Part 24 feat. The Arrival Note
"mEMOries" Part 25 feat. Letterpress 
"mEMOries" Part 26 feat. Mr. Princess
"mEMOries" Part 27 feat. Tragwag 
"mEMOries" Part 28 feat. soccer. 
"mEMOries" Part 29 feat. c.h.point (Summer 2000, Elder Jack)
"mEMOries" Part 30 feat. Time Spent Driving
"mEMOries" Part 31 feat. Bicycle Inn
"mEMOries" Part 32 feat. Achers
"mEMOries" Part 33 feat. Jonathan Lee Gonzales (Sunday Drive Records)