Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine (2003)And so begins the "I discovered this record because of a boy" portion of our journey. It's really quite anti-climactic though. I started dating a boy my Senior year of high school, and we went on all but about two dates before we realized we had very little in common except mutual friends and ska. While he eventually became one of my good friends, my 17-year-old, emo-listening heart was angsty. I had exhausted my Elliott Smith records, so my friend Mara lent me a record of this guy named Rocky Votolato. I don't remember her exact wording, but it was something to the effect of, "The song Every Red Cent is the perfect break-up song."
Not only is the song in fact perfect for a break-up (touting lyrics such as "I've been shut out, I've been cheated. How could you send me to this place? I have every right to feel the way I've been feeling", but also lyrics that represented several aspects of the human condition, not just love. The title track, although featuring the word Suicide, has one of the most sincere lines of "Oh God I love you, I mean forever. I left my body behind to break the news. Looks like it's over, please remember all of the things I never got a chance to say." Rocky was far less dark than his lyrics suggested, and not so much the victim of love, but rathter a man grappling with the idea of settling down to a real 9 to 5 life. "While you're searching for your paycheck death." His punk rock ideals were set to blues/americana-infused guitar tunes, laced with harmonica and a southern soul in a Northwestern man.
All in all, I might say that his album Makers is my favorite of all of his work, but I can't deny what this record meant to me and how infinite a song like, "The Light and the Sound" can make someone feel. Seriously. Try it.
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