Dashboard Confessional (2001-2003)
Swiss Army Romance
Drowning EP
So Impossible EP
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
You knew this was coming, didn't you? Considering that the name Chris Carrabba and his project Dashboard Confessional have become synonymous with the re-birth of emo, MySpace, makeoutclub and other early 2000 cliches, it's no wonder why it would show up on a cliche countdown such as this, and with not one, not two, but FOUR albums credited.
When I called this series, "10 years of unapologetic albums", I was basically referring to these. Whatever characture poor Chris has become over the years, there is no denying that he set a tone for an entire culture of kids before the genre really had a chance to thrive all across the internet. It's easy enough to pass judgement on this polished yet clearly haunted boy from Florida, but as bands have come and gone through this "spit-em-up-and-chew-em-out" scene, he's remained the benchmark to what all sensitive boys with guitars are trying to be.
I found Dashboard Confessional after browsing the "get to know you" pages of my Horizon High yearbook staffers in 2001. I took note of most of their "Favorite Bands" and had heard of it through the grapevine amoungst my weekend-show-going peers. Then, in a period of disposable time (I had a lot of that, clearly) I was browsing the internet for "best lyrics" when someone on a message board (remember those?) referred to Chris Carrabba. I started jotting down quotables for my AIM away messages, the first one I remember being the lyrics to "Again I Go Unnoticed". My brother then picked up the album from Hoodlums and we began weeks of jamming (quietly) to Swiss Army Romance. While the music was nice and simple and catchy, it's pretty incredible to hear a record carried almost completely on the lyrics. He didn't sing any louder than most but the weight of the words pulled you through the entire record.
That being said, I'm pretty sure Dashboard gave me every single misconception I have about love. At 15 I was still a few months away from my very first boyfriend, which lasted a month, and when I listened to "The Brilliant Dance" about 95 times while trying to make it relevant to our lunch-time relationship. They were songs about loneliness and growing up, even to the point where he mentions how much fun it will be when we're 21. How far away that felt. . .
I also ditched my Junior year homecoming dance to see him play in the parking lot of the Bash on Ash (with Hot Rod Curcuit, who I obviously loved because of the Vagrant compilation) It was an overwhelming experience of every single voice singing along and feeling weaved into that live show, which became a staple of most of his concerts.
When I called this series, "10 years of unapologetic albums", I was basically referring to these. Whatever characture poor Chris has become over the years, there is no denying that he set a tone for an entire culture of kids before the genre really had a chance to thrive all across the internet. It's easy enough to pass judgement on this polished yet clearly haunted boy from Florida, but as bands have come and gone through this "spit-em-up-and-chew-em-out" scene, he's remained the benchmark to what all sensitive boys with guitars are trying to be.
I found Dashboard Confessional after browsing the "get to know you" pages of my Horizon High yearbook staffers in 2001. I took note of most of their "Favorite Bands" and had heard of it through the grapevine amoungst my weekend-show-going peers. Then, in a period of disposable time (I had a lot of that, clearly) I was browsing the internet for "best lyrics" when someone on a message board (remember those?) referred to Chris Carrabba. I started jotting down quotables for my AIM away messages, the first one I remember being the lyrics to "Again I Go Unnoticed". My brother then picked up the album from Hoodlums and we began weeks of jamming (quietly) to Swiss Army Romance. While the music was nice and simple and catchy, it's pretty incredible to hear a record carried almost completely on the lyrics. He didn't sing any louder than most but the weight of the words pulled you through the entire record.
That being said, I'm pretty sure Dashboard gave me every single misconception I have about love. At 15 I was still a few months away from my very first boyfriend, which lasted a month, and when I listened to "The Brilliant Dance" about 95 times while trying to make it relevant to our lunch-time relationship. They were songs about loneliness and growing up, even to the point where he mentions how much fun it will be when we're 21. How far away that felt. . .
I also ditched my Junior year homecoming dance to see him play in the parking lot of the Bash on Ash (with Hot Rod Curcuit, who I obviously loved because of the Vagrant compilation) It was an overwhelming experience of every single voice singing along and feeling weaved into that live show, which became a staple of most of his concerts.
Sequentially, I went backwards and heard the So Impossible and Drowning EPs AFTER getting Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, but I'd say all the songs from all of these albums became a compilation for the remainder of my high school years and beyond. So much so that I really got burned out up until college and was geeking out on the train as I was preparing to write this during each song, singing all the words to myself, even after all these years.
For whatever hole Chris has dug himself into as far as the public perception, I hope retrospectively people take these albums seriously for what they were and the kind of imprint they've made on an entire subculture of kids.
Oh, and PS - I definitely sang "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" at my Senior choir recital in 2004. Game. Set. Match.
(I'm also posting this video because I remember when they had the open call for this video and how badly I wanted to jump in a car and go to LA for it. Too bad I was 15)
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