Yesterday J.D. Salinger died. Obviously almost everyone who's been through highschool or is in highschool is going to read or has read The Catcher In The Rye. As I thought about Salinger a number of other thoughts and emotions arrived. My squashed hopes of Salinger writing another book, the possible Catcher in the Rye movie (which would most likely end up horrible) that would follow, how the book affected me, and a certain song by one of my favorite bands of all time. "Here's To Life" is a song written by Tomas Kalnoky of Streetlight Manifesto; it is a tribute to all of his inspirational heroes; Camus, Hemmingway, Cobain, Van Gogh, and Salinger. A friend of mine turned me onto this band back in about 2004-2005 and I've been hooked on them since. They take a different approach to the genre of ska/punk most people categorize them into; much more serious than other bands who ride the 3rd wave like Less Than Jake or Reel Big Fish. Serious not only in terms of lyrics but in terms of musical compositions, also more complex than most 3rd wave ska bands.
For me this is one of my favorite albums of all time. It stands for everything I love about music.
I'm sure if I can take this much out of an album, you can find some gold too.
"Hey there Salinger what did you do just when the world was looking to you, to write anything that mean't anything you told us you were through. And it's been years since you passed away, but I see no plaque and I see no grave. And I can't help believing you wanted it that way"
- Here's To Life
Kalnoky may have been wrong about his death, but his sympathies are most likely on point.
Peace out bitches.
Download: www.mediafire.com/?y2y1ou2mmqn
Track listing
1."Everything Went Numb" – 3:29
2."That'll Be the Day" – 4:42
3."Point/Counterpoint" – 5:27
4."If and When We Rise Again" – 4:19
5."A Better Place, a Better Time" – 6:28
6."We Are the Few" – 4:56
7."Failing, Flailing" – 5:28
8."Here’s to Life" – 4:41
9."A Moment of Silence" – 5:13
10."A Moment of Violence" – 2:00
11."The Saddest Song" – 3:18
12."The Big Sleep" – 5:02