Transatlanticism
I grew up in a musical household. There was rarely a day when you couldn’t hear music playing from one room or another—my father downstairs playing guitar, my sister blasting System of a Down from her bedroom, whomever making dinner, listening to a mixtape in the kitchen.
My two oldest sisters are where my taste in music primarily originates. Green Day, Panic! at the Disco, Linkin Park, Simple Plan, the aforementioned System of a Down, were the basis from which I grew into my own. CDs were always at my disposal and I tried to listen to something new each night. Mix CDs courtesy of LimeWire were annual birthday and holiday gifts.
Around the age of 11, I started to branch out more, discovering more music for myself. Even still, when I would independently find a band I enjoyed, it was more likely than not a CD from them was already in the house. Watching MTV, as the cool teenagers did back in the 2000s, I heard a song that rocked my preteen heart at its core—”I’ll Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie. Naturally, I ran to my oldest sister’s room where the majority of the CDs lived, and asked for anything she had on Death Cab. She handed me “We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes,” “The Photo Album.” and “Transatlanticism.” I searched the backs of each album looking for “I’ll Follow You Into the Dark,” but was unable to do so. Dang, I guess I’ll have to settle for a different album.
I grabbed my Sony D-FJ003 portable CD player and inserted Transatlanticism, the one with what I considered the most interesting album art. I spent the next 45 minutes having my mind blown. Admittedly, I did skip “Expo ‘86” the first time I heard it. I fell in love with the pictures painted in “Title & Registration” and had my heart broken by “Tiny Vessels.” By the time “A Lack of Color” closed out the track list and the song faded into a loop right back to “The New Year,” I was ready for another listen.
“Transatlanticism” remains to be my favorite album of all time, and Death Cab my favorite artist. Some others have briefly crept into that top spot over the years, but reflecting on it, this album has been the one constant; the one that has never dropped below top three since I first listened to it nearly two decades ago. This album was a turning point in my personal music listening journey. While my sister did have some of their albums, Death Cab was the first band I discovered on my own for the first time, and for that reason they and Transatlanticism have stuck with me longer than any other artist or album.
The melancholy melodies with the storytelling aspects many can relate to soothes my inner emo, reminding my mom it wasn’t just a phase.
My top albums of all time
“Transatlanticism” by Death Cab for Cutie
“Peripheral Vision” by Turnover
“The Used” by The Used*
“This Will Destroy You” by This Will Destroy You
“Somewhere in the Between” by Streetlight Manifesto*✝
“American Football” by American Football
“For Those Who Have Heart” by A Day to Remember*✝
“Louder Than Bombs” by The Smiths
“Smile for Them” by Armor for Sleep
* — credit to my sisters for introducing me
✝ — seen live
Note: beyond the first spot, this list is in no particular order