This hlist is kind of funny now, seeing that the dearly departed White Stripes are smack-dab in the middle with White Blood Cells. We swear this final hlist was made Tuesday afternoon, before Wednesday's breakup announcement.
Funny how the band has actually been on the tips of our lips for a week now, too. CHL's friend Hala is from Detroit and has been playing them religiously the past week.
The White Stripes figure into the story of CHL's 2001 because they were one of the first bands we got into whodidn't scream "OI!" in their songs or feature someone wearing basketball shorts onstage as a fashion statement.
That year was very split between things before and after WBC came out. Punk and metal remained in our lives, but with bands like The Strokes, Spoon and Ryan Adams coming onto our radar, it was hard to go back to circle pits and breakdowns. Plus, it was easier to pick up chicks with guys like Adams and Julian Casablancas in your corner. As for Jay-Z, it had cool samples and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," which we may have listened to 20 times in a row on the way to Austin once.
CHL spent the past week listening to all of these albums, gleaming whatever we could from them all over again. Joe Strummer still makes us want to see the world, Bob Dylan has made CHL want to be a river boat gambler, Adams still makes us make bad romantic decisions, and Lars Frederiksen still makes us want to get more tattoos.
It was a fun year. We finished high school (barely), got a tattoo for our 18th birthday (naturally), and bought our first legal pack of smokes (unfiltered Lucky Strikes), and these albums more than likely helped us get three traffic tickets in six months. We also watched the world we knew for the past 18 years get maimed on September 11. Nothing was the same.
The only difference between us now and then is we have more scars, ink, and less hair. Most everything is the same. Oh, and we aren't virgins anymore.
Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards, Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards: We saw this Rancid side project open for the Dropkick Murphys upstairs at Fitz, when Fitz would have big nasty punk shows. We bummed a cigarette off Lars and bought too much merch.
Tool, Lateralus: Believe it or not, we used to use this album to fall asleep to after long days at Kroger.
Alkaline Trio, From Here To Infirmary: "Private Eye" is still amazing to us. Some friends bought it and we listened to it all the way home to Pearland from Soundwaves on Montrose, until CHL made them listen to Condemned 84.
