SILVERCHAIR
As far as I can remember the first person I ever tried to sing like, or wanted to sing like, was Daniel Johns. In 6th grade I would come home from school and play NHL 95 while listening to Frogstomp, almost everyday. I remember wondering how Daniel could hold notes for so long, like in "Pure Massacre", and I would try to do so. Eventually, I found out that it wasn't that difficult, but I still loved attempting to sing like Daniel. I remember that when any friends or cousins would come over I would play Frogstomp for them and talk about how much I loved Silverchair.Years passed and I seemed to forget about Silverchair, coming back to them every once in a while. I somehow missed Silverchair's next album, Freak Show, completely, even though my cousin Nate would always talk about it. However, I didn't trust him because he liked Korn. Then the summer rolled around when I heard the singles from Neon Ballroom, I was 15 years old. I remember being at my friend Brandon's house and hearing "Anthem for the Year 2000." We talked about how awesome Silverchair was and how we were both planning on buying Neon Ballroom. Not much time passed and I went and bought the album. I put on my Rollerblades and skated all the way from my house up to Best Buy and back. I recall putting on my headphones, laying on the couch in the basement, and listening to all of Neon Ballroom as the summer evening passed. I was once again in love with Silverchair. That summer, I would walk up to Southgate Anderson high school to take Driver's Ed classes and always bring my portable CD player and Neon Ballroom ( along with another CD titled Enema of the State, by a band which I'll get to in a later post).
Years passed while I listened to punk rock and put Silverchair on the back burner, and then I went to college. Freshman year of college I rediscovered Neon Ballroom. I remember connecting to "Miss You Love." There was a point during that year when I tried to live my life by one line in that song: "I love the way you love but I hate the way I'm supposed to love you back." Needless to say, I made some mistakes and missed some opportunities because of Daniel Johns influence.
My connection with Silverchair spilled over into sophomore year and even began to grow. My roommates at this time, who became my best friends from freshman year, had a friend Josh who was really into Silverchair. We would go over to his, or his girlfriends, apartment and drink and hang out. One night he showed us this live DVD of Silverchair which was only released in Australia. I remember drinking and watching Silverchair play. There was a moment when I was just so totally into this live show, turned up so loud, on this small TV, that I realized Silverchair was not only amazing live but, one of my favorite bands and would be forever.
Not long after that night I went out and bought Diorama and the DVD Across the Night: The Making of Diorama. I was obsessed with Silverchair again. I listened to them all the time and remembered how relatable Daniel Johns could be. One night my roommate Jason and I had some girls over and everyone had fallen asleep but me and this one girl. Instead of making a move I decided that I would have her watch The Making of Diorama and show her how inspirational Daniel Johns could be. She didn't seem to be that interested in Silverchair and my passion for them, so I went to sleep in my bed and left her to sleep on the couch.
Silverchair has been with me throughout my life, at multiple points, and made me feel a number of different ways. I appreciate this band because they seemed to grow up and progress along with me. I still believe that Neon Ballroom and Diorama are two of the most complete albums I own and I still do not own Freak Show. "After all these years" Silverchair is a band that I constantly find myself coming back to and I always find something I can relate to or something I love, from Frogstomp through Young Modern.
Videos: You'll notice there are much more videos listed here for Silverchair than in previous posts for other bands. That is because all these songs are great, thus making the video great. Also, it's interesting to watch their progression.
Tomorrow
Pure Massacre
Cemetery
Anthem for the Year 2000
Ana's Song (Open Fire)
Miss You Love
Across The Night
Without You
After All These Years
Straight Lines
