By Aaron Levy (CIVL Station Manager) – Email
Print Edition: October 9, 2013
CIVL station manager Aaron Levy remembers all sorts of bands that you might always (or never) have hated, and how they sounded to him before they turned into what some prefer to call “sell outs.”
Weezer – “Say It Ain’t So”
This is what fans were saying in 2002. With The Green Album out, Weezer appeared to be a force once again demanding to be reckoned with before releasing Maladroit with its less crunchy guitarwork, more flowery songwriting, and ultimately their own demise as underground harbingers of post-punk-low-fi cool.
Matthew Good – “Weapon”
The first release under his given name without the band, this single was an inoffensive, biting piece of panoramic Can-rock, complete with a meme-motif music video and a drudging, angst-ridden bridge. Good was never the same after this, never again reaching his Underdogs/Beautiful Midnight era peaks. Great song though.
Nine Inch Nails – “The Hand That Feeds”
For many of us, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, and even Pretty Hate Machine were time-tested works of depression and despair that helped us through the tweenage years, toiling about in uncool social abnormality. The Hand That Feeds shows Trent Reznor recognizing that after high school, even geeks get popular.
Nickelback – “Breath”
The first song on the first full-length release. I have been telling people lately all around town that I’d gone and purchased Nickelback’s sophomore release, Silver Side Up, on September 11 2001, right after spending all day talking about the towers coming down being our JFK shooting. Some transition.
