Songs that Made Me Like the Band: "Passenger"

Seeing as I spent last night rocking out to Deftones—for the first time—live at Vegas’ House of Blues, I figured it would be a perfect time to discuss what drew me to this band in the first place.

All of my friends rocked out to Deftones long before I did. Most of them started when their second album, Around the Fur dropped. This was also right about when Deftones toured with Korn (after the joint venture of “Wicked” on Korn’s Life is Peachy) and had become that “smaller sort” of popular band. "My Own Summer (Shove It)" seemed to be all over the radio and my friends’ sound systems. My cousin, in particular, was already hanging their posters on his walls and was quite enamored with the album. As a result, I was forced to listen to it on one too many occasions. But, for me, their sound didn’t mesh. I didn't think Chino fit the band, or that the band didn’t fit Chino. Those first two albums sounded like two people having separate conversations but were too stubborn to give in and join the other. On its own, the band sounded good, and if he’d been soloing it up, I would’ve liked Chino, too. But together, the two positives became a negative.

Of course, everyone thought I might have down syndrome and didn't know what the balls I was talking about. I suppose I couldn't blame them since, at this point, my earholes were living on a steady diet of Korn, The Cardigans, and Failure. And despite Deftones having been compared to Korn, I couldn’t get on board with them.

Then White Pony came out, and their first single, "In the House of Flies" already had my attention: It was so different than their last two albums, and I actually thought the band and Chino were working together—finally. My friends snagged this album up, and “Passenger” was one of the first tracks my good friend Aaron forced on me, as Tool had become another of our crew's favorites. (I mean, really, Maynard has a killer voice. As my coauthor put it, “Voice of calm, words of chaos.” One of my favorite male singers, hands down.)

So when I heard that track, all of the dissonance of Deftones’ previous albums came crashing down around me, replaced by this stunning rhythm and dream-like quality to the vocals. And the way the chorus builds each time with Maynard's "Roll the windows down..." holy shit, it made me want to do just that. Like this was a song that demanded to be blasted in the wee small hours of the morning, when it’s at its darkest moment, with every window down, hand playing in the air currents, and screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs.

Sadly, I don't recall ever having actually done that, but this song made me feel like Deftones, finally, found their distinct voice. There were still a few “off” tracks with White Pony, some a bit too disjointed for me, but when their next, self-titled, album dropped, I thought they nailed it. And the three subsequent discs are—in my opinion—most excellent.

Oh, and the concert? I screamed along to “Passenger.” And even without Maynard, it was bad ass. Bad. Ass.

Songs That Made Me Like the Band: "It's Saturday" by Marcy Playground

Some bands just don't do it for me the first time around. I'll hear their first single, or their first album, and think much like Despicable Me's Gru: "This... This is garbage."

But then there are those few bands that randomly produce a song that--as Terry Pratchett might say--makes my heartstrings go twang. I've always thought it odd how that happens, like once that string is plucked, then all of the band's other songs sound wonderful--except, usually, for that first single. The first song/single/album still seems to remain one that I don't like.

And, really, I seem to have a number of these, enough that this will probably become a series. Anyway...

One of the first bands that I can remember this happening with is Marcy Playground. I don't know about you, but I thought "Sex and Candy" was one of the lamest/most boring songs that I'd ever heard. I didn't understand why in the world the radio kept playing it over and over and over again, and there were so many people that were obsessed with that song and constantly talked about how good a band MP is. I didn't buy it--the album or the enthusiasm. Perhaps it was the first hinting of my "hipster curse" in that I tend to have a stigma towards super-popular things.

But then, in my junior year of high school, "It's Saturday" hit the airwaves. I couldn't believe this was the same band that produced that earlier garbage, as this song is just so ridiculous and fun. Compared to everything else on the radio at the time, I remember this being one of the more original tracks at the time, and I instantly fell love, counting down the days until the album's release. And what solidified my love for the song was how many fans of "Sex and Candy" couldn't stand this track.

After I bought this album--which not only remains my favorite of theirs, but it also is probably in my top 10 favorite albums, if I actually took the time to sit down and figure it all out--I devoured the thing, listening to it in its entirety far too many times. Anyone that can sandwich "love" songs like "Love Bug" and "All the Lights Went Out" with other tracks like "Secret Squirrel" and "Pigeon Farm," and they can make it work towards a complete album. Well, that's pretty fucking brilliant if you ask me.

Despite their decline in popularity, I've stayed a fan of their music and grabbed up their three additional albums. (They are the one concert that I've been to here in Vegas, too. They played a--get this--FREE show, and there were, maybe, 100 people in the audience. It was all sorts of amazing.) I even purchased their first album, finally, which other than "Sex and Candy" (a song I actually don't mind too much anymore), I liked the rest of the album.

This is why I've always tried to keep an open mind when it comes to music, as it will lead me to new and better bands, and it lets me re-evaluate a band with each new release. They may produce garbage for years, but it only takes the one song to rope me in.