November 1991, visiting colleges with my dad in Boston. I went into Tower Records on Newbury Street and bought these two albums. A year later, I was a freshman at Boston University, living in Warren Towers on Commonwealth Avenue, still playing the hell out of these two albums, along with Smashing Pumpkins "Gish" and a handful of others.
What an incredible impact music made on me at that time especially. Maybe it was the timing of it all, the emergence of all of this intense music coinciding with me, the walking definition of adolescence. I had played music since a very young age, but had only recently picked up the guitar and discovered the fun of playing music in a band. I had such a great time in Boston, made some great friends, even made decent grades. I loved the school and the city. After finals that spring, I packed my car and drove to Athens, Georgia, where I had decided to transfer. Had I ever been there? Uh, no, but my friends told me it was great.
Always wanted to go to UGA? Actually, never dreamed of winding up there, no.
Girlfriend? Nope.
Closer to home? Being in the neighboring state five hours from home was an added benefit. But no, not the reason.
OK, so what the hell is up with that? Well you see, I had some friends there, I could play in this band, and Athens has this great music scene and I heard it was a great place. And the school's supposed to be fun.
And....? Uh, that's pretty much it.
And your parents actually went along with this? With extreme reluctance, yes. There was some mild manipulation on my part which helped.
Clearly this was an ill-conceived decision that had all the makings of a disaster. In certain respects, it was. For God's sake, I rolled into Athens with a car full of stuff and no place to live. As well as I rationalized it to myself and my parents, the move to Georgia was literally me going off the deep end. Paradoxically it was the perfect decision to go to the perfect place at the perfect time. I had my fun, then I forgot how to swim, and then slowly, very slowly, I found my way. I've been extremely fortunate. I met my wife in Athens. See? How could that decision *not* have been smart?
When it came time to decide on a career, it was fitting that music would figure heavily. I moved from Athens to Los Angeles with no job and few prospects. But I was smarter: this time I had a place to live before moving. Now, at this crossroads in my music business career, I can say with confidence that this thing for music has become a theme in my major decision-making process.
So anyway, this morning I listened to these two albums back-to-back like I so often did when I was 17 and 18, and it took me back.
