Album This Has Been a Long Time Coming
posted by on April 11 at 12:38 PM
And you thought I got pretty worked up over Jawbreaker yesterday? Well take a seat, my friend, because I’m about to open the floodgates. It could get ugly. Of all the records in the world, Energy is one of my all-time never-going-to-ever-get-bad-ever favorites. For true. And of all the gushing I’ve done over Jawbreaker, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Mclusky, the Jackson 5 and every other band that causes me to occasionally lose my shit, well, it doesn’t compare to the love I have for Operation Ivy.
And it probably never could.
When I was in high school, I would drive to school wearing my Op Ivy t-shirt and blasting Energy from the speakers of my 1992 Ford Tempo which also had an Op Ivy sticker on the rear window. I thought I was awesome, the kids at school thought I was weird, and we were both a little right. How it came to that, I can’t say. I never saw the band live, they broke up before I even knew they existed, and I can’t remember the first time I heard them. I do remember, though, that it was by way of Rancid. I was a big Rancid freak in the day (still love Let’s Go and Out Come the Wolves), and since Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman both did time in Op Ivy (listed as Lint and Matt McCall respectively), and since that Rancid song “Journey to the End of East Bay” (written about the Op Ivy years) was (and is) one of my favorite Rancid tracks, well, I guess the admiration was inevitable.
How it happened probably isn’t important. What matters is Energy came into my life and changed everything. Some people say that and don’t really mean it; people always claim “This record/band/song changed my life” and really, it probably didn’t. That’s just their exaggerated way of saying it’s really important to them. But for me, Op Ivy really did change things. What’s strange is that I can’t say exactly how. But as soon as I heard it, Energy became this positive force in a world of music where music had, for the most part, felt like a way to complain, mope, or suffer. Op Ivy weren’t suffering. They were throwing a fuckin’ fit, yeah, but unlike the majority of my record collection at the time, they were doing it in an effort to open eyes, change minds, and, perhaps most importantly, take action. So many others seemed a lot less passionate in comparison to the energy that Op Ivy unleashed. I’m not sure that’s true now, different passion has different energy but isn’t necessarily any less remarkable, but it sure felt like it then.
It’s is the kind of record that is actually frustrating to listen to, it’s so good One song starts, you love it, you start getting in to it, but then you realize what song is next, and because that following song is also so fucking great, you want to skip ahead to get to it. But you also don’t want to miss any of the song you’re presently enjoying. It makes me really restless and energized; It kind of makes my head spin. Anyone else have that problem?
The huge impact it had (and continues to have, actually) is kind of funny to me. Really, it’s just a punk rock record (ska-punk if you wanna get technical). The songs never make it beyond three minutes (the longest, “Take Warning,” is only 2:44), and the messages, while impassioned, are also obvious—they speak out against authority, the abuse of power, peer/social pressures, conformity… basically everything an 18-year-old kid battles on a daily basis in the journey to becoming a free-thinking adult. It almost feels silly to put as much emphasis on a record that looks so unremarkable on paper. But silliness be damned, I still can’t deny its importance; it was and is really fuckin’ important to me. And it sounds best on sunny days like today.
I used to love them. Sadly, (to me) that record has aged very badly. I want to still love it every once in a while, but I'm actually almost embarrassed for it when I hear it.
Crimpshrine, however, will never dissapoint me.
1: common rider > rancid
2: dance hall crashers > every other band lars and tim were ever involved in.
the end.
OH ALSO. common rider > op ivy. duh.
how come you're the only one who gets to claim that a record changed your life? get over yourself. it happens to other people, too.
I love that reocrd. I remember Op Ivy was my first 7" and I had it on tape also. In the early 90's on the east side there was a smallish group of Redmond firehouse and ground zero kids who cut their teeth on this band (i think eric grandy can attest to that) you couldn't go anywhere where there was a show going on and not hear some young kid lie about going to see Op Ivy at Gilman. they always said, "my older sister took me". No one ever argued because Op Ivy was kind of a shared idea. Everyone wanted to see Op Ivy, so no one called anyone out. Op Ivy was truly unifing, and life changing. like devo or kraftwerk when i was littler.
The sound system always _does_ bring me back up.
I never got to see Op Ivy live either, but had an ex that grew up in that scene who also shared a love for those records who assured me they were nothing short of horrible live.
Ah well, I still have some great memories of listening to them - I just can't get it out any more.
More posts Megan, what else you got!
P.S. NoFX is the opposite of Jawbreaker NS Op Ivy, kinda an either/or thing... but then my thinking on this hasn't matured much since I was 19 years old, so I hate to put it out there.
I remember listening to a cassette copy of a cassette copy of my best friend's older brother's copy of this my freshman year and having my head completely rearranged. Still classic, still life-changing.
#4: are you on drugs?
#9: usually.
seling says: "...people always claim 'This record/band/song changed my life' and really, it probably didn’t. That’s just their exaggerated way of saying it’s really important to them. But for me, Op Ivy really did change things."
just sayin, what makes her opinions so special?
Seychelle, I'm just saying that it's overused when describing music and a lot of times when people say "this record changed my life," they don't mean it at all. Not EVERY time people say it. I only point that out to emphasis the fact that I totally do mean it in this case.
Calm down, kiddo.
Also, Alithea, I completely disagree with you. But I still think you're lovely.
East Bay Punk Rock two days in a row? When did Line Out turn into my Spokane Washington early 90’s High School Happy Place?
Op Ivy was pure awesomeness (not as good as Jawbreaker, but still awesomeness). Some of their shine was probably rubbed off by the myriad 3rd Wave ska bands of the 90's that followed, but they were able to mix ska and real "fuck you up if you get in my way" punk better than anyone else. To a kid in high school what they were saying and how they said it was completely new and exciting.
Also I'll agree with Alithea that Common Rider was the balls (at least the first album) but must strongly disagree that DHC was better than Op Ivy or even Rancid.
And hey, seychelle, eat a dick. Megan did a better job of explaining this, but, if you couldn't figure that she was just trying to point out the term "changed my life" is overused, you should sit in on a 5th Grade Reading Comprehension class.
megan, i understand what you're trying to say. you just sound stuck-up when you're saying it.
13: please keep in mind that i -love- ska in all of its facets and thus, my opinions are a little off by everybody elses standards.
12: i know. my opinions on music never earn me any credibility, except in the forms of long lectures from mike park. :/
15- I understand. I too am a fan of "the skas," and have some firmly held beliefs.
On that note however, I happened to catch Mephaskaphales on the radio today playing "Doomsday." I hadn't heard that song in years and remembered kind of liking it. I was wrong. It flat out sucked. Hard.
Though of, I think, a different era than Ms. Seling, I completely concur. Op Ivy rules, still. As do the Dance Hall Crashers, at least their early stuff. Personal favorite Op Ivy song: "Hoboken"
@16: Holy crap you are correct. Just the other day I popped in that Mephiskapheles record and was like, "Um, these songs are too long. And repetitive. And ... uninspired. And I like the 'Bumblebee Tuna' song, but it's TOO FUCKING LONG."
Still LOVE The Pietasters' "Oolooloo," tho; that one's also a classic.
I'm starting to wonder how many of you people I hung out with in Spokane in the nineties. Off to listen to some jawbreaker.
I had some Spokane friends, Todd somethingrather who was a fantistic drummer, hmmm...Louise, he went a little crazy and can't say I kept in touch long. I remember when Michael was at the Vintage store. I can't say I knew him well, but I do remember when David Hayes moved there, I guess which probably brought a bit of East Bay culture over the Cascades.
This all sounds like I'm speaking in the most vague terms, but Spokan-wise, you might actually be piecing together what I'm talking about.
"Hayes broke the scissors, apologized."
I guess we get our news a day late here in Spokane.
Yeah, every time I hear "it's 1989 stand up and take a look around" I think; holy shit, that was 18 years ago! It's still one of my all time favorite albums though. Holds up a hell of a lot better than most of the shit I listened to in high school. However, Dance Hall Crashers sucked in 1990, and still suck today though.
I've got more ska cds from the 90s than any person should and the only stuff I still lsiten to is ooolooloo, Hepcat's Right on Time, and pretty much the Slackers' entire catalog (anybody hear Peculiar? It kicks ass.).
eric, is that from 24-hour revenge?
Andrew, It's from West Bay Invitational if I remember correctly.
gillsans, right you are, good call.
Crap, now I have to finish the album in my head.
Joke time!:
What do you call a Werewolf that likes ska?
A: An idiot!!!
ahahahahaha
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