This is crazy long, so I don't blame you if it's a tl;dr for you. I just need to get this out.
I have a confession to make. I've been in a torrid love affair with Jesse Lacey ever since Your Favorite Weapon. Sure, he probably (longer story than this) has no idea who I am, but that doesn't matter because it's true love. He understands me even better than I do myself. Every song on YFW was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. I was only 15, but I'd already met the man I was going to marry.
When Deja Entendu came out, I knew without a doubt that I would never love anyone the way I loved him. Every. Darn. Song. Again, they were exactly what I needed. The direction they were taking their music in was the same direction my taste in music was going. We were growing together and, holy crap, we were made for each other.
(At this point, I need to say that I am aware Jesse Lacey isn't the only member of Brand New. Vinnie, Brian, and Garrett are extremely talented and I don't want to take away any of their accomplishments. Without them, there would be no Brand New.)
The day TDAGARIM dropped, I couldn't stop listening. I was late to work and got wrote up, but I didn't care because he still understood me. Jesse Lacey was still my one and only. Good god, you guys... I can't explain the feeling this album gives me every time I listen to it. All the songs, every one of them... I feel them so deeply that it hurts. 'You Won't Know' speaks to me on a level that is devastating and beautiful at the same time. And the demos... I can't listen to '(Fork and Knife)' without wanting to cry.
But, the years passed (like they're known to do), and life decided to hit me as hard as it could. I had a baby and almost died because of a little thing called MRSA. I lost my mother to a horrible disease. I just went through a really hard time in general. One sleepless night, I remembered Brand New and I remembered what Jesse Lacey meant to me. How could I forget about that? So, I looked them up and, lo and behold, they had a new album out. A new album that had already been out long enough to not be considered new.
Daisy was beautiful. And, again, it was exactly what I needed. All the songs. Still. But it was different... I just couldn't believe I didn't know they'd released it. How did that happen? All that love I felt for Jesse Lacey? When did I lose it?
Life. That's how it happened. Life and that jerk called time. I'm not afraid to admit that that realization brought me to tears. I couldn't listen to Brand New anymore. It hurt too much.
Then, on another sleepless night, I gathered up my courage and listened to this song. This beautiful, perfect song. I cried. I bawled. I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't do anything but sob for what felt like hours.
They weren't sad tears, though. It was ridiculous, really, but they were tears of happiness. All those years melted away and Jesse Lacey spoke to me again in a way he never had before. I loved him again, only not in the way I used to. He felt like an old, dear friend. Our lives took different paths, we drifted apart, but that was all okay because he still knows me even after all these years.
Jesse Lacey, wherever you are, we may not have gotten married and made a lot of babies, but I want you to know I'm happy with the journey life took us on. I hope you are, too.
I don't know if he wrote this or if Vinnie did, but it doesn't change anything. I'd have this same feeling no matter what because it's Brand New.
This is crazy long, so I don't blame you if it's a tl;dr for you. I just need to get this out.
I have a confession to make. I've been in a torrid love affair with Jesse Lacey ever since Your Favorite Weapon. Sure, he probably (longer story than this) has no idea who I am, but that doesn't matter because it's true love. He understands me even better than I do myself. Every song on YFW was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. I was only 15, but I'd already met the man I was going to marry.
When Deja Entendu came out, I knew without a doubt that I would never love anyone the way I loved him. Every. Darn. Song. Again, they were exactly what I needed. The direction they were taking their music in was the same direction my taste in music was going. We were growing together and, holy crap, we were made for each other.
(At this point, I need to say that I am aware Jesse Lacey isn't the only member of Brand New. Vinnie, Brian, and Garrett are extremely talented and I don't want to take away any of their accomplishments. Without them, there would be no Brand New.)
The day TDAGARIM dropped, I couldn't stop listening. I was late to work and got wrote up, but I didn't care because he still understood me. Jesse Lacey was still my one and only. Good god, you guys... I can't explain the feeling this album gives me every time I listen to it. All the songs, every one of them... I feel them so deeply that it hurts. 'You Won't Know' speaks to me on a level that is devastating and beautiful at the same time. And the demos... I can't listen to '(Fork and Knife)' without wanting to cry.
But, the years passed (like they're known to do), and life decided to hit me as hard as it could. I had a baby and almost died because of a little thing called MRSA. I lost my mother to a horrible disease. I just went through a really hard time in general. One sleepless night, I remembered Brand New and I remembered what Jesse Lacey meant to me. How could I forget about that? So, I looked them up and, lo and behold, they had a new album out. A new album that had already been out long enough to not be considered new.
Daisy was beautiful. And, again, it was exactly what I needed. All the songs. Still. But it was different... I just couldn't believe I didn't know they'd released it. How did that happen? All that love I felt for Jesse Lacey? When did I lose it?
Life. That's how it happened. Life and that jerk called time. I'm not afraid to admit that that realization brought me to tears. I couldn't listen to Brand New anymore. It hurt too much.
Then, on another sleepless night, I gathered up my courage and listened to this song. This beautiful, perfect song. I cried. I bawled. I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't do anything but sob for what felt like hours.
They weren't sad tears, though. It was ridiculous, really, but they were tears of happiness. All those years melted away and Jesse Lacey spoke to me again in a way he never had before. I loved him again, only not in the way I used to. He felt like an old, dear friend. Our lives took different paths, we drifted apart, but that was all okay because he still knows me even after all these years.
Jesse Lacey, wherever you are, we may not have gotten married and made a lot of babies, but I want you to know I'm happy with the journey life took us on. I hope you are, too.
I don't know if he wrote this or if Vinnie did, but it doesn't change anything. I'd have this same feeling no matter what because it's Brand New.