Hello friends!
If you’re new here, we’re on a break from our usual weekly newsletter. You can catch up on our posts from January through June here.
I’m (Kody) interrupting the Swap’s summer break to talk about an all-time music experience for me. On Wednesday this week, I met Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World. The moment we made eye contact I knew it was the man whose music has made such a profound impact on my life. That might sound dramatic and maybe it is. At the very least, it’s accurate to say that Jimmy Eat World was THERE for everything during my high school and college years. I can vividly remember blasting a pre-release leaked CD version of their Bleed American album on a mission trip bus en route to Saint Louis, MO. I somehow got the entire youth group singing …
IF YOU’RE LISTENING (whoa oh-oh-oh-oh)
SING IT BACK (whoa oh-oh-oh-oh)
And I can still picture the cold, cloudy, windy days during my sophomore year at junior college in El Reno, Oklahoma when I would listen to Futures to find some comfort during one of the darkest seasons of my life.
Lastly, I’ll never forget the first time I heard the song Table for Glasses in my friend's really nice Nissan Pathfinder. It was a slick SUV BTW. And it had some great speakers that served as the conduit for the cascading melodies and vocals of this classic Emo ballad. Table for Glasses is easily an all-time top 10 song for me.
Jimmy Eat World showed me that, whether happy or sad, music has a powerful way of connecting us to our emotions.
They are also a tie that binds me and a group of friends who are still close 20 years after hearing our first Jimmy Eat World song.
So when I saw Jim Adkins at that hip coffee spot in downtown KCMO, I had to say hello. I couldn’t “act like you’ve been there before.” Thanks to the nudging of some work colleagues who could tell I was giddy about Jimmy, I mustered up the courage to interrupt his afternoon meeting in between tour stops to say hello. Inconvenienced yet grateful, Jim took a second to let me thank him for his work and tell him how much of a blessing he is to my life. I then proceeded to text all my friends the news and later blasted my favorite Jimmy Eat World songs with the family after work.
If your only knowledge of Jimmy Eat World is from their song, “The Middle,” that’s fantastic. I don’t care what the music snobs say, that song is a banger. And there are so many more in their catalog. Start with the album Clarity and have at it.
Summer Songs
Before we took a break in June, I promised a follow up email with some summer songs. It has been a long time since that promise, but I was able to track down some recommendations from our good friend, Chris Smith, who has written for the Swap. The playlist has a very Southern Country summer feel. Oh man, how good was CCR and how perfect is their sound for the dog days of summer?
Before you find yourself singing “so long sweet summer” with Chris Carrabba, make sure to play your share of summer songs. Comment or reply to this email with what you’ve been listening to in July. See you sometime in the fall for our regular newsletter rhythm.
-TheMusicSwap
So that’s Jim(my). I’ve always wondered.