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#1436: Taking Back Sunday – Twenty-Twenty Surgery

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Exactly 600 posts later, I’m writing about another Taking Back Sunday song from the same album. Funny how this thing works out sometimes. You go to that write-up on ‘Miami’ and I more or less give the context behind my personal association with the band’s Louder Now. ‘Twenty-Twenty Surgery’ is the sixth song on the record. It closes out the first side if you were to purchase the album on vinyl. My sister borrowed Louder Now from a friend of hers, I think mainly so she could have a copy of ‘MakeDamnSure’ for herself. If another song happened to be good, there was no complaining. I must have heard ‘Twenty-Twenty Surgery’ at a time when the album was playing out of the computer speakers, in the background while I was probably doing something else. But I really became familiar with the track when its music video (as seen above) began its circulation on MTV2 in the middle of 2006. For some reason, the track was released as a single only in the UK and Europe. It got to number 60 in the former’s singles chart.

The video is a nod to Johnny Cash’s prison concerts, particularly those of San Quentin and Folsom. It’s also one of those videos where I’m certain it has nothing to do with what’s going on in the lyrics. And what is going on in the lyrics? I’m not sure myself, I’ve never thought too deeply into them. I just enjoyed hearing the song every time it arrived on the TV screen. I liked the swapping-in-and-out of vocals between lead singer Adam Lazzara and guitarist Fred Mascherino, something that happens all throughout Louder Now. And in general, the track is one that can get itself stuck in the brain, if it’s pop-punk inclined. But looking into it, the title was initially inspired by the LASIK surgery a guy Lazzara was living with had at the time. Lazzara then looked to turning this in-joke ‘Twenty-Twenty Surgery’ phrase into something concerning hindsight. Then I look at the words, and I think it’s safe to assume there’s a relationship of some kind being depicted in it. It’s most likely at its end. So I concluding it’s an “In hindsight, this person wasn’t what I thought they were,” type deal. I didn’t need to know the meaning of it all to know I liked it. But I guess it’s good to have some sort of bearing of where the song’s coming from.

So, yeah, Louder Now. Twenty years old this year. This was the era of Taking Back Sunday I remember very clearly. To me they just sort of popped up from out of nowhere when ‘MakeDamnSure’ was making the rounds. Unbeknownst to me they had already released two albums prior. But I really got into the band during that time. Doing some searches for this post, I’ve just found out that Fred Mascherino has been playing with the band at live shows for just under a year now. And that’s great. I know that Mascherino’s presence in the lineup when he was an official member marks a time of what fans regard peak Taking Back Sunday. I also remember there was a lot of drama behind his initial departure back in the day. Very cool to see that differences between he and Lazzara were made up and they’re able to play these songs together again. I guess it would be too much to ask to get the other three members who were in the band during the Louder Now times to join them as well. You’ve got to start with baby steps, I guess.

#836: Taking Back Sunday – Miami

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Well, well. Taking Back Sunday. Maybe you were expecting it, maybe you weren’t. Maybe you didn’t really care. But here’s the first post I’ve done for the band. Back in 2006, ‘MakeDamnSure’ was a song that I always had to listen to/see when its video came on the television. My sister really liked that song too. So much so that I think she borrowed the Louder Now album from a friend when it was released in April of that year. As time went on, my own enjoyment of that song faded. It just reminds me of being a dumb 11-year old. But there are a few songs on there that get me going each time. ‘Miami’ is one of them.

Now I can’t front. I have no idea what this song is about. Fifteen years, I’ve never cared to take the time and find any interpretations. I don’t think I even liked the track that much when I first heard it. Guess it was a random day I heard it and it suddenly clicked. But the melodies are abundant. If a song has a great melody, it’s likely I’ll be into it – I’m not much of a lyrical person. And the guitar tones during the ‘Miami’ chorus stuck out just because of how unique they sounded compared to every other track on the album. So sleek and with a sheen. My own intepretation based on listening to it for so long… Well, I think it’s about a collection of things. Relationships. Being unable to capture a moment in the past when you were at your best. That’s just looking at the lyrics though.

I guess I would say Louder Now is my favourite Taking Back Sunday album. I’m not much of a TBS fan, but the album made me one for a bit. The back and forth between singer Adam Lazzara and then lead-guitarist Fred Mascherino on backing vocals made for some good listening. Each track on there had some sort of interplay between the two. Then Mascherino left to do his own thing. It took three years for another album by the band to see the light of day. Then I didn’t care that much anymore. Will still always have this album for the good old days.