Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Format Era




Do you know who that is?
You know, they wrote that catchy song...
...it was featured in a Chevy Sonic commercial during Superbowl XLVI...

]

...leading to explosive popularity.

They're a band named 


...and they've been around for a few years. 

The few years before that, this guy...


...Nate Ruess, the lead singer of Fun,

...use to look more like this:


...and he was the lead singer of another band.

 The most amazingly *perfect* high school indie-POP band of all time. 



Which lived a charming life. 


All was going well;  A whale of a time.  And then...



This post is an overdue ode.  The Format was a formative part of my youth and a cornerstone in my high school experience.  Lyrics became anthems and kitschy tunes became dance parties.  

The Format got me through my totally awk high school times.  

***WARNING : The most embarrassing high school photos I could find ahead







 


THESE TIMES.  So awkward, so embarrassing.  Referred to (dearly) as "The Format Era".

Looking back on my obsession, I feel no shame.  Only appreciation for what is, was, and will always be.......






The first song that every Format fan needs to know is self-explanatory.

"The First Single"


I've been waiting all this time to be, something I can't define
So let's cause a scene, clap our hands and stomp our feet or something,
yeah something I've just got to get myself over me



This isn't my favorite song by far.  This one might be:

"Dead End"


Hold on, there's a hole in my heart 
everyone can see right through me 



Everyone loves a good sock puppet to lighten up the mood.  This continued to be a common theme in Format videos...

"Dog Problems"


'Cause words like girls get bored and run 
c'est la vie
I say "I've got so many better things" 
I've got nothing



Melodramatic perfection.  But no matter how many songs your write for us silly girls, expressing your frustrations and pain, you'll still walk away, shaking your head, saying...

"She Doesn't Get It"


All the girls pose the same for pictures
All the boys got the same girls' hair
I am bored 'cause I feel much older
Look at me, as if I've got a reason to stare


Hm, sounds like to me that you have...

 "A Mess to be Made"

 What a mess that I make of my days 
Then there's you, you're a mess to be made


You know, a total ticking...

"Time Bomb"

Tick tock, you're not a clock
You're a time bomb baby
You set the watch
You're just in time
to wreck my life



And just when you feel like you're heading down a slippery slope of negativity, you have the following gem, and you realize that maybe life isn't so bad after all...

"Snails"


Snails see the benefits,
The beauty in every inch...



These songs are all great in their perfectly dramatic glory.

But as I glide through my senior year of college, I find myself listening still listening to The Format, and one song in particular.  I find comfort in the folksy melody and jumbled lyrics of leaving something behind in anticipation for an ambiguous, yet promising, future...

"Give it Up"


"So give it up, throw your hats in the air
And change just as they land 
Sayin, 'We'll get outta here'
But something tells me that you're too scared to go"


I use to listen to this song on repeat during my senior year of high school.


In high school.. I was definitely not too scared to go.  That's different now.  Life is bigger now.  Moving... changing "just as they land"... that's a bigger deal now.

How will I ever manage?

:)


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