The Album "New Again" by Taking Back Sunday (Why I love it)

I'm not sure why I'm writing this.
Just a sudden urge to do it really.
The album "New Again" by Taking Back Sunday is one of those albums that when I heard it first I was going through a lot of changes or big things in life blah blah so it meant a lot.
I wanted to write each song out and what it meant etc, I guess just to list it all out for myself rather than people who read this.
So enjoy I guess.

1. "New Again": I guess the song title and lyrics speak for themselves. As I said, I was going through one of those times were everything around me was changing, people, etc. Usually I hated change but everything that was happening was annoying and depressing. The song for me was like, being afraid of change but knowing you need it. I was ready to start over and be new. I was ready to accept who I am whether it was good enough for anyone else or not. Therefore this song meant a lot to me because it made me see that change was good and sometimes it's what is needed most.

2. "Sink Into Me": I won't name anyone in this blog, well I'll try not to. Anyway this song also meant a lot to me because I knew this girl who wasn't very nice to me, anyway she'd done and said some pretty mean things. She did what they all do and tried to do the "Sorry can we forget this" stuff and by that stage it had gone way to far to just "forget". It was one of those things that everyone else seemed to be involved, my friends VS hers etc. I guess I just wanted to fight her or something huge to happen just get it over with, "Sharpen your teeth, sink into me". I don't know maybe this story doesn't fit the song but it did to me. It seemed like everyone was hanging on her every word all the time over mine and could never understand why. Anyway the song helped me laugh and feel evil, instead of being depressed and angry at the situation.

3. "Lonely, Lonely": I guess any girl who has a few guys, or one as a best friend will know exactly who & what I am talking about. You know that girl your guy friend is crushing on, who is as fake as they can get? You know the one that flirts with every guy to get what she wants & makes those guys like completely change themselves so they think they have a shot. Yes, that girl there is always one. I've had a lot of guys as best friends and there is always one of these girls. I love my guy friends like brothers, so it's not a matter of me being in love with them blah blah. I just hate that this girl does this with every guy and a lot of the time they fall for it. I never really waste my time confronting these girls because that's too much drama. Instead I just catch her out or make it known I knew what she was up to. So the lyric "No matter how dirty you fight, there is no place on God's great earth. Where you can go to hide from me" meant a lot, no matter how vicious it sounds. It was like telling her I was waiting for her to make one wrong move when I was around and I'd call her on it ha ha.

4. "Summer Man": This is another song I think everyone can relate to, male or female. Those Summer romances that never last. Only mine did last for awhile but we broke up in Summer. Anyway this was one of my break up songs, it wasn't actually that moapy to be honest. It was more matter of factly, stating the obvious sort've song. The lyrics "I'm not working for you anymore" "Go prove to the world, what you already proved but you just couldn't do on your own" and "The Summer is over & I doubt, I'll be seeing you around" all meant a lot to me. I guess when we break up we feel like something changed, that we weren't working for that person anymore like we weren't up to their standard or something. I guess I felt like I had to "help" with this break up, like I felt like I was basically the one breaking up with me. Those are the worst break ups ha ha. Anyway after those "Summer break ups" it's usually coming towards the end of Summer they end so you have those few weeks still left with no school etc, so you avoid each other. You know you won't be seeing them around anytime soon, since it's still awkward and you're avoiding each other. I guess now, I love that time since so much was going on with friends etc that I was feeling so many emotions and it was inspiring in a weird way.

5. "Swing": Out of the whole album this is probably the song with the least meaning if I am to be honest. It is a great song though and a few of the lines did/do remind me of someone or something. It's like when you are fighting with someone and someone is stuck in the middle, it's the he said, she said stuff. Only this was a little more complex than that. Anyway this song was like the person who was saying I said this and that, was trying to play the sweetheart after all they'd done and I badly wanted to just confront them. I mean fighting over email is stupid and petty, but I get it I guess. No one likes confrontation etc. This song was "Oh my god I'd love to do that" kind've song. "You're not getting off that easily" was a great lyric to me because it felt like I was being made out to be the awful person and when people weren't blaming me they were forgetting about it. So I felt like they were just letting it go instead of blaming the person who started it or saying anything to them. So I would've loved to been able just to go up to them and tell them how I felt etc, but no I did the better person thing and just ignored it all and let it go. Damn I hate that better person stuff!

6: "Where My Mouth Is": I think for anyone who has listened to the record & the band themselves, will agree that this is if not the best, one of the best songs on the album. It's another song that I think everyone will relate to somehow, no matter if your life has been relatively good or bad. We all have had a horrible time at some point. "I had it all sitting on top of the world, but I threw it away just to prove that I could" is a lyric that gets most everyone. We are had that point in our lives where everything is going pretty well and we make a silly mistake and it all tumbles down. For me, this song was mainly those silly things you say and don't really mean but you say them out of anger and hurt. They cause more damage than you can ever imagine. I've said a lot of awful things and it has cost me a lot. It's like when someone did something that hurt you slightly, you make a bigger fuss over it than there needs to be, then you are more angry because you making a big fuss out of something small made things so much worse than they were. You blame yourself completely, and you feel you had the world and just gave it up over something so small. The lyric "I recall quite perfectly who I was both before and after the drugs" I can also relate to. No I have never done drugs and probably never will, I like to change lyrics to fit my life as does everyone. This lyric for me, is basically saying I can remember who I was before all that happened and I can see who I am now. I am completely different, for me it's like one of those times you go through completely being yourself and finding nothing wrong with who you are. Then you come out the other end and are like "Wow thank god I'm not like that anymore". But it isn't a good thing sometimes cause when you realise who you were and all the shit you caused and stupid stuff you did. Most of the time it's too late to go back and prove to people you are better now and are sorry etc. So I think that's what this song tries to reflect and it's easily my favourite on the album.

7. "Cut Me Up Jenny": Another song that didn't have much meaning but a meaning none the less. "I took full advantage of being taken full advantage of" is the lyric that sticks to me. It's funny you can go around thinking you know it all and what you shouldn't stand for. You shouldn't let people put you down etc, but we all do it. We tell our friends etc, to never let someone do it and then we let someone walk all over us. I should have wrote more when this was going on, I would be able to see how silly I was and what was going through my head. I think this song is like "Walk all over me, but do it slowly" ha ha, I'm not sure if I'm making sense sorry.

8. "Catholic Knees": Funny enough I never noticed how much sense this song make sense untill now. I assume it's about someone of the Catholic faith who may question some things in the religion etc, and they question because of someone they met recently. So their saying "Is there more to life that living the perfect Catholic way?". So this makes sense to me because, especially in recent years I've had the typical teenager wanting to grow up now phase etc. But I felt like everyone was so sure of staying in one place and that was all they wanted, they wanted to live and die in one place and that was it. I wanted more I guess. I want to see the world, do crazy things, see beautiful rare things and live in different places. So I went through the feeling of "Is this wrong? Is it wrong to want more than this?" The truth is it's not, you don't have to settle for what's normal life for everyone else, do what you want. After all it is your life, not theirs.

9."Capital M-E": Another great song with great meaning. Obviously the title explains all, the song is basically about someone who thinks about themselves and thinks they know it all etc. It's about someone you looked up to and thought was always in the right and knew everything there was to know. It's that person, and then one day they betray you or they do the same stupid act they told you not to do. It's that awful realisation that maybe that role model of yours isn't all that you thought they were. "He taught me how to hold my tongue and wait to strike till their backs were turned" basically the person I looked up to, turned out to be just bitching about everyone behind their backs including me. But he also turned out to be as weak and struggling with the same things I was. So I felt like he was acting as if I was this weak thing that needed help and that he was this teacher of sorts who was there to help. So yeah, he turned out to be not what I thought he was. It was a big disappointment, I did know him for a long time ha.

10."Carpathia": I guess this could be a break up song for people too. It does make sense in that situation but it does reply to friends etc. For me, it's about one of those giant fights between you and someone and it had such a big impact on everyone around you I guess? Like again, everyone seemed to be involved and everyone was saying "Oh it's fine it will be over soon" but it kept going. So I was wondering "When oh when, will this sinking feeling. Feel like "Man that was ages ago". I wanted it to just all stop and get over it. Now I can say "Damn that was years ago" but at the time that was all I wanted. I wanted to be where I am now, at the point were none of it matters, all in the past and everyone is over it. I loved this song cause it was a really dancey song that was impossible not to dance, tap, sing to. So again, it made a crappy situation fun.

11."Everything Must Go": I guess this song is, you guessed it another break up song. Between friends or boyfriends etc, though the song is most probably about a pretty serious relationship since in the song they are moving into together. I think what the song is trying to capture is how much changes and that awkwardness of a break up. Friends or partners, you always have that "I want back the _____ I gave you" tension. It sucks cause it really doesn't help what is already a crappy situation but then there is also the getting rid of every photo, every gift from that person. We feel like "Everything must go", like we have to completely delete that person out of ourlives like they never existed and moved on. What is funny about this song, is it has two meanings for me because of it's lyrics. Obviously I felt like I had to get rid of this person completely etc, but the lyrics "You quote the good book when it's convenient" stick to me. I use to know this person who always said he believed in God, the bible etc. I have nothing against that but this person wasn't the nicest and he didn't really live by the bible but he use to quote the bible or the ten commandments when someone else did something wrong. It's pretty funny now that I think about it but it use to really annoy me because he was preaching but he wasn't listening to himself basically, ha ha.

Bonus Track. "Didn't See That Coming": I decided to put this in as it is my favourite next to "Where My Mouth Is". Which is funny because I think this song is like the after story of "Where My Mouth Is" it's moving on and years go by. You remembered what got you to this point and look around to where you are, what you are doing now and you think "Damn I didn't see that coming". I think we all do it at some point, our lives tend to go in completely different direction than we ever saw coming. I didn't see myself not being friends with some people, I didn't see myself being best with some people, I didn't see myself moving to Spain. I think half of the stuff that's happened in the last....I don't know five years, I never expected to happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it did and I'm glad I met the people I met, even if some of them weren't nice. I learned lessons etc, but most of it I never saw coming. I really never thought I'd move country, I never thought I wouldn't want to move back etc. As I said, it's like one day you are highly involved in say working in a shop or something, the next you're a famous singer. It's like "Wow how the hell did that happen?" things change so fast and they change in ways you never imagined you would be okay with like. I really love this song cause I really do understand it.

That is all, I think.
Thank you for reading my boring talking blog :P.
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