Dashboard Confessional

First and foremost congratulations to Team Vicious&Delicious for qualifying for this year’s little 500! Way to go boys! :)

I hope the gloomy weather isn't putting TOO much of a damper on everyone's day. I spent a decent amount of time in the car today, which served as inspiration for today's blog. I decided to rave about my loooong time love, Dashboard. :) Cause it’s just one of those days, perfect for listening to one of their albums from start to finish.

Old: Dashboard Confessional--Anything, but today, specifically the entire "Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" Album

Hm...Where to even begin?! This band is a spectacular example of my love for amazing lyrics paired with amazing music. Although, some might shrug off this band without giving it a real chance for various reasons, if that is the case for you, I encourage you to give them another chance. I have chosen to focus on this specific album because it is an earlier piece of the band's work. It is comprised of such stripped down, intimate, personal songs, and without the lead singer, Chris Carrabba, this band would not be anywhere near as amazing as they are. He is irreplaceable. If you REALLY listen to the lyrics (all about love/relationships/heartache) I think you'll find that you have felt most all of the emotions Carrabba addresses at some point or another in your life. What I love most is the raw emotion present in his singing. It is not necessarily that I think most artists don't write heartfelt/sincere lyrics. But it seems that they write these lyrics at an emotional time in their lives, yet when the time comes to record the song --they disregard the need to revisit the moment/emotions/etc they were experiencing at the time the song was written. Carrabba conveys such raw emotion in his voice that you can't help but share in his emotions. I wouldn’t be surprised if during the recording process they only did one take of each song, leaving him to pour out his heart and soul, and then took what he performed and put it on the album untouched. Carrabba has the ability to take emotion and express it in the most beautiful, poetic lyrics backed by remarkable instrumentation.

Take for example the song, “The Brilliant Dance”. It’s a song where Carrabba discusses the pain of a failed relationship. He talks about getting rid of all your ex’s clothes…love letters…etc. but it doesn’t help get rid of your feelings.
“And the plaster dented from your fist
in the hall where you had your first kiss
reminds you that the memories will fade.”
This line is so incredibly powerful…as you remember that the things that once made you so happy no longer do so. He discusses the back and forth between the bittersweet feeling and the anger that you experience after a breakup.
“This is incredible.
Starving, insatiable,
yes, this is love for the first time.
Well you'd like to think that you were invincible.
Yeah, well weren't we all once before we felt loss for the first time?
Well this is the last time.”
Another powerful passage of lyrics. We all have felt invincible at one time or another, and then a breakup makes you realize how fragile love (and yourself) really is. And after you get hurt, you promise yourself that you'll never let it happen again...never let yourself love again.

Another favorite song of mine from this album is "Again I Go Unnoticed".
This song addresses the relationship where one person is ready to call it quits before the other. Carrabba artistically expresses that feeling when you know that your relationship is over but you haven't officially called it quits, and there is that awkwardness between you that you just wish would go away. He sings about the feelings of optimism that hope that everything will just be better the next day, and how you try and read the other person but everything just becomes so confusing and clouded with emotion. The lyrics convey such intense feelings so perfectly...so beautifully. Its almost odd that beauty could come out of something so far from beautiful.
"Please tell me you're just feeling tired
cause if it's more than that I fear that I might break
out of touch, out of time."
This sentiment expresses the feelings of the person not quite ready to let go of the relationship just yet...but scared that this is the end.
"Close lipped
another goodnight kiss
is robbed of all it's passion"
When you share that kiss...and you can just feel that things aren't the same anymore. Words are not necessary.
"I'll wait until tomorrow
maybe you'll feel better then
maybe we'll be better then
so what's another day
when I can't bear these nights of thoughts
of going on without you
this mood of yours is temporary
it seems worth the wait
to see your smile again
out of the corner of my eye
won't be the only way you're looking at me then"
Carrabba's lyrics are just so...precise. Such an eloquent way of expressing the way I'm sure so many people have felt before. A hopelessly romantic optimism.

Okay one last song from this album (although the entire thing is brilliant)..."The Best Deceptions"
Apparently these guys have been in some pretty terrible relationships. :-\ Hah This song expresses the feelings of finding out you've been cheated on, as you battle between your love for the person but anger/sadness at their actions. It's definitely a tough situation that I have, thankfully, never had to experience. The song starts out with the narrator singing about a trip his girlfriend went on, and how he heard all about it, and about the guys she spent her time with. But that she isn't the one he heard it from.
"I heard about your trip.
I heard about your souvenirs.
I heard about the cool breeze, in the cool nights,
And the cool guys that you spent them with.
Well I guess I should have heard of them from you.
I guess I should have heard of them from you."
The song then picks up to a more...agitated, but not angry tone...as the narrator explains that she should just stop lying, it would make it less painful.
"Don't you see, don't you see, that the charade is over?
And all the "Best Deceptions" and "Clever Cover Story" awards go to you."
The next part is a really great line.
"So kiss me hard 'cause this will be the last time that I let you.
You will be back someday and this awkward kiss that tells of other people's lips
will be of service to keeping you away."
It expresses the feeling that the feeling of their last kill will remind him that he can't love her anymore or take her back when she comes back to him feeling sorry for what she has done. But there is such passion in the lyrics. Carrabba has a way of making you feel like it is happening to him right at that moment.
The song then continues on to describe that she does in fact feel sorry, but that he hears if from someone else again, not her.

I would definitely recommend listening to the entire album all of the way through. And really LISTENING to it. To the lyrics. To the passion. And experiencing it for what it is, and how relatable it is for most of us. And even if you can't relate. I think you may just fall in love like I have. :)


I swear I'm in an incredibly amazing relationship right now. Hahaha Although you may think otherwise after this entry. :) It just goes to show you that these songs can have a different effect and serve a different purpose for each person listening. I've listened to this song over and over again after a break up...and now i listen to it with just as much emotion, but instead admiring what an amazing relationship I am in now. So...interpret it as you see fit. I think you'll enjoy it regardless. :)

Sweet dreams kiddos!

Peace, Love, & RockNRoll
--A