A tweet by a friend caused me to give Starflyer 59’s Gold a listen for the first time in years. I reviewed Gold a number of years ago, in which I wrote these rather effusive words:
Suffice it to say, Gold was one of the best Christian releases of 1995. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who’s planning on starting a band needs to hear this album. Study it, dissect it, and learn from a master how to write good songs. Martin had a lot to follow after Silver but instead of trying to play the same old formula in a new way, he just tried something new, unlike many of the bands that permeate Christian music. Kudoes to Martin, and here’s looking towards Americana.
Thing is, Gold really is a great album, and it’s held up pretty darn well in the 16(!) years since it was originally released. It’s a pretty singular album — basically all of the songs are about Martin crushing on or moping over some girl. But it was pretty refreshing to hear an album by a Christian band that was content to be about something so simple and straightforward, and didn’t feel the need to inject some spiritual content just because. Also, it didn’t hurt that at the time, I was a pretty crush-prone guy. As a result, this album was a constant companion for whenever I got all moody over some girl.
As I made my way through the album, I live-tweeted my thoughts and impressions under the “#starflyer59gold” hashtag. Collected below are my Gold-related tweets.
Live-tweeting through an album, and jotting down impressions as the songs play out, is actually quite a bit of fun. And once others begin chiming in, it becomes an interesting communal musical commentary/experience. In fact, several folks, including myself, are planning to live-tweet through some Joy Electric albums next week. You can follow me on Twitter via @jasonopus to join in the fun.