8 Great Records: 2003 (Senior Year)

"...Anchors aweigh, my friends. I'll see you another day."

I graduated from high school in late May of 2003. Already accepted to Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw, GA), I proceeded to begin what I thought would be my last summer as a “kid” getting up at 11 AM, sitting on my ass, playing video games, and going to concerts. My loving father had different ideas for his 18-year-old firstborn.

I had a job at a local convenience store within two weeks.

I learned a lot that summer and into the fall, including how to budget my finances to afford my music consumption habits. Yes, CD burning and MP3 pirating had been in the milieu, but I wanted to purchase official albums.

Remember Circuit City?

The following list, ordered alphabetically by album name, reflects my musical taste at the time. It’s easy to notice certain repeated flavors. My listening tendencies have certainly expanded over time, but these records have never exited regular rotation among my playlists.

My 8 Favorite Albums Released in 2003

***Click Album Title for purchase link at Discogs***

The Bouncing Souls - Anchors Aweigh

Quite possibly my favorite pure punk band, The Bouncing Souls had been rocking for nearly 15 years before I discovered them. Anchors Aweigh was the New Jersey band’s sixth studio album, and the one they were touring in support of when I first saw them live.

The title track, “Kids and Heroes,” and “Sing Along Forever” are definite highlights.

Less Than Jake - Anthem

I love “ska” but didn’t realize it until this album. Sure, I was into bands like Sublime and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones prior, but I wasn’t familiar with the label.

Less Than Jake released Anthem the week before my graduation ceremony, and the record became my soundtrack for the subsequent summer. I got to see them perform at Warped Tour ‘03 and twice more before the year ended. I’ve been to seven of their live shows in total over the years, and this is the band at its peak in my humble opinion.

Less Than Jake isn’t just proficient at horn-supported “nerd” rock. They can deliver one helluva cover jam, too. They close out Anthem with a great tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick.

Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown

Stepping out of the punk scene into something a bit more sentimental, even spiritual. I wasn’t 100% out of the so-called “mainstream” as an 18-year-old fistshaker.

Switchfoot’s hit single “Meant to Live” played time and again over the radio waves during this era. Heck, it still gets significant airplay. I couldn’t get enough then. Still can’t. The song just does not grow old for me, and neither does this album. It’s helped me, at least in a small way, deal with bouts of depression and an anxiety disorder multiple times over the years.

The Beautiful Letdown also features a revved-up re-release of “Dare You to Move.” The single would eventually peak at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Billy Talent - Billy Talent

An group of energetic alt-rockers hailing from Ontario, Canada, Billy Talent’s self-titled debut, at least under that band name, hits with a potent punch to the face right from the start and doesn’t let up. A younger me has been in the pit at their shows. It’s a riot.

Need to scream and yell at something, let frenetic frontman Benjamin Kowalewicz do it for you. In addition, guitarist Ian D’Sa has to be mentioned among the most underrated of his breed. Just listen to him shred throughout this record. He had an incredible hairstyle back then, too.

Motion City Soundtrack - I Am the Movie

I have spun this album and its follow-up, Commit This to Memory (2005), in their entirety countless times over the past couple of decades. No matter my mood, time of day, what task I’m working on, or if simply trying to relax, Motion City Soundtrack is a band I can turn to.

I mean, what an awesome debut. I Am the Movie hears Motion City Soundtrack skillfully mixing punk and synth pop with a dash of early emo on the side. Singer and songwriter Justin Pierre is a lyrical whiz, and it began here.

Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Prog rock in the 2000s? Yes!

Entertainment Weekly described Coheed and Cambria’s second studio album as one of the five key albums in the “new prog” genre. In Keeping Secrets has deservingly been certified Gold in the U.S. It clocks in at nearly 70 minutes long, but delivers epic tracks throughout.

Telling a narrative which is just part of a sci-fi saga titled “The Amory Wars,” In Keeping Secrets is a concept album penned by Coheed and Cambria singer-guitarist Claudio Sanchez. The story has also been told in Sanchez’s graphic novel series.

Rancid - Indestructible

Should Rancid be considered punk-rock royalty? I think so. Though I had a prior passing knowledge of the band, this is the album that originally got me into the music produced by Tim Armstrong and his crew.

Some fans may decry this record as somewhat more “poppy” than Rancid’s previous offerings, and that might be a fair assessment, but that doesn’t make it any less loaded with what the kids today call “bangers” (I think that’s right).

Just give “Django” or “Out of Control” a listen. Matt Freeman (bass) and Lars Frederiksen (guitar, vocals) absolutely kill it on the latter with a two-minute blast of energy. “Red Hot Moon” is another fantastic track.

Linkin Park - Meteora

What more is there to say? Linkin Park is one of the best-selling bands of all time, and hardly any other was more popular at this point in time. For me, the band has never topped its 2000 debut Hybrid Theory, but this sophomore release came close.

Attaining the top spot on the Billboard 200 for back-to-back weeks in April 2003, Meteora contains three singles that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart: “Somewhere I Belong,””Numb,” and ”Breaking the Habit.” “Faint” got to No. 2.

RIP Chester Bennington.

Were you listening to any of these records/songs back in 2003? Since?

Which of these bands were you into?

Who was your favorite artist/band of the early 2000s?

Please, keep the conversation going in the comments.