Summer 2010 - I was thirteen years old. At that point, I had already figured out that I wanted to be a writer. Not a music journalist, that would not come until four years later. However, my passion for music was growing more and more at that point.
I didn’t care for listening to music on the radio at the time, so my way of discovering new music was to go to a Borders bookstore, or Hot Topic and browse through CDs and whatever CD cover caught my eye, I would pick it up and buy it. That was how I discovered bands I still enjoy to this day like Alice In Chains, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and We The Kings.
One particular day, I was browsing through the CD selection of my local Borders and came across an album cover that caught my eye immediately: The Listening by LIGHTS. I loved the design of the cover and when I looked at the back to see what songs are on there, I thought the titles sounded interesting, so I picked it up.
That night, I sat in my bedroom with my little CD player and put the CD in. Immediately, the opening sounds of ‘Saviour’ drew me in instantly. LIGHTS’ voice also drew me in instantly and I began to fall in love with the album.
The next track, ‘Drive My Soul’, is what really had me hooked. It quickly became my favorite off the album and my angsty thirteen year old self thought that the “When you’re gone, will I lose control? You’re the only road I know” lyric was so deep and emotional.
I probably spent the next several weeks listening to the album consistently. Hell, I even played it in the car with my nana when we were on our way to my cousin’s high school graduation. I also fell in love with LIGHT’s music videos.
It never takes me long to get into an artist and after I got into LIGHTS, she became one of my go-to artists during that Summer. It was another moment where I felt grateful for Borders for introducing me to an amazing artist/band. I would say that I went back there to buy her next album, Siberia, after it came out, but Borders had already been closed by then. RIP. So I went to Target instead.
Fast forward to 2020, 22 almost 23 and a few weeks into the pandemic. I hadn’t kept up with LIGHTS since maybe my freshman or sophomore year of high school. Not because I wasn’t into her and her music, but I just didn’t keep up with new releases so they all went over my head.
I found her music when scrolling through my music library and I thought, “It’s been a while. Why not go back to my old middle school favorite?”
So I did, and I was reminded of how much I love her and her music. I also began listening to her more recent releases, Little Machines and Skin & Earth, and I was sitting there thinking, “Wow. How did these releases go over my head? How did I miss these releases?”
I also stayed up to listen to her newest album, How to Sleep When You’re on Fire. It took me back to thirteen old me laying in bed and listening to The Listening on my CD player and just vibing along.
Finding her again reminded me of how much I loved LIGHTS back then and how much I still enjoy her now in my 20’s and I think now, I’ll continue to stay on top of her and her new releases.
Thank you, Borders for having me discover her.