Blue October

One Liner:  Emotional post-grunge rock with a devoted following

Poster Position: 7

Thoughts:  I've never understood the fascination some people have with this band.  I think there is a cross-section of people who heard it at a vulnerable time in their lives, and the lyrics stuck with them to make the music way more important to them than it should be. Because literally, you know who Spotify lists as their peers in the "Related Artists" section? Fuel, Daughtry, Creed, Hoobastank, Our Lady Peace, and Lifehouse.  Bruuuuuuuutal.  And yet, I know several people who really like this band and have somewhat recently gone to see them play live.  So I guess there is a draw for some folks to see these dudes.  And then my friend Jason, my wingman for ACL every year, just mentioned them in a text of music he wants to see.  So maybe I'll get to see them live despite my reservations!

Spotify calls them a Houston band, but my recollection was that they were formed in San Marcos and that was part of the reason for their local popularity.  Ah, yes, Wikipedia shows that they were in Houston, then moved to Austin after their first album and recorded in San Marcos.  They formed in the late 90's in the post-grunge world of Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, and Creed, but they've got a kind of angsty emo lyrical deal going on that differentiates them from some of those other alt-rock dudes. Seriously, just seeing Daughtry on that list keeps cracking me up. They've released a bunch of albums (1998's The Answers, 2000's Consent to Treatment, 2003's History for Sale, 2006's Foiled, 2007's Foiled for the Last Time, 2009's Approaching Normal, 2011's Arguing With a Tree, 2011's Ugly Side, 2011's Any Man in America, 2013's Sway, and then 2015's live album Things We Do at Night).  Some of their stuff reminds me of Dave Matthews Band - "Ugly Side" from History for Sale, in particular.

The big hit album was Foiled, which went platinum and made it to #29 on the Billboard charts.  That album spawned their two big hits, both of which also went platinum, "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean."  The latter is their top song on Spotify for streams, with 8.6 million.

So much eye makeup.  And a perfectly pleasant song, kind of more synth pop than rock music.  Here is the other big hit, "Hate Me," which clocks in at 7.9 million streams.

Hoobastank.  I'm still giggling at that list of comparison bands.  That shit is funny.  This song even sounds kind of like Hoobastank's "The Reason."  Anyway, how about their recent tunes?  The most recent album has a few tracks in the top ten on Spotify, and the most popular is called "Bleed Out."

This song almost sounds like a Christian-radio tune.  Why does every video from them have the lead singer's huge face front and center as the splash page? Freaking me out.  But you should seriously go read the comments to this video.  People are literally in love with this band and the lead singer, Justin.  People are talking about how this music SAVED them and how Justin SPEAKS to them.  I honestly wish it did, I want to be in on the fervor, but nothing in these tunes does anything for me.  I may have to go see them to be a good friend, but I think I'd pass if it were my choice.