A Round of Sound

2009 marks the 10 year anniversary of Jimmy Eat World’s defining album, Clarity.  It may come as a shock to many that I consider this one of my favorite albums of all time, but Clarity is one of those influential albums that helped shape a genre and not to mention my music tastes.  It’s hard to say what makes Clarity so timeless.  It’s not like Jimmy Eat World has done (or ever will do) anything this good since releasing this album back in ’99, but to this day many of the “emo” bands going list Clarity as one of their influences (even if you can’t really tell it in their music).

The late 90’s produced an explosion of bands that were placed into the rock subset of “emo”.  Now, what truly defines emo is a controversy that is still argued to this day and it really has become more of a subculture rather than a music genre.  However, Jimmy Eat World, and especially Clarity, has long since been considered a pioneer for the genre (whether you agree with it or not).  What’s amazing about Clarity is that it was more of an underground hit.  Only one of its songs, “Lucky Denver Mint”, was a single and the band was dropped from Capitol Records after this release.  Maybe its lack of mainstream success is one of the reasons why it gained such a cult following, but whatever the case, 10 years later, there is no denying that this album still holds a strong place in the hearts of its fans and has gained many new fans just from word of mouth.

So it’s no wonder that Jimmy Eat World celebrated the 10 year anniversary by staging a 10 city tour in which they played the entire album start to finish.  The last of those shows, from Tempe, was recorded and released as a live album exclusively on the JEW website.  No one, not even Jimmy Eat World, could have predicted that 10 years after releasing their 2nd album, they would be on the road celebrating it’s anniversary.  It speaks volumes to the album’s significance and the impact it has had on so many musical lives.

On its own, Clarity stands just fine, but isn’t necessarily mind blowing.  It’s a good listen and is easily Jimmy Eat World’s Tour de Force.  However, when put into context of the genre it helped build and define, Clarity is a monumental release that will continue to be celebrated many years past its 10 year anniversary.

[“Lucky Denver Mint” – Clarity Live]

[“Just Watch the Fireworks” – Clarity Live]