I've been pumped up since I heard about this concert in early April, and now that it's happening a week and a half, I've finally gotten the green light from my dad to get a Lower Box ticket for Michelle Branch and Jojo in Manila.
So I've decided to write this post, chronicling my personal history with my all-time favorite female singer, Michelle Branch. Let me tell you why she's my favorite: she got me through my pre-teen and early teen years. In 6th grade or so, I took guitar lessons one summer, to which the instructor compared me to Michelle Branch, and I was ecstatic. Of course, my strumming was horrible as I've got no sense of rhythm, but just getting that comparison, perhaps on the basis of the kind of guitar I had and my long dark hair, was probably the best compliment of my 12-year old life.
The Spirit Room was one of my most played albums a little while after it came out (released in 2001); I was in 5th grade, and just getting my first crush. I've always thought of myself as quirky, so the song 'You Get Me' described my perfect relationship, basically. And I don't know, but I still kind of see it that way.
Of course, anyone would know her more commercially successful songs, 'Everywhere', 'All You Wanted' and 'Goodbye to You'. Weirdly enough, the ones that resonated with me more off this album were 'Here With Me' and 'I'd Rather Be In Love'. I recently gave the album a re-listen; I still memorize every single song.
When Hotel Paper came out in 2003, I bought it immediately. Of course, as a 7th grader, at the cusp of semi-emotional-maturity (or whatever it is that makes you wanna grow up), I fell in love with it immediately. In fact, it wasn't until years later that I figure out 'Tuesday Morning' was about sex, hahaha. 'Are You Happy Now?' was released first, I think, but 'Game of Love' became a favorite of mine, after the more obscure tracks in the album, like 'Til I Get Over You' and 'Where Are You Now'; the latter became a favorite of my dad and mine, and we had that song on repeat in car rides going home. This is one of the fondest memories I have of my father and myself.
Hotel Paper was an album that stuck it out with me. 'Desperately' was there for me all throughout high school, when I was more or less hung up on one guy. 'One of These Days' found itself on repeat as often as 'It's You'. Seems like Michelle had me all figure out. Even when she formed The Wreckers with Jessica Harp, 'The Good Kind' was there for me during my "hardest" teenage boy-problems.
Even after 7th grade, when my taste in music shifted radically from mainstream pop to british pop and pop-punk, to alternative rock to indie, folk, and electronica, Michelle Branch was always the staple, and always will be, I firmly believe.
And I really cannot wait bring my 20-year old self to watch her live on June 7th, and just kind of send out positive vibes to her, telling her that, hey, I made it out alright. And, thank you.
Ironically, even Jojo got me through some tough times. :) 'Secret Love', anyone??
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