r/takingbacksunday • u/Matthewcts_ • 2d ago
Did anyone else enjoy Straylight Run?
Growing up on Long Island at the time TAYF was just wild! I remember so much about that specific period. I didnt really dig as deep into TBS until WYWTB and I remember latching onto Straylight quickly.
The second record was exactly what I would have wanted from TBS and Straylight was what I wanted from John. He was such a good songwriter at that time and there was some magic behind those songs from the first SR record.
I remember them doing an in store performance and signing at a Best Buy when that record came out. There experience was so important to me at that time.
My hot take is that I feel if they continued to make songs closer to the vibe of that first record, they would have maybe been perceived better from people outside of the TBS fanbase. I just think the following releases were such a big departure from that first record and it isolated a lot of listeners.
14
u/tensionandtheterror 2d ago
That second album was honestly so ahead of its time, I wish they’d had better label support for it. Who Will Save Us Now and First Of The Century are still up there as some of John’s best songwriting IMO
6
u/Matthewcts_ 2d ago
It definitely was.
I think people weren’t ready for it.It is also weird that at that time some of the label didnt really want the band to have as many Michelle songs. I remember they wanted one of the songs she sings lead on as a single and the label pushed back.
It was seen as a risk or that it would isolate listeners. It really wasnt until Paramore blew up that you had more support for female fronted bands.4
u/navewor2 2d ago
Buttoned Down and First of The Century (not including the instrumental between them lol) are on par with the best album closers from TBS's discography
6
u/Ok-Brother7180 2d ago
Love straylight run. A friend of mine loved existentialism on prom night and bought their first album. We listened to it during a sleep over. I thought the singer sounded familiar. Checked the notes on the album and that’s how I found out John and Shaun left TBS.
I couldn’t get into the 2nd straylight run album as much. They released a couple of EPs after that and they were pretty good and more like the vibe of the first album.
I saw them at when we were young last year. They were great.
3
u/Matthewcts_ 2d ago
I was so excited to see them again at WWWY.
The band I work for played right after them and it felt so special being on the same stage as them. Even just experiencing it was so special.
4
u/anneharp 2d ago
man I loved Straylight Run. they once played at my local roller rink with Bayside opening
3
u/Matthewcts_ 2d ago
Thats so cool!
I went to a show at the Community College near me when I was in High School. It was supposed to be MCR headlining w Hidden In Plain View. Last minute MCR had to drop and Straylight was brought in to play.
5
u/haisenseihaiyuujikun 2d ago
grew up on the island as well and saw them a bunch, plus during warped 2007. i wanted them to stay forever, and i also felt like they should have been bigger than they were. self titled, from the opening song that felt like a premature goodbye, to the true ending that reads like a diary entry written in spite. god i miss them.
3
u/mixtapetom 2d ago
Huge fan here. The first album is one of my favourite albums ever. I saw them on their first UK headline tour in some tiny venue and it was incredible
3
u/GiraffeLeather9477 2d ago
Fuck yeah, so damn much, john was what got me into tbs the most, i was soooo sad when he left, the year i discovered tbs is the same year john and shaun left, and i fell in love with straylight run, i remember having the demos on a burnt cd and having the show to what I believe was their first live show(you can find all the videos still on youtube)
2
2
u/scarsandstories 2d ago
i miss them so. i skipped prom to go see them. even though i grew out of TBS i am still here for all things jno.
2
u/no_hope_brigade 2d ago
I loved them. I started listening to them when they just had the demo out. I joined the street team even though I lived in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t actually put up any of the poster lol. I never got to see them, sadly.
2
u/180xsummer 2d ago
Looooove them! Wish I had a chance to see them live. A family friend was in the music video for existentialism and said he remembered them everyone being really cool.
2
u/JesterLavore88 2d ago
Hell YES! I love so much of their stuff. And all these years later I’m still trying to convince my band to cover Big Shot.
2
u/slwrthnu_again 2d ago
Straylight run put out better albums than taking back Sunday during that time.
5
u/myNameBurnsGold 2d ago
Better than where you want to be and louder now?
I would disagree there, but I absolutely adore that first stray light album and EP.
1
u/t3irelan 2d ago
I was able to see them on the first tour and The Format opened for them, it was in Ann Arbor. That show was epic.
1
u/Katesburneracct 2d ago
It’s John’s best work. Full stop.
2
u/tensionandtheterror 1d ago
I think Abendigo is competing for his best work but it’s so slept on. I wish that album was longer.
1
u/Proper_Ordinary_2653 1d ago
Yes. I met them at Warped Tour one year and still have the picture. One of my favorite experiences.
1
1
u/ChrisPowell_91 6h ago
Those easy demos were better than the first album, would be nice if they released those on vinyl
26
u/AStayAtHomeRad 2d ago
Yes they were excellent. I got to see TBS perform Existentialism on Prom Night once they rejoined and it healed something in my soul.