Pick one song to introduce AFI to a friend

What song do you pick?

I’m throwing in, “Days of the Phoenix”… however I’m doing it by way of full audio… either in my car or on a sufficient stereo to get the full effect.

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TDOTP is a good choice, but I’ll go with a less obvious one… “Now The World.” Even though it’s a b-side, I’ve always found it to be a really great example of their sound, even across different eras. It has a little bit of all their trademarks. You’ve got Davey’s vocal range in full effect, a really beautiful composition from Jade that follows his classic strong structure, a boppin’ baseline from Hunter, and crisp, diverse drum work with a kickin’ intro from Adam. The lyrics are dark, beautiful, and evocative, and characteristically cryptic.

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Okay, you may have sold me on that one, especially with the vocal range… good points. DOTP does offer some vocal range, “all dressed up in roses, calling, beckoning to sleep, offering a dream!” Regardless, it isn’t as in dept with vocal range as Now the World so I gotta give that to you.

You know… this is a very interesting and intriguing topic. If you think about it, to have ONE SONG that represents AFI in the best way; voted on by fans.

Good stuff.

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Going to make this really simple- “Malleus” just because it was the song I was first introduced to AFI with (my friend who is practically my older brother knew I was obsessed with witches and the occult, so he showed me the song just because I was reading the real Malleus at the time. I was a strange ten year old). After that, I grabbed everything I could. Thankfully by late 2000 All Hallows and The Art of Drowning were already released, so I had a good chunk easily accessible. The earlier albums took me a bit longer to find. But, yeah, Malleus, just because it was my first and lyrically and sonically it really spoke to me.

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If I took your path I would be forced to choose “Initiation into Lost Souls” from AOD. Technically, that’s where I started.

You know, it makes you wonder what the hell you were doing when Shut Your Mouth was released… I don’t know, just one of those thoughts you have about impossible regrets. Meaning, you wish you had heard of them earlier.

Let’s see, what was that '97? I was in grade school and had no control over what music was playing anywhere. I think my older friends were really into Minor Threat and Dead Kennedys at the time, so I think that was what was playing.

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Well, the cool thing about that was the fact that Minor Threat was one of if not the first huge inspiration for Davey back in the day.

A few of the first bands I personally really got into include: Rancid (Let’s Go), Offspring (Self-Esteem), Operation Ivy. I was also into Minor Threat through my sister, but the bands I got into the most on my own were the first two listed.

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Oh, Rancid. They’re great live. Yeah, I enjoyed the music that was around- anything from Deas Kennedys to the Violent Femmes to the Cure and Joy Division. I think by '99 I wished I had lived in the '80s and had the chance to see the Bunnymen in their prime. LOL. Again, I wonder why I had so few friends my age.

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Oooh this is a tough question. I second Now the World. I think The Days of the Phoenix is a good choice too. But I’d also throw in The Boy Who Destroyed the World, or The Despair Factor. I think if I was ever going to introduce someone - especially someone young, like my nephew or someone - to the band, I’d do it via The Art of Drowning or a song from that album. I think that’s the most…well, in my opinion it’s kind of a fun album, it’s still dark, but I don’t think it’s so dark that it would scare someone away (ya know, like Black Sails or Sing the Sorrow or even Shut Your Mouth). It’s also more melodic than, say, Black Sails or previous. The first time I heard Black Sails from beginning to end, I ended up with a splitting migraine. Best goddamn migraine I’ve ever had though. And I remember thinking, “I don’t know what the fuck I just listened to, but it was FUCKING AWESOME.” :laughing:

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Yeah, Black Sails can be a bit off putting. I actually debate on whether one should introduce a friend to AFI with old stuff or with new stuff considering how much they have evolved. If anything, the Despair Factor might be a good happy medium (though Now the World is amazing).

You know, I once tried to get my cousin to listen to them. She was like 13 at the time. We sat in her room with her aqua blue CD player, and I played Black Sails for her, and not even halfway through Strength Through Wounding, she was freaking the shit out and saying they were satanic. I kept telling her to sit her ass down and just listen because it’s THE BEST BAND EVER, and she was like “no, no, no, I don’t like it, what is this???” And then Porphyria came on and I guess it just sounded like a bunch of yelling to her because she got up and left the room and never came back. Lol.

Hahaha. Awww, man. That sucks.

My friends bailed on the Hartford, CT show, so my little sister (she’s almost 18, so 9 years younger than me) offered to go since I took her to a country concert as her Christmas gift. She dressed the part (she stole my clothes), nodded along to the first two bands, chit chatted with people, and seemed to be doing fine. Then, when the admittedly weak “Through our bleeding” chant started, she turned to me and said, “I now see why you don’t understand country concerts.” At least she got through it. I did have to buy her ice cream the next day and take her to the beach. :wink:

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Lol. At least she went with you. I could never get anyone to go with me. At this point though, I would go alone, and gladly.

Oh, I usually do, but despite the fact that I’m 27 and live on my own, if I have to drive more than an hour, my family throws a shit fit about driving alone. My parents think I’m too small to travel alone. But anytime they’re near NYC, I usually go alone because my friends have “grown out of” AFI.

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