A post about my favorite band...this is going to be a lot.
My best friend in high school and I were in on "Hey Man Nice Shot" soon after it hit the airwaves and attended Filter's first show in Cleveland at the Agora that summer. When they came on stage, security wasn't in place and people started rushing the stage and diving back into the crowd. That mosh pit remains the craziest I have ever been in. I was a Filter fan for life after that and I've seen them at least a dozen times.
They also played a New Year's Eve show at the Agora that year which was recorded, but I've never been able to find the footage. The audio did eventually make it to Westwood One and I made sure to convert my taping of that into digital format. There are some concerts from that era on YouTube if you want to get a feel for them.
My fandom (obsession?) reached peak levels when in the mid-00's I visited the house in Rocky River on Center Ridge where Short Bus was recorded. I was driving by one day and noticed it was serving as an office for a real estate developer who was building condos around it (the old house was eventually torn down). I went in and looked around and the realtor was definitely very confused when I told him why I was there. It was in much better shape than the footage I had seen from their Phenomology documentary.
Two of my favorite songs aren't the hits - "Under" from Short Bus and "No Love" from The Trouble with Angels. I also highly recommend the new record. In fact, I recommend them all, but here's my personal rankings (and favorite track):
1) Short Bus - Under
2) Title of Record - Skinny
3) The Algorithm - Facedown
4) Crazy Eyes - The City of Blinding Lights
5) The Trouble With Angels - No Love
6) The Amalgamut - You Walk Away
7) The Sun Comes out Tonight - We Hate It When You Get What You Want
8) Anthems for the Damned - The Take
I recall from an interview Richard did for Alternative Press magazine that the name "Short Bus" was his ode to the kids who rode the short bus who Richard related to more than the jocks who rode the regular bus and picked on him.
My experiences with Filter came full circle when Richard played on stage with Nine Inch Nails during their 2022 show at Blossom. I was with that best friend (who lives out of state and I only see maybe once a year for a show) and we were having the time of our lives. When they broke into "Hey Man Nice Shot", we completely lost our minds. That's the power of music...takes you back to the best times of your life.
I remember "Jurassitol" from the Crow: City of Angels soundtrack getting a lot of play on the radio. It's pretty much the same song as "Hey Man Nice Shot" but also foretells the angst seen later in "Take a Picture". I wonder why it's legacy has been forgotten. I think it's my favorite of the three tunes.
Absolutely love this album. First time I saw FILTER was in Columbus, Ohio in 1999 for the Family Values Tour. I was honestly really there to see Staind and Limp Bizkit (C'mon, "3 Dollar Bill Ya'll" is still their best album before their career became so comical). I had to check, because my memory is fuzzy, but Family Values was in October 1999 and Filter released Title or Record only a few months earlier.
So they really weren't on my radar except for Hey Man Nice Shot. Filter blew me away that night. Richard Patrick's vocals during the Short Bus/Title of Record era was something to behold.
Like you said, there was a HUGE fall off in listening on Short Bus. I dug Dose and Under, but can't name a single song after that or ever go back to it. Title of Record was so catchy and blistered with catchy sing along parts/chorus. The song writing was way more mature lyrically/vocally and wide variety of sounds and themes from song to song. The production was a huge step up sonically. Short Bus seemed like 1 steady sound whereas Title of Record pulled you in so many different directions.
As far as an era in my life, that albums reminds me of college friends and briefly living in Florence, Italy. I put on all of those songs I get transported to that time period. Music should be like that, when and where you connect with an artist or song. That album hits all the marks for me and is what I'd recommend someone listen to when they mention Filter.
As far as my fandom, I always enjoyed their follow up, The Amalgamut, but then I had a steady decline. It's very vivid, saw Filter in Cleveland at the Gravity Games, a sort of X-Games rip off and got to hear songs from The Amalgamut as well. I thought it sounded great and them boom, Richard immediately went into rehab. In 2005 I had moved to Los Angeles and then out of nowhere he joined Army of Anyone (STP minus Scott Weiland) and man, that sound did not vibe with me at all. They kind of got lost in the shuffle for me after that through their various album releases but I have very fond memories of those earlier albums
A post about my favorite band...this is going to be a lot.
My best friend in high school and I were in on "Hey Man Nice Shot" soon after it hit the airwaves and attended Filter's first show in Cleveland at the Agora that summer. When they came on stage, security wasn't in place and people started rushing the stage and diving back into the crowd. That mosh pit remains the craziest I have ever been in. I was a Filter fan for life after that and I've seen them at least a dozen times.
They also played a New Year's Eve show at the Agora that year which was recorded, but I've never been able to find the footage. The audio did eventually make it to Westwood One and I made sure to convert my taping of that into digital format. There are some concerts from that era on YouTube if you want to get a feel for them.
My fandom (obsession?) reached peak levels when in the mid-00's I visited the house in Rocky River on Center Ridge where Short Bus was recorded. I was driving by one day and noticed it was serving as an office for a real estate developer who was building condos around it (the old house was eventually torn down). I went in and looked around and the realtor was definitely very confused when I told him why I was there. It was in much better shape than the footage I had seen from their Phenomology documentary.
Two of my favorite songs aren't the hits - "Under" from Short Bus and "No Love" from The Trouble with Angels. I also highly recommend the new record. In fact, I recommend them all, but here's my personal rankings (and favorite track):
1) Short Bus - Under
2) Title of Record - Skinny
3) The Algorithm - Facedown
4) Crazy Eyes - The City of Blinding Lights
5) The Trouble With Angels - No Love
6) The Amalgamut - You Walk Away
7) The Sun Comes out Tonight - We Hate It When You Get What You Want
8) Anthems for the Damned - The Take
I recall from an interview Richard did for Alternative Press magazine that the name "Short Bus" was his ode to the kids who rode the short bus who Richard related to more than the jocks who rode the regular bus and picked on him.
My experiences with Filter came full circle when Richard played on stage with Nine Inch Nails during their 2022 show at Blossom. I was with that best friend (who lives out of state and I only see maybe once a year for a show) and we were having the time of our lives. When they broke into "Hey Man Nice Shot", we completely lost our minds. That's the power of music...takes you back to the best times of your life.
I remember "Jurassitol" from the Crow: City of Angels soundtrack getting a lot of play on the radio. It's pretty much the same song as "Hey Man Nice Shot" but also foretells the angst seen later in "Take a Picture". I wonder why it's legacy has been forgotten. I think it's my favorite of the three tunes.
Absolutely love this album. First time I saw FILTER was in Columbus, Ohio in 1999 for the Family Values Tour. I was honestly really there to see Staind and Limp Bizkit (C'mon, "3 Dollar Bill Ya'll" is still their best album before their career became so comical). I had to check, because my memory is fuzzy, but Family Values was in October 1999 and Filter released Title or Record only a few months earlier.
So they really weren't on my radar except for Hey Man Nice Shot. Filter blew me away that night. Richard Patrick's vocals during the Short Bus/Title of Record era was something to behold.
Like you said, there was a HUGE fall off in listening on Short Bus. I dug Dose and Under, but can't name a single song after that or ever go back to it. Title of Record was so catchy and blistered with catchy sing along parts/chorus. The song writing was way more mature lyrically/vocally and wide variety of sounds and themes from song to song. The production was a huge step up sonically. Short Bus seemed like 1 steady sound whereas Title of Record pulled you in so many different directions.
As far as an era in my life, that albums reminds me of college friends and briefly living in Florence, Italy. I put on all of those songs I get transported to that time period. Music should be like that, when and where you connect with an artist or song. That album hits all the marks for me and is what I'd recommend someone listen to when they mention Filter.
As far as my fandom, I always enjoyed their follow up, The Amalgamut, but then I had a steady decline. It's very vivid, saw Filter in Cleveland at the Gravity Games, a sort of X-Games rip off and got to hear songs from The Amalgamut as well. I thought it sounded great and them boom, Richard immediately went into rehab. In 2005 I had moved to Los Angeles and then out of nowhere he joined Army of Anyone (STP minus Scott Weiland) and man, that sound did not vibe with me at all. They kind of got lost in the shuffle for me after that through their various album releases but I have very fond memories of those earlier albums