Katherine's Top 5 Albums 2 of 5
Incubus - Make Yourself
After achieving moderate success with their first two albums, Incubus took a real chance on Make Yourself. The album was released in 1999 when Incubus was messing around with their sound while I was learning to find myself. They deviated from their hard-rock origins and created more controlled, radio-friendly music. Led by Brandon Boyd’s timeless vocals, Incubus created a revolutionary rock sound infusing funky jazz, catchy choruses, scratchy guitar riffs and hip-hop influences. It was far better the messy metal noise that bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit attempted to called rock music.
I was testing the waters in my own life during the Make Yourself era the same way Incubus experimented with their sound. I pierced my tongue, lied to my parents and dated boys. My rebellious nature back fired on me that year because it was the first time I got my heart broken. The gut-wrenching track “I Miss You” captured that horrific feeling of longing for someone with lyrics like “You do something to me that I can’t explain. So would I be out of line if I said I miss you.” The song “The Warmth” was there to help me get over it with lyrics, “So don’t let the world bring you down/Not everyone here is that $%^&* up and cold/Remember why you came and while you're alive/Experience the warmth before you grow old.” Make Yourself was the bandage holding me together during that trying and uncertain time.
I give this album a listen even now when I feel like I’m coming undone and need glue to hold me together. The unified theme of taking control of your life contained throughout the album has molded and inspired me during my maturation into adulthood. Boyd sings, “Lately, I'm beginning to find that when I drive myself, my light is found” in the track “Drive.” I’m learning to steer the course of my own life, and Make Yourself just one of my favorite records playing as I coast.
Image: Immortal Records
