Mine would be sharp, concise, and would definitely center around a few individuals. It might take a bit of willpower to not keep going until I run out of room on the page, but I feel a shorter Comprehensive List Of Everyone Who Has Ever Done Anything Wrong To Me would be more powerful. I get along with most people. Most who know me personally can vouch for the fact that I make very few enemies. Some people, or bands, aren’t quite that personable, though. Ten Grand, I imagine, are not masters of confrontation. Hell, even their name Ten Grand is a result of a dispute from a Phish member who wanted their previous name for a side project of his, Vida Blue... the sum of the deal still remains an integral part of the band, though (see if you can guess where!). Rather than confronting the people who wronged them, or seeking an RA for assistance, or using “I feel...” phrases, Ten Grand expressed themselves through
The Comprehensive of Everyone Who Has Ever Done Anything Wrong To Us. I couldn’t be happier they chose this mode of release, a screamo record for the ages.
There’s an obvious and immediately-gratifying element that stands out about Ten Grand. The energetic and frenetic emotional hardcore shows no desire to hold back. Is that drum calibrated? *** it, keep going. Did that shriek seem a little dry to you? Never mind it, keep going! The result is something so emotionally raw that it walks a thin line between irritating and intimate. Luckily, nearly every single element goes on to support the “intimate” camp. The frenzied, high-pitch screams of Matt Davis are enough to make hairs stand on end. As uninviting as this key aspect of Ten Grand sounds, coupled with the overall ethos,
The Comprehensive List is deceivingly appealing to the ears. The entrancing sound can somewhat attributed to an indie facet of their music, the kind of catchiness that isn’t quite so conventional, but present nonetheless. It’s been said before that Ten Grand could have been emotional hardcore’s gateway band into the mainstream. With quintessential ethics of the genre combined with the more pop sensibilities that could entice any post-hardcore fan, this proposition certainly isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound.
Beginning with a computerized voice that lists off The List Of People Who’ve Wronged Them, you can even hear “The Get Up Kids,” “The Asshole That Stole Scott Lawrenceson's PlayStation,” among personal acquaintances like “Bob.” Ending in the same manner,
The Comprehensive List is very much personal in an eccentric way. Rather than expressing sheer anger,
The Comprehensive List is more Ten Grand’s way of saying, “Yeah, you’re an asshole; but I don’t give a ***. I’m having a wonderful time despite that.” Much of the music is cacophonous, the raging on the drums, for instance. Coupled with a rumbling bass current and intertwining, angular guitars galore, Ten Grand have themselves some tools for destruction. Interestingly enough, they oft take a more light-hearted approach rather than going for nuclear destruction, as seen by the jovial song titles. To be quite honest, though, much of this ends up paling in comparison to Matt Davis. Certain moments display Matt as the epitome of all that is intense and emotional. With little regard for tune and a lot of regard for passion, Davis carries The Comprehensive List on his back with his dry, high-pitched screams and harsh, pointed lyrics.
The Comprehensive List is a blundering ogre of an album, and has its share of weighty, emotional moments. The whole thing feels very large, and tends to envelope listeners with in a bit of a spirited tantrum, if you’ll allow me to cite personal experience. Unfortunately, Ten Grand goes forgotten too often, along with Matt Davis and his untimely death at 26 in 2003. One could probably argue that his early death had a devastatingly unrecognized effect on the genre, but I don’t really see the value in hypothesizing. Rather, just use
The Comprehensive List as evidence of the beauty and chaos that was Ten Grand.
