You can look at anniversaries for albums in two different ways: 1) to remember the feels and take in the nostalgia that it brings, or 2) to view how the band has progressed since. Obviously, with Midtown all but defunct (due to a few recent reunion shows this year), you can’t really do the latter with this anniversary of Forget What You Know, unfortunately.

I remember the first few times I spun this record. The reality of a major label presence was obvious, but not in your face, so it was still the band that captured my ears with Living Well Is The Best Revenge. Being sixteen, it was one of the first albums to really shut me up, and take me to a place of retrospect, in turn making me question a lot of who I was.

The cynicism within this album, lyrically, is thick. Very thick. From Saporta denouncing his enjoyment of sex (“Is It Me, Is It True”), to obvious atheistic tones (“To Our Savior”), and the willingness to give up on the society he was raised in (“Whole New World”). It’s fitting, as after I could belt every word at the top of my lungs while I was driving to high school every morning, I caught on with what Gabe was indoctrinating me with. I had forgotten what I knew. I questioned myself in many areas of life. But I was 16, so that was normal, right? It flowed perfectly with my life at the time. It became my biography.

With time to look back on the album, and watch what happened to the band, regardless of the situation, one could say that this was Gabe’s prophetic album. As soon as the last “you don’t listen” fades out on “So Long As We Keep Our Bodies Numb…,” it becomes hard to argue that you would expect anything to ever come out of that voice again. And we kind of didn’t.

The album stands as not really a “Give It Up” but more of “challenge and question everything.” I look at it as a victorious ending to an era where a band peaked and said, “Hey, we’re done. Thanks, guys.” and stood by it. As much as I never really enjoyed Cobra Starship, (and how even when I met Gabe in an FYE in Arizona–when the band was on Warped a few years after Cobra blew up–and thanked him for his time with Midtown with no mention of his latest project), I can say I respect him and his decision for taking his talents elsewhere and making more music that he enjoyed.

In a way, this album still challenges me to question everything. Don’t settle. Don’t ever stop asking why. Let music take you somewhere where you wouldn’t recognize at first and let it test you. “Fuck what you know!” Right, Gabe?

Editorial written by Corey From
Forget What You Know turned 10 yesterday, June 29.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Corey From

Corey From, from Kansas City, MO, when not thinking about or listening to music, obsessively thinks about Royals baseball, a platter of ribs (or BBQ in general) and cold beer. Nothing special really.

Latest posts by Corey From (see all)

• LIVE REVIEW: Middle Of The Map Fest (05/04/16-05/07/16) - May 20, 2016
• REVIEW: The Fall Of Troy rip and shred through ‘OK’ with purpose - April 25, 2016
• Diarrhea Planet “Let It Out” with new single from ‘Turn To Gold’ - April 11, 2016