Ten years.

Ten years ago, I was halfway through my first year at Queen’s University in Kingston, making some of the best friends of my life and listening to some amazing music. One summer in British Columbia and two in Kingston later, I fell in love and graduated. Then I got engaged. After spending a depressing summer realizing I had no plans beyond university, I enrolled in the e-Journalism program at Loyalist College in Belleville. The instructors were amazing and inspiring, but most of the class were total petty jerks. I wrote for Tinymixtapes.com and interviewed the Arcade Fire in a parking lot outside Clark Hall Pub. I worked at Radioshack. Totally broke, I managed to “win” a trip to Abu Dhabi (with a pitstop in Amersterdam). I did an internship with CTV.ca news (never went back to Loyalist for graduation), got married, and earned a full-on job with the site. Moved into first Toronto apartment at Denison and Queen. Took first trip to Chicago.

Wrote for Wavelengthtoronto.com. Worked lots of afternoons. I put on 25 pounds. I finally settled in Toronto with Grace Toronto Church and again made more life-long friends. “So Wonderful” from the “Silver Speakers EP” gets played on CBCRadio3. I got off the afternoon shift, still working with CTV.ca. Moved to second apartment in Toronto on Danforth East. Record full-length “Streetlights and Stars” album in my bedroom. More tracks played on CBCRadio3. Lots of gigs. Take first trip to New York City. I’m diagnosed with chronic anxiety and put on another 25. Start taking Strattera. I started smoking heavily. Stopped taking Strattera. Buy TFC season tickets. Slowly work on paying off debt (unsuccessfully). Wife goes on sick leave. I put on another 30. Father-in-law passes away suddenly.

New workplace (same job) on Queen Street. Quit smoking. Silver Speakers perform at the Horseshoe Tavern. Begin to suffer most intense depression of my life. Start taking Wellbutrin. Quit drinking. Stop leading worship at Grace Toronto. Get treated for acute sleep apnea. Lost 20 pounds. Wife still sick. Still deep in school debt and wasting money on slick interior design objects. Eventual home ownership still looks unlikely, with baby plans also pushed back.

Overall, my outlook is far less hopeful and optimistic than 10 years ago, but I’m working on that.

And somewhere along the way in the last year I listened to a lot of music. Some of it life-changing, some not. A pile of old stuff (Smiths, Cure, Rolling Stones), and an even larger pile of new music that journeyed with me. Here’s the list of my favourite albums that for better or worse, will always remind me of this decade:

• The ’59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem
• Set Yourself On Fire – Stars
• Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams
• Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
• Seven Swans – Sufjan Stevens
• Good News for People Who Love Bad News – Modest Mouse
• Alligator – The National
• Funeral – Arcade Fire
• () – Sigur Ros
• Is This It – The Strokes
• The Life of the World to Come – The Mountain Goats
• Control – Pedro the Lion
• Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
• Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie
• Kid A – Radiohead
• Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• A Mountain is a Mouth – Bruce Peninsula
• Things We Lost in the Fire – Low
• Apologies to the Queen Mary – Wolf Parade
• Turn on the Bright Lights – Interpol
• Superwolf – Bonnie “Prince” Billy
• In Deference to a Broken Back – Daredevil Christopher Wright
• You Were Here – Sarah Harmer
• No Cities Left – The Dears
• Skyscraper National Park – Hayden
• Mogwai – Rock Action
• Mogwai – O Father My Father
• Good Morning Beautiful – By Divine Right
• Young Adults Against Suicide – Ninja High School
• Double Suicide – Sandro Perri
• Diableros – You Can’t Break the Strings on our Olympic Hearts
• At the Drive In – Relationship of Command
• Mars Volta – Deloused in the Comatorium
• Final Fantasy – Has a Good Home