Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World

September 11, 2001 was a strange time to be an American, to be sure. I'm not going to delve into the political or historical aspects of it, but censorship reared its ugly head in many ways in the wake of the attacks. I was working in a bookstore at the time and saw books being removed from shelves that depicted the Twin Towers to be replaced by new versions without the "offensive" buildings on the covers.

One of the most absurd changes I encountered was Jimmy Eat World's breakthrough album. Originally titled Bleed American (the lead track), the band made it self-titled in the wake of the attacks, fearing misinterpretation. It's sad that that was probably a wise choice. I've even seen the track name changed to "Salt Sweat Sugar" in some formats.

Regardless, though the album would garner national attention on later singles (most notably "The Middle"), I was hooked when I heard "Bleed American," a rocker with strange lyrics that gets you right into the fray of an album I couldn't stop listening to for months after getting it and still adore today.

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