The band Blue October is indeed living up to its name. For some reason, no matter how well their albums and singles are doing on the charts, the Grammy award they covet the most just seems to elude them. And they have had 5 years worth of attempts already.
This quintet from Houston, Texas started out way back in 1996. Brothers Justin and Jeremy Furstenfeld founded the band. Early on, it was their parents who actually managed the band. The name Blue October comes from a time when Justin was admitted in the hospital during October of a particular year. Thus came the concept for the band's name. Since they started out, justin furstenfeld 5591 Blue October has been the lead vocals for the band.
Their debut album, The Answers, was released in 1998. And they have been active in the music scene ever since. The debut album didn't do that well, although it did manage to sell at least 5,000 copies in hometown Houston. But the release did capture the attention of the bigger record labels. In 1999, Blue October signed on with Universal Records, and proceeded to release their sophomore album, Consent to Treatment, in 2000. It was released mid-August of 2000, and brought forth the Blue October Listen track. The album did get significant airplay. But tracks, like Angel and Blue October Listen, were not that strong enough for the band to gain leverage still. In 2002, Universal Records dropped Blue October from their label.
But things turned around with the release of their latest album, Foiled. Foiled was released early April of 2006, under Universal Records. The first track off it is hate me Blue October. Upon its release, Blue October me went on to become the most requested song on the radio. In fact, Blue October me took the 2nd spot at the Billboard Modern Rock chart. What's more, hate me Blue October placed 31st on the US Hot 100. The music video for Blue October hate me today is also quite catchy. The video for Blue October hate me focuses on the childhood of singer Justin Furstenfeld. The music video suggests that Blue October hate me just might be a cathartic experience for Furstenfeld, who has dealt with bouts of drug addiction and depression.
The second single, Blue October ocean, debuted at the 53rd spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video for Blue October ocean did way better than the track itself. In fact, the Blue October+into the ocean+video has snagged the #1 spot on the VH1 V-Spot countdown. It's pretty easy to understand how Blue October+into the ocean+video got the top spot. The concept for the into the ocean Blue October music video is actually inspired from Moby Dick. Director Zach Merck explained that he wanted falling in the ocean Blue October to have a sense of the theater, with scenes that seem to be from the vaudeville period.
When asked what the meaning of the lyrics to fall into the ocean- Blue October is, Merck does not hesitate in saying that the overall theme of Blue October in the ocean is actually suicide. The title itself, Blue October into the ocean, signifies the act of succumbing to drowning. The melancholic tone of Blue October into the ocean mp3 supports the morbid thought of suicide. And its enigmatic nature drew the attention of fans worldwide.
Despite this success, Blue October and their latest album did not even garner a Grammy nomination just recently this February 2007. And this is quite a surprise for Blue October and their fans because Foiled had reached platinum success in both the US and Canada.
And how does this make the band feel? Justin Furstenfeld said that he no longer cares about how people view his band's music. Whether this be depression or frustration talking, Furstenfeld is probably right to feel bad about acknowledgment being elusive. Nevertheless, on an optimistic note, Furstenfeld says that Blue October will remain active in the music scene. And who knows? Maybe in due time, the band will finally receive the acknowledgment they have been pining for.
