This is Eric. The house behind him holds three bedrooms and 1,900 square feet. 704 West High Street, Urbana, Illinois. To most people, nothing more than a run-down house in a college town. But to Eric and countless fans of emo music, 704 W High Street represents American Football, an emo outfit from Urbana who released their debut LP with this house on the cover. “It’s iconic. It’s literally just a house but it represents one of the greatest albums of all time,” Eric said. American Football released the album in 1999, played a string of small shows and broke up a few months later. For years, the only image associated with the group was the house. In the years that followed, American Football amassed a cult following. Their sound — featuring unique time signatures, intricate instrumentals and emotionally charged lyrics — would end up influencing dozens in the midwestern emo scene like Tiny Moving Parts, Modern Baseball, and Mom Jeans. American Football returned to tour and release a second self-titled LP in 2016. The cover art for LP2 was a photo of a narrow hallway of the house’s interior. Eric lives in Charlestown, Indiana. 230 miles away from 704 W High Street, Urbana, Illinois. The seven hours total of driving were well worth it in his mind. “It was just a fun little trip to have. Urbana is pretty neat.“ A super-fan of American Football and the San Francisco 49ers, Eric wears his passions on his sleeves.
Album art for American Football’s self-titled LP, released 1999.
