My submission for the ZeRO October mixathon, which revolves around this challenge, floated around on facebook: "Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums you've heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends (or more) , including me, because I'm interested in seeing what albums my friends choose." From this, a secondary challenge to pick one song from each of these albums that sticks out for one reason or another. So without further ado....
01. XTC/English Settlement/"Jason And The Argonauts": I was properly introduced to XTC by a friend of mine in college via their appearance on some mixtapes he made for me (though, in retrospect I had previously heard “Dear God” which was popular/infamous at the time). After telling him how much I liked what I heard, he dubbed me a copy of English Settlement and I was truly enamored. It’s still one of those multi-functional albums for me: I can dance around to it, chill on the couch to it, clean the house to it, one that I pull out for a listen on any given whim. “Jason And The Argonauts” is an early album highlight….
02. JANE’S ADDICTION/Nothing’s Shocking/"Ocean Size": The first time I heard this album was the first time I really, really partook of the green. Blew me away. In youth-based arrogance, I had all but dismissed all-things metal. This album urged me not only to take a look at some bands in that genre, but also to give Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and others another listen. Perry Farrell’s greatest moment, hands down. “Ocean Size” is the first full assault from the album.
03. BEASTIE BOYS/Paul’s Boutique/"High Plains Drifter": My sophomore year of college, Beastie Boys released a single called “Hey Ladies.” I didn’t know what to think of it. It didn’t sound anything like Licensed To Ill, and didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard. A guy living in my dorm offered me a listen (on a red cassette, no less) and I was floored. Intriguing. Amazing. Ten years ahead of its time. To this day, one of the best hip hop albums of all time. “High Plains Drifter” gets the nod, in no small part, for the Ramones sample at the end….
04. NINE INCH NAILS/The Downward Spiral/"The Becoming": One of those albums that hit just at the right time. I was still dealing with the emotional wreckage from a bad break-up and this album struck immediately struck a chord, with “The Becoming” really summing up how I felt (at the time) towards my ex-girlfriend….
05. GORILLAZ/Demon Days/"All Alone": How is it that a “side project” ends up putting together (now three) albums of such brilliance that they could all easily rank in the “best of the decade”? I really liked Gorillaz and was really excited about the release of Demon Days, especially after hearing “Feel Good Inc.” Rarely does an album live up to the hype I’ve built up for it. Demon Days was one such album. To me, “All Alone” nails the essence of Gorillaz….
06. BLUR/Blur/"Strange News From Another Star: I was a little late to the Blur bandwagon, but was up to speed after the release of The Great Escape: a fantastic album, by any measure, and a worthy successor to the brilliance of Parklife. Blur, however, went off in a totally different direction than either of those (or Leisure or Modern Life Is Rubbish, for that matter). I remember buying this album during Lent of 1996 and waiting until Easter to it (a semi-tradition I maintained through my 20’s and early 30’s). I put the disc in my player as I headed back from Louisville to Lexington and turned up the volume. From the first guitar notes of “Beetlebum” I was in awe. Then “Song 2.” Wow. “Strange News From Another Star,” though, sticks out for some reason. I just really like this song….
07. MY BLOODY VALENTINE/Loveless/"Soon": I confess, this album was woefully absent from my record collection for far too long. I knew I’d probably really like it, but my disc dollars never seemed to go toward its purchase. My first exposure to MBV were their appearances on Sire’s Just Say Yes series (one of the greatest sampler series of the late 80’s-early 90’s). “Soon” was one of those songs. A song I love, and a song I love even more after finally hearing it in its proper album context….
08. UNCLE TUPELO/Anodyne/"New Madrid": I met a girl not long after my trainwreck break-up (as described in the Nine Inch Nails entry) who introduced me to Uncle Tupelo. While they were miles away from what I was listening to at the time, I was really drawn to them (greatly assisted that I was quite smitten with this woman). I studied the back catalog, was fortunate enough to see them on (what would become) their farewell tour, and really, really dug them. Anodyne is a flat-out fantastic album. "New Madrid" is a flat-out fantastic song….
09. THE ENGLISH BEAT/I Just Can’t Stop It/"Hands Off, She's Mine": Unfortunately, The English Beat didn’t ever seem to make the airwaves in Louisville when they were out and about. A friend of mine put “Save It For Later” on a mix he made for me in about ’87 (over four years since the band broke up) and I came across General Public’s “Tenderness” on a sampler I’d bought. I liked both songs a lot, and when I found out that the two bands were linked (don’t knock me, this was pre-Internet) I was really intrigued. So, I went out and found a copy of I Just Can’t Stop It (seemed like a good place to start) and in an instant, The Police were usurped as my favorite band. I used to think that “Hands Off She’s Mine” would have been cool to write on the bottom of my shoes when I got married. Ultimately didn’t have the guts, but still a crackin’ good tune….
10. NEW ORDER/Technique/"Round & Round": In my opinion, the best New Order album. One of my favorite album covers of all time. One of the best videos ever. “Round & Round.” Love it.
11. THE SMITHS/The Queen Is Dead/"Bigmouth Strikes Again": I knew a girl in high school was in love with Morrissey. Yeah, so did everybody else in the mid-80’s. After telling me over and over how great The Smiths were and how Morrissey was god, I finally submitted to her insistence and had a listen to this album. Not bad, I thought. Some songs were better than others (or bigger than others, as the case may be), but I politely filed it away and went along my merry way. For one reason or another, I pulled it out later and listened. Hmmm. And again. And again. It took a while, but for me The Queen Is Dead became the ultimate grower. Now as I listen (surprisingly frequently), I see it as every bit a classic, and The Smiths, one of my all-time favorite bands. Morrissey in great form and Johnny Marr…Johnny Marr: absolutely brilliant. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” has been one of the songs that I have liked, now love, since that first high school listen….
12. TALKING HEADS/Little Creatures/"Television Man": My older brother, whose musical tastes (as I’ve mentioned before) often involved geographically named outfits, introduced me to this album. He suggested, almost insisted, that I use a few of the dollars from my first-ever paycheck to buy it (so he could later nick it from me). The lead off “And She Was” was his favorite song, and while I admittedly love that song, I continued to dig deeper into the album. And while I still don’t care for “Road To Nowhere” (its appearance in Reality Bites sealed that deal), I’m still drawn to Little Creatures. A pop album. From Talking Heads. “Television Man” is one of my favorites from the disc (brilliantly covered by Man Or Astro-Man?, by the way)….
13. GOMEZ/Bring It On/"78 Stone Wobble": I proudly admit it. I really like Gomez. I’ve gotten into them quite a bit over the past few years and, overall, really enjoy their music. I also had the pleasure of seeing them live last year in Covington, KY: the first concert I’d been to in more than a couple years, and the most recent I’ve been to. Any of their albums could have made this list, especially when constrained to “fifteen minutes,” so I settled on their debut. “78 Stone Wobble” is a groovy little number, but much like singling out only one of their albums, this just as soon could have been a half-dozen others….
14. PINK FLOYD/Animals/"Pigs (three different ones)": Another album I discovered through my older brother. This seemed to be his favorite album to blare through his quite large speakers in the basement of our parents’ house (as the basement, strangely, smelled of burnt rope). It’s also an album that’s stuck with me throughout the years, with Pigs (three different ones) being my favorite of the albums five tracks….
15. RADIOHEAD/OK Computer/"Paranoid Android": I suspect my experience with Radiohead is not unique. I first heard them via “Creep”: an absolutely brilliant single that left me begging for more. Unfortunately, I ended up being let down by Pablo Honey. Some really good songs, but some that seemed clunky, and some just not good. By the time The Bends came around, I had moved on to other musical pastures and didn’t give it a look. Then came the video for “Karma Police.” Whoa…. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should give Radiohead another chance. I am thankful I did. OK Computer…. Well, let’s just say the best analysis of this album was when someone wrote “there’s no way this was made by humans.” “Paranoid Android” is some of the finest six and a half minutes ever committed to tape....
Appropriately enough, NW015....
