TEN ALBUMS THAT ROCKED MY WORLD
Music is the soundtrack to my life; and as I go through each stage of my life, I've been fortunate to encounter an album which has seemed to parallel what I'm going through. So here is a list of the ten albums that moved at a particular time and place in my life.
10. KID A (2000) - Radiohead
Kid A is a razor sharp album, full of simple melodies weaved intricately by blathers, blips, nonsense, and noise. When I first listened to the CD, I didn't quiet get it. I wasn't on drugs, and somehow all the critical acclaim surrounding it didn't sink in with me at first. But for whatever reason it stayed in my CD player, and it kept haunting me and I kept listening to it. Eventually I was able to grasp the journey. This is an album I had never heard before, and every time I listen to it, I discover something new. "Everything In It's Right Place", "Kid A", "The National Anthem", "How To Disappear Completely", and "Idioteque" are amazing songs. The first five songs in this album are incredible, and should be listened together. This album really gave me the blueprint in writing my book, and I listened to this album as I was reading Charles Bukowski, and really reaching a high point in my creative purpose.
9. AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER (1993) - Counting Crows
When I first heard of Counting Crows, I wasn't too impressed so I didn't bother to put them in my radar of bands to listen to. Then one day in high school, Ryan Ainge gives lets me borrow this album, and it quickly became a staple in my collection. This was something completely different to what I was listening to a the time. My sophomore year in high school, I was listening to grunge, alternative, and metal, and this album contradicted that drive. Adam's voice is just remarkable and emotionally charged in this album, you can't help but scream with him. And when you're going through random emotions in high school, it was nice to know that you can listen to Adam's cries late at night.
8. IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY (1992) - The Lemonheads
Although this album was released late in 1992, I didn't discover it until 1995. I was working in Catalina Island, and I listened to this album day and night. Evan Dando shines as a singer and songwriter; his songs are simple, soulful, and honest. This album may have been forgotten if it wasn't for their cover of Mrs. Robinson, but this album is more than that. This is a peaceful album that I will always cherish, it reminds of me of sunsets on the Pacific Ocean. "Rudderless", "Bit Part", "Confetti, "Buddy", and "Alison's Starting To Happen" are great tracks to sing along to...
7. LITTLE EARTHQUAKES (1992) - Tori Amos
I remember taking my penny jar to Music Exchange and buying this CD with $12 worth of coins. That's how much I had to have this album, and it didn't disappoint. This is an intense album, probably too intense for 15 year old boy to be listening to. But I've always found a level of respect for artists who are able to grab whatever it is inside them and use it to fuel their creative lust. Tori does that in does album. Armed with a piano, she fires her confessionals with piercing details. This is not a happy or forgiving album, but it is an important album.
6. BONA DRAG (1990) - Morrissey
Even though this is not a true studio album but rather more like a Singles collection. This is the album that made me discover Morrissey. This is like my gateway drug that opened my eyes to alternative music from the U.K. If it wasn't for Morrissey I doubt I would be listening to Coldplay, Keane, Death Cab For Cutie, Starsailor, Snow Patrol, The Stills, and other such bands. Morrissey is at his best in these songs. He has a knack for being charmingly dark, and incessantly melodic. The songs in this album all tell a story that are almost mythological. His metaphors are complex and wonderfully though provoking. It's a great album to sing to...
5. NEVERMIND (1991) - Nirvana
If there is one album that describes the 90's it would be Nevermind. Since I heard the first chord of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" it sent shockwaves throughout my system. This album was angst-filled, turbo-charged, and full of magnifying rage and frustration. This is a monumental and historical album that shook my world. Kurt's harrowing screams can still echo with the same urgency as it did over a decade ago. In the 12 songs in this album, 10 are now standards. Kurt was a genius too aware of his own mortality. Nevermind's raw and murky sound is still electrifying. Music has never been the same since this album came out. And as a young teenager, I realized the first time that I listened through the album that this was the kind of album that I was going to grow old with.
4. VIOLATOR (1990) - Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode's Violator album was the first CD I ever purchased in my life. This was a landmark album for the band that was known more for their synth-pop venture. This album signified a maturation process for the band, and I knew full well I was going through those same changes at that particular point in my life. Violator is not as complex or as intricate as the other albums, but the songs in there all beautiful and powerful. "Enjoy The Silence", "Personal Jesus", and "Policy of Truth" still reach out to me today as it did back then. Nine songs, each one connecting to other, ending in the wonderfully evocative song "Clean".
3. LAID (1993) - James
This is as close to a perfect album I've ever heard. Before Radiohead, Blur, Coldplay, and Postal Service there was James. Tim Booth's voice is close to being God. The brilliance and beauty of this album is often underrated because of the one hit song that got radioplay ("Laid"), but that song is so out of tune from the intrinsic heart and desire that this album portrays. You could feel the melodic strains from the first song "Out To Get You" to the sheepishly haunting "Skindiving". The songs resonate loudly without wasting an ampere of electricity. This album pieces together themes of hope, love, loss, tragedy, and spirituality so well, that it can easily be a soundtrack for every single stage of my life. If you haven't heard this album, buy it, and thank me later.
2. CENTRAL RESERVATION (1999)- Beth Orton
Discovering Beth Orton was like rediscovering sex. There is something so visceral and honest about Beth's songwriting talents. Even from her title track you could taste the sensuality she displays when she says "And I can still smell you on my fingers/and taste you on my breath." Her lyrics are gripping, and maddeningly graphic. Despite the presence of a subtle orchestration, it still sweeps you like a tidal wave. This is a rare album where a songwriter's talents are manifested without today's typical overproduction. When she opens "Sweetest Decline" with "She weaves secrets in her hair/her wispers are not hers to share/she's deep as a well", one can't help spin in their heads. This album also taps into various musical genres, skipping back and forth from jazz, folk, pop, rock, and electronica. I am glad the world hasn't discovered Beth Orton yet, but I know they'll wake up to her someday.
1. PARACHUTES (2000) - Coldplay
Albums don't get better than this. Chris Martin anchors this album with his poignant and brave voice, buoyed by epic guitars. This album is simply about Love -- Love found, Love lost, Love unrequited -- with acoustic guitars and inspired vocals battling it out in the middle. This is very much a thematic album about Love, and once you realize that, you slowly begin to understand the complex layers of this remarkable album. I think people often confuse this album as a depressing or whiny album, but I find a lot of hope in it. Even on "Everything's Not Lost" you could feel the Chris struggling to reach the bright light at the end of the tunnel. There is a serenity in how Chris sings that affects the listener. This album came up during a time of turmoil and distress, and it became a quick salvation for me. I could relate to Chris picking picking over the bones of his life, and coming up with as many reasons to be cheerful as seriously depressed. If this album can't move you, I don't what will.