I have a very eclectic music taste. I like a bit of everything (cliché alert!) except country – there is no country allowed in my home. My older brother is no longer my brother because he likes country. Okay, that’s a lie – I don’t disown people because of a choice they made, hell, I’m not a Republican.
Okay. Now that I have offended more than half of the world….
I love music. There have been few constants in my life and music has always been one of them. A family friend likes to tell stories of me going to a Saturday School that she was facilitating at the high school. She sat me in another room with a whiteboard and had class the room over. I was an easy kid to please: a white board, some pens and my walkman. Supposedly all of the kids in the class loved me because I was singing at the top of my lungs to whatever it was I was listening to.
My dad and grandpa tell a similar story, but this time it was about duck hunting. I guess ducks don’t come around when a 6 year old is singing full throat.
I like feeling the emotions that music gives you. I love the sense memory. I can tell you where I was the first time I heard most songs.
That being said, I have decided to list my top-5 albums of all-time. This is a COMPLETELY subjective list. I am 100% prepared to fight tooth and nail for them, but to also hear your side. Music is not an objective thing (right Kanye?) and we all have different feelings of what we like and what we hate. Also – this lists shifts ALL THE TIME. This is what I was thinking of right now, tomorrow it could be different.
So, without further ado.
5. New Sacred Cow – Kenna
First Heard: I first heard this guy from the music video for “Hell Bent” at a cast party. This video blew me away. BLEW ME AWAY.
Why I love it: Every reason. This guy is inventive, he has a great personal story and his voice is amazing. With a mixture of hip-hop, pop, techno, punk and just about everything else, it is hard for me to not love it.
Recommended Songs: All of them. They are all so different from each other it is hard to pick a few. My favorites are: “Hell Bent“, “Freetime“ and “Sunday After You“, but “Love/Hate Sensation“ is fantastic.
Official Website: http://okkenna.com/
Hell Bent Video
4. Pyromania – Def Leppard
First Heard: My dad. Yeah, I said that. My dad. He had the original pressing of the CD, which I promptly made mine and let a friend borrow who lost it. I’m looking at you Chris…
Why I love it: Anyone who knows me knows how much I love 80’s rock. LOVE. Def Leppard was the reason for that love.
Recommended Songs: This album was a huge success because it had many of the songs you all know. When you buy “Vault“ (the Greatest Hits) you actually get 7 of the 10 songs from this album – that is a pretty damn good batting average. My favorites are: “Photograph“, “Too Late for Love“, “Foolin’“,“Rock of Ages“. I do really enjoy Die Hard the Hunter.
Official Website: http://www.defleppard.com/
Rock of Ages
3. Sparkle and Fade – Everclear
First Heard: I first heard Santa Monica when I was doing landscaping in Junior High. I carried around a giant boom box that ran on 6 D batteries and listened to the radio while I worked.
Why I love it: I really love Everclear for a long time (still do, except that Art Alexakis has become Axel Rose – a guy that won’t let the band go) and this song got me hooked. This is sort of Incubus’s “Make Yourself”: A few songs that hit the radio before putting out another album that achieves more success. This is their third most successful album.
Recommended Songs: “Pale Green Stars“, “Heartspark Dollarsign“, “Heroin Girl“,“You Make Me Feel Like A Whore“, “Santa Monica“ (of course)
Official Website: http://www.everclearonline.com/
Heartspark Dollarsign
2. musicforthemorningafter – Pete Yorn
First Heard: Landscaping again. This time I was listening to the “Orange County” soundtrack when “On Your Side” came on. This song hit me in a part of my heart I didn’t know existed – I think Denis Leary called them the sub-cockles.
Why I love it: This guy is a genius. Plain and simple. I have heard him compared to Tom Petty: a singer songwriter that has an interesting voice and a poetic way about him. He seems like the kind of guy that you want to sit down and have a drink with. This album, getting me started on him aside, also had a lot of really good flipping songs on it. When you go to his concerts he plays nearly all of this album, and he has actually said that “June” is one of his favorite songs. Pretty good praise from the creator.
Recommended Songs: “June“, “Life on a Chain“, “Lose You“, “On Your Side“, “A Girl Like You“, “For Nancy (Cos it Already Is)”
Official Website: http://www.peteyorn.com/
Life on a Chain
1. Ganging Up on the Sun – Guster
First Heard: This was their 5th album, so when I saw it come out we bought it. We are die hards.
Why I love it: My wife argues that she actually likes “Keep It Together“ more, but I have a special attachment to this one. When I had some personal issues several years ago, I went on a bus ride from West Seattle to Ballard. Not a long ride for sure, but I was not in a good place. I brought my Discman (remember those), popped this CD in and listened. The progression from song to song relaxed me, soothed me. It isn’t their album with all of my favorite songs, but the mixing and the track order was what did it. It moves you through a story. It was one of the weirdest feelings I have ever had, and for that, this is my favorite album ever. I still listen to it when I need to calm down.
Recommended Songs: “Lightning Rod“, “Satellite“, “Dear Valentine“
Official Website: http://www.guster.com/
Satellite
So that’s that! What are yours?
