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these albums changed my life....
Feb. 23rd, 2009 02:03 pmWell...."Changed my life" might not apply to all of them, but they are the ones that stand out for very specific reasons.
1. Green Day - Dookie : The first album purchased, with my own money. Before this I wasn't into "music" at all. My parents weren't very musical, and my sister was pretty much into the 80's pop diva's, but wasn't really sharing any of that with me. I remember buying the album, being obsessed with the album art, and buying a cheap Green Day necklace that had flies on it. There was just something about it being Angry enough, Melodic enough, and with lyrics that seemed to lodge themselves in peoples brains that made me love it.
2. Prodigy - Fat of the Land : 6th grade, JUST getting into music. Seeing the Firestarter music video on MTV, hearing that grinding syncopated rhythm, and seeing Keith with his crazy hair and smeared racoon eyes in a sewer. I remember being at a lunch table and someone asked me what my favorite Band was, and I remember saying "The Prodigy" and getting laughed at. They hadn't hit it big with "Breathe" yet so people didn't really know what to think about them. All I knew was I was hooked.
3. Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs : I am transported immediately back to Freshman year of college, sitting in my friend's dormroom listening to this album on repeat. The production quality and Ben's lyrics/voice are incredible on this album, and it's just pop-y enough to be filled with earworms. The track "Zac & Sara" being my favorite. I can still listen to this album in its entirety at anytime.
4. Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation : This was my first "This album has been around for a while" purchase. I was a very "this is on the radio right now" kind of music fan, but Fat of the Land really sparked my interest and lead me to this album. I think it's my favorite Prodigy album so far. The track Break and Enter was on repeat in my head for months. I think it still holds up today, but also is very classic in it's 90's Hardcore sounds and drum loops.
5. The Weepies - Happiness and Say I am You : I'm lumping these two albums together because I first heard them together. I love expertly harmonized stripped down folky music and The Weepies never dissapoint. Sadly I heard their track "All That I Want" on a JCPenny's commercial and instantly went-a-googling. Deb Talen's voice is hands down my favorite female vocalist. I don't have a lot of "Favorite" bands but when asked I always mention The Weepies. Their sound, their story, everything is just beautiful.
6. Saves the Day - Stay What You Are : I agree with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mixmuttmcnasty when he said "This album was also a bit of a departure from their earlier stuff. It also didn't really grab me at first. I also came to love it like it was my child." I sing all the harmonies to every song on this album. It fed my need for a good melody, with a healthy portion of angst. Say what you want about this genre of pop-punk, but I love this album.
7. MTV - Amp : I don't even know where to start with this album. My bestfriend Robert and I started really getting into early rave and electronic music in 8th grade when everyone else was getting into Rap and Grundge. Before even know what a rave WAS we were listening to it's soundtrack. I attribute this compilation for sparking a need to deviate from the path and find music on my own. Radio play wasn't needed anymore. Robert and I would stay up SUPER late (2am OMG!!!) on Friday nights/Saturday mornings to catch MTV's AMP playing electronic music videos that featured lots of people running in slow motion, early CGI made from shiny plastic badly modeled primitives, and lazors. Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Underworld, The Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, Orbital, Goldie, Josh Wink, and Crystal Method ALL ON ONE CD!!!! It's like it had my future music tastes pre-mapped out for me.
8. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans : I listened to a bunch of Death Cab tracks before this album but this was their first album that grabbed me from beginning to end. I don't have much to say about it other than it's beautiful, geniusly written, melodically layered, and brilliant.
9. Orbital - In Sides : My bestfriend Robert was obsessed with this group Orbital. I liked their stuff but he seemed to appreciate this album more than I did I guess. Flash forward to 1999 when I saw Orbital and Crystal Method live. This album made SO MUCH MORE SENSE and finally showed it's true brilliance once I heard the tracks live. "All encompassing" is a term I used to describe their sound. So many layers, so simple, yet complex beats and synths all put together into a musical HUG.
10. The Crystal Method - Vegas : When the "Big Beat" electronic genre first hit (before MTV, or The Gap for that matter, grabbed hold) it really caught a lot of people off guard. Crystal Method were very "pop" in comparison to the other artists coming out then. This album is very front heavy in terms of quality of tracks from start to finish, but those first few tracks shaped my love of electronic music in so many ways. But like Orbital, I didn't appreciate them nearly as much as after I saw them perform live.
11. Tycho - Sunrise Projector : Electronic music that feels like laying in a field by yourself warmed by the sun. Besides being an incredible graphic designer under the name ISO50, Tycho was a late find (a few years ago) in his muscial form. Ambient sounds with just enough of a beat to bounce your head to. This album is best played while on a plane staring out the window (as is Death Cab's Transatlantacism).
12. Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill : Angry, Scorned, Vengefull, and Sexy. All words NOT describing me when this album came out. It took a year or so for me to own the album and listen to it all the way through but when I did I didn't stop. I still haven't really stopped come to think of it. The acoustic version of the album is awesome as well.
13. Cex - Role Model : Baltimore IDM music brought to me by Robert when he was there for college. Glitchy, broken, all over the place, yet stuctured just enough to not be ridiculous. Cex also has a rap persona that is also brilliant, check out the album "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" as well.
14. Frou Frou - Details : Imogen Heap's voice is hauntingly beautiful and this album, well.....their only album as Frou Frou, showcases it amazingly well. Her ability to layer her own voice into thick, almost palpable harmonies combined with Guy Sigsworth's (and hers) compositions makes for an incredible album from beginning to end.
15. Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer - Self Titled Album : Freshman year of college was a big music year for me. Being thrust into a new place that didn't have raves forced me to expand my music tastes. My friend Leslie played this album on repeat for about......all year. I kinda HAD to fall in love with it. But even since then it's had the staying power to remain on my list.
16. The Postal Service - Give Up : I hadn't heard Death Cab yet when this album came out. I hadn't heard Rilo Kiley. I had no idea who Dntel was. But someone gave me this album and told me to listen to it. So I did. And I never stopped. Unfortunately electronic music sometimes is devoid of good lyrics, if any, and if they are there they are usually just an after thought used more as a sample than anything. This album's lyrics were JUST as important as the instruments and worked so well together.
That's about it in terms of ALBUMS as a whole. I've always been a "Track by track" kind of person, especially with DJing. Songs grab me more than albums do.
I also grew up without anyone introducing me to music so there are a lot left off this list that are on everyone elses. "Classics" that I've either never heard or just don't have the nostalgia associated with them to put them on the list.
1. Green Day - Dookie : The first album purchased, with my own money. Before this I wasn't into "music" at all. My parents weren't very musical, and my sister was pretty much into the 80's pop diva's, but wasn't really sharing any of that with me. I remember buying the album, being obsessed with the album art, and buying a cheap Green Day necklace that had flies on it. There was just something about it being Angry enough, Melodic enough, and with lyrics that seemed to lodge themselves in peoples brains that made me love it.
2. Prodigy - Fat of the Land : 6th grade, JUST getting into music. Seeing the Firestarter music video on MTV, hearing that grinding syncopated rhythm, and seeing Keith with his crazy hair and smeared racoon eyes in a sewer. I remember being at a lunch table and someone asked me what my favorite Band was, and I remember saying "The Prodigy" and getting laughed at. They hadn't hit it big with "Breathe" yet so people didn't really know what to think about them. All I knew was I was hooked.
3. Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs : I am transported immediately back to Freshman year of college, sitting in my friend's dormroom listening to this album on repeat. The production quality and Ben's lyrics/voice are incredible on this album, and it's just pop-y enough to be filled with earworms. The track "Zac & Sara" being my favorite. I can still listen to this album in its entirety at anytime.
4. Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation : This was my first "This album has been around for a while" purchase. I was a very "this is on the radio right now" kind of music fan, but Fat of the Land really sparked my interest and lead me to this album. I think it's my favorite Prodigy album so far. The track Break and Enter was on repeat in my head for months. I think it still holds up today, but also is very classic in it's 90's Hardcore sounds and drum loops.
5. The Weepies - Happiness and Say I am You : I'm lumping these two albums together because I first heard them together. I love expertly harmonized stripped down folky music and The Weepies never dissapoint. Sadly I heard their track "All That I Want" on a JCPenny's commercial and instantly went-a-googling. Deb Talen's voice is hands down my favorite female vocalist. I don't have a lot of "Favorite" bands but when asked I always mention The Weepies. Their sound, their story, everything is just beautiful.
6. Saves the Day - Stay What You Are : I agree with
mixmuttmcnasty when he said "This album was also a bit of a departure from their earlier stuff. It also didn't really grab me at first. I also came to love it like it was my child." I sing all the harmonies to every song on this album. It fed my need for a good melody, with a healthy portion of angst. Say what you want about this genre of pop-punk, but I love this album.7. MTV - Amp : I don't even know where to start with this album. My bestfriend Robert and I started really getting into early rave and electronic music in 8th grade when everyone else was getting into Rap and Grundge. Before even know what a rave WAS we were listening to it's soundtrack. I attribute this compilation for sparking a need to deviate from the path and find music on my own. Radio play wasn't needed anymore. Robert and I would stay up SUPER late (2am OMG!!!) on Friday nights/Saturday mornings to catch MTV's AMP playing electronic music videos that featured lots of people running in slow motion, early CGI made from shiny plastic badly modeled primitives, and lazors. Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Underworld, The Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, Orbital, Goldie, Josh Wink, and Crystal Method ALL ON ONE CD!!!! It's like it had my future music tastes pre-mapped out for me.
8. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans : I listened to a bunch of Death Cab tracks before this album but this was their first album that grabbed me from beginning to end. I don't have much to say about it other than it's beautiful, geniusly written, melodically layered, and brilliant.
9. Orbital - In Sides : My bestfriend Robert was obsessed with this group Orbital. I liked their stuff but he seemed to appreciate this album more than I did I guess. Flash forward to 1999 when I saw Orbital and Crystal Method live. This album made SO MUCH MORE SENSE and finally showed it's true brilliance once I heard the tracks live. "All encompassing" is a term I used to describe their sound. So many layers, so simple, yet complex beats and synths all put together into a musical HUG.
10. The Crystal Method - Vegas : When the "Big Beat" electronic genre first hit (before MTV, or The Gap for that matter, grabbed hold) it really caught a lot of people off guard. Crystal Method were very "pop" in comparison to the other artists coming out then. This album is very front heavy in terms of quality of tracks from start to finish, but those first few tracks shaped my love of electronic music in so many ways. But like Orbital, I didn't appreciate them nearly as much as after I saw them perform live.
11. Tycho - Sunrise Projector : Electronic music that feels like laying in a field by yourself warmed by the sun. Besides being an incredible graphic designer under the name ISO50, Tycho was a late find (a few years ago) in his muscial form. Ambient sounds with just enough of a beat to bounce your head to. This album is best played while on a plane staring out the window (as is Death Cab's Transatlantacism).
12. Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill : Angry, Scorned, Vengefull, and Sexy. All words NOT describing me when this album came out. It took a year or so for me to own the album and listen to it all the way through but when I did I didn't stop. I still haven't really stopped come to think of it. The acoustic version of the album is awesome as well.
13. Cex - Role Model : Baltimore IDM music brought to me by Robert when he was there for college. Glitchy, broken, all over the place, yet stuctured just enough to not be ridiculous. Cex also has a rap persona that is also brilliant, check out the album "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" as well.
14. Frou Frou - Details : Imogen Heap's voice is hauntingly beautiful and this album, well.....their only album as Frou Frou, showcases it amazingly well. Her ability to layer her own voice into thick, almost palpable harmonies combined with Guy Sigsworth's (and hers) compositions makes for an incredible album from beginning to end.
15. Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer - Self Titled Album : Freshman year of college was a big music year for me. Being thrust into a new place that didn't have raves forced me to expand my music tastes. My friend Leslie played this album on repeat for about......all year. I kinda HAD to fall in love with it. But even since then it's had the staying power to remain on my list.
16. The Postal Service - Give Up : I hadn't heard Death Cab yet when this album came out. I hadn't heard Rilo Kiley. I had no idea who Dntel was. But someone gave me this album and told me to listen to it. So I did. And I never stopped. Unfortunately electronic music sometimes is devoid of good lyrics, if any, and if they are there they are usually just an after thought used more as a sample than anything. This album's lyrics were JUST as important as the instruments and worked so well together.
That's about it in terms of ALBUMS as a whole. I've always been a "Track by track" kind of person, especially with DJing. Songs grab me more than albums do.
I also grew up without anyone introducing me to music so there are a lot left off this list that are on everyone elses. "Classics" that I've either never heard or just don't have the nostalgia associated with them to put them on the list.
