Who doesn't love a good thought experiment? In this case, we're dealing with the classic situation of being stuck on a desert island with only ten albums to listen to for the rest of time. What do we pick? How do we decide? Those are questions we can take in many directions, as this is much more than simply asking what our ten favorite albums are. Here, we are trying to assemble a list of music that can fit any time, any mood, any situation we will find ourselves in. Other than being rescued, it seems. Is Gilligan here with us?
I did this one before, several years ago, and I thought it was interesting to see how the results have changed in the time since then. While several of the names are familiar, I have largely turned over the entire roster of albums, which goes to illustrate how much we change as time moves along.
These are my picks:
Tonic - Head On Straight
Previously, I would have picked "Lemon Parade" without a second thought, but I'm more cognizant right now of how much I actually listen to the albums I proclaim to love the most. In this instance, "Head On Straight" is the one I find myself reaching for the majority of the time, and it's the one I can keep listening to without getting tired of it. Maybe there's irony in the more limited sonic palate being more appealing when you find yourself in that certain mood quite often. Logic tells me this isn't the right choice, but it's the one I'm making right now. I suppose I need more heaviness (for Tonic, let's be real) if I'm going to be stuck.
Jimmy Eat World - Futures
Having most recently taken the crown as my favorite album of all time, I can't not include this one. There is something to be said for the diversity that "Bleed American" or "Chase This Light" have to offer, but nothing else they have done can match the atmosphere and feeling I get from "Futures". I imagine it will not often be the happiest of times on this theoretical island, and the album I reach for often when my mood turns dark is a necessity. The optimistic twist at the end has long been critical for me.
The Wallflowers - Breach
Food for the soul, food for the brain. While this is also one of my favorite records, it happens to be the one over my entire life that has put more words into my head than any other. So much of my own time spent creating and expressing myself comes from these songs, I'm not sure I would be the same person without it. I probably wouldn't be the same person going forward if I didn't have the record to remind me. There's something interesting about reciting lyrics and putting the mental pictures together, and this is the best art I know.
Green Day - Warning
Replay potential is hugely important, and there are few records I can listen to more often without getting bored than is true of "Warning". I don't know what it is about this record that makes it so, but it is my ultimate binge album. When I pull it off the shelf, I'm likely to listen to it three or four times before I consciously decide to leave it be for another stretch of time. It's almost the perfect encapsulation of that entire era of alternative rock and pop-punk, mainly because it uses only trace elements of those to construct power-pop. I'm a simpleton, I know.
Dilana - Wonderfool
Any list of this sort has to have my favorite voice, but choosing this record is a new one for me. It doesn't have the same emotional devastation, and it doesn't have my favorite song, but it does simply give me more. It gives me more time with her voice, more facets and elements to her power, and more room for the record to still grow on me as I spend the time memorizing every nuance. The novelty is still finding new ways to love her is what I find most attractive. If Dilana is the air I breathe, this record still has more of that 'new love smell' left for me.
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
Another case where I have changed my mind, the original album now wins out over the sequel for this one specific purpose. The reason is rather simple. While both records are ingrained in the very core of who I am, being more concise means I find myself reaching for this one more often. As much as I love the sequel, and as much as it has meant to me, the full seventy-five minutes requires dedication to sit through. Whereas, I will never get tired of listening to Steinman's "wolf with the red roses narration", or rewinding things to listen to Meat pleading for the end of time. Huh, that's actually kind of appropriate, isn't it?
Dave Matthews Band - The Lillywhite Sessions
Things can become rather intolerable when I find the vessels in my head throbbing to the point I struggle to keep my eyes open. Music is often the last thing I want to engage with then, but there are certain sounds that soothe, with this record being one of them. It is very much a 'sad bastard' album, mired in oppressive gloom, but who doesn't have times when that is our reality? It can be nice to be reminded we are not the only ones to feel such a way, and that perhaps knowing the connection exists will allow some of that to escape and dissipate. Regardless, it is important to have something to listen to when sound can be painful.
Halestorm - Vicious
Like Dilana, I couldn't imagine being without access to Lzzy Hale's voice. Whether she is softly crooning the first lines of "The Silence", or screaming from the bottom of her soul, few sounds are more comforting to me than her voice. It's a rare thing to be able to get lost in the tone of someone's voice, but that is what happens for me with Lzzy, and why I sometimes call her the voice of my generation. Lzzy is almost as essential as water.
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
My list is in need of more straight-ahead rock, and there is no better choice for that role than Graveyard. They are the most timeless band I know, which will serve me well if this is supposed to be a long-term situation. The only question is which record to pick, since they have several I could easily see myself listening to on a nearly endless loop. I settle here not just because I think it's their best record, but because I think it's the cleanest example of what makes Graveyard so great. I have to make no sacrifices by choosing this one, and the last thing I want to do is have regrets.
Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
A dose of pure pop can go a long way, and I can't think of a pop record that pushes more of my buttons than this one. It rocks reasonably hard, the songs are stickier than tree sap on the bottom of my boot, and Kelly's voice made an entire genre of reality tv legitimate in people's eyes. I don't know how much room there will be for fun in this scenario, but whatever there is will need a soundtrack. That's what this record is for, and what it has always done. It is the citrus fruit staving off emotional scurvy.
And so, looking at the records I have picked, I feel like we have a satisfying little collection that reveals much of my musical personality. There are records and sounds I would have liked to include, particularly from the heavier end of the spectrum, but if I'm being honest with myself, this is a more accurate representation of who I am.
But the fun is that when I eventually do this again in a few years, the answers will once again be different. Not knowing exactly how is what makes this interesting to keep thinking about.
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