For a music lover, this is a weighty assignment indeed. It actually got me to wondering whether my life's been impacted more by records than by books, and if so, why? A book, however significant, gets read and then shelved, perhaps not to be read again for many years, whereas an album may be listened to hundreds upon hundreds of times -- in my case, consecutively! -- until it's etched a permanent groove in one's brain.
With apologies to the dozens of albums I fail to mention:
1. The Everly Brothers -- The Fabulous Style of the Everly Brothers
I begin with this because it’s the first piece of music for which I ever lay down cold, hard babysitting cash. Whereas my older sisters collect cute little ‘45s, I am not content with a sample song or two; I want the whole damned thing -- the LP. I spend many happy hours dancing around our bedroom to “Til I Kissed You.” Eventually I scratch the record into disuse with the huge coarse needle on our cheap record player.2. Bob Dylan -- Bob Dylan
In high school I fancy myself a folk singer, ripping off ditties from Peter, Paul & Mary, the Kingston Trio, et al. Living in the Arizona desert, I have little access or exposure to anything that’s not mainstream. (Luckily, the mainstream is not yet corporatized, so things aren't as bad as they sound.) One summer I meet a boy from NYC who tips me off to Bob Dylan. I buy this album and am instantly in its thrall. To this day, “Song to Woody” brings tears to my eyes. It’s one of the purest odes Dylan ever pens, and the innocence in his young voice breaks my heart.3. Bob Dylan -- Highway 61 Revisited
In college, my love for this album borders on obsession. There’s not a single cut that doesn’t transport me in some way. Scorpios like to plunge the depths in search of meaning, and Dylan provides so many layers, so much imagery to explore. Unlike some, I love his voice. It resonates with me. Even now, to hear his voice is to remember who I am. 4. The Beatles -- Rubber Soul
While managing to remain tuneful and 'poppy,' this is the first Beatles album that hints at a darker side. Instead of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” it’s “I’m Looking Through You,” or “Run For Your Life.” It’s more interesting lyrically, and musically it's not like anything else I've heard. While never an obsession, it marks a period of my life that’s very happy.Years wash by, years filled with Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & Papas, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66, Aretha Franklin, Three Dog Night, Joe Cocker, Otis Redding, Santana, more still-great Dylan.
5. Traffic -- The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys
I’m living and working in LA. My friend Gail, who was kicked out of our sorority back in college, is now a San Francisco hippie, and not in the romantic sense, but in the scary sense: no job, a "daddy," lots of drugs. I love her anyway. She flies down to see me so she can scam the airlines for lost luggage. In addition to her stash, she brings "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," as Frisco-worthy a title as any I can think of. I play it incessantly for months. “Either light up or leave me alone,” (asshole).6. Neil Young -- Harvest
This tender, introspective album completely takes over my life. If I had a dollar for every time it spins on my turntable, I’d be a gazillionaire. Neil’s a Scorpio, too. He understands me! I pull the Murphy bed down from the wall of my crappy apartment, and I lie there and listen for hours. For months. All the while, Neil’s falling for a woman who has my exact same birthday, but isn’t me. It sucks.7. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -- Will the Circle Be Unbroken
A new, blue-eyed love enters my life, and this record comes with him, bearing the stamp of all the greats of country -- Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Vassar Clements. “End of the World” becomes our anthem. "I'm Dreaming Tonight of My Blue Eyes" works, too.The Ronstadt years come and go, more Aretha, the Eagles, Rita Coolidge, Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell, Carole King, James Taylor. I have a love affair with “St. Dominic’s Preview.”
8. Emmylou Harris -- Pieces of the Sky
Emmylou and her Hot Band play all over town and my blue-eyed love and I catch her as often as we can. “Boulder to Birmingham” rips my heart into tiny pieces: her relationship with Gram Parsons, his untimely death, the image of his burning coffin evoked in song. Emmy’s nasal voice is perfect for the alt-country songs she’s writing and performing, with a tip of the hat to the Everly Brothers, of course. The Byrds, too.9. Jackson Browne -- The Pretender
"I want to know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring/Were they only the fitful dreams of some greater awakening?" Here I'm in emotional territory I can understand. I’m still young, still a sucker for wounded boys from dysfunctional families. Jackson Browne fits the bill perfectly. I play "The Pretender" for at least a year.The 80’s are a blur of marriage, children, and no real sleep to speak of. The music scene passes me by. I manage through the fog to latch onto X, U2, the Police, the Pretenders, British New Wave. But mostly I’m breastfeeding.
10. Neil Young -- Harvest Moon
It’s an older, gentler Neil by now, and a less exhausted me. I’m painting a quilt to be auctioned at my daughter’s school, as Neil cradles me in song -- though from a CD this time, not an LP.More years crowd by. Now it’s music to end a marriage by: Dylan’s Masterpieces (“If You See Her Say Hello”). His divorce seems to help me through mine. Van Morrison's Moondance LP sees me to the other side.
More years, single mothering, exhaustion. I’m in Portland to visit my son Will at Reed College. He’s a music major. He introduces me to the Shins and triggers my next obsession.
11. The Shins -- Chutes Too Narrow
“A cold and wet November dawn and there are no barking sparrows, just emptiness to dwell upon. I fell into a winter slide and ended up the kind of kid who goes down chutes too narrow, just eking out my measly pies.”This album goes on repeat for a year, maybe two. James Mercer’s precise, poetic songwriting, perfect harmonies, pointed lyrics: they're everything I look for, everything that satisfies. One minute I’m addicted to the gentle “Those to Come,” the next I’m hooked on the head-banging “So Says I.” I finally remove it from my rotation, but not because I’m tired of it.
My kids are older now. Will is out of college and in a band:
12. At Dusk -- The Summer of Promises Kept
It may seem self-serving to include an album from my son’s first band, but I don’t pretend to like something I don’t like. I’m attracted to music that’s layered and complex, and this is that, while also being somehow sunny. I play it and play it and play it, loving how the songs change, shift, and surprise me.At this point I’ve awakened from my long musical slumber. I reach out into the universe again and fall in love with the entire indie/alt scene. I can’t believe how much freaking great music is out there waiting to be mine. Who should I mention here? Ryan Adams, Neko Case, Wilco, Wolf Parade, the Constantines, Handsome Furs. I start going to shows. I catch Okkervil River at the Troubadour, and I’m gob-smacked.
13. Okkervil River -- The Stage Names/Black Sheep Boy/Golden Dreams
There’s no separating these discs, because after I fall in love with this band at the Troubadour, I immerse myself in their entire oeuvre. First I duplicate the set list from the show, and then I make mix CDs of all their songs, till I don’t know which is from which album, or what it’s called. But I know each song intimately, because I play them without tiring for two years. I have a low saturation rate.14. The National -- Alligator
"I think this place is full of spies/I think they're onto me." Matt Berninger and The National write and sing about the seedy underbelly of life, but do so in a way that elevates. It's something about the juxtaposition of music and lyrics, how they play against and upon each other. I don't know any other band that sounds like they do, and they're even better live!15. Bon Iver -- For Emma, Forever Ago
The music on this album is my idea of beautiful. Honest and spare; emotional in a way that hints at something deeper. “Flume” is the cut I go back to again and again. It puts me away. As I write, it's February 2009, and there's already a lot lot lot of really great music out! 2009 looks to be a banner year for indie music.
No comments:
Post a Comment