my life//in medias res*

I was tagged in another Facebook meme…

February 11th, 2009 at 10:44 pm by sillyjoe (Adventures in Randomosity)

This one’s about 15 albums that have changed your life…

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you’re over 40) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wasu, literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Then when you finish, tag 15 others (or more!), including moi. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

Alright. Here we go, in no particular order.

1. The Avett Brothers – Emotionalism: Anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with the Avetts. This album is the one that pulled me in. I’ve tried to come up with a way to describe the guys to people who haven’t heard of them, and the best I’ve come up with is that if the Beatles were from Appalachia instead of Liverpool, they’d sound like the Avett Brothers.
2. Caedmon’s Call – 40 Acres: This album owned my ears for a good part of my life. Caedmon’s was my favorite band for most of my teen years, and I remember listening to Derek Webb sing about singleness and praying I could someday have that kind of falsetto.
3. The Beatles – Revolver: I didn’t really start to absorb the Beatles’ music until the past couple of years, but it’s amazing to think of how influential they’ve been when you listen to albums like Revolver. I can listen to this album and point out a hundred things that I’ve heard in other albums that have been recorded since, that I now know have totally ripped off the Fab Five.
4. The Normals – Coming to Life: This is the first cd I put in my first car cd player in my first car. It stayed in there for a lot of my late teens. The songs “The Best I Can” and “Coming To Life” were huge themes for me at the time, and still are. And “Black Dress” is just epic.
5. Blue Merle – Burning in the Sun: Blue Merle is the band I associate with college. I found them during the year I attended Carson-Newman, and a mutual love for their music cemented my friendship with my good friend Sam. I was so sad when they broke up after only one album.
6. Dave Matthews Band – Under the Table and Dreaming: Like most guys who play the acoustical guitar, I had a Dave Matthews phase. If I ever meet Dave, I’m going to thank him for changing the way I approach playing the guitar.
7. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker: His best album, in my opinion, and for me, the most cathartic. “Come Pick Me Up” and “Oh My Sweet Carolina” are perfect.
8. Ben Folds – Rockin’ the Suburbs: Another college-associated record. Ben Folds has such a way with melody and with phrase. I once read an article that talked about the way Ben juxtaposed beautiful music with vulgar lyrics to capture the tension in life itself. I think that’s a great idea, but I also love his music just for what it is.
9. Matt Wertz – Somedays: This isn’t the best Matt Wertz album, nor is it my favorite. But this album is the one that introduced me to independent music. I had heard of John Mayer, but I wasn’t interested. This guy interested me. And I got pulled in, and it’s been a great ride. Matt (and his counterpart, Dave Barnes) has been continually gaining steam in the music business since I first heard him, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
10. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: The album that broadened my musical horizons. When I lived at Carson-Newman with my roommate Andy, he talked and talked and talked about this band Wilco, who was supposed to be amazing. I’m glad I listened.
11. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – Once: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: It seems strange to include a soundtrack on this list, but this album is that good. Hansard, lead singer of the Irish band the Frames and Irglova starred in the movie together and wrote/performed all of the music. Some of the best songwriting I’ve heard in ages.
12. Dave Barnes – Brother, Bring the Sun: If Wertz’s Somedays was the album that introduced me to indie music, then this is the one that submerged me in it. I found Wertz first, but Dave’s the guy I still follow. My hard copy of this cd won’t play anymore. It’s too worn out. “Until You” was the first song I sang to my girlfriend.
13. Mute Math – Mute Math: Epic. There’s not much you can say about these guys without seeming hyperbolic, but it would all be true. They’re too great for words, but you have to see them live. This album is a ride.
14. Boards of Canada – Trans Canada Highway: This little EP got me into electronic music. There was a time (my folk-music-elitist days) when I categorized all electronic music as “techno” and smirked at all of it. Now, it’s probably about 1/3 of the music I listen to.
15. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions: I was never a big fan of the Boss. I just didn’t give his music that much of a chance. It’s not that I didn’t like him, just hadn’t listened. Then this album came out. I thought “Man, that’s a cool concept,” so I picked it up. There’s a reason they call him the Boss. I dare you to listen to “O Mary You Don’t You Weep” more than once without singing along on the second and third times.

I’m going to try and write individual posts about most of these albums and why they had such an effect on me, maybe turn it into a series.

Who shall I tag? Hmm… Geof, Jeff, Michael, Travis, Andy, Matt, and Scott…you’re up.