15 Albums

Inspired by a buddy's Facebook Note, here we are...

The Challenge: Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!

1- Buddy Holly, Best of...
For lack of a better compilation, any Best of truly will do. Buddy Holly taught this subruban dude how to appreciate the roots...Everyday.

2- Blink 182, Dude Ranch
It's 1997, I'm 12 yrs old, wearing over sized blue camo shorts and I have found something special in Dammit, Voyeur (though pales in comparison to Toot's Peeping Tom) and A New Hope. Many-a bus rides and study hall periods were spent reading X-Men books to this striped down, fully popped record.

3- Green Day, Dookie
It's loud, short (39 min) and irreverent, and its all I needed out of music while playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

4- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Let's Face It
Though my reggae tastes of be striped down in years to come, without The Rascal King, I never would have found the likes of Desmond Dekker and Ken Booth so soon, stopping off at Rx Bandits and Satori along the way. The Impression That I Get was the theme song to my first car, 1995 Ford Windstar, hunter green...it had soul.

5- Fatboy Slim - On the Floor At The Boutique
It was freshman year of high school I believe, and I decided to become a breakdancer. I wasn't bad, if I remember right...which is iffy. But what I do remember is this record being played over and over as we totted lenolym from driveway to basement to deserted after school meeting room.

6- Cake, Comfort Eagle
Sophmore year, for sure. It's Current Events class, and TG throws a couple Cake records my way. That summer I got my first longboard in Stone Harbor, NJ. Shadow Stabbing is still on my top 5 songs of all time, and Love You Madly is taps toes and hearts alike.

7- The Rocket Summer, Calender Days
Pure, unadulterated pop music. It's a small child's birthday party on a record, and if we all remember a little place called The Beat Kitchen, all I can say is confetti...confetti.

8- The Animals, Retrospective
Much like Buddy Holly, it may be more the band than the record in the case of The Animals. It was The Animals that showed me why soul and rock 'n' roll were meant to be brought together in a Brit-rock manner. Baby Let Me Take You Home...it don't get much better than that at 2am, beer in hand and lady on your arm.

9- Rancid, ...And Out Come The Wolves
Though their later effort lacks...well...everything,

Rancid's third record is 19 songs of pure West Coast punk rock. I realize in 2009 "punk rock" is nothing short of The Jonas Brothers, but ten years back and Rancid ruled over a pile of lesser known (and for good reason) acts. In a scene that fizzled faster than The S Club 7, AOCTW has survived.

10- Jurassic 5, Quality Control
Another b-boy favorite, J5 takes the hip hop cake on this top 15. They follow a long tradition of quality mc-dj team ups, but for me, it was the perfect combination. Jurass Finish First - nuff said.

11- The Wailers, Burnin'
They may be overplayed and over praised, but before Marley became the poster child for Jamaican tourism, he was part of the Wailers. Peter Tosh was still in the band, along with Bunny, Family Man and Bob, they redefined reggae (Think what Alan Moore did for comics with The Watchman or the film The Jazz Singer in 1952.) I Shot The Sheriff and Get Up Stand Up aside, this record came to on the B-side, with Put It On, Duppy Conquer and Small Axe.

12- The Aggrolites, Reggae Hit LA
Dirty...soul...funk...reggae. Aggro is it for modern reggae. period. Though Countryman Fiddle blows doors on their first record, Free Time is the all-in-all of reggae post 2000. Of all the shows, and all the dancin, its The Aggrolies that have provided me with the greatest show experience of my life. 4 times.

13- Trojan Boxset: Rocksteady.
Stripped down, analog reggae music. Without the years 1966-1968 reggae would be nothing more than upside down ska beat. Granted there would be no complaint there, but with the advent of lovers rock, reggae has never been the same. Red Red Wine, Wear You To The Ball and People Rocksteady are just 3 of 50 tracks that were my reggae training as a junior in high school. Doesn't hurt that Steve Borth from RXB and Satori introduced me the Trojan Boxset series.

14- Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight
Granted, Rilo Kiley has been a house favorite for years, and their newest sound is far from The Frug, but it seems that anything Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis touch stays with me long enough to find itself on this list. Rabbit Fur Coat and Sun, Sun, Sun were both on the short list, but it was Breakin' Up and 15 that succured Under The Blacklight as representation for the Sennett/Lewis catalog.

15- The Clash, London Calling
Prepering for this record with their two previous ones, London Calling is the pinicale of my Clash experience. From stat to end, its Illinois, its New jersey, its backpackin, its road trippin, its Boston. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, London Calling is anytime, anywhere.

Scoopin' Tunes...

These days, most scoop nights yield a bit of work, a lot of reading, and a good amount of people-watching from behind the counter and atop a makeshift stool...two milk crates to be exact.
But tonight was different. Tonight, time went by with little thought of when time would go by, and before I knew it, time had gone by. It started with a staff meeting, nothing crazy, just a chance for there to be more than one person in the shop at a time, a rare chance these days. I missed most of the meeting as I was "working" as well, thus preparing the few milkshakes that came my way and missing the musings of my managers reminding us to get back to basics and wear close-toed shoes. I'm sure there was more, but like I said...milkshakes.
Some of my mid-meeting visitors were not ice cream seekers at all, but two communications students from Simmons. Their purpose for coming, if not for ice cream, was to track down willing subjects for a project for a film editing class. They were interviewing folks on their connections with music, as well as gathering answers to High Fidelity-esque questions: favorite record, tracks, genres, etc.
As it would not be appropriate for me to miss out on the dress code review and the upcoming B&J's Facebook promotions updates, I promptly asked them to return post-meeting.
They did, and somewhere out there (well I can probably narrow it down to the Simmons dorms) is me babbling on about rocksteady, The Clash, Belle and Sebastian, and my first concert (other than a handful of Christian hardcore and ska shows in middle school, my first major show was Rusted Root at a small club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2001).
A quiet man with minimal distinguishing features came by and ordered a one scoop of chocolate fudge brownie. After procuring and enjoying his purchase, he approached the counter and inquired as to the players we had been enjoying. My tunes of choice this evening focused on Cake and their records Comfort Eagle, Prolonging the Magic and Pressure Chief.
Again, music was the topic of choice, and I couldn't help but muse over my coming weekend, which will include an evening of full of good tunes. This Saturday I'm having a close handful of friends over to enjoy the finer things in life, an evening of BYOB/M if you will.
Each person will be bringing a bottle of choice craft beer and a short mix tape (5-7 tracks) to share with the group. Compiling my selection has been a daunting task filled with light bulb memories of songs long forgotten and the mental thumbing through of my iTunes in search of the perfect musical conversation topic.
The evening winded down with a snowy walk home, the Harvard to Central Sq. trek filled with larger than life flakes, a single worn path along Mass Ave, and a well kept eye out for a new record store opening up on the edge of Central. Weirdo Records is an online shop-turned-store that opens its doors on Friday the 6th. A perfect pre-listening party destination.
As I write this I've been listening to The Cardigans and their record, Life. Recorded in 1996, I was eleven, and I believe my first CD was given to me at Christmas, The Space Jam soundtrack. R. Kelly and I have come a long way. Returning to my past has produced unforeseeable treasures. cheers --d

P.S.