The Albums That I’m Listening To
(Disclaimer: You are now entering a “No Rap” zone. Please don’t feed the reviewers; they bite.)
Before I begin my list, I have a confession to make; I am a compulsive spender. No, I don’t blow my money on prostitutes, illegal drugs, or handbags; I spend it all on the endangered species known as “the compactus disktus”. I cannot walk into a music store without finding at least one album that I absolutely, positively, swear on the Bible, cannot live without. As a result, my bookshelves are over-flowing with CDs, and my wallet is consistently empty. Here is my list of albums that you can’t afford not to own, even if you’re broke like me (in no particular order, since I love all of them equally):
1. Poses; Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright has not had an easy life; raped at fourteen, growing up in the spotlight while struggling with his sexuality, a crystal meth addiction, and countless other roadblocks that he’s had to deal with. One bonus of these circumstances is that they gave him plenty of material to write about. I am unashamed to admit that I own nearly every album he has produced, and neither do I hesitate to say that all the others lack something that Poses has. Poses just is the best out of a huge selection of very good material.
2. Original London Cast Recording; Les Misérables
Yes, I am a theatre nerd. That being acknowledged, you need to immediately buy this two disk masterpiece. The vocals, are as always phenomenal, and some of the true album standouts are: ”On My Own”, “Castle on a Cloud”, and “I Dreamed a Dream”. If you need a way to disguise your motives behind your purchase from your “too cool” friends, just say it adds another dimension to the book when you read it
3. Blonde on Blonde; Bob Dylan
I know that loving Bob is the only cool way to be these days, (almost to the point of clichéd) but he was the voice of a generation for a reason. His was the genius that introduced me to ‘poli-rock’, and quickly hooked me on the genre for good. His words and concerns still resonate with me now, an astonishing forty-one years after it was released. That’s what makes a great album, isn’t it?
4. So Much More; Brett Dennen
It seems fitting to me to follow up Bob Dylan with this artist; a man who I consider to be my generation’s equivalent of the legend. (It has to be a sign, isn’t it, that their initials match?) As an indication of my adoration, may I say that “There Is So Much More”, my favorite song on the album, was the first recording to go above five hundred plays on my iPod?
5. Out Here All Night; Damone
If you are looking for the premier in party rock’n’roll, with good, old fashioned lyrics about sex, drugs, and bad relationships, look no farther than Damone (who couldn’t love a band that shares a name with the immortal “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” character, Vic Damone?). My personal favorites include “Out Here All Night”; a testimony to the true crappiness of life, albeit in a really fun rocker way, and “Outta My Way”; a song that just begs you to roll the windows down, turn up the stereo, and scare all the old wankers in your neighborhood.
6. MTV Live in New York; Nirvana
Many people hail the admittedly fabulous “Nevermind” as Kurt Cobain’s greatest achievement, and I agree with them, up to a point. However, I find this album to be a fantastic compilation of my favorite Nirvana songs, and to hear Cobain’s voice, only a few months prior to his death, makes the album a moving, if not spiritual experience.
7. Our Endless Numbered Days; Iron & Wine
If you’re an indie rocker, chances are you have this CD in your collection. Sam Bean, the songwriter, essentially pioneered the field of poetic, stark rock, and on his second album, he sharpens and refines his already impressive skills down to a cutting edge.
8. Bat Out of Hell; Meatloaf
Say what you will; send me hate mail, spit in my face, but I will not be swayed in my opinion of this. I was raised on “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”, and while I acknowledge that any and all recordings after this album have been horrific, I will firmly consider this a classic for the rest of my life. C’mon. It’s by a guy who calls himself Meatloaf. How can you resist such gravy goodness?
9. …Is A Real Boy; Say Anything
Now, if you’re at all similar to myself, you probably dislike rock-operas as much as I do (I suffered through The Who’s Tommy as much as the next person. How many times can you listen to Pinball Wizard?). But the catchy, intelligent, genuinely funny writing makes up for any pretentiousness you might find in this amazing double-disk. The songwriter, Max Beamis, suffers from social anxiety much as the fictional hero of the story, and he unleashed his deliciously acidic tongue in stand-out songs such as “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”, an amusing story about the embarrassments of phone sex, and “Every Man Has A Molly”, detailing the messy end to a relationship due to the narrator’s revealing honesty in his songs.
10. Born in the U.S.A.; Bruce Springsteen
Admittedly, it’s in my genes to love the Boss. I’m from New Jersey, what can I say? (The same genetic fault does not, however, apply to the recent Bon Jovi releases.) This is the defining Bruce Springsteen album with all of my personally favorite songs. If you even try to tell me that you don’t know all the words to “Dancing in the Dark” or “Glory Days”, I will personally buy and send you a copy myself! (NOTE: the author cannot be held to any unrealistic or potentially expensive promises she makes in the heat of the moment. We apologize for this inconvenience.) Not to mention, can you give me one red-blooded female who can resist the view on the album cover?
And thus concludes our lovely list. If you love it, let me know. If you hate it, let someone else know!
-Audiophile
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