Ten Albums
A social media “challenge” was going around a few years ago in which people were invited to share ten albums that shaped their musical…
A social media “challenge” was going around a few years ago in which people were invited to share ten albums that shaped their musical tastes. The “rules” were to post only the album cover, but I decided to go ahead and also write up something about each album and explain how and why it influenced me.
I was recently reminded of this, and thought I’d share it here, as well….
#1: “Weird Al Yankovic in 3D”
This is the one with “Eat It” (a parody of MJ’s “Beat It”), which is really put Weird Al on the map. While it actually wasn’t my first Weird Al album (I owned his initial self-titled album on LP before buying “3D” on cassette) and it wasn’t my last (I’ve owned all but his most recent release), “3D” will always seem like quintessential Al to me. I could probably still sing all the songs in order from memory.
This album spoke to me because I have one of those parodic senses of humor, and love to poke fun at established popular culture. It was exciting to me to know that there was someone who could do exactly that and wind up with a hit song.
#2: Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, “Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars”
I won tickets to see this band in concert at The Riverside in Milwaukee back in 1989. The only song I had heard from them was their lone top-40 hit, “What I Am.” I liked that song, and owned the cassette single before I went to see them, but I was so BLOWN AWAY seeing them in person that I bought the album (on cassette) right then and there. I pretty much wore that cassette out, and went on to get all four of their albums, as well as some of Edie’s solo work and her collaboration album with The Heavy Circles (it’s titled “The Heavy Circles,” and you should totally listen to it — it’s fantastic).
The avenue of musical appreciation this opened up for me led to me getting and loving full albums from acts like Jann Arden, Fiona Apple, and Meredith Brooks.
This album showed 18-year-old me that you can LIKE an artist/band for their Billboard hit but fall in LOVE with them for what Billboard will never let you hear. Edie Brickell put out four great albums with The New Bohemians, and most people couldn’t name one song beyond “What I Am”. That’s a shame.
#3: Petra, “This Means War”
Petra was the first band I ever saw in concert, during their “This Means War” tour, November 20, 1987 at the Waukesha Expo Center. Petra’s music was harder than what I expected from Christian Music, and that took me a little by surprise. I had no idea Christian music could sound like that, and it blew my mind. So much so that I bought the “This Means War” album on cassette, along with a pin that I wore around for weeks. I still own the pin. I also still own the album, though not on cassette — it got upgraded to CD.
On June 16, 2001, I took that CD with me to see Petra on stage again at the Waukesha County Expo for their “Double Take” tour. This time they played the outdoor grounds as part of the “Godstock” music festival. After that set, I had my “This Means War” CD signed John Schlitt himself (the long-time lead man of Petra). “This means war!” he remarked. “That was a good tour. I mean, they were all good tours, but THAT was a GOOD TOUR.”
This album opened up a whole new world of Christian music to me, and to this day I still appreciate sacred music that’s outside the norm — including more aggressive music like The Letter Black and Disciple, and more folksy music like Jadon Lavik and Kendall Payne.
#4: Gilli Aliotti, “Girl in the Moon”
You’ve probably never heard her name, and that’s understandable — she’s an independent artist who hails from Australia. I first discovered her back in 1998 on the mp3 dot com website, back when you could actually find good music on it. I loved her demo “Too Much” SO much that I bought her physical CD through mail order. I still have it, and still listen to it. And she’s put out a ton of music since then, including a new double-album that’s coming out soon.
This album taught me to seek out independent or outlying artists that no one had heard of. Good music isn’t just what “The Biz” tells us to like; good music is all around us. It led me to try (and love) “unknown” artists like Grover Levy, Heather Miller, Dolly Rappaport, Antje Duvekot, and Emily Elbert.
Do yourself a favor and check out some of Gilli Moon’s music — you can find her at gillimoon.com or on Spotify.
#5: The Beatles, “Beatles For Sale”
Who hasn’t heard of The Beatles, and who, really, in my generation can’t say that their musical tastes were influenced at least in part by John, Paul, George, and Ringo? But this isn’t a throw-away choice: many in my high school social circle (and some of their older siblings) were staunch Beatles fans, so The Beatles were not only a point of musical taste for me, but also an important part of my social upbringing. Thinking of The Fab Four, I almost always flash back to those friends from my formative years.
But it wasn’t just social influence: I genuinely like The Beatles, and at one point owned just about their entire catalog on cassette tapes, including a couple bootleg albums (that I wish I still had). The Beatles’ music ran the gamut of emotions, and showed me that great musicians can write music that’s happy, sad, introspective, dissatisfied, confusing, and silly — sometimes all on the same album. The Beatles were often fun. And, importantly, they were a musical gateway drug that led me to experiment with and love other great contemporaries of theirs like the Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, The Byrds, and The Rolling Stones.
Why this album? Because it has “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” on it. I love that song.
#6: Willie Nelson, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
I don’t make any secret that I’m not a fan of modern “country” music. However, queue up some classic country and I’m smitten: Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and WILLIE NELSON. When I was young, my dad — out of the blue — got me Willie Nelson’s album “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on cassette tape. I didn’t think it was my style, but I listened anyway. And I listened again, and again, and again. I remember laying in bed some nights with headphones on and falling asleep to it. I seriously loved that album, and as much as I try to avoid referring to myself as a “fan” of something or someone, I’m pretty close to it here. In spite of his past problems, I really like Willie’s music, and it led me to admire all those other classic country musicians I mentioned before, and more.
My dad passed away this year, and this album — this legacy — will always live on for me as a reminder of him and how he tried to connect with me.
#7: Metallica (“The Black Album”)
In my youth I was always of the opinion that heavy metal music was for what we, in the 80s, called “burnouts.” I looked down on it as a lower class of music for less — shall we say — “polished” listeners. I made fun of people who listened to bands like Metallica. So when I heard this album, it absolutely blew my mind, mostly by showing me that heavy metal bands could actually be talented. It completely won me over to heavy metal as a valid musical form. As a result, I found myself drawn to other 70s/80s heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Anthrax, and — more recently — The Letter Black, Disciple, and Avenged Sevenfold.
#8: “Stage Door Canteen”, “Old Mill Stream”, “Coney Island Baby”
One rainy Sunday afternoon I was sitting inside, bored and flipping through the channels on the TV. Never having been one for sports, nothing was really grabbing my attention… until I happened to find a barbershop music competition on PBS. I had had no idea that was a thing! It was incredible what these quartets were able to accomplish with just their voices! And it wasn’t just vintage tunes they sang — there were fun, creative original songs to compliment the timeless classics. I was so impressed that I went right out that same day and bought myself copies of the only two barbershop CDs at Sam Goody, “Old Mill Stream” and “Coney Island Baby” (which was the recording of the show I had just watched on PBS). This amazing music reignited my love of classic big band music from the WWII era, especially the music of the Andrews Sisters — so before too long I also got myself a copy of “Stage Door Canteen”. They just don’t make music like that anymore.
#9: Annie: Original Broadway Cast Recording (1977)
I was a theatre major! And it’s Annie! Arguably one of the most feel-good musicals of all time, Annie is a perennial favorite of mine. I’d like to tell some nostalgic, introspective story about discovering this gem of an album and how it opened my eyes to a whole new musical genre, but I can’t. I love musical theatre and I love this show.
And you’re never fully dressed without a smile.
#10: “The Muppet Movie” Original Soundtrack Recording (1979)
I didn’t grow up with parents who followed the hottest and most popular bands or listened to top 40 radio. I grew up with parents who had the oldies channel on the radio all day every day and had record albums of Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, and The Ink Spots. Oh, and The Muppets. And I really, genuinely liked all that music.
Growing up watching The Muppets on TV, I LOVED THEM and LOVED the movie. So in 4th grade, when I moved to a new school in a different city in a different county, and the music teacher invited everyone to share a favorite song with the class, I brought in our Muppets soundtrack and played my favorite song, “Rainbow Connection.” And I got promptly laughed at by the entire class.
You see, we were in 4th grade. I was supposed to have outgrown Kermit and Miss Piggy, and cheesy banjo ballads from kids’ movies. I was supposed to be listening to music that the other kids in my class were listening to — Billy Squier (whom I hadn’t even heard of at that point), Dexy’s Midnight Runners (hadn’t heard of them, either), and J. Giles Band (again, totally clueless). At age 10, I was aghast that someone would sing about a “girlie magazine” centerfold on the radio — but my sense of shock paled in comparison to my sense of embarrassment at being mocked and teased by pretty much my whole class. I actually went home and blew up at my mom for not introducing me to popular music so I could not seem like a fool in front of everyone.
After I got over the initial sense of humiliation and resentment, I made a decision that I didn’t even realize I was making at the time: I wasn’t going to let anyone else tell me what music I liked. Whether it was The Dead Kennedys or The Dead Milkmen or The Pajama Slave Dancers, whether it was Thomas Dolby or Elvis Costello or Stan Freberg, from Anthrax to ZZ Topp, from ABBA to Zeppelin, from Alan Parsons Project to Frank Zappa, I was going to listen to what I wanted to listen to, and damn the world.
Now my kids grow up with a dad who listens to Danny Kaye, Willie Nelson, Metallica, barbershop quartets, and classic hymns. They have a dad who belts Broadway soundtracks out loud and sings parody lyrics instead of “the right words” to pop songs. They’re learning to love music, and this “ten albums” journey has reminded me of that.
#11: “This is Spinal Tap”
Because I’m up to ten on my list… where can I go from there? Where? You know what I do? Put it up to eleven. This list goes to eleven.