The Lists Go on and on...

My 20 Albums:
It's the annoying new Facebook thing! Here is what you're supposed to do: Think of 20 albums, CDs, LPs 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 20 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

Top 20 records for facebook: nomi made me do it

First, I love how this is a kind of infantilism, a celebration of the adolescent, a way to collect records on the brink of forty when I haven’t listened to a “record” in maybe twenty years and haven’t had time to listen to anything other than npr in the morning and Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs at night in like two years.

That having been said…and not exceptin’ the warm graces of YouTube playing live Roxy Music like I’da killed to see in high school in the background at night while I work on my MBA in the wee hours, here goes:

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1. Roxy Music, Roxy Music -- one of the best things ever

2. Brian Eno Here Come the Warm Jets -- THE best thing ever. Adam, how did this arise to save our lives?

3. Bob Dylan The Times They Are A-Changin' -- Lonesome Death of Hattie Carol's a great American epic in 5:47.

4. Joy Division Unknown Pleasures -- "Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders"...my life story

5. Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -- Listening to "Stop Breathing" while your mother expires? Life goes on. Somehow.

6. Flaming Lips Soft Bulletin -- A greatness that carried me from partying in the nyc to being a dad with the car seat. One of my 2 1/2 year old son's faves when I can get it in the machine in the car.

7. Minor Threat Out of Step -- Started it all for me...I now FINALLY have a shaved head and live straight edge...back then? NOT.

8. Bruce Springsteen Greetings from Asbury Park -- Whitman.

9. T-Rex The Slider -- Rocking my big black cat in my arms while mourning, singing just to him, "Are you my main man, are you now? Are you now?" He eventually died, too.

10. Thelonious Monk Solo Monk -- the finest tunes, all together.

11. Prince Sign "O" the Times -- If I was your girlfriend? Oh c'mon...evokes the very smell of sex and death, maybe even taxes..."not that your helpless...it's jus'..."

12. Hüsker Dü Warehouse: Songs and Stories -- even if their weakest record maybe, it meant so much to me and SO MUCH Hüsker Dü at one time?! and I saw them at the beginning of this tour in D.C. then at the end in nyc. Important transitions.

13. Replacements All Shook Down -- lots think it's the weakest, for me -- maybe THE desert island disque

14. Clash Sandinista -- there is nothing else. NOTHING else. (except for every other Clash record. Not sure they wrote one bad song. But that's a different story.)

15. Elvis Costello & The Attractions Imperial Bedroom -- my first "alternative" record in a sense...when I hear the words I am there again. I saw Elvis live like three times and each time it was better.

16. Carpenter’s Gold -- tip of the hat to being a kid. I have a real soft spot for Abba, too and Britney Spears for all the same reasons.

17. White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan -- see notes for Carpenters. The White Stripes ARE, in fact, the Carpenters.

18. Everclear Sparkle and Fade -- Saw Everclear a couple of times on their first coupla tours...this record meant a lot to me when it came out.

19. Nirvana Nevermind -- will never forget the first time. it was moving Billy across town in New York with friends...I never had a car in the city. we played smelt like teen spirit over and over and over and over, cranked! it was US, then.

20. Dead Kennedy’s In God We Trust Inc. -- 14. And it took 25 years to meet Jell-O in-person. Shout out to Joshua Schreier who made me a part of who I am, whether he likes it or not.


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O.K. -- I coulda done that different, I guess. Do you get another chance? As I started typing I realized I was going for the real “white” list so I figured I’d keep that trend and not look for any real diversity. The jazz, funk and junk thing’d be quite different. It’s all saccharine, poppy and un-cool…in many cases what some folks’d think is any one of these bands “worse” record. I am reminiscent of myself right now. And I am done. Even undone.