10 Most Influential Albums

     Last week, Lucky Records Dave posted his personal 10 most influential albums, so naturally I had to reciprocate. I have posted about some of these albums in the past, so I beg your indulgence. Just a reminder, these are my personal top 10 influential albums, not necessarily my favorites or the albums I perceive to be the best. Here goes...

1) Kind of Blue- Miles Davis: This is cliche, but true. I attempted Bitch's Brew first and wasn't ready. I almost wrote Miles off at that point, but I took a shot on Kind of Blue and it blew my mind. After devouring all the Coltrane and Second Quintet releases, I returned to Bitch's Brew and was finally prepared.

2) Night at the Opera- Queen: In junior high we were divided into two camps; Team Bohemian Rhapsody or Team Dream On. I was squarely in the Bohemian Rhapsody camp. That single opened my mind to the possibilities of music. As a kid it seemed like such an epic song. It wasn't verse, chorus, repeat. There were movements. There was the crazy Galileo part that I didn't even understand, but it amazed me nonetheless.

3) Greatest Hits- Elton John: I don't know if greatest hits albums count, but I played the hell outta this record. I was a rural white kid who couldn't make out most of the lyrics, but I treasured these songs. Even though it's preposterous to imagine Elton John (or even Bernie Taupin) as the protagonist of "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", I smile every time I hear that opening riff. Maybe a couple of the sounds Elton John really likes are indeed switchblades and motorbikes. Part of me likes to think it's true.

4) Reality...What A Concept- Robin Williams: I was a huge Mork and Mindy fan, so when Reality...What A Concept came out I was all over it. I was young and didn't get the vibrator references, but this album really helped me through an awkward adolescence. I was timid, lacking in confidence and hadn't formed much of a personality when this album came out. I was amazed at how fast Robin Williams' mind worked and how much people loved him because he was funny. I realized humor was a viable alternative to being a jock or popular or good looking. His comedy was a life line. R.I.P.

5) Permanent Waves-Rush: I was already aware of songs like "Working Man", "Fly By Night" and "Closer To The Heart", but Permanent Waves completely sucked me into Rush fandom. I will love Rush till the day I die.

6) In The Aeroplane Over The Sea- Neutral Milk Hotel: My most read post, by a wide margin, is the one I did for this album. Go ahead and read it again:)

7) Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots- The Flaming Lips: This album did two things in my life. It got me through my divorce from my first wife and it got me back into rock music at a time I'd pretty much given up on it. In the near future I'm going to post on Wayne Coyne again, but in many ways he has changed my life. This is by no means my favorite Flaming Lips album, but it means the most to me personally. Hopefully that makes sense.

8) Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot-Sparklehorse: My favorite album and the one that speaks to me on a spiritual level. If you are interested read my Sparklehorse post, as well as my Cracker post which ended up being mainly about Sparklehorse.

9) Reckoning- R.E.M.: This is my favorite R.E.M. album. When it came out, I was in heavy metal. Still, something about their combination of rock, country and jangle spoke to me. In the late 80's, I had no use for G 'n' R or Metallica or hair metal anymore and I returned to Reckoning. Since then I've listened almost exclusively to alternative and indie rock.

10) Never Mind The Bollocks- Sex Pistols: I grew up in rural mid-Michigan and never heard this album until my senior year of high school (1983). My friend Kyle's brother let a few of us hang out in his basement one night. It was my first time drinking. We sat around talking about girls and listening to Kyle's brothers records. The two records that blew my mind were Joe's Garage and Never Mind The Bollocks. It woke me up to the fact that there was more music out there than what was played on AOR radio stations. No offense Journey.

     Since I didn't post anything this summer, I will be playing catch up for awhile. I will be getting around to Courtney Barnett, Parquet Courts, Popstrangers, Kasabian and many more. Peace.