Writer's Block: Ten for the Tenth
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:00 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
1. Placebo, Black Market Music. This isn't their best album by far- in fact, I think it's the one that got the worst critical reception. But it was the first rock album I ever really got into, the first one I played over and over again. This CD got me into music. It got me hardcore into Placebo, and from there I got into other bands that toured with them or that they mentioned in interviews. I bought Velvet Goldmine because of this album. I came out because of this album. It's had more of an impact on me than any other album I've ever bought, and that's why it's my number one. It's more important to me than any other album in the world.
Also, "Passive Aggressive" is on it and that's my favourite Placebo song ever. I even did an art project based on it once. (It was shitty.)
Favourite tracks: "Taste In Men," "Spite And Malice," "Passive Aggressive," "Black-Eyed," "Peeping Tom."
2. My Chemical Romance, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. I listened to "I'm Not Okay" over and over again in the summer of 2004, but I wasn't sure I wanted to buy the album- they looked weird and they had silly hair and they wrote songs about vampires and that wasn't very cool at all. One day after my sixteenth birthday I walked into a record store and saw it displayed at a listening station; I shrugged, figured why not? and put on the headphones.
I heard the first five seconds of "Helena," took off the headphones, and bought it.
The first time I listened to Three Cheers all the way through was in a snowstorm. The power had gone out; I'd lit candles in my room that dripped wax and shuddered whenever I moved. I watched shadows move and listened to the music in my ears and had one of those perfect fucking beautiful moments you get when the right song is hand in hand with the right moment.
Favourite tracks: "Helena," "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison," "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," "Thank You For The Venom," "Cemetery Drive."
3. Bright Eyes, Fevers and Mirrors. This album shouldn't be my favourite. It's not very sonically diverse and Conor Oberst's voice hasn't matured much and a lot of the lyrics are kind of whiny and annoying. Objectively, Lifted... is a better album, or I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, or "Cassadaga". But Fevers and Mirrors totally fucking blew my mind the first time I listened to it- I was fifteen, I think- because for the first time I felt like someone had crawled into my head and written songs about what they found.
Favourite tracks: "The Calendar Hung Itself," "Arienette," "Something Vague," "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh," "The Centre Of The World," "Sunrise, Sunset," "An Attempt To Tip The Scales," "A Song To Pass The Time."
4. The Libertines, Up The Bracket. I always forget how much I love this album until I put it on. It's the most gorgeous, noisy mixture of punk rock and nostalgia I've ever heard. Even though it breaks my heart a little now, because of Pete and Carl and their epic breakup and all, it makes me happy and joyous and optimistic at the exact same time.
Favourite tracks: "Vertigo," "Horrorshow," "The Boys In The Band," "Up The Bracket," "The Good Old Days," "I Get Along."
5. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes. "Crucified" was the first Tori Amos song I ever heard, but it took me about a year to actually buy this album and listen to it in its entirety. It's a weird album, though not in an artsy, pretentious way. The music is very accessible, very pop, but her lyrics are offbeat and off-putting and completely brilliant.
Favourite tracks: "Crucified," "Silent All These Years," "Precious Things," "China," "Tear In Your Hand," "Little Earthquakes."
6. The Decemberists, Picaresque. The Decemberists could easily be a joke band- they have an accordion player and sing songs about being eaten by whales and Colin Meloy has the twee-est wardrobe I've ever seen. But they combine sincerity and mischief in a really appealing way, and they disarm you every time you think you've got them pegged. It took me a long time to figure out that I really liked this album, but when I did I couldn't stop listening to it.
(Fun fact: Colin Meloy has a B.A. in English. That gives me hope.)
Favourite tracks: "We Both Go Down Together," "Eli, The Barrow Boy," "The Sporting Life," "The Engine Driver," "On The Bus Mall," "Of Angels And Angles."
7. Jimmy Eat World, Clarity. I've always been a pretty casual Jimmy Eat World fan- I listen to them, but I don't like much of their new stuff and I don't get super into their records.
Except for this one.
I bought this album on a whim one day in Quebec. I'd heard a couple of the band's singles and liked them okay- "Sweetness" was my favourite- but I wasn't prepared for how much I would get sucked into Clarity. It draws you in slow from the very first track and makes you feel dreamy and peaceful and happy-sad, like watching the sun go down. I listen to it whenever I need to feel more like myself.
Favourite tracks: "Table For Glasses," "Lucky Denver Mint," "Do You Believe In What You Want?", "On A Sunday," "Crush," "For Me This Is Heaven."
8. The Dresden Dolls, The Dresden Dolls. This album has a rougher, more slapdash feel to it than Yes, Virginia... and I think that works to its advantage- the songs sound dirty, and there's noise in the background, and Amanda Palmer plays a toy piano which is actually really creepy and amazing and not lame at all. What got me first about the Dolls was Amanda's way with words- she takes things that are innocuous and innocent, like skipping rhymes and fairy tales, and makes you see their darker side. This album is funny and sad and beautiful, and I love it to tiny tiny bits.
My mom really likes it too. I'm not sure if she realizes the songs are about pedophilia, self-harm, and breaking up with the USA.
Favourite tracks: "Good Day," "Girl Anachronism," "Half Jack," "Coin-Operated Boy," "Gravity," "Jeep Song," "Truce."
9. The Arcade Fire, Funeral. Did hipsters spooge in their pants over this album? Hell yes. And they were right.
Favourite tracks: "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," "Une Annee Sans Lumiere," "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," "Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)," "Wake Up," "Haiti," "Rebellion (Lies)."
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever To Tell/Show Your Bones. I really couldn't just pick one. I couldn't. Because I've been listening to this band for five years and they've never stopped blowing my mind. These albums are ones I keep coming back to when I'm lonely or scared or sad or angry or just need some fucking good music to keep me going.
Favourite tracks: "Pin," "Maps," "Y Control," "Modern Romance," "Gold Lion," "Way Out," "Cheated Hearts," "Dudley," "Turn Into."
Honourable mentions: Ryan Adams, Rock N Roll; Stars, Set Yourself On Fire; Tegan and Sara, If It Was You; The White Stripes, White Blood Cells; The Kills, Keep To Your Mean Side; The Used, The Used; Panic At The Disco, Pretty.Odd.
1. Placebo, Black Market Music. This isn't their best album by far- in fact, I think it's the one that got the worst critical reception. But it was the first rock album I ever really got into, the first one I played over and over again. This CD got me into music. It got me hardcore into Placebo, and from there I got into other bands that toured with them or that they mentioned in interviews. I bought Velvet Goldmine because of this album. I came out because of this album. It's had more of an impact on me than any other album I've ever bought, and that's why it's my number one. It's more important to me than any other album in the world.
Also, "Passive Aggressive" is on it and that's my favourite Placebo song ever. I even did an art project based on it once. (It was shitty.)
Favourite tracks: "Taste In Men," "Spite And Malice," "Passive Aggressive," "Black-Eyed," "Peeping Tom."
2. My Chemical Romance, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. I listened to "I'm Not Okay" over and over again in the summer of 2004, but I wasn't sure I wanted to buy the album- they looked weird and they had silly hair and they wrote songs about vampires and that wasn't very cool at all. One day after my sixteenth birthday I walked into a record store and saw it displayed at a listening station; I shrugged, figured why not? and put on the headphones.
I heard the first five seconds of "Helena," took off the headphones, and bought it.
The first time I listened to Three Cheers all the way through was in a snowstorm. The power had gone out; I'd lit candles in my room that dripped wax and shuddered whenever I moved. I watched shadows move and listened to the music in my ears and had one of those perfect fucking beautiful moments you get when the right song is hand in hand with the right moment.
Favourite tracks: "Helena," "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison," "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," "Thank You For The Venom," "Cemetery Drive."
3. Bright Eyes, Fevers and Mirrors. This album shouldn't be my favourite. It's not very sonically diverse and Conor Oberst's voice hasn't matured much and a lot of the lyrics are kind of whiny and annoying. Objectively, Lifted... is a better album, or I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, or "Cassadaga". But Fevers and Mirrors totally fucking blew my mind the first time I listened to it- I was fifteen, I think- because for the first time I felt like someone had crawled into my head and written songs about what they found.
Favourite tracks: "The Calendar Hung Itself," "Arienette," "Something Vague," "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh," "The Centre Of The World," "Sunrise, Sunset," "An Attempt To Tip The Scales," "A Song To Pass The Time."
4. The Libertines, Up The Bracket. I always forget how much I love this album until I put it on. It's the most gorgeous, noisy mixture of punk rock and nostalgia I've ever heard. Even though it breaks my heart a little now, because of Pete and Carl and their epic breakup and all, it makes me happy and joyous and optimistic at the exact same time.
Favourite tracks: "Vertigo," "Horrorshow," "The Boys In The Band," "Up The Bracket," "The Good Old Days," "I Get Along."
5. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes. "Crucified" was the first Tori Amos song I ever heard, but it took me about a year to actually buy this album and listen to it in its entirety. It's a weird album, though not in an artsy, pretentious way. The music is very accessible, very pop, but her lyrics are offbeat and off-putting and completely brilliant.
Favourite tracks: "Crucified," "Silent All These Years," "Precious Things," "China," "Tear In Your Hand," "Little Earthquakes."
6. The Decemberists, Picaresque. The Decemberists could easily be a joke band- they have an accordion player and sing songs about being eaten by whales and Colin Meloy has the twee-est wardrobe I've ever seen. But they combine sincerity and mischief in a really appealing way, and they disarm you every time you think you've got them pegged. It took me a long time to figure out that I really liked this album, but when I did I couldn't stop listening to it.
(Fun fact: Colin Meloy has a B.A. in English. That gives me hope.)
Favourite tracks: "We Both Go Down Together," "Eli, The Barrow Boy," "The Sporting Life," "The Engine Driver," "On The Bus Mall," "Of Angels And Angles."
7. Jimmy Eat World, Clarity. I've always been a pretty casual Jimmy Eat World fan- I listen to them, but I don't like much of their new stuff and I don't get super into their records.
Except for this one.
I bought this album on a whim one day in Quebec. I'd heard a couple of the band's singles and liked them okay- "Sweetness" was my favourite- but I wasn't prepared for how much I would get sucked into Clarity. It draws you in slow from the very first track and makes you feel dreamy and peaceful and happy-sad, like watching the sun go down. I listen to it whenever I need to feel more like myself.
Favourite tracks: "Table For Glasses," "Lucky Denver Mint," "Do You Believe In What You Want?", "On A Sunday," "Crush," "For Me This Is Heaven."
8. The Dresden Dolls, The Dresden Dolls. This album has a rougher, more slapdash feel to it than Yes, Virginia... and I think that works to its advantage- the songs sound dirty, and there's noise in the background, and Amanda Palmer plays a toy piano which is actually really creepy and amazing and not lame at all. What got me first about the Dolls was Amanda's way with words- she takes things that are innocuous and innocent, like skipping rhymes and fairy tales, and makes you see their darker side. This album is funny and sad and beautiful, and I love it to tiny tiny bits.
My mom really likes it too. I'm not sure if she realizes the songs are about pedophilia, self-harm, and breaking up with the USA.
Favourite tracks: "Good Day," "Girl Anachronism," "Half Jack," "Coin-Operated Boy," "Gravity," "Jeep Song," "Truce."
9. The Arcade Fire, Funeral. Did hipsters spooge in their pants over this album? Hell yes. And they were right.
Favourite tracks: "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," "Une Annee Sans Lumiere," "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," "Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)," "Wake Up," "Haiti," "Rebellion (Lies)."
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever To Tell/Show Your Bones. I really couldn't just pick one. I couldn't. Because I've been listening to this band for five years and they've never stopped blowing my mind. These albums are ones I keep coming back to when I'm lonely or scared or sad or angry or just need some fucking good music to keep me going.
Favourite tracks: "Pin," "Maps," "Y Control," "Modern Romance," "Gold Lion," "Way Out," "Cheated Hearts," "Dudley," "Turn Into."
Honourable mentions: Ryan Adams, Rock N Roll; Stars, Set Yourself On Fire; Tegan and Sara, If It Was You; The White Stripes, White Blood Cells; The Kills, Keep To Your Mean Side; The Used, The Used; Panic At The Disco, Pretty.Odd.