Top 10 Albums

Whitney Matheson of USA Today’s Pop Candy blog asked this question of her readers:  ”"What are 10 CDs you can’t live without?”

As I started making my list, I quickly realized that most of them are older– CDS from high school or college.  Sadly, this is a direct result of digital music. I simply don’t listen to full  albums any more!  I also decided I would need to set some parameters for myself if I was going to whittle my list down to a paltry 10 albums.

• No Greatest Hits or Boxed sets.  That’s too easy*.
• Titles have to be entire albums I can’t live without.  The kind I can listen to from start to finish, not just those I listen to for a couple of songs and skip the rest.
• I couldn’t censor my list to make myself look cool

After much deliberation, here it is.  It’s imperfect (and in no particular order), but 10 is an awfully small number:

Jewel, Pieces of You
Sing-a-long songs at it’s best.  Contains “Sensitive,” the song I’d like to have as my theme song (also a great post on PopCandy)

Metallica, Metallica
From the very first note to the last guitar riff, this album is forever burned in my memory.  Great for letting off steam.

The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas
Cheesy?  Yes.  Overly sentimental?  Absolutely.  But completely necessary.  What else am I going to listen to at Christmas time?

REM, Automatic for the People
It’s funny because I’m not even sure this is my *favorite* REM album.  But I could listen to it every day and not get sick of it. Perfect for contemplation.  And sleeping (that’s not meant to be an insult).

Tom Petty, Wildflowers
This is the one that made me institute the “No Greatest Hits” rule.   I thought about choosing TP and the HBs  Greatest Hits, but–instead– went with this solo album from the T. man himself.   Great lyrics. Great melodies.  Perfect for chilling out and singing along in the car (I assume they have cars in this fictional place I’m going with only 10 albums!)

Nirvana, Unplugged in New York
You expected Nevermind, didn’t you?  I thought about it.  But Unplugged has much more variety.  And I like the stripped-down production better on this.  I certainly couldn’t live without Nirvana, right?

Juno Soundtrack
This is the only recent album on my list.  It might be the last full album I bought (albeit in digital format).  Again, the variety keeps me coming back and there’s plenty of Kimya Dawson to keep me smiling.

Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions
Another great sing-along CD.  Certainly not her most popular album, but I find myself listening to it all the time.  Sheryl doesn’t get enough credit for her clever songwriting.

Eric Clapton, From the Cradle
This is Eric Clapton’s compilations of blues covers and it’s how I fell in love with blues guitar.   This is by far the sexiest album I own.  I’ll take Clapton over Barry White or Marvin Gaye any day!

Zakk Wylde, Book of Shadows
This is one of those albums I *never* would’ve listened to if it wasn’t for someone else making me.  I drove to Yellowstone and back listening to this CD.  And I still can’t get enough of it.  Good for those moodier days!

Looking over this list, I can’t say that these are my absolute favorite artists, or even that this accurately represents my taste in music.  But I think I would be able to survive with these 10 albums**.  I wouldn’t want to, but I could probably do it!

———-

*You probably noticed there are some “compilation” albums on this list.  True, but they’re not the same as a Greatest Hits or box sets.  They’re my rules. I can draw the line in the sand where I want to!

** Honorable Mentions go out to: The Forrest Gump Soundtrack,   The Chronic by Dr. Dre, BloodSugarSexMagic by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers,Celebrity Skin by Hole, Sublime, Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt and Grave Dancers Union by Soul Asylum.  (Yes, I told you there was a lot of stuff from the 90’s!)

5-10-15-20

Inspired by Scott’s post (who was inspired by [dan], who was in turn inspired by Pitchfork), I’ve decided to highlight the music I was listening to at various stages in my life.  I’d like to say that my musical tastes are more refined/hipper than what is represented here, but that’s not necessarily true!

Age 5– Country Crooner
Oak Ridge Boys,  Greatest Hits #2

Road trips.  Grey conversion van.  Singing “Bobbie Sue” and “American Made”  for hours on end with my family.  My dad taking the low parts and the rest of us attempting to harmonize.

The Oak Ridge Boys will forever be solidified in my musical history as the first concert I ever attended.  Even now, I can’t help but sing along to the baseline in “Elvira”  (a-boom-bop-a-boom-bop-a-bow-wow) and “Thank God for Children” tugs at my heartstrings every time.  

C’mon– I was five!!

 

 

Age 10– Pop Princess
Paula Abdul, Forever Your Girl

Forever Your Girl is the first CD I ever bought (along with Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut–the one with “Greatest Love of All” on it).  I saved up all of my Christmas and birthday money, went to Good Vibes and for about $200 bought a state-of-the-art Sony CD player (sans remote) and two CDs.  I thought I was soooo cool!

I would hang out in my “music room” (actually a converted walk-in closet that was once connected to my brother’s room) and listen to this CD over and over and over.  I liked to rap along with MC Skat Cat on “Opposites Attract” and my friends and I choreographed our own dance routines to “Straight Up” and “Cold Hearted Snake.”  Little did we know that years later, Ms. Abdul would become famous as the “nice but loopy” judge on American Idol.

Honorable mentions:  Madonna Like a Prayer, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814

Age 15–  “Alternative” Angst
Nirvana, Unplugged in New York

By 1994, I was completely enmeshed in “alternative” (i.e. mainstream) rock.   Kurt Cobain was my John Lennon and his suicide had a profound impact on my teenage disposition (and wardrobe).   Even though the validity of its “unplugged” moniker is debatable, there’s something completely mesmerizing about the stripped-down music, the haunting melodies, and the raspy pained vocals of Senor Cobain.   From the opening chords of “About a Girl” to the banter in between songs (“Am I gonna do this one… by myself?”) I can still recite every sound on this album and it will always have a place on my list of all-time favorites.

Honorable mentions: Tom Petty, Wildflowers;Weezer,  Blue Album;   Hole,  Live Through This

 

Age 20– Rock/Rap Rebellion
Eminem, The Slim Shady LP

What’s more annoying than the rock/rap “craze” of  the late 90s/early 2000’s?… The fact that I got sucked into it!  

I’ll even admit to seeing Eminem and Limp Bizkit in concert together this year.  I also saw Kid Rock/Metallica/Korn in STL, but I’m a little fuzzy on the dates.  

I was in college when The Slim Shady LPcame out and my friend (and now sister-in-law) Jo and I would listen to this album nonstop.    It’s definitely not  my favorite Eminem album, but it introduced me to his unique blend of emotional poignancy, celebrity trash-talk and stupid-boy humor.  It’s decidedly non-feminist, but that didn’t bother me back then… it was a rap album I could sing along too!

I make no excuses for liking Limp Bizkit, though.  Fred Durst made the red hat a douchebag fashion symbol before douchebag was even an insult.

Honorable Mentions:  Kid Rock– Devil without a Cause, Limp Bizkit–Significant Other;  Korn– Follow the Leader

Age 25– Single Schmingle
Outkast, “Hey Ya”

It’s probably more telling what isn’t listed here than what is.  25 was a pivotol year in my life.   By this time, I’d been working at my job for 3 years and had decided to end a long-term relationship and move back in with my mom to save money.   Many of my friends were getting married and some were having babies, yet I can’t think of any one album or artist that I was listening to at the time.   I searched the Top Albums and Top Singles charts and nothing really struck me.   Maybe I was downloading individual songs by then.  Or maybe I was just blindly listening to the radio, who knows.

 ”Hey Ya” introduced “shake it like a Polaroid picture” into the lexicon and the video was vibrant and colorful, but to say it is in any way indicative of this time in my life would be false.  

Let’s just say it’s a catchy tune and leave it at that, shall we??

What are your definitive songs/albums?  I’m hoping some of my blogger friends will take the challenge and write about what they  were listening to back in the day!

Of Rice and Men

You know how facebook’s new prompt is “What’s on your mind?”  Well, this is what mine would say if I answered that question correctly (and repeatedly)

• It’s Friday night. I’m hanging out at home.  I’m okay with that.  I can handle solitude in small doses.
• I paid $75 this week to get my oil changed and a new tail light.  Then they told me I needed new brakes and a bunch of other stuff.  I hate car repairs.  I don’t have a car payment, so I can’t complain.  But, seriously!
• I’ve apparently forgotten how to make rice.  It’s been cooking for probably an hour and I’ve had to add water twice.  Grrr..
• I had a great run tonight. I think it’s the new shoes.
• I have a super busy weekend planned.  Hence the staying home on a Friday night.
• We started a “Biggest Loser” thing this week in preparation for Steph’s wedding.   I think it will be fun. I’m taking “before” and “after” pictures, but I can’t post them until it’s all over.
• My co-worker just had her babies.  Yes, that’s right– twins.  And she has a one-year old at home.  Congrats!
• I need to write a couple stories for my class. I have some ideas, but I can’t bring myself to write them yet.  Thus, the blogging.
• I’m dog sitting for the night and I just discovered Roxie has this crazy “patch” of skin/fur that needs to be checked out.  Yet another appointment I’ll forget to make.
• I really need a personal assistant.  Or maybe just someone to pay my bills.  I’m also putting that off.
• Kansas’ Carry On My Wayward Son makes zero sense.  But it’s so damn catchy.
• Kansas is my least favorite state to drive through.  On one trip out West, my parents drove through Kansas in the middle of the night to spare us the boredom.  I woke up in the middle of the state thinking there was a rain storm.  There wasn’t. It was bugs.  Splattering on the windshield enough to make me wake up and think it was rain.  Gross.   My apologies to any  Kansasians (?) who might read this…
• The shuffle on my iPod is apparently not working ‘cuz Kansas is now on again.  Annoying.  Must change it.
• Got up to change the song on the iPod and realized the rice was burning. Smoke alarm went off. Hilarity ensued. 
• Foo Fighters now on iPod.  Best of You. I can’t hear this song without thinking about Breaking Bonaduce when his wife gave him a mirror with the lyrics on it. “I needed somewhere to hang my head/without your noose.”  Yeah, totally not a love song.  I think they’re now divorced.
• I think the burnt rice ruined my “good” stock pot.  Ugh.
• This is my new favorite quote:  “I don’t feel middle-aged — I just feel like I’ve been young a lot longer than most people. ”
  Not that I am middle aged, but the second half really resonated with me.   It came from this really great article on drinking.

I think I’ll end on that note.  ‘Night.

I want, I want, I want EVERYTHING!

I officially signed up for the 5K at the Illinois marathon this week.  I’m planning on running it.  I’ve decided I won’t be a complete failure If I don’t run the whole thing, but I really, really, really want to be able to say I can run a 5K.  I’m not a runner at all, but I feel the need to have goals and at least try to accomplish them.

Lately, I’ve been doing a combination of Couch to 5K workouts and my own “modified” workouts.  For my modified workouts, I listen to some of my own music, some current favorites include:

• Womanizer, Britney Spears (don’t hate)
• Shake It, Metro Station
• In the Middle, Jimmy Eat World
• Single Ladies, Beyonce

But the *best* song for me right now is Los Angeles by Sugarcult.  I couldn’t find an actual video online, but this homeade one is pretty good.  The beat of this song is perfect for running and the “C’mon, C’mon” at the end inspires me to keep going.

Best.Workout.Song.Ever.

I know I’ve blogged about this before, but I’m willing to put my money on Eminem’s Lose Yourself as the #1 best workout song ever. 

Why?

There are a couple of reasons.    One, it has a really strong beat.   Two, the cadence of the song gets faster and faster until the big crescendo at the end (yeah, I just read a little about music theory– but I knew those words from grade school, k?)  

And, finally, the message of the song is Don’t Give Up!!! (You’ve only got one shot/so don’t miss your chance to blow/), which certainly got me through my workout tonight.

So, those of you who are training to run the Illinois Marathon (or the half- or the 5K, like me) or just want some good old-fashioned dance around in your living room and get angry at the world music, I highly reccomend this song.

Any other suggestions?  What gets you through a long run/hard workout/crappy day at work?

Peter Pan

Someone told me that the secret to staying young is to always have a little Peter Pan in you, which reminded me of my favorite Hays Carll song.  It’s a Tom Waits cover, but I like Carll’s version better.

I absolutely love this song, but I think my favorite part is:

How do you move in a world of fog
That’s always changing things?
Makes me wish that I could be a dog…

I figured it out…

No, not the meaning of life.  Or even what I’m going to wear tomorrow.

I just figured out how I can like music lyrics so much but have a hard time with poetry.  It’s because I can HEAR the songwriter’s intentions.  I know where they want to place emphasis and what parts of the music are supposed to be stressed.  I guess there are clues in poetry (rhythm, meter, line breaks) but I haven’t quite learned how to interpret all that quite yet.

Oh, and I figured this out at the gym… a culmination of sweat, poetry, Jay-Z, and a book I’m reading for book club.  I love it when world’s collide.

The Right Stuff

You know how the best part of riding a roller coaster is the ability to scream at the top of your lungs for no apparent reason?  That’s exactly how I felt attending the New Kids on the Block concert this weekend.  I’m almost embarrassed to say it, but it was a REALLY good time… and they put on an extremely entertaining show.

Like everything else, it was made even more entertaining by the people we were with.  I’ll post all the photos on my facebook and MySpace pages, but here are a few highlights…

THE CAR RIDE

We decided to don wigs and jam out to NKOTB the whole way there.  The toll booth guys loved us!

Erin: Best.Driver.Ever

Kari and Kim in their wigs

THE SHIRTS

We made t-shirts.  On the front it said: “Cover Girl” on the back, each of us had the name of one of the New Kids.  I got Joey, even though Donnie has always been my favorite.

Cari, Erin, Kim, Kari, Kelly pre-show

From the back: Joey, Jon, Donnie, Danny, Jordan

THE SHOW

Like I said, they put on a spectacular show.  It was well worth the $90/ticket we paid.   They played all of their hits and a few of their new songs.  Joey and Jordan sang songs from their solo careers.  Once you got past the fact that 35-to-40 year olds were onstage singing hits from 15 years ago, it was really fun.  The crowd was soooo into it and I just kept thinking about how awesome it must feel for these guys to still play to such an enthusiastic audience.

At the show: Me, Kelly, Kari, Kim, Erin

It was great because even though the New Kids pulled out songs and dance moves from 15 years ago, they had a sense of humor about it.  At one point Joey said: “No need to fight over us anymore, ladies… It’s okay for 2 girls in the same group to like Jordan.”  Which was, of course met with thunderous applause.

opening number

the crowd goes crazy!!

They sang a couple songs on a rotating stage right in front of us

Kim, Kari, Kelly, and I

The boys in white

The Boys from Boston--amazing encore!

POST SHOW

We decided that the reason NKOTB was more fun this time is because a) we can now drink beer and b) we didn’t have our moms with us!  Judging by our post-show antics, maybe we did need some “adult supervision.”  Two noteworthy things happened.

1) We met Beau from Tila Tequila.

Kari recognized him in the hallway before the show.  We weren’t sure if it was him (I didn’t even know who he was), so Kim yelled “Beau” really loud.  He turned around and we all screamed like schoolgirls. Amazingly enough we saw him after the show and were able to snap this photo:

Front row: Erin, Kim back row: Beau, Kari, Kelly, Me

2) We unsuccessfully tried to get backstage.  And on the tour bus.

Erin & Kim trying to gate-crash. The security guard was not amused.

It was a super-fun trip.  With this group of girls, I’m not surprised we had a good time, but I was surprised at how much I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I’d do it again in a heartbeat!!

A little good news

Yesterday, my Facebook status read: “Cari sure could use a little good news today.”*   It was just one of those days where it seemed like everywhere I turned, there was something wrong, or someone suffering, or just generally bad news.

Then this morning I came across a sweet story while scouring the Letters to the Editor in the News-Gazette. (It has recently become a hobby of mine)

First, a woman wrote in reprimanding the thieves who took her 9 year old son’s bike (no longer online). Then another 9 year old offered to give the boy his.  How sweet!

Unfortunately, bad things sometimes happen to good people… and vice versa, but this story reminded me that the Universe has a way of repaying good deeds.

——————-

* This is a lyric from A Little Good News by Anne Murray.  It’s a somewhat cheesy country/rock song from the 80s that I couldn’t get out of my head. I even downloaded it from iTunes.  I couldn’t find the original, but there was a duet version featuring The Indigo Girls.  It’s pretty good.  

Even though the song was written in 1983, it’s still extremely relevant.  Sample lyric:  

Some senator was squawkin’ ’bout the bad economy/
It’s gonna get worse you see/
We need a change in policy.

Someone should cover it.

Music and Wine

I’ve been blogging about music a lot lately.  I’ve written about some of my favorite drinking songs, how hard it is to discover new music, and my feelings on the new version of MySpace Music.

Today, I’m going to take a slightly different approach and discuss the similarities between two of my very favorite things in life– music, and wine.

You gotta kiss a lot of frogs– and drink a lot of wine

They say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before meeting a prince.  You also have to drink a lot of wine to figure out what you really like.  Most beginning wine drinkers will emphatically state that they don’t like red wine.  “It’s too dry,” they say.  Or they don’t like the idea of drinking it at room temperature. But if you taste enough reds, you’ll realize that it’s probably not the “dryness” that’s causing your reaction. It’s probably the amount of tannin or the fullness of the wine you don’t like.  Try enough of them, and you’re bound to find a combination that suits you. 

That’s how I feel about music.  Saying that you don’t like country, or blues, or hip hop is just like saying you can’t stand red wine.  There are so many different flavors and influences in each genre, that if you listen to enough of it, you’ll probably find something you like.   I don’t care much for contemporary country (you know, the stuff they play on the radio), but I like a LOT of alt.country and southern-rock bands.  And although I despise the sexism and violence in a lot of rap songs, there’s something about the rhymes of Eminem and Snoop Dogg that really resonate with me.  

A refined palate

By tasting a variety of wine, you can start to get a feel for what you like.  Personally, I prefer bold, full-bodied reds with some spice and not a lot of fruitiness.  Knowing this, I can go into any wine shop and get a good recommendation.  Same is true of music.  I have a general idea of what I like, but I’m always on the lookout for something new and unexpected. 

But the problem is, there’s not really a music equivalent to the wine shop guy to help me with my choices. Here’s where my friends, family, and (to a lesser extent) the Internet come in.  I need other people to be my surrogate wine guy to “turn me on” to different artists.

A Perfect Pairing

One of the true pleasures of wine is learning to pair it with food.  It doesn’t have to be as complicated as people make it out to be.  Red wine goes with red meat.  White wine goes with white meat.  Light-bodied wines go with light food, fuller-bodied wines pair well with heavier food.  Spicy wine + spicy food = heaven in my book! 

Just as there’s a wine for every dish, there’s music for every occasion.  As I’ve mentioned before, when I’m in a bad mood, I like loud, angry music. When I’m needing calm, I like mellower music.  Sometimes when I’m feeling bad I like to wallow in it with sad tunes (my old roomate took away my Air Supply CD for just this reason) and sometimes I’d rather put on some upbeat tunes to cheer myself up.  I can’t really think of any occasion where music detracts, rather than enhances, the experience.

The combination of music and wine is unbeatable.  Whether it’s a glass and the iPod at home or a grand piano at a swanky wine bar, nothing says relaxation quite like some good vino and some good tunes.