My Top 5 Albums

What’s up guys..?

This “Top 5″ category is in honor of John Cusack and High Fidelity: one of my all-time favorite flicks.

Let me start off by saying how hard of a list this is for me to make, but I’ve spent a couple of days mulling it over in my mind, and I think I’m ready. By now, you should all know how big of a deal music appreciation is to me. Admittedly, I probably take it far more seriously than any healthy individual should.

These albums each mean something to me, in different ways, but they’re all pieces of what makes me – me. Sure, it’s about good music, but it’s more than that. It’s about all of the things tied to the music… thoughts, memories, friends, happiness, loneliness, warm nights, cold mornings, closed blinds, road trips… are you with me?

Good. ‘Cause here we go.

1. OK Computer – Radiohead (1997)

I think this album may be the most prominent reason why I failed my High School Pre-Cal class. I can remember putting on my headphones, and pressing play on my portable cd player. (Yes, boys and girls… a portable cd player. I didn’t have a cell phone either. Talk about old-school.) I would look at my teacher, but I wouldn’t hear a word she said. All I heard was… Radiohead. It’s hard to really say whether or not I would make the same choice if I had it to do over again. Sure, I failed the semester, but I was introduced to quite possibly the greatest album ever produced. In my opinion, OK Computer is worth one semester of High School math. This is the perfect example of an album that just fits together. Every track is genius, and if I hear one… you’ve lost me until I’ve heard them all. This was a huge gateway for me into good music, and the beginning of a true Radiohead fan.

A Sample

2. Transatlanticism – Death Cab For Cutie (2003)

To this day, I’m of the opinion that Transatlanticism is Death Cab’s best album. Again, this is an album that fits together immaculately well. As great as this music is, it’s only appropriate that it’s been with me through both the good and the bad. Some specific memories tied to this album:

-There was a moment several weeks ago that I actually blogged about. I was driving home one night, with the windows rolled down, and Passenger Seat came on. I won’t romanticize that moment any more than I already have. It was a moment… we’ll leave it at that.

-I went to see Death Cab in the summer of 2004 with my good friend Paul. But, almost more than the rock show, what I remember about that night was the hour or so before we were let into the venue. It was a TX summer evening, though not too hot from what I recall. We were commenting on how much the crowd reminded us of people off of the O.C. At the time, my mind was preoccupied with my then girlfriend (soon to be fiancee, soon to be wife, soon to be ex-wife) Jess. Paul and I talked about her for a while. I can remember looking at some of the “hot” girls that had come to the show, and not being the least bit attracted to them. This is a moment that stands out as one when I knew that I was truly in love with her. That, combined with the anticipation of seeing DCFC makes this a pretty vivid memory.

-In late January of 2007, I had just filed for divorce. My life was in a state that I can honestly say I never expected to see it. I had taken a leave of absence from work, and accepted a job working on a construction crew down in Houston, TX. This was partially for the income, but mostly for the distraction. The night I left Dallas to drive down to Houston, I hooked my ipod up to the car stereo and put it on shuffle. Keep in mind that it was shuffling through a good 60+ gigs of music. Driving through the Dallas streets, The New Year started playing. “So this is the new year… and I don’t feel any different.” In that moment, I realized that I didn’t. Sure, life was hard, but it always is. At least, it had been for quite some time. I was still here. Still breathing. Still living. And as long as that was the case, I was going to be OK.

A Sample

3. Pinkerton – Weezer (1996)

Pinkerton reached out and slapped me across the face. I was a sophomore in Hike School, and in so many ways I felt like I didn’t belong. I don’t think this is a rare feeling for kids that age; and yet, we all tried to pretend that we didn’t feel that way and that we should be sitting at the cool table too. I felt like I was hiding in plain sight. Sometimes, I still feel that way. Pinkerton spoke to that side of me. I could identify with so much of the feeling that was put into the album. I mean, I hadn’t fallen in love with a lesbian, or a half-Japanese girl, but he was in a place where he didn’t know who he was. I got that. Rivers took me to depths that I didn’t even know were there. I loved the Blue Album (c’mon, who doesn’t?), but this was where I fell in love with Weezer.

A Sample

4. Fashion Nugget – Cake (1996)

I think my brother actually introduced me to Cake. For a while, I gave them the title of favorite band, and they’re still pretty high on the list. It’s weird, because I think if I were forced to choose a favorite Cake album, it would be Motorcade of Generosity. But, there’s something about Fashion Nugget. It’s an album that reminds me of summer. It reminds me of road trips. It reminds me of the time I went on a double date with my brother – his date told him during the evening that she just wanted to be friends. Apparently, he wanted a little bit more than that. So, what would any self-respecting guy do? Put in an album that expresses just exactly how he feels about that sentiment. Friend, after all, is a four letter word. A truly great album.

A Sample

5. Redo The Stacks – Centro-Matic (1997)

Centro-matic = Texas. Hot Summer Nights. Friends. Girls. Driving solo. Cheap gas. Late nights. Late mornings. Hole-in-the-wall venues with the volume up way too loud. 3 hour sets. And true musical Genius.

A Live Sample (I was actually there.)
Another Live Sample

So that’s that. That’s me, for what it’s worth. I know your favorite albums are different than mine, and I’m not saying it should be any other way. Just as long as you know why they’re your favorites.

Honorable Mention:

I said this was a hard list to make. Here are some albums that were in the running, but for whatever reason didn’t make the cut:

Motorcade of Generosity – Cake: Sample
The Fragile – Nine Inch Nails: Sample
The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails: Sample
The Colour and the Shape – Foo Fighters: Sample
Aenima – TOOL: Sample
Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground – Bright Eyes: Sample
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – The Smashing Pumpkins: Sample
His n’ Hers – Pulp: Sample
Pink Moon – Nick Drake: Sample
Under The Western Freeway – Grandaddy: Sample
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips: Sample
I’m Sorry I’m Leaving – Saves The Day: Sample