The Whole Enchilada
So, Ella (silveripseity) wrote an awesome post about albums she can listen to all the way through, no skips, on a regular basis. She noted, very astutely I think, that in the music world now, it's all about "the track" -- the single, buying that one song from the end of that episode of Grey's Anatomy or from that one scene in the movie you watched last night. So she made a list of the albums she can listen to all the way through, and it's here for your enjoyment.
I decided to play too. It's a bit different for me, only because I'm always more likely to purchase the entire album from someone rather than just a single track. And I'd love to say that's because of a moral desire to support the artist... and sometimes it is, but more often it's because I'd like to believe that if one song off of an album is awesome, then likely something else on that record is going to be awesome too. So, I have a lot of full albums laying around at any given moment. However, like Ella said, really there are so few that I can really listen to the whole thing without at least one song kind of mucking up the pot. But anyway, here we go.
1. Joni Mitchell, Blue: Probably the penultimate album of my life thus far. I know that's a huge statement, but it's so true. The lyrics dig right into my chest cavity and nestle in there. It's an album of both intense freedom, ache, longing, joy, love, and real raw pain, but all without ever getting actually sad or maudlin. Instead it's vivifying. Vital. It's a manifesto for the heart.
2. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks: This one aaaaalmost didn't make the list only because eeevery once in a while I have to skip "Idiot Wind" because Dylan's voice really gets more nasally than I would have ever thought possible. However, that's not all the time. And, ultimately, I way more often listen to the whole thing. What an amazing album. I mean, "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Meet Me in the Morning" and "Buckets of Rain"... doesn't get much better.
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago: Written in an old rickety Wisconsin cabin during a time of serious loss, this album will break your heart. Jenn Chadd loves it, so is there any better endorsement? Bon Iver is actually Justin Vernon and he retreated to his dad's skeleton of a cabin during the winter of 2006 after he lost his longtime love and his band and suddenly had no idea who he was or where he life was going. It's spare, with mostly just a guitar and his voice. And he sings in falsetto for the most part... which is just gutbustingly vulnerable.
4. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black: Yeah, it's just awesome. Start to finish. Too bad she's a total fuck-up. I can't help but feel like it's unlikely we'll get anything else this awesome out of her unless she can get her shit together. We can only hope.
5. The Be Good Tanyas, Blue Horse & Chinatown: If I could select a favorite band, this would be it. I love these women, and I can listen to either of these albums in their entirety over and over, and I have. They're all about classic Americana roots tunes with some spice and polka dots mixed in. Whether sad or salty or jubilant or plucky, their tunes capture so many of my moods and I remember the first time I heard the first few bars of "The Littlest Birds" in my living room after I bought the album and I felt like yeeessss ok, here's what I've been looking for.
6. Cat Stevens, Teaser & the Firecat: I used to listen to this album over and over in the basement on my dad's old turntable. From the first simple melody line of "The Wind" to the more rowdy "Bitterblue" to the hippie deliciousness of "Peace Train" this album is so deliciously realized.
7. Cry Cry Cry, self-titled: Three Massachusetts folkies get together and make a gorgeous album of all of their favorite covers. Yeah, pretty much amazing. The cover of Greg Brown's "Lord, I Have Made You a Place in My Heart" is incredible and the a capella version of "Northern Cross"... Jesus.
8. Gillian Welch, Hell Among the Yearlings: So, it was hard for me to pick a Gillian album. I love her, but there's usually a song on each album that I skip. Not so much with this one. I think any album that starts with a killer track like "Caleb Meyer" is probably pretty strong start to finish, and that's definitely the case with this one.
9. Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days: Honestly, I could have picked any of Sam Beam's albums. He repeatedly slays me. I picked this one ultimately because it's the one I've listened to the most.
10. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: Ok, seriously. I don't even need to comment on this one.
11. Steve Earle, Train a Comin': I've been listening to a lot of Steve Earle while baking lately. Cheryl, one of my bosses, is SUPER into Steve Earle, and one day she played this album and I was hooked. I love how Steve Earle is too country to be rock and too rock to be country. It's twangy and charged and that's pretty awesome.
So... twelve albums. I guess I thought I would find more, but Ella was right... this isn't easy. I really wanted to put a Po' Girl album on here, or Jason Mraz, or Ben Harper, but I just couldn't really. Although, in Jason's case it's just because his live stuff is so mindblowing that it really casts a shadow on his studio releases for me, so it's not really his fault.
I decided to play too. It's a bit different for me, only because I'm always more likely to purchase the entire album from someone rather than just a single track. And I'd love to say that's because of a moral desire to support the artist... and sometimes it is, but more often it's because I'd like to believe that if one song off of an album is awesome, then likely something else on that record is going to be awesome too. So, I have a lot of full albums laying around at any given moment. However, like Ella said, really there are so few that I can really listen to the whole thing without at least one song kind of mucking up the pot. But anyway, here we go.
1. Joni Mitchell, Blue: Probably the penultimate album of my life thus far. I know that's a huge statement, but it's so true. The lyrics dig right into my chest cavity and nestle in there. It's an album of both intense freedom, ache, longing, joy, love, and real raw pain, but all without ever getting actually sad or maudlin. Instead it's vivifying. Vital. It's a manifesto for the heart.
2. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks: This one aaaaalmost didn't make the list only because eeevery once in a while I have to skip "Idiot Wind" because Dylan's voice really gets more nasally than I would have ever thought possible. However, that's not all the time. And, ultimately, I way more often listen to the whole thing. What an amazing album. I mean, "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Meet Me in the Morning" and "Buckets of Rain"... doesn't get much better.
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago: Written in an old rickety Wisconsin cabin during a time of serious loss, this album will break your heart. Jenn Chadd loves it, so is there any better endorsement? Bon Iver is actually Justin Vernon and he retreated to his dad's skeleton of a cabin during the winter of 2006 after he lost his longtime love and his band and suddenly had no idea who he was or where he life was going. It's spare, with mostly just a guitar and his voice. And he sings in falsetto for the most part... which is just gutbustingly vulnerable.
4. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black: Yeah, it's just awesome. Start to finish. Too bad she's a total fuck-up. I can't help but feel like it's unlikely we'll get anything else this awesome out of her unless she can get her shit together. We can only hope.
5. The Be Good Tanyas, Blue Horse & Chinatown: If I could select a favorite band, this would be it. I love these women, and I can listen to either of these albums in their entirety over and over, and I have. They're all about classic Americana roots tunes with some spice and polka dots mixed in. Whether sad or salty or jubilant or plucky, their tunes capture so many of my moods and I remember the first time I heard the first few bars of "The Littlest Birds" in my living room after I bought the album and I felt like yeeessss ok, here's what I've been looking for.
6. Cat Stevens, Teaser & the Firecat: I used to listen to this album over and over in the basement on my dad's old turntable. From the first simple melody line of "The Wind" to the more rowdy "Bitterblue" to the hippie deliciousness of "Peace Train" this album is so deliciously realized.
7. Cry Cry Cry, self-titled: Three Massachusetts folkies get together and make a gorgeous album of all of their favorite covers. Yeah, pretty much amazing. The cover of Greg Brown's "Lord, I Have Made You a Place in My Heart" is incredible and the a capella version of "Northern Cross"... Jesus.
8. Gillian Welch, Hell Among the Yearlings: So, it was hard for me to pick a Gillian album. I love her, but there's usually a song on each album that I skip. Not so much with this one. I think any album that starts with a killer track like "Caleb Meyer" is probably pretty strong start to finish, and that's definitely the case with this one.
9. Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days: Honestly, I could have picked any of Sam Beam's albums. He repeatedly slays me. I picked this one ultimately because it's the one I've listened to the most.
10. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: Ok, seriously. I don't even need to comment on this one.
11. Steve Earle, Train a Comin': I've been listening to a lot of Steve Earle while baking lately. Cheryl, one of my bosses, is SUPER into Steve Earle, and one day she played this album and I was hooked. I love how Steve Earle is too country to be rock and too rock to be country. It's twangy and charged and that's pretty awesome.
So... twelve albums. I guess I thought I would find more, but Ella was right... this isn't easy. I really wanted to put a Po' Girl album on here, or Jason Mraz, or Ben Harper, but I just couldn't really. Although, in Jason's case it's just because his live stuff is so mindblowing that it really casts a shadow on his studio releases for me, so it's not really his fault.