Defining albums of my life thus far
Today I decided to right an entry about the most important albums of my life for various reasons, chronologically based on my exposure to them. I was thinking about the effect that Nasum's album Shift had on my music preferences and realized that I could extend this sort of thought to several albums in my past. So, without further ado:
Pearl Jam - Ten (Released 1991, Received ~1994)
This is an important album for me because it was the first I ever owned. I remember I was with my parents in Kingston, Ontario for a weekend and we were used CD shopping (still a favourite pastime, ha!). My dad bought it, and I assumed it was for himself but he gave it to me. I know he was and still is a big fan of a lot of the songs on this album and probably wanted to share the joy of such music with me. Well, there were definitely a few songs on here that I enjoyed at the time, but it wouldn't be until years later that I could truly appreciate what a near-perfect album this is. Now I consider it an all-time classic and one of my favourites, even if I didn't listen to it that much at the time.
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory (Released 1995, Purchased ~95-96)
I had heard Wonderwall and some of the other singles on the radio and loved them. This album marks the first time I actually sought out an album to buy. I listened to it quite a bit, and especially loved Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. My friend Stewart also had the album and loved it too. I remember the two of us would walk around the field singing the songs during recess. Man, that brings back a lot of memories, especially since I haven't spoken to Stewart in a long, long time, and really I have no idea where he is.
Our Lady Peace - Clumsy (Released 1997, Purchased 1997)
While Oasis' album may have been the first that I sought out myself, this would be the first that completely hooked me and sat in my stereo for months and months at a time. I heard Superman's Dead on the radio and saw the video and I was hooked on it, and Automatic Flowers sealed the deal. From the first listen this record owned me. I actually still have strong associations with the Lord of the Rings books when I listen to this album, and can still hear this album when I read LotR, because I was listening to this album the whole time. It was on in the background during the time I read the entire trilogy. That is a pretty long time. I still love this album to pieces and it's probably the album that I associate with my childhood the strongest.
The Offspring - Americana (Released 1998, Purchased 1998)
The first album post-Clumsy to really grab my attention was Americana by The Offspring. The Offspring had gotten pretty popular at this point, and Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) was everywhere. My circle of friends and I were all really into the band, and I liked almost all of the songs. This would be the last of my childhood trilogy of bands starting with the letter 'O' that I really liked. There were a couple songs that I didn't really like, but "Have You Ever", "Staring at the Sun", "The Kids Aren't Alright", "Walla Walla" and "No Brakes" were huge favourites of mine. I would later get my hands on The Offspring's 1994 effort Smash, which would go on to be my favourite album by the band.
Korn - Follow The Leader (Released 1998, Purchased 1999)
And the movement towards heavier stuff continues, as we go from British rock to alternative to punk (albeit pretty mainstream punk) to nu-metal. I listened to this quite a bit, but it never occured to me to look for anything more metal than this. As far as I was concerned, this was pretty heavy shit, haha. Little did I know... But that comes after my detour into the world of hip hop.
Eminem - The Eminem Show (Released 2002, Purchased 2002)
The next really landmark album I bought was Eminem's The Eminem Show. It was right around the time this album was released in May 2002 that I had been exposed to hip hop and discovered how much I liked it. At the time, there was a lot of rap that I was discovering that I really, really liked. I enjoyed most mainstream stuff at the time. Anyway, I watched the debut showing of Eminem's video for Without Me, the first single from The Eminem show, and was quite hooked. Got the album and just about wore it out. This was the third rap album I ever bought - the first two were Ludacris' Word Of Mouf and the Ruff Ryders Vol. 3 collection, both of which I enjoyed at the time but can barely listen to now). My time as a rap fanatic initiated my endless spending on CDs, and I was honestly averaging probably 2 or more a week. It was unbelievable, but my collection was just ballooning. Even with so many new albums to listen to, this one consistently ended up back in the stereo.
In Flames - Reroute To Remain (Released 2002, Received 2003)
After hearing In Flames' song Cloud Connected used as background music in someone's Tribes 2 video (ah, those were the days) I tracked down the source and asked for the album for Christmas. So, circa Christmas 2003 I was exposed to real metal for just about the first time. Now, I actually already owned Sepultura's Chaos A.D., but I couldn't get into it and never really listened to it (now though I appreciate how good it is). This one though I was really into, and it immediately opened doors to similar bands like Darkane and Hypocrisy.
(There's a little break here - soon after I got Reroute to Remain I purchased a sampler by Century Media records at a Sunrise for $6.99, which had 1 CD and a second data disc with about 150 MP3s on it. I can't remember the name and therefore can't get the cover, so... Anyway, with this I was exposed to just about every subgenre of metal, outside of grindcore and black metal. It was the more melodic stuff that stuck with me at first, but soon I was enjoying almost everything on the compilation. It gave me the names of tons and tons of bands to hunt down, and really led to the explosion in my interest in metal. If I go home and can find the title, I'll edit it into the post.)
Nasum - Shift (Released 2004, Purchased 2004)
I saw Shift at HMV one week and, vaguely remembering an extremely positive review of it, I bought it. I popped it into my trusy stereo (still the same one that Ten first sat in, and still the one in my room in Toronto to this day) and was totally blown away. It was an unbelievable eye-opener. I had never heard anything at this speed or intensity in my life. I just sat in amazement and did my best to soak up the album. It blew my mind. It opened the doors to ever extreme metal album that I listen to today and is one of my favourite albums ever. Grindcore is still one of my favourite forms of music.
Morning Musume - 4th Ikimasshoi (Released 2002, Purchased 2006)
Aaaand this would be the first Japanese album I ever actually purchased. It's my favourite album by the group and represents more or less my favourite period in the group's history. Hello! Project has been much more than a brief, passing interest, so it's time to acknowledge it I think. True balance was achieved between the heavyness and chaos of much of the metal I listen to and the energetic, happy tones of MM and H!P.
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead (Released 2007, Purchased 2007)
This is the latest album to make a mark on me, if only for what it signified. As much as I was deeply into rap and hip hop from 2002 to mid 2004, it really did cool down as metal became my focus. At the time, I had recently started high school and was really insecure, and there was a sense of empowerment in a lot of rap music that I really clung to. Although my love of wordplay and rhyme never left, once I shed that need for empowerment I came to see mainstream rap's gangsterism in a new light and just felt like most rappers were no longer speaking to me in any way, shape or form. So, with only a couple of exceptions, I largely ignored what was going on in the hip hop world. However, I ended up reading a review of El-P's "I'll Sleep When You're Dead", and new immediately that I had to find the album. Find it I did, and it's been my most played album in quite a while. It's hip hop, but it's far from gangster rap, relying instead on deep wordplay and imagery as well as dense, apocalyptic production (also entirely by El-P). It reawakened my love for all of the postive aspects of hip hop and since then I have been looking for more albums in this vein. I will probably only rarely listen to most of the rap I have collected, but artists like El-P, like The Roots, like Talib Kweli, will probably stay in my playlist forever, which this album helped me realize.
Well, that would be that. What a fun trip down memory lane.
EDITED at about 2:30. Realized I'd forgotten something I had planned to include, so I added it. Edited again at 4:30(pm this time) to iron out some spelling/grammar crap. I'm sure it's still riddled with mistakes.
Pearl Jam - Ten (Released 1991, Received ~1994)
This is an important album for me because it was the first I ever owned. I remember I was with my parents in Kingston, Ontario for a weekend and we were used CD shopping (still a favourite pastime, ha!). My dad bought it, and I assumed it was for himself but he gave it to me. I know he was and still is a big fan of a lot of the songs on this album and probably wanted to share the joy of such music with me. Well, there were definitely a few songs on here that I enjoyed at the time, but it wouldn't be until years later that I could truly appreciate what a near-perfect album this is. Now I consider it an all-time classic and one of my favourites, even if I didn't listen to it that much at the time.
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory (Released 1995, Purchased ~95-96)
I had heard Wonderwall and some of the other singles on the radio and loved them. This album marks the first time I actually sought out an album to buy. I listened to it quite a bit, and especially loved Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. My friend Stewart also had the album and loved it too. I remember the two of us would walk around the field singing the songs during recess. Man, that brings back a lot of memories, especially since I haven't spoken to Stewart in a long, long time, and really I have no idea where he is.
Our Lady Peace - Clumsy (Released 1997, Purchased 1997)
While Oasis' album may have been the first that I sought out myself, this would be the first that completely hooked me and sat in my stereo for months and months at a time. I heard Superman's Dead on the radio and saw the video and I was hooked on it, and Automatic Flowers sealed the deal. From the first listen this record owned me. I actually still have strong associations with the Lord of the Rings books when I listen to this album, and can still hear this album when I read LotR, because I was listening to this album the whole time. It was on in the background during the time I read the entire trilogy. That is a pretty long time. I still love this album to pieces and it's probably the album that I associate with my childhood the strongest.
The Offspring - Americana (Released 1998, Purchased 1998)
The first album post-Clumsy to really grab my attention was Americana by The Offspring. The Offspring had gotten pretty popular at this point, and Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) was everywhere. My circle of friends and I were all really into the band, and I liked almost all of the songs. This would be the last of my childhood trilogy of bands starting with the letter 'O' that I really liked. There were a couple songs that I didn't really like, but "Have You Ever", "Staring at the Sun", "The Kids Aren't Alright", "Walla Walla" and "No Brakes" were huge favourites of mine. I would later get my hands on The Offspring's 1994 effort Smash, which would go on to be my favourite album by the band.
Korn - Follow The Leader (Released 1998, Purchased 1999)
And the movement towards heavier stuff continues, as we go from British rock to alternative to punk (albeit pretty mainstream punk) to nu-metal. I listened to this quite a bit, but it never occured to me to look for anything more metal than this. As far as I was concerned, this was pretty heavy shit, haha. Little did I know... But that comes after my detour into the world of hip hop.
Eminem - The Eminem Show (Released 2002, Purchased 2002)
The next really landmark album I bought was Eminem's The Eminem Show. It was right around the time this album was released in May 2002 that I had been exposed to hip hop and discovered how much I liked it. At the time, there was a lot of rap that I was discovering that I really, really liked. I enjoyed most mainstream stuff at the time. Anyway, I watched the debut showing of Eminem's video for Without Me, the first single from The Eminem show, and was quite hooked. Got the album and just about wore it out. This was the third rap album I ever bought - the first two were Ludacris' Word Of Mouf and the Ruff Ryders Vol. 3 collection, both of which I enjoyed at the time but can barely listen to now). My time as a rap fanatic initiated my endless spending on CDs, and I was honestly averaging probably 2 or more a week. It was unbelievable, but my collection was just ballooning. Even with so many new albums to listen to, this one consistently ended up back in the stereo.
In Flames - Reroute To Remain (Released 2002, Received 2003)
After hearing In Flames' song Cloud Connected used as background music in someone's Tribes 2 video (ah, those were the days) I tracked down the source and asked for the album for Christmas. So, circa Christmas 2003 I was exposed to real metal for just about the first time. Now, I actually already owned Sepultura's Chaos A.D., but I couldn't get into it and never really listened to it (now though I appreciate how good it is). This one though I was really into, and it immediately opened doors to similar bands like Darkane and Hypocrisy.
(There's a little break here - soon after I got Reroute to Remain I purchased a sampler by Century Media records at a Sunrise for $6.99, which had 1 CD and a second data disc with about 150 MP3s on it. I can't remember the name and therefore can't get the cover, so... Anyway, with this I was exposed to just about every subgenre of metal, outside of grindcore and black metal. It was the more melodic stuff that stuck with me at first, but soon I was enjoying almost everything on the compilation. It gave me the names of tons and tons of bands to hunt down, and really led to the explosion in my interest in metal. If I go home and can find the title, I'll edit it into the post.)
Nasum - Shift (Released 2004, Purchased 2004)
I saw Shift at HMV one week and, vaguely remembering an extremely positive review of it, I bought it. I popped it into my trusy stereo (still the same one that Ten first sat in, and still the one in my room in Toronto to this day) and was totally blown away. It was an unbelievable eye-opener. I had never heard anything at this speed or intensity in my life. I just sat in amazement and did my best to soak up the album. It blew my mind. It opened the doors to ever extreme metal album that I listen to today and is one of my favourite albums ever. Grindcore is still one of my favourite forms of music.
Morning Musume - 4th Ikimasshoi (Released 2002, Purchased 2006)
Aaaand this would be the first Japanese album I ever actually purchased. It's my favourite album by the group and represents more or less my favourite period in the group's history. Hello! Project has been much more than a brief, passing interest, so it's time to acknowledge it I think. True balance was achieved between the heavyness and chaos of much of the metal I listen to and the energetic, happy tones of MM and H!P.
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead (Released 2007, Purchased 2007)
This is the latest album to make a mark on me, if only for what it signified. As much as I was deeply into rap and hip hop from 2002 to mid 2004, it really did cool down as metal became my focus. At the time, I had recently started high school and was really insecure, and there was a sense of empowerment in a lot of rap music that I really clung to. Although my love of wordplay and rhyme never left, once I shed that need for empowerment I came to see mainstream rap's gangsterism in a new light and just felt like most rappers were no longer speaking to me in any way, shape or form. So, with only a couple of exceptions, I largely ignored what was going on in the hip hop world. However, I ended up reading a review of El-P's "I'll Sleep When You're Dead", and new immediately that I had to find the album. Find it I did, and it's been my most played album in quite a while. It's hip hop, but it's far from gangster rap, relying instead on deep wordplay and imagery as well as dense, apocalyptic production (also entirely by El-P). It reawakened my love for all of the postive aspects of hip hop and since then I have been looking for more albums in this vein. I will probably only rarely listen to most of the rap I have collected, but artists like El-P, like The Roots, like Talib Kweli, will probably stay in my playlist forever, which this album helped me realize.
Well, that would be that. What a fun trip down memory lane.
EDITED at about 2:30. Realized I'd forgotten something I had planned to include, so I added it. Edited again at 4:30(pm this time) to iron out some spelling/grammar crap. I'm sure it's still riddled with mistakes.