Here’s another list, even though I’m told that the Internet is clotted with them. It also takes care of another of the softball 101 in 1001 tasks, which is a bonus.
I don’t expect to impress anyone on this front. As far as cultural awareness goes, I’m weakest on music. Remember that I’m being honest—even though I’m crushed with shame for having the Fruvous on there, they're on there.
50. Shakespearean Fish, Melanie Doane – I saw her perform in a bomb shelter of a bar back in University. Enjoyed this entire album quite a bit. Was also confounded by her bum, which was like something you’d see on a Lego person.
49. Five Days in July, Blue Rodeo – During their heyday, I saw Blue Rodeo in concert more times then any other band. Too many by the end, because I got to watch them age—poorly. By the last two shows, Greg Keelor would just sit down on an amp any time he had a solo—and this was nine years ago.
48. Men With Brooms Soundtrack – Bought the album for the song Mass Romantic and discovered Kathleen Edwards in the bargain—not to mention the song stylings of Paul Gross (which was 10% cheesy but 90% really good.)
47. Version 2.0, Garbage – I had no good reason for buying this. It had just come out, I wasn’t overly fond of the singles from the first album, and I hadn’t yet heard anything off this one. But it was $10.99 and had a pretty cover. Happily surprised was I.
46. Pump, Aerosmith – Don’t tell me you don’t like this album because that would be a lie. Love in an Elevator? Janie’s Got a Gun? As if the hits aren’t enough, you also get the ‘so bad it’s good’ Medicine Man and Don’t Get Mad, Get Even (in which Steve Tyler stops singing and gets in an imaginary fight during the bridge: “Get over here! I’m gonna… I’m gonna kick y’ass.” Indeed.)
45. Self Titled, Billy Talent – A small part of me enjoys the ‘mom and dad hate me, I’m so misunderstood’ genre of rock. If there was just a little less supersonic screaming on this album, I would have placed it higher.
44. Lik My Traktor, The Waltons – I think I’m one of eight people who still listens to this album. I sing along in the car and cry knowing I’ll never be cool.
43. 100% Fun, Matthew Sweet – If I’d written this list in 1995, 100% Fun would have been number one, and I’d still be a virgin.
42. Purple, Stone Temple Pilots – Around Weiland’s fourth overdose I gave up on these guys, but back in their prime they were holy shit good. I don’t have a clue what any of these songs are about by the way.
41. Fully Completely, The Tragically Hip – It wasn’t until Day for Night that I finally came around to liking The Hip; I think I was too busy shopping for Poison albums. When Fully Completely came out, it was Hip this and Hip that and Courage was on every station every minute of the day and I fucking hated them. Got over it, though.
40. Bargainville, Moxy Fruvous – I can’t remember the capitals of all our provinces or the date of my Mom’s birthday, but I still know every word on this album. That’s why you’ll see me in hell.
39. Recovering the Satellites, Counting Crows – Again, back when I was young and virginal, this list would have been peppered with Counting Crows albums. But now, having heard thirty variations on how Adam Duritz gets sad sometimes, I’ve about had my fill. But this album is still pretty solid.
38. Stunt, Barenaked Ladies – This is where the band exploded in the States. I was proud, and also amazingly resentful, thinking they were ours first, you dirty yanks. I hate One Week with the fiery intesity of a thousand suns, but I like the rest of it.
37. Gimmie Five, The Killjoys – The Killjoys released a good album, a great album (this one), and an album that no one bought or listened to. Then they fell off the planet.
36. The Secret of My Excess, Ron Hawkins – Bar none, my favourite musician from now until the day I die. I discovered The Lowest of the Low about a year after they’d broke up and so decided that God was unjust and cruel after all. Then Hawkins came back. It was the only time I’d ever actually run through a store to purchase something.
35. Green Album, Weezer – Everybody likes Weezer. Well, not my Dad, but everyone else.
34. Self Titled, Rufus Wainwright – It’s operatic, which appeals to the drama geek in me. Mostly, Rufus’s voice is amazing, but at times I sort of feel like I’m being haunted.
33. Big Shiny Tunes, Various – This release promised a brilliant series of CDs. There were a few super-popular hits on this one, but mostly these were secret, underplayed songs to me. But every album after the first were basically comprised of the alternative top 15 for that year, so snore.
32. Day I Forgot, Pete Yorn – I go through musical lulls sometimes. It was during one of these periods, where I was desperate for anything new, that I picked up Pete Yorn’s first album (entirely on the strength of Life on a Chain). He’s got his weaknesses—dirge-like ballads, same sounding songs—but he turned out to be a reliable guy. Day I Forget is better (and less pretentiously named) then musicforthemorningafter.
31. In Violet Light, The Tragically Hip – I don’t get why this album was so unpopular. I mean, I don’t have a fucking clue what Gordie’s talking about half the time (i.e. it’s quiet again, when a car like Big Ben, radio dopplering for all you Gregory Peck fans?!?) but that’s no different than the last three albums. There isn’t a song I don’t like on this one. What the hell’s wrong with you people?
30. Desmond's Hip City, Skydiggers – There’s no reason you should know who these guys are. I saw them play at Stardust Picnic at
29. Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack – Because sometimes I like to pretend I’m Leonardo Dicaprio, and other times I like to pretend I’m Claire Danes.
28. Greasing the Star Machine, Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails – You’re gonna see a lot of this guy here. Just go now; buy some Ron or some Low. You won’t be disappointed. Ron took a bluesy turn with this one, but it was buried by the swing re-emergence and the ensuing avalanche of Big Bad Voodoo Daddys and Brian Setzers.
27. Just Enough Education to Perform, Stereophonics – I’ve overplayed these guys over the past year and it’s my own damn fault. This album is the best of the lot. I love lead singers with ruined voices and Kelly Jones sounds like he was raised on Camels and Jim Bean.
26. Everything I Long For, Hayden – Whenever I feel like crap and want to wallow in it, I put on Hayden. It’s all tuned down guitars and deep-throated vocals, and it should be boring but it isn’t.
25. The Man Who, Travis – Another band that depresses me but keeps me interested at the same time. I bought this album purely on the strength of a review in Eye magazine. (Don’t start thinking I’ve got a six sense for good music. For every lucky purchase like this I’ve been burned ten times over: Dead Eye Dick, Spacehog, that goddamn second Hootie album…)
24. Before These Crowded Streets, Dave Matthews Band – Listened to this album more than any other in my fourth year of University. Hung a huge poster of sweaty Dave Matthews on my wall. Had a bit of a man crush.
23. Good Weird Feeling, The Odds – I leached off my brother’s music collection until he moved out, which meant that I didn’t buy any CDs until an unusually late age. This was the first cool CD I ever bought (preceded by the likes of Van Morrison, Moxy Fruvous, and The Cars—so you see what I mean.)
22. Gordon, Barenaked Ladies – I think I was such a fan of these guys from early on because they were so normal. They were overweight, they wore jean shorts; they wrote jokey songs about high school and Yoko Ono. It was like five of my friends made an album. (Gordon, Lik My Traktor, and Bargainville encompass my high school nerd music triumvirate.)
21. Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy, The Refreshments – Again, bought this album on the strength of that Captain Jean Luc Picard song because the depths of my nerdery are unfathomable. But there are a surprising number of good songs on here that I’m still listening to nine years later.
20. Hallucigenia, Lowest of the Low – Shakespeare My Butt was the booze album, Hallucigenia was the drug album—so I’m told. Nowadays, the band seems to rag on this album a lot, but songs don’t get any better than City Full of Cowards. I’ll tell you a story about that one some time.
19. Underdogs, Matthew Good Band – I don’t like Matthew Good, the guy. Years ago he used to stir up shit for the sake of it, taking stabs at the Hip and Our Lady Peace basically for the attention. Now he’s gone uberpolitical. If you check out his blog, you’ll see that he’s anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-animal cruelty, anti-Aunties—dude’s got a lot of causes. Not that I don’t agree on all fronts, but he defends his causes so smugly, so exhaustively, basically in such a manner that I don’t want to be on his side. Good album, though.
18. The Hour of Bewilderbeast, Badly Drawn Boy – I don’t know much about Badly Drawn Boy, but I like to think that he’s agoraphobic; that he spends months at a time in his basement studio, emerging only for canned goods and to release the occasional album.
17. Rocking the Suburbs, Ben Folds – Ben Folds is a cool Elton John. I saw him at The Phoenix in
16. The Love Below, Outkast – Claiming that this is one of my favourite albums makes me think that I’m desperately clutching to whatever kids are listening to so I don’t look like such an old, out of date asshole.
15. Day For Night, The Tragically Hip – It wasn’t until this album came out that I finally got The Hip, so this one will always have a special place in my heart. I think the very lines that got me were: “Everyone’s got their breaking point. With me, it’s spiders; with you, it’s me.”
14. Crackstatic, Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails – Solid, solid album—an about face after Greasing the Star Machine; less horns, more heavy guitar. And the writing gets exponentially smarter with each album.
13. Deconstruction Site, The Weakerthans – Speaking of smart lyrics, how about these guys? “…where a little boy under a table with cake in his hair, stared at the grown-up feet as they danced and swayed. And his father laughed and talked on the long ride home. And his mother laughed and talked on the long ride home. And he thought about how everyone dies someday.”
12. The Colour and the Shape, Foo Fighters – On the strength of Monkey Wrench alone, this album secured a spot on this list. And outside of two songs that only serve to make my head ache, the album is filled with amazing songs. How can a guy scream so much and not totally make his throat explode? Ashley Simpson gets acid reflux, Jacob Dylan gets nodes on his vocal chords, but Dave Grohl could open beer bottles off his uvula and still be no worse for the wear.
11. We Were Born in a Flame, Sam Roberts – The three big songs off this got a bad case of overplayitis, but the rest of the album is just as good. I love me some new Canadian music. The whole band needs a good sheering, though.
10. Room on Fire, The Strokes – I show up pretty late to the game sometimes. Two years after a band breaks out, that’s when I usually discover them. Case in point: The Strokes. And I usually tell people about these bands as if everyone’s as dumb as I am. “Hey, have you heard of this ‘Jimi Hendrix’ guy? You know, he’s really talented.”
9. Blue Album, Weezer – They have a song about Kitty Pryde and twelve-sided die. They took my nerdery and made it cool.
8. Smilin' Buddah Cabaret, 54-40 – I always end up showing my age with this one. This is the album I break out when people are coming over and I want to look cool, because I have this mental lapse where I think that the Billboard top three goes: American Idiot, Hot Fuss, and Smilin' Buddah Cabaret. I play it and someone inevitably says, “Who the hell is this?” and then I turn into your dad: “Are you kidding? This is the hippest band ever—at least in my day. Do you kids still use ‘hip?’ What about ‘rad?’ Are things still ‘rad?’”
7. Shakespeare My Butt, Lowest of the Low – Jesus, what can I say about this one? I’ve listened to this at least a hundred times more than any other album. It was everyone I know’s Album of University (despite being released two years before anyone I know went to University). And while it isn’t the story of my life, I wish it was. I wish ‘The Only’ was my bar and that a girl named Alex kissed me blind on
6. Navy Blues, Sloan – I only really listened to this one all the way through while driving home about a month ago. It’s surprisingly piano-driven and doesn’t really sound like any of their other albums. In fact, some of the songs have such a resemblance to the sound of other bands (Beatles, Guess Who) that they could almost pass for covers.
5. Crash, Dave Matthews Band – Again, discovered this album about eight months after everyone else had grown tired of it. I think its extreme popularity came from the fact that it was very good, and that it made great background music for sex. It was safe all the way through, as opposed to Before These Crowded Streets, where he’s singing “Lovely lady I am at your feet” one minute and “Are you satisfied with fucking?” the next.
4. OK Computer, Radiohead – From this album on, I’ve liked every successive Radiohead album a little less. I understand that it’s difficult to make music that is innovative and still enjoyable to listen to. OK Computer absolutely succeeded on both fronts, whereas Hail to the Thief failed horribly in the latter area. This album was back when Thom Yorke still thought discernable lyrics were a good thing.
3. Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five – More serious then their first album, but not as deadly serious as their last. It’s so much fun to listen to that you forget how fucking talented these guys are.
2. Left and Leaving, Weakerthans – I bought this album because Ron Hawkins recommended it during a concert (and in case I haven’t mentioned it: little bit of a fan of his.) The first time I listened to it I loved it. Once in a while, I come across an album or a movie that I like so immediately that I’m actually pulled out of the experience for a while as I think, “Holy shit, I’m really enjoying this.” Quintessential example.
1. Sordid Fiction, Lowest of the Low – More so then my book list was, or my movie list will be, my music list is a point-in-time thing. Ask me six months from now and this list will be very different. But at this minute (and ever since the album was released) this is my number one album. It’s very different then Shakespeare My Butt; it’s not as singable and it doesn’t tell stories. But the writing is brilliant, the music is tight, it’s hooky, the songs are a perfect mix up tempo and down—I love it. Go listen to their new single (link on top left) and tell me it doesn’t make you want to just run down the street as fast as you can.
Comments
Today looks to be another day of 38 degrees and I wish I could rinse my brain off in a cool stream.
On point: I would probably have been fired from my last job if I had admitted to liking any of the albums on your list (except the Weakerthans and maybe Outkast) and yet I loved it -- as a time capsule, a piece of writing and even for sharing some of the same taste in music. (But then, I also have ambitions of turning Michael Bolton's "Said I loved you but I lied" into a rap song.)
I interviewed Ron Hawkins once, in university. I was awed until 45 minutes of him trying to prove he was smart despite not having gone to university passed. If I never hear another over-intellectualized discussion about Trotsky it'll be too soon. I never wrote the story.
Also, if BA Johnston ever comes to Ottawa you should go see him. He is hilarious but can make Nintendo heart-breaking, depending on the song.
Anyway, I am cheered so thanks.
Excellent response. Probably better than the post, in fact.
Saying mean things about Ron, no matter how true, breaks my heart--but I still believe you.
Also, fyi, it's Jamie's Got a Gun.
Well, not factually, not really, but it is. It is because I was at this Hole concert once and this gay man was rubbing lotion on my back and he started singing Jamie's Got a Gun.
It was a lot funnier at the time.
48. This soundtrack is actually on my list of CDs to get. For those of you that don't know, I am a HUGE soundtrack/score nut. It is something Dave likes to bug me about. Anyway, I saw this movie on the way wo Hawaii yaers ago. But I still haven't bought the CD. Something I should do. Or just steal yours.
46. I always liked Janie's got a gun. It is a great song.
45. You are misunderstood. But Mom & Dad don't hate you. EVERYONE hates you.
44. This is totally a great album. I don't remember the last time I listened to it. It's a definite reminiscing CD.
43. You mean a virgin when it comes to women. Remember that night? The candles? And oh so much lube.
42. STP always ranked higher than Pearl Jam for me. I don't know why but they did.
41. The Hip are one of those groups that are popular but no one knows why. Is it the raw singing? The almost primal blues stylings? Or is it the crazy payola. I apologize for the lube comment.
40. Moxy Fruvous rocks. Plain and simple. Although I think Shatton can kick Ghomeshi's ass.
38. I love the line about chinese chicken. You GOTTA love that line.
36. Hawkins is weird. But he is also good. Goodly weird or weirdly good, i say.
35. I can't believe your dad doesn't like Weezer. My dad, unfortunately, has no clue who Weezer is.
34. It's the clanking chains in the background. Yeah.
29. See #43
28. Brian Setzer's Switchblade 327 kicked so much ass. How can you blame Swing for coming back?
22. We used to sing songs from this all the time in the car on our way home. The weird thing was we'd wait for the bonus track and sing it too. Man we were nerds. Now, it's just you.
17. I didn't know you were taking piano lessons.
16. Man, people just can't spell anymore.
15. Man. Could you imagine being a human spider? that would suck.
12. The Foo Fighters are amazing. Plain and simple. I could listen to their stuff over and over. The unplugged stuff is awesome too.
11. Sam Roberts is Jesus. He uses his powers to make the music sound better. I admire him and loathe him for that simultaneously.
9. No land mulligan.
6. The fact that you have Sloan on here will mahe Shatton admire you for being honest. And a Sloan fan.
5. See #29
Good list, Mano. You are less lazy than I. I have far less Musical education than you.
Jay: Was the gay man bald? If he was, it becomes EVEN FUNNIER!
Check out that awesome hat in the window!
WAIT! WATCH OUT FOR THE-
Ah.
Never mind.
Fell asleep wondering what the hell you were talking about (was it some kind of tasteless and obscure reference to Osama?)
On waking it hit me like a pane of glass in the lobby of the Empire State Building...
Would that I had grown more graceful over the subsequent years.
And yet so cute and smiley.
No one looked better in hats, Shel.
No one.
Not even Dave in that Red Derby he wore.
Ah, memories.
And all of my references to Osama are tasteful, by the way.
Secondly, you clearly aren't into heavier music, so that - along with your sexiness - will excuse you from being berated by me for not having the likes of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' on your list (TELL me Cobain didn't create an entire genre of music and that album didn't absolutely rock... c'mon... TELL me!), Nine Inch Nails's 'Pretty Hate Machine', and Death From Above 1979's 'I'm A Woman, You're A Machine', for my money the best album of 2004.
Also surrising by their absence:
'Destoyer' by Kiss.
'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd.
'Rumors' by Fleetwood Mac (I mean, really).
... and any damn thing by The Beatles.
Expand thine horizons, my son. Don't make me order more stuff for you...
I'm a bot short on driving Ferraris and Porsches. Can you get on that?
Fuck.
One typo in 181 words written at 2AM after I'd been drinking and had sore fingers from having my ass kicked in Academy. I'll take that average any day, Mr. Bot.
I was making fun of mine, you Academy Jedi Wannabe!