A meme about stuff I actually care about

The 15 (really 16) albums that blew up my world, in the order of doing so, and why

1) The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson

I have told this story so many times it’s become almost apocryphal by now. But, when my brother brought this home and put it on when I had just turned six, my life was literally saved by rock’n’ roll. I would have been one of those kids who had had a “tragic accident” or something because I was so, fucking, out of here. But Fripp told me that I just had to wait patiently and when I got old enough I would find a different reality and it would be good. And he was mostly right.

2) Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. - The Monkees

Let’s just get this straight. I am, un-apologetically, a fiend for a well crafted pop song. And The Monkees had the best writers in the business. Boyce & Hart, Carole King, Nillsson, Neil Diamond, Don Kirschner and more, and Michael Nesmith turned out pretty good as well. The Monkees just ruled me in childhood popland.

3) Paranoid - Black Sabbath

The first 45 I ever went out and bought with my own money was Iron Man b/w Electric Funeral. I freaking loved Electric Funeral when I was like 10. Then when I heard War Pigs and Planet Caravan - oh man, that was just some really, really, good shit. Of course, just to balance that out I will confess that in that same outing I also bought Dancing Machine by The Jackson Five and Werewolf by Five Man Electrical Band.

3 - again cuz it’s a tie) Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy - The Who

So it was a best of. So what? It was either this or Tommy that had to be included and while I listened to Tommy incessantly down in my brothers room with the earphones on from 1970 to 1972 and then again for all of 1976, I think this one had far more far reaching influence on my whole life. These are, with the exception of The Seeker and Pinball Wizard consistently my favourite Who songs.

4) Love It To Death - Alice Cooper

This was the first album I ever bought with my own money. It was at a garage sale. I remember just seeing those crazy eyes, having no idea what it was at all, and being mesmerized into buying it. Then I took it home and listened to it. Oh my freaking god it was the coolest thing EVER! To this day I will kick the shit out out of anybody at karaoke by doing “Is It My Body”

5) The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars - David Bowie

I was at the Earthworks “meet and greet new recruits” party at the Boehnkes house in the summer of 1977. I was wrecked on weed, morning glory seeds, some kind of low budget sweet alcohol and visions of becoming, finally, one of the really, truly, cool kids. Pete Grobner put this on the stereo. My glam self was born in that moment. T-Rex came a little later, Bowie was my ambassador and probably still is. Again, most of my favourite Bowie songs except “Eight Line Poem” are here.

6) Freakout - Frank Zappa

More Earthworks revelatory experiences. I had heard some Zappa, but I think it was mostly Overnite Sensation. While I was appropriately 12 year old titillated by Dirty Love I never “got” Zappa till Josh Ezekiel played the whole “Freakout” album for me at music appreciation class. I think I learned it by heart in a week. We used to sit stoned in the middle of the diag singing “Who Are the Brain Police?” and “You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m here” almost everyday. It was some sort of protest I suppose. I wish I could jump into someone’s brain (who had one) who saw that and retrieve their memory impression of it. That was some really serious backwards trippingness. I think we did it at Briarwood once as well and were escorted off premises by security.

7) Horses - Patti Smith

Dec 26, 1977. Julia got this one, the eponymous “Runaways”, and Rod Stewarts “Tonights The Night” for X-mas. Rod Stewart lasted a week. Horses and Cherry Bomb lasted forever. That was when we really knew once and for all we were going to make great art out of being bad, bad, really bad, girls.

8) One Nation Under A Groove - Parliament Funkadelic

What can one say about their first conscious experience of George Clinton? I immediately promised to funk the whole funk, becoming a lifelong funkateer. Early exposure to Mojo helped I’m sure. The nazi-like punks I was hanging out with had the horrors. To this day I believe it’s their loss.

9) Germ Fee Adolescent - X-Ray Spex

This album excuses any weirdnesses Poly Styrene later came out with and keeps her one of my musical heros forever and ever, world without end. What an inspiration to my 15 year girl self this was. I could and would do anything I chose.

10) The Clash - The Clash

Truly humorous punk with “pop sensibilties”? Be still my beating heart. I was just never so angry that I didn’t want to laugh a lot as well and this was fun, fun, fun, and smart.

11) Sunrise On The Sufferbus - Fela Anikulapo Kuti

I love this guy. Another one of those “I remember exactly where I was when I first heard that” moments. “Sorrow, Tears and Blood” In Gab Ugwu’s dingy aptartment above the Guild House ministries offices. Probably ‘78 or ‘79. “Who is this??!! What is this??!!” O, it’s Soca... I want more.

12) A Saucerful Of Secrets - Pink Floyd
The epitome of my brain on drugs. But I hated “Corporal Clegg” passionately because I was always too high to remember to drag myself up from laying on the floor and flip the album before that jarring, non-conducive, awful part came on. I finally wised up and taped it w/out it. It took a while to think of that. By the time ripping and burning became available I’d stopped doing acid. You kids don’t know how good you have it.

13) Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
Was in a pile of albums left behind by one of the ever revolving lineup of roommates. If you are out there anywhere Steve Curl, bless you a thousand times. I now love a whole lot of Tom Waits a whole lot. But this one is ever so close to my heart because it was my first and it is just so fucking good.

14) Another Green World - Brian Eno

Something about the line “I’ll come running to tie your shoe” brought me back a little piece of my lost innocence at a time when I really needed it. If I am ever on a rampage just put this album on and I’ll stop being The Hulk immediately.

15) Swingin’ with Django - Django Reinhardt

Somehow along the way, I was the victim of one of those weird misinformation, brain shorts that can happen when pieces of disparate information come in around the same time and get fused in the memory banks. Consequently I was always under the impression that Django Reinhardt was somehow in the same category as or affiliated with Wavy Gravy. I was having none of that so I never explored that avenue any further even though I had heard various people being excited about him at various points in time.
Fast forward to summer of 2000 and move me to London. I am standing in the Borders in front of the amazing discount racks of cd’s they had at the time. There is a disc called “Swingin’ with Django” and the cover has a 1930’s B&W photo on it that doesn’t seem like hippie shite at all. With the exchange rate it comes out to about $6.50 so I picked it up. Took it back to the flat, noone else around so I crank it up. It’s all pretty dang good and then comes on Bolero De Django. Total mind fuck. Turn it up and play it again. I am all hot and cold. Apparently I am not too old and jaded to have a piece of music blow up my world.

Not to be confused with the other pieces frequently listed under Django and Bolero. This IS the one covered by The Dave Grisman Quintet except that their version sucks balls. Accept no substitutes for the Django at the Hot Club version.