Boards
your most infulential music.
so, i was thinking, what were the most influential albums for me, ever? after much thought and deliberation, i thought of a top 5.
1. the strokes - is this it?
probably the first album i bought when i was a teenager and it made me properly take an interest in music. it opened my eyes to what was out there outside of the radio, TOTP, and the top 40. i never realised just how big the strokes were when i first bought it. a big personal turning point for me.
2. the mountain goats - the sunset tree
quite a recent one, but i never realised how i could emotionally relate to abuse in such a way. probably the first album i've listened to in a way that the music as a whole really got to me.
3. talking heads - fear of music
probably the album that made me realise that not all 80s music is rubbish. i didn't hear it as a whole when i first got into them, so it's hard to really pick one but i would say this album for "life during wartime" and "animals", which for various reasons are now two of my favourite tracks. i have a lot to thank talking heads for, and my love of new wave, post punk and no wave probably stems from this album.
4. xiu xiu - fabulous muscles
i first heard "i luv the valley" when i stumbled across a fake music myspace back in the first year of uni, and then took it upon myself to hunt down the band and listen to more. this once again opened my eyes to how music could be used in such atmospheric/disturbing ways. i have to admit that at the time "i broke up" was possibly the most disturbing thing i had ever heard. they're a band i keep coming back to now, and i think to a certain extent one on which your thoughts change with time and experience.
5. orange juice - the glasgow school
technically cheating because it is essentially a 'best of', but this band also opened doors for me and made me listen to an awful lot more post punk and indie pop. this is one of the bands i found post-talking heads and one in which i realised how AMAZING 80s pop really was, and the lyrics i just related to on so many levels, and i absolutely adored the guitars and edwyn's voice. a perfect band and something which raised the bars for anything else that i listen to now.
so... what albums changed you?