1001 Albums Summary

Having a tech issue. This initially came up as the album Gorillaz, which I love and have listened to a zillion times. Here is my comment on Gorillaz: A friend in college put Man Research (Clapper) into a student film I took part in and I loved it. The film was lousy. I played a clueless, affable roommate. The friend is now a wedding videographer. Anyway, I listened to that song at least once a month for the last 20-odd years, sometimes much more. I didn’t really even realize it had lyrics until a few years ago. Something about me is that I never hear the lyrics in a song. It’s a problem. I’ll fall in love with a riff or a tone but I have no idea what many of my favorite songs are actually about.

Listened with Jane at 7 am while we made our morning oatmeal.

Me: “Jane, these are called ‘classics.’” Everybody likes this music.” Jane: “Daddy put on music from Auntie Cora.”

I was not expecting this so sound so much like The Beach Boys. Five stars.

This is 100% my sort of music. My longtime favorite band, Zero 7, fully ripped off Air for their first 3-4 albums.

Loved it!

Bought this in high school and it’s the only Metallica album I’ve ever bought. Metallica is very much not my kind of music, but the orchestra helps a lot. It tempers them or makes them a little less grim and plodding or maybe a little more pop or I’m not sure what, but it works for me. I really like this version of Fuel.

Beautiful. Love this. I’ve never really listened to Joni Mitchell before. Why has nobody ever sat me down and said “Mike, you need to listen to Joni Mitchell.”

Morrissey (and the Smiths) are another one of those artists whose work I came to through cover songs. Like the Beatles, Dylan, and a bunch of other musical geniuses, I’d like a song for years then get the rug pulled out from under me and realize THAT’S a cover too? I listened to the Dum Dum Girls’ cover of There Is a Light That Never Goes Out and the cover of How Soon Is Now from the Craft soundtrack a zillion times before I learned they weren’t originals. The original versions still sound off to me because I imprinted on the covers. Postmodernism!

Something about this sound is the most 90’s thing and I can’t put my finger on what, specifically, it is. Just like Letters to Cleo.

Love the Streets! For a few months in college, my improv group was trying to work music and freestyle rap into our shows. Our director (we took turns directing each other for the semester) told us to stop getting so hung up about rhyming, listen to this album, and just do it like this guy. Turns out what this guy does is not so simple and takes a TON of skill and artistry. That director went on to coach at UCB for a while, work in a head shop, screenwrite and teach screenwriting, and is now studying to become a therapist. We never ended up getting very musical but I had a great time listening to this album over and over.