Top 10 Things I’m Embarrassed to Love

Everyone’s got guilty pleasures, but these go beyond that. This is a list of the artists, albums, shows, and movies that I genuinely love, yet will inevitably earn me an undue share of grief.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 20 Albums that Changed Music For Me (1-10)

Every once in a while you get that magical album that from the first note you can tell will be with you forever. While I have dozens of beloved albums, here are ten that changed how I understood music from the moment I heard them. I came up with a list of twenty, but since this is Top Ten Tuesday, I’ll be dividing the list into two weeks. Check back in next week for the second half.

1. Neon Bible by Arcade Fire. Funeral might be the indie breakthrough and The Suburbs is undoubtedly the critical darling, but for me Arcade Fire’s magnum opus is the brooding and lyrically jaw-dropping Neon Bible. This second LP is the Canadian conglomerate’s most sophisticated, difficult, and complete work in a remarkable career.
2. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by the Arctic Monkeys. This is the album that helped make rock relevant in the 21st century. As a breakout myspace success, the Monkeys were pioneers for bands in the digital age, but their first album is more than just a popular success. It is a tight, narratively-focused, and undeniably catchy record that demonstrated the ways in which wit, rage, and rhythm can be combined for potent effect.
3. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. Cliche choice? Sure. Brilliant record? Of course. From “Thunder Road” to “Jungleland”, Born to Run is one of the most vivid and poetically vibrant depictions of young passion and isolation across all art forms. Springsteen’s lyrics elevate the experience of the ambitious, aspirational, yet disenfranchised youth of Jersey in a way that is always captivating yet never melodramatic. For me this album revealed the powerful effects that imagery can have when tied to masterful songwriting.
4. London Calling by The Clash. Monumental and eclectic. Prophetic and iconoclastic. The Clash’s most salient work survives today not because of its political resonance or ideological power, but because it made punk artful without sacrificing it’s immediacy or passion. From the reggae tinged “Guns of Brixton” to the straight-down-the-middle pop tune “Train in Vain”, The Clash made anger into art and (as Strummer once said) “anger can be power/d’you know that you can use it?”
5. American Idiot by Green Day. While admittedly soft on political insight, American Idiot is nevertheless a near-perfect example of pop songwriting. Perhaps the most impressive feature of this album, which produced a half dozen radio friendly hits, is its restraint. While the guitars are loud and the drums booming, each texture- like the iconic guitar lick in “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”- is purposefully placed. Criticize it for its over-zealousness if you will, this is pop songwriting at its most effective. And “Letterbomb”…come on!
6. Swamp Ophelia by The Indigo Girls. You only need to read my review of this album to get a feeling for the depth of my adoration. What the Indigo Girls do best is making folk music into more than just two overly-earnest women with guitars. The full band’s contributions to this complex album are incalculable. The Indigo Girls’ songs, always full of lush harmonies, nevertheless touch upon blues, jazz, hymnity, and rock. More recent artists like Iron and Wine could learn a great deal from how this duo develop simple folk songs into far-reaching epics.
7. Lazaretto by Jack White. Combining myriad African American musical forms, Jack White has created a new form of the blues on this second solo album. Read my recent review for more impressions, but nevertheless this is a monumentally important and creative album that takes brave risks and produces grand results. While everything Jack White touches seemingly turns to gold (or platinum to be more precise), this record represents some of his most inventive and resonant work.
8. Absolution by Muse. Back in high school I couldn’t escape Muse. It dominated my playlists, my own songwriting, and my every waking thought. Since their third and superlative record however, the British trio have unfortunately descended into a mess of babies, bombast, and banality. Despite this recent fall from grace, Absolution is a magnificent record which combines the musicality of prog rock with Queen-inspired, stadium-ready anthems. From the metal-inflected “Stockholm Syndrome” to the booming “Hysteria”, Muse proved themselves to be stellar musicians as well as genius songwriters. Shame about that whole Kate Hudson thing though.
9. The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor has become something of an institution now. Strange for a man who penned the hit “Closer” whose chorus contains the lyrics “I want to f*** you like an animal”. Back before he composed the score for The Social Network or covered Led Zeppelin, though, Reznor was a morose and morbid sound manipulator. His densely textured and nuanced tunes on The Downward Spiral redefined the ways in which production could be used in rock songs.
10. In Utero by Nirvana. While it’s big brother Nevermind seems to hog all the glory, it’s Nirvana’s final full length record that represents their most complex and meaningful achievement. Cobain’s trademark angst met with innovative production choices to produce an album that wasn’t just unhappy, it was smart. From the self-aware lyrics of “Serve the Servants” to the insightful “All Apologies”, on In Utero Cobain managed to make his own personal demons relevant for a wider audience.

Album Review: Swamp Ophelia

Back in 1985 when the Indigo Girls first began playing together, the musical archetype of “God-fearing lesbians” with acoustic guitars was probably not all that common. Now, however, we have a more diverse folk pantheon than ever before. But it seems like every High School in the country (at least in my experience) is overrun with James Taylor/Eagles knockoff acts whose earnestness is matched only by their dullness.

How do we understand magnificent acts like the Indigo Girls when the acoustic guitar-slinging suburbanite has become a cliché and a detriment to folk music? The answer is simple and should be quite obvious, but nevertheless deserves saying. These imitations and rip-offs are but shadows of an authentic artist. The Indigo Girls, and those like them, are complex, thought-provoking, and savvy musicians. Their magnum opus, 1994’s Swamp Ophelia, showcases a powerful blend of punk-rock aesthetics and tasteful jazz arrangements.

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