March 2, 2008 WARNING! The following blaagh entry is long. Very long. There was a recent email chain amongst friends regarding their Top 10 albums of all time. I've done Top 10 lists in the past, even Top 100 lists, so I wanted to try to do something a bit different. Basically I matched different stages of my life with the music that most reminds me of those times. Yes, it's a little tedious, but cathartic. There is a lot of crossover, so you'll see several albums multiple times across the lists. To clarify, the lists do not represent a "Best Of" - its just music that is tied to a particular time and place for me. If it was a "Best Of" there would be no way for me to justify Krokus' inclusion. The compilation of the lists was completely unscientific and they represent absolutely nothing but my own perception and perhaps skewed memories. In the stories below I am using only first names, in some cases only last names, and/or nicknames to protect people's privacy. There are some freaky people on the internet so you never know. Plus, I don't feel like taking the time to track down Goll or Schwabenlender for their permission to use their full names in a completely ridiculous blog entry. So let's begin with...

Jr. High (1980 - 1983)
Yes - Fragile/Yessongs/Going For The One/Yesshows/Tormato/Drama/90125
Asia - Asia
Genesis - Duke/Abacab
Rush - 2112/Permanent Waves/ Moving Pictures/Exit Stage Left/Signals
Supertramp - Even In The Quietest Moments/Breakfast In America
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta/Synchronicity
Triumph - Allied Forces
Def Leppard - High & Dry/Pyromania
Kansas - Leftoverture/Point of No Return
The Doors - The Best of The Doors
Foreigner - Double Vision/4
Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
Scorpions - Blackout
Journey - Evolution/Escape
Missing Persons - Spring Session M
Duran Duran - Rio
The Clash - Combat Rock
Led Zeppelin - IV/The Song Remains The Same/In Through The Out Door
Van Halen - Van Halen I and II/Women and Children First/Diver Down
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast/Piece Of Mind
Black Sabbath - Paranoid/Heaven and Hell
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz/Diary of a Madman/Speak of the Devil

I probably could've gone further back, but Jr. High seems to be the most logical starting point. Why? Most likely because Jr. High is when I got my first stereo (turntable/radio/8-track player combo), my first boombox (it was a very stylish gold hue), and my Mom let me join the Columbia House Record and Tape Club. Buy 12 albums or tapes for only a penny, remember? QFM, WLPX, Columbia House and Mr. Koppa (with an assist from his older siblings) were huge influences on my taste in music in the age range which is now known as "the tweens." And as far as I'm concerned, everything on this list is better than what they're feeding "tweens" today. Not that I'm even sure what "tweens" are listening to, but I'm sure that I'm right (or maybe falsely righteous - this is a very distinct possibility). But then again, this was around the time that Ozzy was fond of biting the heads off of live animals, so you can take that for what it's worth. Seeing Yes (circa 1983) at the Mecca in Milwaukee was my first official concert. One down, one to go. Another town and one more show.... Name this song and who sand co-lead? If I had to attach an album to each of my friends from this specific time period, it would look something like this: Mr. Koppa - Yessongs; The Conz - Van Halen I; Mac - Signals; Webs - Point of No Return; Milty - Foreigner 4; BT - Exit Stage Left; Moosreiner - Paranoid; Goll - High & Dry; Panos - Allied Forces. I have no idea what Schwabenlender was listening to. One last thing: I think I may have signed up with Columbia House at least three more times in the ensuing years. That was a good deal! 12 albums for a penny! I'm positive that I signed up again during my senior year of...

High School (1983 - 1987)
Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love/Shout At The Devil
Ratt - Out of the Cellar
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
Scorpions - Love At First Sting
Krokus - Headhunter/The Blitz
Dio - Holy Diver/The Last In Line
Accept - Restless and Wild/Balls to the Wall
Van Halen - 1984
David Lee Roth - Eat 'Em and Smile
U2 - Boy/War/The Unforgettable Fire/The Joshua Tree
Madonna - Like A Virgin
Prince - Controversy/1999/Purple Rain/Around the World In A Day/Parade
The Time - What Time Is It?/Ice Cream Castles
LL Cool J - Radio
Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew - The Show/La Di Da Di 12" (ft. MC Ricky D, aka Slick Rick)
Run DMC - Run DMC/King of Rock/Raising Hell
Egyptian Lover - On The Nile
Grandmaster Flash - The Message
Whodini - Escape/Back In Black
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill
S.O.D. - Speak English Or Die
Screaming Blue Messiahs - Gun Shy
The Cure - Standing On A Beach: The Singles
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
Metallica - Kill 'Em All/Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Peace Sells, But Who's Buying
R.E.M. - Murmur/Reckoning/Fables/Lifes Rich Pageant/Dead Letter Office/Document
English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies/Brotherhood
Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now
Black Flag - Slip It In
The Cult - Love/Electric
Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars!
Bob Marley - Legend
Stevie Wonder - Original Musiquarium Vol. 1 & 2
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder/The Queen Is Dead

The Metal/Hip-Hop/Prince/College Rock Years. How did it come to be that I was rockin' Motley Crue, Priest, and Ratt, and then learning how to do The Worm and the Helicopter on a piece of cardboard in BT's basement? I don't know. And on top of all of the hair metal and Egyptian Lover singles, I was a die-hard Prince fanatic. Dude, when was the last time you listened to the Purple Rain soundtrack? You need to listen to it now - it totally holds up. It's crazy, that record is so of its time - bordering on sounding completely dated - but it is incredibly genius. Nothing else sounds quite like it. If you don't already have it you can find a used copy (usually 10 copies) at any used record/cd store. Spend the $8.00, pick it up, put in your car stereo, and play Computer Blue at full volume, preferably when you don't have your kid in the back strapped into his/her carseat (at least give your kid the shot of ruining his/her hearing on their own in just a few short years). Purple Rain. I'm serious. It will not disappoint. It is iconic. In the later HS years I finally came around to what was then known as College Rock (previously known as Post-Punk, then New Wave, soon to be Alternative, which then begat Indie). R.E.M., The Cure, New Order, Talking Heads... I remember watching some music video show on public access and they played R.E.M.'s So. Central Rain and I was hooked from then on. By this time, Webs had already collected a pretty nice R.E.M. collection and he would eventually turn me on to stuff like Let's Active, Pixies and Sonic Youth. These were all good stepping stones as I headed to Oshkosh for...

College (1987 - 1992)
R.E.M. - Murmur/Reckoning/Fables/Pageant/Dead Letter Office/Document/Green
The Replacements - Stink/Hootenanny/Let It Be/Tim/Pleased To Meet Me/Don't Tell a Soul/All Shook Down
Husker Du - New Day Rising/Flip Your Wig/Candy Apple Grey/Warehouse: Songs and Stories
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come/Louder Than Bombs
Morrissey - Viva Hate/Bona Drag/Your Arsenal
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley/The Uplift Mofo Party Plan/Mother's Milk/Blood Sugar Sex Magic
Stone Roses - Stone Roses
10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
The Godfathers - Birth, School, Work, Death
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me/Disintegration
Smithereens - Green Thoughts
Dumptruck - For The Country
Game Theory - Lolita Nation
B-52's - B-52's
Squeeze - The Singles: 45's and Under
Jesus & Mary Chain - Darklands/Automatic
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions
Dag Nasty - Can I Say/Wig Out At Denko's
Eleventh Dream Day - Beet
Dinosaur Jr. - Bug/Green Mind
The Sundays - Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies/Low Life/Brotherhood/Substance
Joy Division - Substance
Ministry - Land of Rape and Honey
Eric B. and Rakim - Paid In Full/Follow The Leader
LL Cool J - B.A.D.
De La Soul - 3 ft. High and Rising
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique/Check Your Head
Fishbone - Fishbone/Truth and Soul
Public Enemy - Yo Bum Rush The Show/It Takes a Nation of Millions.../Fear of a Black Planet/Apocalypse '91
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded/By Any Means Necessary
Bad Brains - I Against I
Black Flag - Damaged
Elvis Costello - The Best Of.../Spike
Fugazi - Repeater + 3 Songs/13 Songs
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation/Goo
Pixies - Surfer Rosa/Doolittle
X - Los Angeles/Wild Gift/Under the Big Black Sun/More Fun in the New World/See How We Are
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking/Ritual De Lo Habitual
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Soundgarden - Louder Than Love/Badmotorfinger
Nirvana - Bleach/Nevermind
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
Faith No More - Introduce Yourself/The Real Thing
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms/The Good Earth
The Church - Heyday/Seance/Starfish
The Beatles - The White Album
Neil Young - Decade
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Van Morrison - Moondance
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
The Velvet Underground - The Best of The Velvet Underground
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti

Dorm life. Some people couldn't wait to get out of the dorms, but seriously those were some of the best times of my life. It also helped that I am not very picky about food so cafeteria slop, grey hamburgers, and hot dogs with a slightly greenish tint never really bothered me. What bothered me was Steak Night, which was the most popular night at the commons, but in my opinion it was the crappiest night simply because it was the only time you couldn't go back for seconds. That first year with Milty, Meier, Ashworth and Roy (can't remember his last name) on 10th Floor in North Scott Hall was something else. Matt was very fond of Kool Moe Dee's single, "Go See The Doctor" (google the lyrics). I also remember listening to a lot of LL Cool J that first year, along with a ton of R.E.M. Milty was a big fan of The Smiths' Strangeways, Here We Come - I think he really liked Unhappy Birthday, if I recall correctly. Could be wrong. It was in the dorms that I met Baumann - this cat from Sheboygan who played in a wedding band on the weekends. He had a couple of synthesizers and guitars and taught me a few chords on the guitar, which basically got me started on playing, albeit not very well, to this day. Baumann also DJ'd at the college station WRST and on occasion I'd help him spin a few discs. His show was usually slotted from midnight to 3am - not exactly primetime. Also, not an ideal time if you had an 8am Algebra class. One night, he was asked to cover the 3am to 6am shift on top of his own, which he accepted. Since I had a decent selection of cd's, Baumann asked me if I wanted to come to the station and help him pick out tunes. For the next 6 hours, I was on the mic, scratching Led Zeppelin into the Cure, reading the weather in completely ridiculous accents (occasionally letting a profanity slip by) and playing a crapload of R.E.M., Husker Du, and Replacements. It wasn't until the following day that we found out that lightning had struck the station's tower so our signal was knocked out for a majority of the show. We were broadcasting to absolutely no one but ourselves. Brilliant.

Post-College (1992 - 1997)
The Velvet Underground - VU & Nico/White Light-White Heat/The Velvet Underground/Loaded
Descendents - Enjoy/Somery
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
The Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime/What Makes a Man Start Fires?
fIREHOSE - Ragin' Full On/If'n/Live Totem Pole EP
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted/
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain/Wowee Zowee
Nirvana - Bleach/Nevermind/Incesticide/In Utero/Unplugged
Lemonheads - Lovey/Its A Shame About Ray/Come On Feel The Lemonheads
PJ Harvey - Dry/Rid of Me/To Bring You My Love
Paul Westerberg - 14 Songs, Eventually
Morrissey - Your Arsenal/Vauxhall & I
Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record
Fugazi - 13 Songs/In On The Kill Taker
Hole - Live Through This
Radiohead - The Bends/OK Computer
The Clash - The Clash/Give 'Em Enough Rope/London Calling/Combat Rock
Sonic Youth - Evol/SisterDaydream Nation/Goo/Dirty/Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star/Washing Machine
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville
Green Day - Dookie
Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
R.E.M. - Automatic For The People/Monster/New Adventures in Hi Fi
Lou Reed - New York
Television - Marquee Moon
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
The Coctails - The Early Hi-Ball Years
The Wedding Present - Watusi
Blur - Parklife
Sugar - Copper Blue
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange
Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom
Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
The Geraldine Fibbers - Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home/Butch
Folk Implosion - Dare To Be Surprised
Minor Threat - Complete Discography
Gang Of Four - Entertainment!
Wire - Pink Flag
The Beatles - Revolver/Rubber Soul/Abbey Road/Let It Be
Derek & The Dominos - Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Talking Heads - The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads
Bad Brains - Rock For Light
The Cure - The Head On The Door
Sebadoh - Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock/Bubble and Scrape/Bakesale
Galaxie 500 - On Fire/This Is Our Music
Luna - Lunapark/Slide/Bewitched
Morphine - Good/Cure For Pain/Yes
Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
Various Artists - Pulp Fiction (Soundtrack)
Various Artists - Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams
Various Artists - Kids (Soundtrack)
Yo La Tengo - Painful
The Sea and Cake - Nassau
Superchunk - Tossing Seeds/Foolish
Archers of Loaf - Vee Vee/All the Nation's Airports
Nick Drake - Fruit Tree (Box Set)
Donovan - Donovan's Greatest Hits

Just to be clear, post-college does not necessarily mean that I finished my degree at this point - that wouldn't happen until a few years later. But I did stop taking classes during this time, so yeah, post-college. I know for a lot of people the early-to-mid 20's age range was a time in life where you weren't necessarily a kid anymore but you weren't quite a responsible adult either. As I think back on that time now, I'm pretty sure I was leaning more towards the kid side than the adult side. I was working as a bartender which basically allowed me to extend adolescence for an additional 5 years. I don't know if there was a night where I went to bed before 4am from '92 to '97. After-bars on Frederick Ave (later High St.) followed by a nutritious breakfast at Country Kitchen until 6am was a "normal" night/morning. During one of these "normal" nights, I had gotten into a discussion about the merits of hip-hop with a roommate of mine, Tim (aka Keps). Tim's stance was that hip-hop was worthless since the music was built on other people's music through the use sampling. My point was there was no difference between a hip-hop artist sampling James Brown and Luna stealing the Velvet Underground's riff from Sister Ray for their own 23 Minutes in Brussels - everyone steals from everyone else. Artists take what's out there and make it their own. And to my knowledge, I don't believe Dean Wareham has ever paid Lou Reed a nickel for all that he's borrowed, although he probably should. Anyways, this discussion became so heated with Keps that other people had to step in because they thought we were going to start throwing punches. The magic of alcohol. A simple discussion of music becomes a crucial debate which then de-volves into an insult contest... just add tequila. I don't think it is a coincidence that neither Keps nor I are big drinkers these days. Otherwise we could've really made a mess of our...

Late 20's - Early 30's aka Maybe Its Time to Finish That Degree (1997 - 2002)
Talking Heads - '77/More Songs About Buildings and Food/Remain In Light
Tom Waits - Closing Time/Swordfishtrombones/Rain Dogs/Frank's Wild Years/Big Time/Bone Machine
Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith/Roman Candle/Either-Or
Built To Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love/Perfect From Now On/Keep It Like A Secret
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
Pavement - Brighten The Corners
Wilco - Being There/Summer Teeth/Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Luna - Pup Tent/Live/Rendezvous
Big Star - #1 Record/Radio City/Sister Lovers
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing/The Argument
Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St./Sticky Fingers
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Doves - Lost Souls
Superchunk - Here's To Shutting Up
The Strokes - Is This It?
Radiohead - Kid A
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey
Neil Young - Harvest Moon/After The Goldrush
Various Artists - Swingers (Soundtrack)
Various Artists - Trainspotting (Soundtrack)
Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
The Roots - Phrenology
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
Jay-Z - The Black Album
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
The Herbaliser - Very Mercenary
Red Snapper - Making Bones
Daft Punk - Homework
Slint - Spiderland
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Fugees - The Score
Portishead - Dummy
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Bjork - Post/Homogenic
Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out/The Hot Rock
Charles Mingus - Ah Um/Oh Yeah
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Django Reinhardt - The Best of Django Reinhardt
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
Yo La Tengo - Electr-o-Pura/I Can Hear The Hear Beating As One/And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
R.E.M. - Up
Ozomatli - Ozomatli
David Bowie - Bowie at the Beeb
Iggy Pop/The Stooges - Raw Power/Fun House
Los Lobos - Kiko/This Time
Bob Marley - Live!
Devo - Freedom Of Choice
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup/Dots and Loops
Prince Buster - Fabulous: Greatest Hits
Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
The Sea and Cake - The Fawn/Oui
Medeski, Martin & Wood - Combustication
The Meters - The Very Best Of The Meters
Toots & The Maytals - The Very Best of Toots & The Maytals
The Specials - Too Much Too Young/The Singles Collections
Os Mutantes - Everything Is Possible: The Best Of Os Mutantes
Modest Mouse - This Is A Long Drive.../The Lonesome Crowded West/Building Nothing Out Of Something
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin/Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin'/Highway 61 Revisited/Blood On The Tracks
Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle
Spoon - Girls Can Tell
Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance

1997 was the year that I started managing CBC's in Oshkosh. I still can't believe someone (Tom) left me in charge of running a business. This is not me being modest - it is simply that I had absolutely no business acumen whatsoever. Just because I could make a decent Bloody Mary didn't mean that I was fit to run a business. But Tom (the owner) saw some potential in me and was patient enough to let me make my own decisions/mistakes. Eventually, I think I made a pretty good go of it. I look back on it now and I realize how much I learned about business, people and about myself during that time, so I really couldn't be more appreciative of the opportunity that Tom had given me. And while I do miss some aspects of being there, I definitely believe that I made the right decision to leave Oshkosh in 2002 once I finally finished my degree. One of the things that I truly loved about running the bar was having complete control of the jukebox. I was ruthless with the company who maintained the jukebox. They were always trying to sneak in discs which were popular at the time because, "Matchbox 20 and Seven Mary Three get played all the time in other bars that we service." If I wanted to hear that crap why wouldn't I have just turned on the freakin' radio?? So yeah, I hovered over the jukebox like I was protecting a newborn child. I knew I had achieved the perfect jukebox mix when random patrons would either say, "This is the greatest jukebox I've ever seen!" or "I don't know a single cd on this jukebox!" On any given night you could hear Otis Redding followed up by the Grateful Dead, up against Devo, Public Enemy, Fugazi, Blur, James Brown, Wilco, Descendents, Blackalicious, Daft Punk, Bjork, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Social Distortion, Prince, Sublime, Pink Floyd, Basement Jaxx, Jack Johnson, The Clash, etc. 1997 was also the year that I quit smoking. The money that I saved from not buying two packs of cigarettes a day went towards two things: food and music. So it's no surprise that I gained a lot of weight during this time and it also explains why this list is a bit longer than all of the others. Napster might have had an effect on the length of this list , as well, but I'll save that for another blog entry. So after spending an insane amount of time in Oshkosh, I ended up in...

Madison (2002 - Present)
M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent/Transistor Radio/Post-War
The Shins - Oh Inverted World/Chutes Too Narrow/Wincing The Night Away
The Books - Thought For Food/The Lemon of Pink
Prefuse 73 - Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives/One Word Extinguisher/Prefuse 73 Reads The Books
New Order - Retro (Box Set)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/A Ghost Is Born/Kicking Television
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: 1966/Vol. 5: 1975/Vol. 6: 1964
Wire - Chairs Missing
Various Artists - Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80's Underground (Box Set)
The Sea and Cake - One Bedroom
Sam Prekop - Sam Prekop/Who's Your New Professor?
Archer Prewitt - Three
!!! - Take Ecstasy With Me/Get Up 12"
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days/Woman King EP
Sonic Youth - Murray Street/Sonic Nurse/Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition)/Rather Ripped
Sebadoh - III (Re-Issue)
The Clash - London Calling (25th Anniversary Edition)
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted/Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain/Wowee Zowee (Deluxe Re-Issues)
Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
M.I.A. - Arular/Kala
Out Hud - S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D./Let Us Never Speak Of It Again
The Strokes - Room On Fire
The Roots - Game Theory
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes/Return to Cookie Mountain
The National - Alligator/Boxer
Decemberists - Picaresque/The Crane Wife
The Futureheads - The Futureheads
Goldfrapp - Black Cherry
Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Sessions
Dead Kennedys - Live At The Deaf Club/Plastic Surgery Disasters
DeVotchka - Curse Your Little Heart
The Juan McLean - Less Than Human
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People/Broken Social Scene
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights/Antics
Cat Power - The Greatest
Peter, Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things
Tom Waits - Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Tyranny of Distance/Hearts of Oak/Living With The Living
Fiona Apple - When The Pawn Hits.../Extraordinary Machine
Arcade Fire - Funeral/Neon Bible
Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan/Illinois
Feist - Let It Die
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Battles - Mirrored
LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem/Sound of Silver
Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?/Live It Out
Jens Lekman - Oh You're So Silent Jens/Night Falls Over Kortedala
Thelonious Monk - Monk./Underground
Johnny Cash - Live at Folsom Prison
Grant Green - Carryin' On
The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies/The Kink Kronikles
Various Artists - I'm Not There (Soundtrack)
Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won
Yes - The Yes Album/Close to the Edge
Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

My plan when I moved to Madison in '02 was to... um, I had no plan. I packed up my stuff, rented a U-Haul and moved to Madison. Good thing I had some money saved up because I was basically unemployed for 7 months. But I spent money like I still had a job. Without an income, I managed to see a handful of shows like Luna w/ The Slumber Party (in Milwaukee and Chicago) and The Sea and Cake w/ Califone, and I bought a several cd's like the New Order box set, Retro. I probably could've held off on purchasing that particular set, especially since I already had most of the stuff on it already, but I'm a sucker for re-issues (see the Sonic Youth, Pavement, The Clash and Sebadoh entries in this last list). And I probably went out to eat for both lunch and dinner everyday (still do) while I was job hunting. OK, so maybe I've not spent my money wisely, but I'm working on it. It's not like I'm burning through entire paychecks, I'm just not very... frugal. Cut me some slack, I quit smoking 10+ years ago - I think that's pretty damn good, no?

So here it is, almost 30 years of personal music history condensed into 5 lists of albums, along with some lighthearted anecdotes. I think that's the great thing about music in that it can easily tie into specific times in your life, which is basically how I went about compiling these lists. When was the last time I listened "Circus of Heaven" off of Tormato? Probably around 1983 at Webs' house. When I listen to Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti, I'm almost always reminded of listening to "In The Light" several times while hanging out at Mac's house during the summers that I would come home from college. The Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill and LL Cool J's Radio were always playing in BT's car when he had that huge speaker just sitting in his back seat. Luna's Penthouse brings me back to roadtripping to Minneapolis in a middle of a blizzard to see Lou Reed with Luna as the opener. Sonic Youth's Sister reminds of going to the SST Superstore (the real store, not the online store) in CA while I was visiting Jenevieve in '94. I could keep going with all of the reminiscing but at some point you run the risk of overkill. And I may very well have crossed that line about 3 lists and 5 stories ago. And with that, I will leave you with Dan Deacon's Crystal Cat.

Have a good evening.