Probably the most influential album for me was Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. I know The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon have had a bigger impact on music as a whole, but the album sounds great and the themes of communication and conflict in TDB are something that really resonated with me when it was released. Plus, it had the whole Publius Enigma, which was a kind of scavenger hunt back when the internet was still mostly centered around newsgroups. In fact, I used Publius' "Listen. Read. Think. Communicate." message as a kind of foundation for my own philosophical and pedagogical views.
Well, if you have a music platform (shameless Spotify plug, I swear I don't work for them ), and a lot of time, I guess you could listen to it. I just don't think it's worth it. As far as musical history goes, we are talking about some forgettable artists. As Spock said: "Ah...the giants." If you want a playlist of the best (or my favorites), I could PM you.
@ HaventGotALife ^Thanks, but I take this thread (and similar ones) as inspiration to go look for things I am not familiar with. And, yes, use the music-streaming platform (platform?) that came with my mobile ISP to peek...
Ugh...apologies in advance for the self-indulgent mini-essay, I didn't realize how much I wrote until I looked at it in preview. Whatever, it was fun to think about and write about: My relationship with music was a bit different. I grew up in a pretty musical family, and both listening and making music were a big part of my family life. My dad was from New Orleans, played acoustic and steel guitar, and my mom sang and played piano. Both my parents had eclectic musical tastes and nothing was taboo, so between them I was exposed to classical (I started playing cello at age 9), jazz, blues, rock, world, punk, grunge, R&B, etc. The only blanket genre neither of them were especially into was rap, though they've both since come around. I feel I had a great musical education through them, and I was exposed to a lot of music, spanning decades and centuries, that most of my peers didn't know. The weird consequence of this, though, was that I didn't identify with the music that was being produced in my teenage years, when you're supposed to find your music. I do like a lot of mid to late 90s music, and find it nostalgic, but it never struck a chord with me. I identified in a very personal way with classical music...but it was a lonely sort of relationship. Most of my peers never listened to classical, and the ones who did, the musicians in the orchestra summer camps and Seattle Youth Symphony I played with on scholarships, were all from a completely different world. I was really into grunge when it was big, and even saw a lot of the greats in concert (Nirvana, Modest Mouse, Pixies, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, etc). But I was 8; As much as I loved it, and still do, that music belonged to my young mother and my teenage sister. Classic rock was glorious, but it belonged to my dad. Punk was great, and discovering the Buzzcocks and The Clash and the Sex Pistols was amazing, because I was the only one in my family really into it. But still, it was music made years before I was born. There was just no movement in the late nineties for me. As a teen I was often enlisted to escort my little sister to concerts. I took her to Hanson when I was 16 and she got tickets for her 13th birthday. I scoffed because I really into punk at the time, but it was actually a really fun show and I had a great time. I bought her a bunch of memorabilia. Then I had to take her to an Alanis Morrisette concert when I was 17 and she was 14. The music was terrible but two great things happened: 1)We both got really high because there were so many people smoking weed in an enclosed space, and 2) Garbage opened. "Version 2.0" was the album that came out at exactly the right time for me. It spoke to my teenage girl soul like nothing else. Garbage isn't my favorite band, and "Version 2.0" isn't my favorite album, but it will always be unique and very special to me because of its timing. I'm definitely still actively discovering music, and as much of the music on my list was found in my mid to late twenties as teens. I suppose there are many others who felt a bit out of time with their musical tastes, do any of you have similar experiences? Anyway, here are my albums, I'm excluding classical as a genre because it doesn't really fit in the album category. In no particular order: She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper Wrong Way Up - Brian Eno and John Cale Hatful of Hollow - The Smiths Version 2.0 - Garbage Automatic for the People R.E.M. Singles Going Steady - The Buzzcocks London Calling - The Clash Hvarf/Heim Sigur Ros Wounded Rhymes - Lykke Li The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe
The one album that springs to mind immediately is Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs). I was in the midst of writing final essays during my third year at university, and, as was my habit when I was badly stressed, I had the radio on the classical music channel all night while I slept. I woke up to this symphony, specifically to II. Lento E Largo - Tranquillissimo (linked below). It was ethereal. At the time I didn't know the lyrics in this movement were a prayer to the Virgin Mary inscribed on the cell wall in Zakopane; I only learned that when I purchased the album of the entire Symphony (the Dawn Upshaw version, which I highly recommend), which I did as soon as I could. I grew up listening to classical music, but knew nothing of more modern composers as my parents' taste was decidedly traditional classical. Through Gorecki I came to know composers such as Arvo Part and John Tavener. Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, Lento e Largo--Tranquillissimo
Growing up, the only music I ever heard was Disney songs, the soundtrack to "The Phantom of the Opera," and really shitty jazz (like the stuff you hear on the Weather Channel). I'm glad I discovered my own kind of music.
My own fault for calling the thread something with the words "influential albums", but I should mention BJHs Eyes of the Universe as it did have the influence on me that (to this point) ended up with me listening to some Supertramp right now... I do love the well produced studio-album
Well, when it comes to The Division Bell, critics seem to bear a striking resemblance to Star Trek fans and STiD, where the opinion seems to clash heavily with the reality. I mean, how to you give any album with "High Hopes" on it one star? Or call Gilmour's playing "bored and uninspired wanking." So bored and uninspired they gave him a Grammy for it. Want to hear Dave Gilmour bored and uninspired? Go listen to Atom Heart Mother. (I'm going to pay for that one.) Granted, for the most part, the lyrics left something to be desired. Gilmour could never write to save his life, but Polly can write a little, and she at least added an aesthetic quality to the lyrics that was missing on Momentary Lapse... And she was able to tap into that Watersesque quality of taking something simple and obvious and flipping it over to become mind-blowingly profound with "Keep Talking." That's not to say it's some masterpiece either, but handing out "Fs" and half-star grades like it's some epic piece of shit is total buffoonery. As you can tell, it's sort of a sore spot with me. Yeah. As I said, it effected my list as apposed to if I had just gone with my 10 favorite albums or even with what I thought were the 10 best. (Two very different lists in their own right.)
I've never been into making lists when it comes to music. Music does mean a lot to me but what I like really depends on my mood. There's certainly some songs or albums that are important to me but I'd feel bad about listing anything because I know I'd be forgetting something. The one album that stands out for a specific reason is Pink Floyd's The Wall because it introduced me to concept albums. I'm an "album listener" generally, I don't just listen to one song. So concept albums are perfect for me.
I don't have a definitive list, music is important to me though but its all fragmented, sometimes I need to listen to Eno's Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, sometimes it has to be Ayreon's Dream Sequencer, sometimes Rammstein or Lacuna Coil, sometimes Dash Berlin, Armin van Buren or Ferry Corsten and sometimes Purple Motion's tracker music.
That's what the loophole is for This is not about what happens to be your favourite(s) right now (which all 'best of' lists would end up being anyway), but about mentioning something (in this case: 'albums') that have had a profound (or maybe less so) influence on you, which you did, so why am I writing this? [And even while the thread progresses I find things I neglected to put on mine in the OP ] Oooh, yes! the For All Mankind-soundtrack is fantastic! And his first Ambient album, Music for Airports, I just found unbearably well made, so much that I chased it for years (even paid a couple of record-shops to do it for me) before 'finding' it on-line in recent times.
I hear ya. Fortunately, I never paid much attention to the critics at the time the album was released, so I was able to enjoy it on its own merits. There's also a strange little feedback loop going on there, with the critics hammering Gilmour whilst he sings, "What do you want from me? ... Play 'till my fingers are raw? You're so hard to please." It's almost as if the critics weren't just judging the album against the previous successes of the band, but also perception of what the band had meant to music in general. Then again, that lack of communication, as well the clash between opinion and reality as you mentioned, merely reinforce the "Division Bell" concept. In any case, I found enough enjoyment in the music and depth to the lyrics and concepts that the album had a lasting impact on me.
Here are some albums that meant a lot to me at some point in my life: Styx - Paradise Theater - I was 10 or 11 years old when this came out, and my friend Brett bought the album right away. I pirated a cassette copy of the album, and listened to it over and over. Side 1 of the album was fantastic. Journey - Escape - Not a bad song on the album, and nice guitar work by Neal Schon; although Don't Stop Believin' is way overplayed. Stone in Love is still a favorite. Beach Boys Endless Summer - Reminds me a lot of High School. The Who - Who's Next - Actually pretty much everything by The Who is great. When Harry Met Sally soundtrack - Mostly Harry Connick Jr. Dave Brubeck - Take Five - I listen to this at work at least once a week. Willie Nelson - Stardust - My parents had this album and I stole it when I went to college. Bad English - Loved Journey, loved The Babys. Nice combination of both bands. Jimmy Barnes - Freight Train Heart - I stumbled across this one by accident. Barnsey's vocals are so good. Eric Clapton - Journeyman
As per thread title, these aren't exclusively favourites (though inevitably are), but definitely albums that changed my thinking/appreciation of what music can achieve, intellectually, emotionally and sonically: Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue Floyd - Dark Side/Wish You Were Here Bowie - Diamond Dogs Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet Wagner - Ring cycle Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?
For me: Songs From The Big Chair, Tears For Fears (first album that I ever bought as a kid; taught me a lot about musical arrangements from listening to it over and over again). World Machine, Level 42 (after hearing this album, I knew that I wanted to become a bass player--and I did). Rattle and Hum, U2 (even though The Joshua Tree introduced me to U2, I didn't really become a lifelong fan until this subsequent album). Issues, KoRn (introduced me to a new style of bass playing that I still occasionally do today--also was my go-to album during my carefree "I don't give a f---" phase).
Not necessarily the greatest albums in the world, nor my complete and utter favourites, and indeed in many cases not ones I owned for myself, but these did have an impact on me at a personal level. A word of warning: there are more than 10: "Sing The Blues" - The Simpsons. The first album I bought. Also, my first introduction to that famous cartoon family. "Bad" - Michael Jackson. It belonged to my big sister, but she played it to death. We all loved it and would take turns listening to it on my sister's Walkman. "True Blue" - Madonna. Another of my big sister's albums, and it formed the soundtrack to a memorable summer in the south east of England. "NOW 21" - various artists. We listened to a number of the earlier "Now That's What I Call Music" compilation pop albums, but number 21 was the one I played the most out of my cousin's hi-fi back in the day, and years later I tracked down a CD version for myself. Still one of the best, along with NOW 20. "The Stone Roses" - The Stone Roses. Yet another one of my big sister's (much of my musical taste stems from her) and one that she would keep singing to us at every opportunity. I tracked down a re-release of the seminal album on its 10th anniversary in 1999, and it's one of my most played and favourite albums of all time. "Automatic For The People" - R.E.M. It formed the soundtrack of the autumn of 1994, a particularly memorable and emotional time for me. I shall say no more at this point. "Holst - The Planets" - Berliner Philharmoniker / Karajan. Classical music meant a lot to me as well as popular music, and still does. These days, classical music comes in various different recordings, albums and releases, and no one particular recording springs to mind when it comes to how they influenced me - for me, it's more the composition itself than the interpretation that holds greater influence. That said, this particular recording was one that my violin teacher once owned on CD, and months later I bought it on cassette and would play it on our car stereo. The sound of the car engine pretty much drowned out "Neptune: The Mystic" much to my annoyance. "The Greatest Classical Album In The World... Ever!" - various artists. This particular classical music album, with its full works and excerpts of famous pieces, was one of our most played, and in fact was the first recording that we ever bought on CD. "Everything Must Go" - Manic Street Preachers. One of my friends was really into the Manics in the mid-90s (at the start of their post-Richey, Britpop period) and wore T-shirts with their slogans all the time. It was still a great album with memorable tunes, and a Third Way for those bored of the Oasis vs Blur rivalry (me, I also liked Pulp ). "You've Come A Long Way, Baby" - Fatboy Slim. The first dance album I bought, and a venture into the unknown for me. I was at Uni at the time, and I wanted to try out new music tastes. Still a favourite. "Revolver" - The Beatles. My first proper introduction to the Fab Four, courtesy of a music student who played the album non-stop during a European trip. From there, there was no turning back. "Vertigo" - Groove Armada. Another dip into the unknown, this formed the soundtrack of summer 1999, the most memorable summer of my life. "The Facts Of Life" - Black Box Recorder. One of my personal favourites, it was pretty much a reminder of the close friendships I had developed at University, and the similar music tastes we had - we all owned this album. I occasionally play the whole album again from time to time. "The Parker Tapes" - Cassetteboy. At times an early 21st Century relic and curio, it's still savage and a reminder of my subversive side amid all the political and newsworthy stuff going on in the world at the time. "The Grey Album" - Danger Mouse. The point where mashup really started to get noticed, and perfect fuel for my Noughties obsession with mashup. "Franz Ferdinand" - Franz Ferdinand. The first major album bought during my working life, and it brings up memories of finding my feet in the big world and deciding what sort of career path I wanted to take. "LOVE" - The Beatles. The official Beatles mashup album, and one that evokes specific memories of owning my own house and trying to make a life for myself. Musically, it also opened up my appreciation of the Beatles back catalogue even further. "Discovery" - Daft Punk. One of my favourite electronic music albums, and one of the best albums to listen to in the car. It served as a reminder of all those work commutes I would undertake, often to far away places. "The Holy Bible" - Manic Street Preachers. I revisited this album not too long ago, at a time when I was starting to become disillusioned with the way things were going. Not a bright and cosy time, and perhaps the choice of music reflected that. "A Boot Up The Eighties" - 10000 Spoons. One of my favourite mashup albums, and one where every song involved invokes a specific memory, character or person from my past and present. "OK Computer" - Radiohead, and "Dark Side of the Moon" - Pink Floyd. I remember playing these two on a constant loop during a dark and troubling period in life just a few years ago. It served as the soundtrack for my wanting to throw everything away and start again. Which I duly did. There will no doubt be more to come.
I agree with this for the most part. I generally don't like "best of" lists to begin with because with many things--especially artistic things--it's so subjective. And also because "best" often gets interchanged with "favorite" despite the two should be mutually exclusive. That said, I do see the importance of lists if only as a means of recognition.