We resume our list of albums that have stood the test of the time and resonated with me throughout my life. To reiterate, this list does not reflect the "best or "my favorite," just most present.
Ten- Pearl Jam- I will say it. In my opinion, for all of the accolades this album has received, this album still rings as one of the most underrated albums of all time. In both quality and historical consequence, while worthy of a nod acknowledgement in most all rock circles, too often this album is pigeonholed into being a pillar of just Seattle grunge rock and not music as a whole. If anything, Pearl Jam jumped on the grunge bandwagon a bit late. I am not trying to launch this into a diatribe of "there would be no Nirvana/STP/Alice In Chains without this band"... that's asinine. That said, this album was essential to turning that grunge scene that they may have jumped on while already in motion into a mainstream movement.
I know that it's tough to look at career musician millionaires and say "give them further respect and success" but to me this album stands with any other. Further, I know that this list is supposed to be more personal in terms of music's impact on me, but I figure I may never have another chance to climb the soapbox on this matter.
In terms of my relationship to the album, just a real personal connection, I suppose. There was grit, edge, and anger introduced to me in that album at a time in my life where I didn't have much to be gritty, edgy, or angry about. That's the power of music. You find ways to relate to it even if you can't quite put your finger on why or how.
Also, anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for my shuffle. 49 times out of 50 I'll purchase an album, listen to it through bell to bell, and then chuck it on my ipod, which I keep in a constant state of shuffle. "Ten" stands as one of the very few albums that I'll listen to as it's own entity, enjoy, and hit repeat.
All That You Can't Leave Behind-U2- Really less to say here than I wish there was. It doesn't make for much of a blog post if my reasoning for treasuring an album is "just becasuse." Although, that comes close to summing up my feelings here.
I remember my aunt or grandparents asking what I wanted for Christmas and I said Dave Matthews Band's "Everyday." Turns out "Everyday" was less expensive than previously thought and I had another gift coming my way. I was at an age where giving money for Christmas wasn't an option (it was still about the magic of opening presents, at least in my family) and my family member was already in Coconuts (remember Coconuts?). In short, I had to pick another album to supplement the DMB even though I wasn't necessarily asking for one. "Beautiful Day" was the hot song of the time for U2 and I certainly enjoyed the track. I asked for "All That You Can't Leave Behind."
Lo and behold, I wound up really enjoying the album and a lot of those tracks still stick with me. Frankly, I'm not sure why they stick with me to the extent they do, but maybe it has to do with this little bit of nostalgia when my music collection was at it's infancy. Maybe it has to do with no other U2 album from "Joshua Tree" to "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" really gaining traction with me. Regardless, it's one of those things that I can't help but just shrug my shoulders and treasure "just because."
New Years Eve 1995 - Phish- In the year 2016, 8 live shows later, and about 20 or so albums later, it should surprise no one that Phish has made an appearance on this list. With that said, this is the album that started it all and the context may surprise you. 2004 was arguably the start of what I'll call the poker boom among teens in the U.S. Through drama (like high school theatre, not high school gossip-based disagreements), I had gotten to know Matty Matura and one Friday night Matty was looking for another player at a poker game with him and his friends. That first night, I knew the rules of game, was calm, told some jokes, and lost my money. That was the perfect recipe to ensure you'd be invited again. Over time, I would play with these guys pretty much weekly. While I was never a fly on the wall or timid at these games, and while these were good people who took the time to get to know me and treat me like one of their own at these games, if we weren't talking about poker or music there wasn't much I could add to their conversations at first. These were people that had been hanging out together their whole lives. They had their own memories, quirks, inside jokes etc. There is only so much you can participate in that when you're just getting to know a group other than laugh along, listen, and enjoy.
Anyway, while I was getting to know this group, one of the constant topics of conversation that I could relate to was music. Usually the conversation centered around the Red Hot Chili Peppers or other alt-rock that was at the time contemporary, but often the conversation would drift onto Phish. In my life to that point, I was familiar with "Farmhouse" having the same chords as "No Woman No Cry" and had heard some tracks off "Round Room." I found myself respecting the sound, but could certainly take or leave it. Along comes these guys and suddenly Phish is all the rage.
At that age and in a pre-itunes world, heading down to FYE at 14 was equivalent to heading down to the bar at 26. It was a staple of suburban American youth. After my second poker game, the next time I was in FYE, I saw this album and picked it up. From the games, I had heard that hearing them live was a different animal all together. I didn't have high hopes for me liking, but I recognized some Who covers on the back, so I figured it wouldn't be all bad.
Long story short, hearing them live did make all the difference and I fell in love with the sound. On a more personal note, after about 3 weeks those guys at the poker game started to call me up to hang out even when they weren't playing poker. With all respect to my friends before this time ( I treasure CTS as much as I cringe at some of the shenanigans), the group of people I met through those poker games grew into my best friends that I keep in touch with and spend time with to this day. We grew from boys and girls to young men and women together and made our own memories in the process.
This album serves as an homage to the beginning of those friendships and how much we've grown from there. Plus, I've never picked up an album with such an ulterior motive. My thought process was essentially, "Well, I probably won't like this, but it'll give me something to talk about."
Quite a bit to reflect on.
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