Amongst the recent flood of tag-your-it notes overwhelming FaceBook is a challenge to name 15 albums that changed your life. I found this a far better exercise than most of the other FB notes floating about most of which have to do with setting your music player on random. Of course it may be a silly superficial exercise to begin with;and all the mélomanes’ notes readily admit it’s not a long enough list. I enjoy the obstacles presented (and I’d rather not read somebody’s unrestricted list, good god how long would some go?).
What was overall disappointing in reading the lists of my friends, is how little folks deviated from their chosen genre. One would read a list, and have to admit that all the albums presented were indeed important works, but in the great scheme of things the albums varied little. –indie rock classic, indie rock classic, indie rock classic.
This is an unscientific observation but in my experience, persons of musical note rarely have influences that can be bundled so neatly. A rocker hears Thelonius Monk for the first time and it changes his idea of phrasing. A classical composer hangs out in the East Village in the 70′s and his work takes on the minimalism of a three piece punk band. The Who adds their version of Terry Riley’s In C right smack dab in the middle of one of their greatest rock anthems Baba O’Riley. It doesn’t mean Pete Townshend wanted to become a minimalist composer upon experiencing this revolutionary sound. The point is I don’t think much musical innovation comes from within a genre but from without. So listing your fifteen most influential albums that are essentially of the same ilk, even as an audiophile and not necessarily a musician, is false, stubborn and lacks creativity.
Now here is a piano composer who takes his inspiration in a well rounded way and if you are not an idiot you might also learn a thing or two from him but I highly doubt it.
The pitchfork interview (for those who use no other source).
Audio
All his free downloads are worthy.
All his free downloads are worthy.
But if you must be selective, here is one possibly taking inspiration not from a fellow musician at all but from the minimalist painterly poet William Carlos William, Red Pencil.
On Myspace, just hit play and enjoy.
Videos
For the backlighting.
For the backlighting.
For the vantage point and demonstration of his prepared piano technique.
From the album Ferndorf, animated video – one in series.
The point of that list, I think, was to see which albums you connect most with. I listen to an awful lot of stuff, but not much of it really makes an impact. I certainly could have listed things from more genres that I like, but it wouldn’t be accurate to say that I have the kind of attachment to that stuff that I have with the albums on the list I made. I thought about it, but in the end I decided that I didn’t need to prove that I like highlife or minimalism and went with stuff that actually means something to me.
I didn’t actually see your list Justin. Will look for it now.
The theme I was given is “change your life.” I can understand how a person may have taken a new direction upon hearing the Butthole Surfers or Sonic Youth (for example). But to list both? No. You are on the same path and have refused to change. Perhaps Will Oldham leater struck a chord. Again you did not evolve out of the indie record store.
Plus I don’t think people give enough credit to what inspired them in youth or in ways they don’t acknowledge. Or they haven’t broadened their outlook enough to recognize the influences of their influences.
In general, it just might mean people suck.
I’m going to resume my mediocre year now.
I’m having flashbacks to that lengthy thread we weaved on weather music changes your life (or something like that). The way i remember it, which might be wrong, is that Justin’s list of life changing records would not reach 15.
Justin’s list of life changing records would not reach 15
It wouldn’t reach 1. There are, however, lots of records that I really like or have emotional attachments to (at least I think these are emotions; they are so foreign to me).
As an aside, when did people start using “record” again. I’ve noticed quite a bit of this usage in last few years. When I used to buy records I would always call them “albums,” but now nobody seems to call them that anymore.
An interesting aside on the album issue. Our local Borders is now selling vinyl. Shiny, shrink-wraped, fresh pressings of albums like Metallica’s Kill Em All and Nick Lowe’s Jesus of Cool. and a bunch of others, almost all of them from the pre-cd era, and almost all of them albums that were barely noticed by chain stores at the time (I think Jesus of Cool was even banned when it came out in the US). the desparate display says “Miss that warmer sound?” It really is a trip/flashback to see all these awesome old albums as if they had just been released yesterday instead of 20+ years ago.
So maybe people will start using the word “album” again… yeah right.
MLHW, I read only three lists you refer to (I am a fakebook stalker, and pretty bad at that, simply looking over wife’s shoulder for 5 minutes)… so I am no judge, just my 3 kopecks….
—————
music is a drug.
the lists are uniform because the “change your life” theme pushes people to focus on their formative years. Lot of people stop seeking new music pass 30. Anyway, epiphanies are rarer and rarer with time even if you are deadly looking for them everywhere (like spending $200 a month at Sound Exchange, or downloading 500Gb of out-of-everywhere sound)
More likely, the list represents a comfort zone, particularly for those who do not look for the next big trip. This is in no way negative, and maybe more along what Roberto said a long time ago here (sthg like “better to know a lot in one style, than a little in many”).
Well I like butterflies. I never stopped looking for the next big hit in the face and I got tired very fast with P-media (M. Richardson did it for me for a little while, a while ago). But epiphanies still happen!
Maybe seeking the entire NWW list or Julian Cope top 50 kraut albums may seem obsessive-compulsive, but this is really worth the trip.
Anyway, MLHW, remind me about that very post next time we have a drink together.
roberto – you said that?
It’s hard to know when your life is changing until way after it has, usually. There are a few times in one’s life when you know for certain your life is changing. But changing one’s viewpoint by gaining knowledge is trickier because its slower.
It’s also harder. But I wonder if that’s due to people not wanting to change and by the time they’re older (at least 35), they just want to relax. Or is it due to the fact that people don’t view older people as relevant as a 18 – 35 year old?
I’ve been listening to a lot of different music in the past few years, thankfully, and mostly due to this group. I couldn’t say how I will feel about it in a few years, but know that I’ll always pair Nick Cave to the time of the death of my friend last year.
But a lot of other stuff has happened to me in that time that’s probably as big.
I’m interested to see what kind of story I’ll put with it in a few years when looking back. And I think that might be the more interesting part.
MLHW – if your life is mediocre, your life is trending upward! Awesome!
btw, when your child turns two, you are going to love it. know that it’s coming.
I really like the Haushcka.
Grud. Whoever you are. I can’t wait for that drink.
My grandmother told me I was a jack of all trades, master of none. [sniff].
Oh to be on the Nurse with Wound.
FYI: the photo is of Hauschka. I neglected to mention that in the post.
Stacey – you are a muse.
And btw, we just got back from a trip to New York. My child amazed me. She is a true gem.
I dont know if i said that, i’ve said a lot of things, and changed my mind on most of them. I do kind of agree with that in a very general way, even as i tend to be more like kilian, jack of all trades, master of none.
As much as I love your passion regarding genre pigeon-holing, I also find your opinion on the whole list concept to be kind of a psychological transplant of personal affront. How arbitrary it seems to me to criticize a list comprised of like-sounding records/albums, or whatever the fuck the correct term needs to be. I think you might be surprised how often some people of musical note actually are happy to reside within neatly bundled packages. And that’s because what difference does it make? You’re not what you listen to, you’re what you do. I think innovation comes from hard work and a commitment to moving forward. Those are just lists of opinions. My saying what influenced me the most could easily change from day to day, and the motivation of someone to list whatever they list in a Facebook goof-off is influenced by a lot more than just pure, unbiased honesty. Hell, read Dot Dean’s list. Irreverent humor. At least I hope.
What I like best about Dot’s list is her list of tagged persons. I was sorely disappointed in the Giant Pants EP and wtf is Balls to the Wall doing so far down the list??? Truly an uninspiring misuse of listing, she should have stayed lost in the woods and taken a closer listen to the wintry lack of birds and dinosaurs.
I didn’t read this – Think of 15 albums that when you heard them you totally said that whenever they invent a way to force some of your friends to read about it you will totally add it to your list of things that you will force your friends to read when they do invent that way to force them to do so. – as asking to write about 15 Lps that ‘changed’ my life (HEAVY FUCKING SHIT DUDE), but rather as “forcing” someone to take notice of this list. You are a great writer, but are not you being deceptive on purpose? Or rather, couldn’t you be a bit more straightforward with your language? I think you are deluding yourself if you think your theme with this question is something about the music changing your life, because why the hell wasn’t that the question in the first place? And then you criticize people for not having more diverse tastes. How dare you! I’m on to your tricks buddy. Then there is the question of how much an album could change my life, right now not nearly as much as me cummin on your face dear blogger.
Easy there, Anonymous–if that is indeed your real name, one idea at a time.
I think I know who Grud is and if so his written English is much improved.
I have three good guesses as to anon. If it’s any of those, or not, I’d like to have a drink with you as well. And you know, we’ll see where it goes from there.
I’m sure ya do know (father son or HG?). Not here to ruffle or scuffle Justin, just having some good ol fun. It has been a long cold winter full of darkness, ya know. As for that drink, I know it will happen and for you, how bout two drinks to my one. I would want to cum not piss, you know. This conversation reminds me of a friend of mine who set his shotgun down while hunting once and it accidentally fell covering his groin in buckshot. He went to his doctor who treated him and then told him, “I got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you have not suffered any internal damage, the bad news is that I had to remove some buckshot from your penis and now you are left with a couple holes in it.” The doctor told the man he could no longer treat him, but he would refer him to his sister. The man asked if his sister is a plastic surgeon. The doctor said, “no she isn’t, but she plays flute with the local orchestra and she could help you from pissing in your eye.”
“Justin’s list of life changing records would not reach 15“
Justin responds “It wouldn’t reach 1.”
I would be interested in knowing what constitutes “life changing” for you. Hernea? Armageddon? Babel crumbling? Flesh becoming intelligent? What?
I would be interested in knowing what constitutes “life changing” for you. Hernea? Armageddon? Babel crumbling? Flesh becoming intelligent? What?
We’ve been down this road before, but to summarize: You change your life, the music doesn’t. If you decide to make your life different, it’s because you wanted to, based on whatever information and opportunities you have. I don’t understand why it makes sense to attribute that to music any more than your furniture.
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/2008/02/music-cant-change-world-says-neil.html
Somewhat on topic link there.
You cannot separate yourself from your experiences.
Is it lonely in your head, justin?
Neil is mistaken in thinking that there was ever a time that music could change the world. You would think that he could come to the realization that his belief that music could change the world was a function of his youthful naivete, but apparently his ego won’t let him do that.
Is it lonely in your head, justin?
I have no idea what that means.
I do.
For the record, I will say that Pink Floyd’s THE WALL did actually change my life.
I was first 6 I think, when I heard it, and it blew my mind. Until that moment, I had never been pulled aside by anyone and had music presented to me in a way that made me focus on the music itself, where it wasn’t just “background music”.
My uncle turned the lights off and said listen to this. He had a new stereo.
It was “Hey You”. Followed by children singing with empowerment in “We Don’t Need No Education”…
Years later, after moving to the States, my household had a handful of albums.. AND THANK GOD FOR THE WALL.
I listened to it alone over and over again between 8 and 14.
The Thin Ice was powerful.
The Trial and the Judge’s performance in that song spoke to me and still does.
Did I have free will to direct the course of my own life and was I really just inspired by this music instead of it CHANGING ME?
yes. But having it DID CHANGE ME, because without it, I KNOW FOR A FACT that I would be different.
I know its a dead point to go on about it at this point, and realize its just semantics and a whole lot of blah blah blah. But that is one example of how a small piece of music changed my life…
The circuitous change argument is really all about semantics. Obviously no one here is arguing that a piece of music shot us, or raped us, or brought about a sort of unimpeded tangible change that comes from without. By the same token, it isn’t unreasonable to claim that a piece of music provides inspiration to people, and that in effect is an instrument for change in one’s life. We are not the masters of every bit of change that happens in our lives. More importantly, I think that you, Justin, are being contrarian by claiming what you are claiming knowing full well that language can take poetic license when we are trying to convey meaning. It must be lonely in your head if you are going to be so insistent about this. Is there a reason this concept is so wrong to you? Is saying that music changed your life the same as saying this sandwich fucked me in the ass? Is it equally ridiculous to you and why?
Lay it on me.
I agree that claiming our lives forever changed by an album or a song to be a little over the top, but as an idea I think it works just fine.
By the same token, it isn’t unreasonable to claim that a piece of music provides inspiration to people, and that in effect is an instrument for change in one’s life.
I’m not saying that it’s unreasonable to claim that music inspires you. It may prompt you to have thoughts or emotions, but those things are yours and didn’t come from the music. Music doesn’t have an inherent power to communicate anything. You could argue that lyrics can communicate an idea, but more often than not, lyrics are just words that sound good together and any meaning you derive from them is accidental. Still, it takes you to receive the message and you to act on that. The Columbine kids, for example, were not turned into killing automatons by listening to Marilyn Manson. That was all their own doing.
We are not the masters of every bit of change that happens in our lives.
We don’t always have the options that we want, but we do ultimately make that change ourselves. Nothing does it for us. This bit of the discussion is flirting with free will, which is a much larger discussion, so I’m just going to leave it there.
More importantly, I think that you, Justin, are being contrarian
Always a safe bet with me.
by claiming what you are claiming knowing full well that language can take poetic license when we are trying to convey meaning.
I get that maybe you don’t actually mean that music changed your life, but I’m not sure that everybody who uses that phrase is being so figurative. I think some are actually arguing that music did change their lives, which is ridiculous. Just substitute “Jesus” for “music” and see how it sounds then.
It must be lonely in your head if you are going to be so insistent about this.
I still don’t know what this means and I’m not just being deliberately obtuse. I don’t see a connection at all with loneliness and rejecting the idea that music could literally change a life.
Is there a reason this concept is so wrong to you? Is saying that music changed your life the same as saying this sandwich fucked me in the ass? Is it equally ridiculous to you and why?
Again, I’m not arguing against metaphor. I’m simply saying that people are giving music far more power than it really has.
Just to mix up quotations here:
But having it DID CHANGE ME, because without it, I KNOW FOR A FACT that I would be different.
You don’t know this for a fact. There are plenty of people who listen to The Wall and are completely unaffected, so there’s clearly nothing in the music itself. The power that you describe it as having is something that you give to it. There’s nothing built into it that has power over you. And because there’s nothing in the music that has power over you, I’d say it’s a safe bet that if you didn’t find The Wall, you would have found something else that was similarly inspirational. That comes from you, not the music. Own it.
Lay it on me.
You have been laid, mon frere.
Is saying that music changed your life the same as saying this sandwich fucked me in the ass?
John – are you typing with your ass full? Don’t type with your ass full.
Both answers are right. I don’t think Jesus changed George Bush and I don’t think Molly Hatchet saved anybody’s soul.
Yes if the Wall meant something to UnS, then she can own that (I made my mom pull to the side of the road at the corner of W. Alabama and S. Shepherd so I could run in and buy the Another Brick in the Wall single, but I don’t think it ultimately changed me…maybe if I had bought the album).
But I do think that music can literally change you. My ears tell me so. Or rather my lack of hearing. Huh?
And that guy who lost his memory and can’t remember anything for more than five seconds but he still remembers how to play all the piano tunes he learned before he…I forgot what I was talking about so I hope you get what I’m after.
Really, music can literally change you. And on more subtle levels than what I just got through typing with a sandwich up my ass. I believe that. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go eat.
Want my sandwich?