Is it any wonder?
I know it has been your life long goal to know what I like to listen to.
I am not sure I could rank the cds that I like the best so they are just numbered so that I know how many I am putting. These are the cds that I can listen to over and over again and not want to skip tracks. So here we go...in no particular importance in their order.
1. mewithoutYou: [A--> B] Life
I LOVE this cd. The songs are really complex and they make you think. I can relate to Aaron's lyrics (mostly about depression, sadness and loneliness, and questioning of spirituality) and the band has such raw emotion. There is just this energy that transfers from the cd and I can feel it when I listen to it, no matter where I am. I have seen this band live and it is by far one of the most emotional shows I have ever been too. I would also like to note that there really are no chorus in the songs, but I still feel like I can sing along.
Favorite Tracks: Bullet to Binary, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, Silencer, Gentlemen
2. At the drive-in: Relationship of Command
This band (in past tense, sadly) was one of the first bands that I really got into when I was in middle school. This is one of the first cds that my friend Annabelle gave to me that changed the way I thought about music. It has this raw quality too it, and I like the harder edge, it's "heart-pounding". There is nothing false in this cd, it is just pure emotional rock! No matter what mood I am in I can listen to this cd and I feel inspired.
Favorite Tracks: Pattern Against User, Enfilade, Cosmonaut, One-Armed Scissor
3. Doves: Lost Souls
This cd is just beautiful. It fills the room, and I always feel like I am being surrounded by it, in that comforting sad sort of way an old blanket can make you feel. This is what Britpop (shoegazing) is suppose to sound like. When I listen to it I feel hit by waves of melancholy and sadness, I admit that this cd has brought tears to my eyes. This cd just moves me.
Favorite Tracks: Break Me Gently, Firesuite, Sea Song, Rise
4. Sufjan Stevens: Seven Swans
I don't care that people seem to like Illinois or Greetings from Michigan better. This is my all time favorite Sufjan cd, and for anybody who might know I love love Sufjan. What I love about this cd is the fact that it is much more sparse in arrangement compared to the other 50 State cds (not including Enjoy Your Rabbit which is just completely different). Here there is less focus on the extra instruments and horns and all the other crazy things he can produce. The whole concept of this cd is based on a much more spiritual approach in that way it seems less a concept and more real than anything else he has written. I like the fact that this sounds so much rawer and sounds so simple and sincere. I can relate to his lyrics the most on this cd and that is the reason why I like it best.
Favorite Tracks: A Good Man is Hard to Find, He Woke Me Up Again, We Won't Need Legs to Stand, The Transfiguration
5. Death Cab for Cutie: The Photo Album
Okay, so I had a really really hard time deciding if I could pick a favorite cd of theirs. I love We Have the Facts and We are Voting Yes ( I mean it does have 405 and Title Track) almost equally. But this was and still is a permament staple in my car. I had other Death Cab cds before this one but for some reason this one has just stuck with me in a way that the others have not, even their "best" one Transatlanticism. But this cd starts out with a great song and it ends with a great song, and oh yeah the songs in the middle are great too.
Favorite Tracks: Steadier Footing, Styrofoam Plates, Debates Exposes Doubt, Why'd You Want to Live Here
6. Thursday: Waiting
I had a hard time deciding on this one or Full Collapse which is a solid cd. But I chose this one in the end because in its short 9 tracks it manages to capture almost every emotion that I have experienced in high school and even now to a lesser extent. This cd is much different sounding then anything they have put out since. Even though I do not like their new stuff I can never turn my back on this, Geoff's lyrics cover the sadness and alienation you feel as a teenager in a sincere honest way. The song Porcelain will forever remind me of my friend because of it deals with the confusion and the heartbreakingness of suicide. Loss, sadness, alienation...what is there not to love on this cd?
Favorite Tracks: Porcelain, This Side of Brightness, Dying in New Brunswick, In Transmission
7. Built to Spill: Keep It Like A Secret
I really do enjoy everything in their catalogue including their new cd. I love Perferct From Now On too but I think that this one would still remain my favorite (since we are choosing) of theirs. This cd is inspiring, it is emotional. I am not sure how else to describe it because I am bad at doing that. It's Built to Spill enough said.
Favorite Tracks: Temporary Blind, Center of the Universe, You Were Right, Carry the Zero
8. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
I know it seems cliche to pick this as one of your favorite cds but I like it a lot. But considering I have hm... 21 other Sonic Youth cds to chose from this was very very difficult for me. I do like their new cd Rather Ripped too and Sonic Nurse. It's Sonic Youth, I am not sure how to describe it any better than that.
Favorite Tracks: Candle, Teen Age Riot!, Providence, Total Trash
9. The Smiths: The Smiths
Okay, I love the Smiths no lie, I think I owe almost every song but I am not sure if I could say 'hey this is one is my favorite of the favorites' but I like it a lot it was the start of something great. This cd is exciting each time I listen to it, from its unconventional topics to hearing the voice of Morrissey.
Favorite Tracks: What Difference Does it Make?, This Charming Man, Pretty Girls Make Graves ( I like this band too!), You've Got Everything Now
10. Elliott Smith: Either/Or
Okay, so I have 10 other cds of his to chose from but I still found it pretty easy to say that Either/Or is my favorite. I mean it starts out with Speed Trials...what a great song. Elliott Smith is something that I can listen to and not feel as if he is really gone but I feel intimately close to him.
Favorite Tracks: Between the Bars, Ballard of Big Nothing, Speed Trials
11. The Beatles: Abbey Road
There are a few reasons that I love this cd. First, off I have this on vinyl an original from 1970, and I DO listen to it on a record player still. Second reason I have been there (Abbey Road that is) okay so maybe that was a crap reason, but I guess it is the Beatles and I have seriously over 1 gig on my iPod of just their stuff and I have find it hard to choose (surprise, surprise) but I do love this cd for its strong compositions, and its harmonies but still being experimental. George Harrison being a strong songwriter, even producing a hit with Something.
Favorite Songs: Come Together, Oh, Darling, Here Comes the Sun, You Never Gave Me Your Money
12. Oasis: What's the Story Morning Glory
Okay, since we are talking about British artist, I dig this cd...though I really like Be Here Now and Definitely Maybe almost as much. How can you not admire the pure Britpop found on this cd? This cd is not about being original or inventive really it is just about wanting to be a rock star and making your dreams come true. Sometimes I do find myself being okay with how base this songs really are, and how they are really not about anything and just enjoy the music. I mean part of music is just being able to listen, kick back and drift away.
Favorite Tracks: Cast No Shadow, Don't Look Back in Anger, Roll With It, Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova
13. Pinback: Summer in Abaddon
While, Blue Screen Life is an awesome cd I think in considering overall listenability (is that a word?) I would chose Summer in Abaddon. This is a cd that rocks without actually rocking. It is reserved but in a delicate way you could say. There is a focus on arrangement and instrumentation that is put ahead of writing instant catchy songs. This is a cd that has to grow on you. It might not seem that great or that interesting but after a couple of listens I was hooked and now I think it is their best cd to date and a great cd in general.
Favorite Tracks: Non-Photo Blue, Sender, This Red Book, AFK
14. Pedro the Lion: It's Hard to Find a Friend
I used to really been into Pedro the Lion, I am not so as much anymore but this cd is so great that I have to include it anyways. The lyrics have always been the best part about Pedro because of their honesty, their poetry that might not be expected. The music is pretty bare and sparse. And another reason this cd is great is because credit for composing is given to Juan the Owl what other reason do you need to love this now?
Favorite Songs: Suspect Fled the Scene, The Longer I Lay Here, The Bells
15. Nirvana: In Utero
The second cd that my friend Annabelle gave me was Nevermind, while that was and still is a great cd this cd is by far the best if I had to chose. This cd is haunting, sad and alienating. Enough said.
Favorite Tracks: Heart Shaped Box, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologizes, Rape Me
16. Fugazi: 13 Songs
Did I even need to explain? I mean come on it's freaking Fugazi!. This was a landmark and it still is.
Favorite Songs: Suggestion, Promise, Burning, Give Me A Cure
17. Jimmy Eat World: Clarity
I can not believe I almost forgot good old JEW! Okay, this cd is what emotional music is about without being trite. This reminds me of summer nights, and fireflies and driving around in the dark. The songwriting is solid, there is enough unique instrumentation and production to keep it from being generic. This is solid through and through even with the 16 minute last song, which I have listened to all the way the through.
Favorite Tracks: Your New Aesthetic, Believe In What You Want, Blister, Clarity, Goodbye Sky Harbor
18. A.F.I. ( A Fire Inside): Black Sails in the Sunset
I used to be really into "hardcore" or music that was not well Pedro the Lion, but I love this cd still to this day. This is by far the best AFI cd that has ever been made. This cd just rocks and if I ever feel like I am sick of listening to music that lacks punch I can put this in. This was pre-Sing the Sorrow days back when AFI had a bit more of the punk that they used to be in them.
Favorite Tracks: God Called In Sick Today, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda, Narrative of Soul Against Soul, Weathered Tome
19. Saves the Day: Through Being Cool
This cd was the soundtrack of my younger years in high school and even in late middle school. There is no better feeling than when I play this very loudly in my car, roll down the windows and just drive around in the country. This to me is what it feels like to be a teenager. Conley's lyrics are sappy and sentimental at times but I was that way, I am sure that part of me still is. This is emo before it came to be what it is called today (disgust on face).
Favorite Tracks: Rocks Tonic Juice Magic, Third Engine, Through Being Cool, You Vandal
20. Further Seems Forever: The Moon Is Down
This is such a great cd in the terms of emo. Though there is a lack of clear chorus you still feel as if there is one that you can sing along to. This was before Chris became Dashboard Confessional, and it is a strong record that does not seem that it will be that way but grows on you and sneaks up and grabs you. There is a deep emotional wave on this cd even if it is an undertow.
Favorite Tracks: Snowbirds and Townies, The Moon Is Down, The Bradley, A New Desert Life
And so concludes my favorite cds thus far in my life. It should be noted that I do enjoy Belle and Sebastian, the New Pornographers, Neutral Milk Hotel, Rogue Wave, Metric, Of Montreal, and others a great deal also. But I am too tired right now to continue this list. Maybe I will later.
I am not sure I could rank the cds that I like the best so they are just numbered so that I know how many I am putting. These are the cds that I can listen to over and over again and not want to skip tracks. So here we go...in no particular importance in their order.
1. mewithoutYou: [A--> B] Life
I LOVE this cd. The songs are really complex and they make you think. I can relate to Aaron's lyrics (mostly about depression, sadness and loneliness, and questioning of spirituality) and the band has such raw emotion. There is just this energy that transfers from the cd and I can feel it when I listen to it, no matter where I am. I have seen this band live and it is by far one of the most emotional shows I have ever been too. I would also like to note that there really are no chorus in the songs, but I still feel like I can sing along.
Favorite Tracks: Bullet to Binary, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, Silencer, Gentlemen
2. At the drive-in: Relationship of Command
This band (in past tense, sadly) was one of the first bands that I really got into when I was in middle school. This is one of the first cds that my friend Annabelle gave to me that changed the way I thought about music. It has this raw quality too it, and I like the harder edge, it's "heart-pounding". There is nothing false in this cd, it is just pure emotional rock! No matter what mood I am in I can listen to this cd and I feel inspired.
Favorite Tracks: Pattern Against User, Enfilade, Cosmonaut, One-Armed Scissor
3. Doves: Lost Souls
This cd is just beautiful. It fills the room, and I always feel like I am being surrounded by it, in that comforting sad sort of way an old blanket can make you feel. This is what Britpop (shoegazing) is suppose to sound like. When I listen to it I feel hit by waves of melancholy and sadness, I admit that this cd has brought tears to my eyes. This cd just moves me.
Favorite Tracks: Break Me Gently, Firesuite, Sea Song, Rise
4. Sufjan Stevens: Seven Swans
I don't care that people seem to like Illinois or Greetings from Michigan better. This is my all time favorite Sufjan cd, and for anybody who might know I love love Sufjan. What I love about this cd is the fact that it is much more sparse in arrangement compared to the other 50 State cds (not including Enjoy Your Rabbit which is just completely different). Here there is less focus on the extra instruments and horns and all the other crazy things he can produce. The whole concept of this cd is based on a much more spiritual approach in that way it seems less a concept and more real than anything else he has written. I like the fact that this sounds so much rawer and sounds so simple and sincere. I can relate to his lyrics the most on this cd and that is the reason why I like it best.
Favorite Tracks: A Good Man is Hard to Find, He Woke Me Up Again, We Won't Need Legs to Stand, The Transfiguration
5. Death Cab for Cutie: The Photo Album
Okay, so I had a really really hard time deciding if I could pick a favorite cd of theirs. I love We Have the Facts and We are Voting Yes ( I mean it does have 405 and Title Track) almost equally. But this was and still is a permament staple in my car. I had other Death Cab cds before this one but for some reason this one has just stuck with me in a way that the others have not, even their "best" one Transatlanticism. But this cd starts out with a great song and it ends with a great song, and oh yeah the songs in the middle are great too.
Favorite Tracks: Steadier Footing, Styrofoam Plates, Debates Exposes Doubt, Why'd You Want to Live Here
6. Thursday: Waiting
I had a hard time deciding on this one or Full Collapse which is a solid cd. But I chose this one in the end because in its short 9 tracks it manages to capture almost every emotion that I have experienced in high school and even now to a lesser extent. This cd is much different sounding then anything they have put out since. Even though I do not like their new stuff I can never turn my back on this, Geoff's lyrics cover the sadness and alienation you feel as a teenager in a sincere honest way. The song Porcelain will forever remind me of my friend because of it deals with the confusion and the heartbreakingness of suicide. Loss, sadness, alienation...what is there not to love on this cd?
Favorite Tracks: Porcelain, This Side of Brightness, Dying in New Brunswick, In Transmission
7. Built to Spill: Keep It Like A Secret
I really do enjoy everything in their catalogue including their new cd. I love Perferct From Now On too but I think that this one would still remain my favorite (since we are choosing) of theirs. This cd is inspiring, it is emotional. I am not sure how else to describe it because I am bad at doing that. It's Built to Spill enough said.
Favorite Tracks: Temporary Blind, Center of the Universe, You Were Right, Carry the Zero
8. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
I know it seems cliche to pick this as one of your favorite cds but I like it a lot. But considering I have hm... 21 other Sonic Youth cds to chose from this was very very difficult for me. I do like their new cd Rather Ripped too and Sonic Nurse. It's Sonic Youth, I am not sure how to describe it any better than that.
Favorite Tracks: Candle, Teen Age Riot!, Providence, Total Trash
9. The Smiths: The Smiths
Okay, I love the Smiths no lie, I think I owe almost every song but I am not sure if I could say 'hey this is one is my favorite of the favorites' but I like it a lot it was the start of something great. This cd is exciting each time I listen to it, from its unconventional topics to hearing the voice of Morrissey.
Favorite Tracks: What Difference Does it Make?, This Charming Man, Pretty Girls Make Graves ( I like this band too!), You've Got Everything Now
10. Elliott Smith: Either/Or
Okay, so I have 10 other cds of his to chose from but I still found it pretty easy to say that Either/Or is my favorite. I mean it starts out with Speed Trials...what a great song. Elliott Smith is something that I can listen to and not feel as if he is really gone but I feel intimately close to him.
Favorite Tracks: Between the Bars, Ballard of Big Nothing, Speed Trials
11. The Beatles: Abbey Road
There are a few reasons that I love this cd. First, off I have this on vinyl an original from 1970, and I DO listen to it on a record player still. Second reason I have been there (Abbey Road that is) okay so maybe that was a crap reason, but I guess it is the Beatles and I have seriously over 1 gig on my iPod of just their stuff and I have find it hard to choose (surprise, surprise) but I do love this cd for its strong compositions, and its harmonies but still being experimental. George Harrison being a strong songwriter, even producing a hit with Something.
Favorite Songs: Come Together, Oh, Darling, Here Comes the Sun, You Never Gave Me Your Money
12. Oasis: What's the Story Morning Glory
Okay, since we are talking about British artist, I dig this cd...though I really like Be Here Now and Definitely Maybe almost as much. How can you not admire the pure Britpop found on this cd? This cd is not about being original or inventive really it is just about wanting to be a rock star and making your dreams come true. Sometimes I do find myself being okay with how base this songs really are, and how they are really not about anything and just enjoy the music. I mean part of music is just being able to listen, kick back and drift away.
Favorite Tracks: Cast No Shadow, Don't Look Back in Anger, Roll With It, Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova
13. Pinback: Summer in Abaddon
While, Blue Screen Life is an awesome cd I think in considering overall listenability (is that a word?) I would chose Summer in Abaddon. This is a cd that rocks without actually rocking. It is reserved but in a delicate way you could say. There is a focus on arrangement and instrumentation that is put ahead of writing instant catchy songs. This is a cd that has to grow on you. It might not seem that great or that interesting but after a couple of listens I was hooked and now I think it is their best cd to date and a great cd in general.
Favorite Tracks: Non-Photo Blue, Sender, This Red Book, AFK
14. Pedro the Lion: It's Hard to Find a Friend
I used to really been into Pedro the Lion, I am not so as much anymore but this cd is so great that I have to include it anyways. The lyrics have always been the best part about Pedro because of their honesty, their poetry that might not be expected. The music is pretty bare and sparse. And another reason this cd is great is because credit for composing is given to Juan the Owl what other reason do you need to love this now?
Favorite Songs: Suspect Fled the Scene, The Longer I Lay Here, The Bells
15. Nirvana: In Utero
The second cd that my friend Annabelle gave me was Nevermind, while that was and still is a great cd this cd is by far the best if I had to chose. This cd is haunting, sad and alienating. Enough said.
Favorite Tracks: Heart Shaped Box, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologizes, Rape Me
16. Fugazi: 13 Songs
Did I even need to explain? I mean come on it's freaking Fugazi!. This was a landmark and it still is.
Favorite Songs: Suggestion, Promise, Burning, Give Me A Cure
17. Jimmy Eat World: Clarity
I can not believe I almost forgot good old JEW! Okay, this cd is what emotional music is about without being trite. This reminds me of summer nights, and fireflies and driving around in the dark. The songwriting is solid, there is enough unique instrumentation and production to keep it from being generic. This is solid through and through even with the 16 minute last song, which I have listened to all the way the through.
Favorite Tracks: Your New Aesthetic, Believe In What You Want, Blister, Clarity, Goodbye Sky Harbor
18. A.F.I. ( A Fire Inside): Black Sails in the Sunset
I used to be really into "hardcore" or music that was not well Pedro the Lion, but I love this cd still to this day. This is by far the best AFI cd that has ever been made. This cd just rocks and if I ever feel like I am sick of listening to music that lacks punch I can put this in. This was pre-Sing the Sorrow days back when AFI had a bit more of the punk that they used to be in them.
Favorite Tracks: God Called In Sick Today, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda, Narrative of Soul Against Soul, Weathered Tome
19. Saves the Day: Through Being Cool
This cd was the soundtrack of my younger years in high school and even in late middle school. There is no better feeling than when I play this very loudly in my car, roll down the windows and just drive around in the country. This to me is what it feels like to be a teenager. Conley's lyrics are sappy and sentimental at times but I was that way, I am sure that part of me still is. This is emo before it came to be what it is called today (disgust on face).
Favorite Tracks: Rocks Tonic Juice Magic, Third Engine, Through Being Cool, You Vandal
20. Further Seems Forever: The Moon Is Down
This is such a great cd in the terms of emo. Though there is a lack of clear chorus you still feel as if there is one that you can sing along to. This was before Chris became Dashboard Confessional, and it is a strong record that does not seem that it will be that way but grows on you and sneaks up and grabs you. There is a deep emotional wave on this cd even if it is an undertow.
Favorite Tracks: Snowbirds and Townies, The Moon Is Down, The Bradley, A New Desert Life
And so concludes my favorite cds thus far in my life. It should be noted that I do enjoy Belle and Sebastian, the New Pornographers, Neutral Milk Hotel, Rogue Wave, Metric, Of Montreal, and others a great deal also. But I am too tired right now to continue this list. Maybe I will later.