My Five Faves: Part 3 in a 10 part series

Today's list rates the top five best albums of all time. In my opinion anyway. I'd love to know your thoughts . . . .please leave a comment!
Amanda has Johnny Depp, and I have Allison Krauss. That's just the way it is. Amanda bought this album when we were first dating and I was visiting her family up in Maine during the winter of 2000-2001 (which, if you remember, was one hell of a snowy winter). While up in Maine for a long weekend, I would go to the chiropractor by myself, and I'd listen to this album as I drove through a beautiful Mt. Vernon/Readfield/Winthrop snowy landscape. When I hear this album, I think of Amanda and I's first winter, and it brings back great memories. Not to mention that the album itself is a perfect mixture of alternating "beautiful ballads" sung by Allison, and "wanky yanky" bluegrass performed by Union Station. A real listening treat. I should note, however, that Allison Krauss is BLUEGRASS, not country. Because I dont listen to country. I listen to music. Country sucks. Except Johnny Cash.
This album completely took everything I thought I knew about songwriting and lyricism . . .and hacked it to death with a pitchfork. Adam Duritz is perhaps, still, one of the best songwriters alive, in my opinion, for the way in which he abandons such cliché forms of the craft and writes lyrics full of rigity, unrhymedness, and bitter honesty—but somehow they fall like beautiful little Tetris pieces to form the shape of what a real song should be. He was a huge influence in my own songwriting, for he forced me to examine everything I thought I did that was “original.” Every one of the songs on this album is a gem; they are original and untainted. Listen to it in the rain, or while you are lying on your bed, alone, thinking about the “ones that got away.”
The most unlikely album on this list—I think I got it from one of those “CD Clubs” through Columbia House or something when, if you bought one CD a month, you got 432 CDs free. The funniest part of this whole album is how each song is, apparently enough, about a middle age man going through a divorce. Yet, somehow, they provided an exigence for a 20 year old UNH student (I know nothing about divorce . . .and hope to never have to . . .) but the lyrics are so blatantly sentimental that they appeal to anyone with a soul who has ever experienced loss. Burt is perhaps the most underrated songwriter of our time and, as a piano player, I can attest to the fact that his melodies are anything but ordinary, conventional chord structures. I often ask myself: what the hell was he thinking? Costello, who has a great voice, but never really garnered my interest, swoons beautifully on these romantic ballads

My roommates and I used to turn the dorm lights off, turn the black lights on, and simply lie down and listen to this album. And then we’d make out. No, but seriously, this album allows a complete listening experience. Radiohead really knows how to push boundaries and cross borders, while at the same time not seeming all “Brad Fasset” about it—that is, doing things simply to be unique or different . . . no matter how stupid or crappy you sound or look. What I love about this album is that not only do I "not" have a favorite song, but also I can't really, for the life of me, name the individual songs. Rather, the whole album is woven together seamlessly (pardon the cliche metaphor, but I really can't think of a better way to describe it). My parents used to say what was so appealing about the Beatle's "Sargent Pecker" was how each song "piggybacked" on the other. Such is the case for this album. Sometimes weird, sometimes creepy, sometimes triumphant, this album runs the gamete of emotions.
I would be willing to bet half the folks who read this blog havent even heard of Tom Waits. I swear I'm not trying to go all Fasset on you and just pick out an album for the sake of being different: this is one amazing album, and would probably be number one on my list. Tom Waits has two different types of songs: raspy-bronchitis laden barroom rants, and absolutely beautiful masterpieces. This album is all the masterpieces. Each song on the album is a jazzy, folky love song--with the exception of "Ice Cream Man" (Van Halen later popularized it, but he wrote it). The album was made in 1978--the year I was born--but, upon listening to it, you'd swear it could have been recorded last week. He was a major influence in my own songwriting, and some folks have told me I remind them of him. This album reminds me of my summers working for UNH Upward Bound, where I met some fantastic people who introduced me to the likes of Tom Waits, Wilco, Martin Sexton, and World Cafe. Thanks Randy, if you are reading this. . . .


HONORABLE MENTION:

Spacehog (the Canadian Import only)
High School Crapsical
"Uncle Touchy's mango festival favorites"
Jared Goldsmith "The 77 Sessions"
Rod Stewart-"Dirty Weekend"
Busboy Rebellion-"Urine College"
Busboy Rebellion-"Cheesecake Voyage"
That album that has "Butterfly kisses" on it . . . .

P.S. Today, finally, I can for the first time since the end of November say that our yard is completely snow-free. There was one big bank by our breezeway, but with the warm temps today, it is finally melted. Now if only all the heaving in the yard and driveway would go down! .