Music is an incredibly important aspect of my life. If you asked anyone I worked with or who sees me on campus, they'll tell you they see me with headphones on listening to music more often than not. While I have never been hugely interested in art, music has always struck me differently for many reasons.
First, its something that we can appreciate differently at all ages of my life. You can find multiple home videos of 4 year old me headbanging to AC/DC with my dad. Over 15 years later the way I consume music is different, but equally special. I also appreciate music's ability to spread the artist's message in a succint ye powerful manner. You could argue that Nas delivered more storytelling in 40 minutes on Illmatic than many novelists do in 100s of pages. More recently I have gained respect for musicians that explore the entire emotional spectrum. From the disgusting and horrific approaches to ambience from the likes of Xiu Xiu and Yves Tumor, to the joyous delivery of sadness in the Beach Boys' Pet sounds, an artist has the freedom to elicit any feeling possible. Finally, it would be wrong to omit the cultural influence of music. When gang violence in the 80s tore apart New York, causing city-wide vandalism, fires, and destruction, the emergence of Hip-Hop brought together diverse cultures in a modern artisitic renaissance (see The Message, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five). Still today, we feel the reveberations of different music genres as they continue to shape society as much as society shapes them.
Overall, my relationship to music reflects the integration of art into my life. For a long time, I did not really care much for art in any form, at least in a critical sense. Now, I acknowledge and appreciate that art makes my life better. My work is important to me, but it is equally important to have other reasons to love life.
Rather than going on about why I music is my favourite art-form, I'll present my favourite 10 albums. If you want to tear apart my rankings, feel free to do so! I encourage discussion and debate about music as it helps me widen my point of view and become a better critic. I will also leave some thoughts about my top 3 albums and what they meant to me as an appreciator of music, and as a person in general. Afterwards, I also show some of my favourite album covers of all time for fun. Click on any of the album covers to learn more about them.
10. The Clash - London Calling
9. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
8. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
7. The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses
6. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang
5. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
4. Eric B. and Rakim - Paid in Full
3. Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish
Blur is probably my favourite rockband of all time. Emerging as a frontrunner in the 90s Britpop movement, Blur tackled problems associated with lower-class suburban life in England with fun, undeniably catchy pop-rock songs. On Modern Life is Rubbish, they accomplish this goal perfectly. Each song tells you a different story about living the monotonous life of the working class, destined to live out the same routine endlessly just to get by. After numerous listens due to the crisp chord progressions, catchy lyrics from lead Damon Alburne, and fantastic songwriting, I began to focus on this message of monotony. Blur always put a fun spin on problems we all face, and they made me realize that the issues discussed in music don't have to be dire or immediate. Sometimes, the biggest problems don't seem like problems at all. They make us as listeners question our willingness to be parts of the endless loop of a capitalistic existence, only living to wake up, work, sleep, and repeat. Blur encourages us to understand that modern life can be rubbish at times, and its up to us to stray from this path to find meaning.
First, its something that we can appreciate differently at all ages of my life. You can find multiple home videos of 4 year old me headbanging to AC/DC with my dad. Over 15 years later the way I consume music is different, but equally special. I also appreciate music's ability to spread the artist's message in a succint ye powerful manner. You could argue that Nas delivered more storytelling in 40 minutes on Illmatic than many novelists do in 100s of pages. More recently I have gained respect for musicians that explore the entire emotional spectrum. From the disgusting and horrific approaches to ambience from the likes of Xiu Xiu and Yves Tumor, to the joyous delivery of sadness in the Beach Boys' Pet sounds, an artist has the freedom to elicit any feeling possible. Finally, it would be wrong to omit the cultural influence of music. When gang violence in the 80s tore apart New York, causing city-wide vandalism, fires, and destruction, the emergence of Hip-Hop brought together diverse cultures in a modern artisitic renaissance (see The Message, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five). Still today, we feel the reveberations of different music genres as they continue to shape society as much as society shapes them.
Overall, my relationship to music reflects the integration of art into my life. For a long time, I did not really care much for art in any form, at least in a critical sense. Now, I acknowledge and appreciate that art makes my life better. My work is important to me, but it is equally important to have other reasons to love life.
Rather than going on about why I music is my favourite art-form, I'll present my favourite 10 albums. If you want to tear apart my rankings, feel free to do so! I encourage discussion and debate about music as it helps me widen my point of view and become a better critic. I will also leave some thoughts about my top 3 albums and what they meant to me as an appreciator of music, and as a person in general. Afterwards, I also show some of my favourite album covers of all time for fun. Click on any of the album covers to learn more about them.
10. The Clash - London Calling
9. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
8. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
7. The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses
6. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang
5. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
4. Eric B. and Rakim - Paid in Full
3. Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish
Blur is probably my favourite rockband of all time. Emerging as a frontrunner in the 90s Britpop movement, Blur tackled problems associated with lower-class suburban life in England with fun, undeniably catchy pop-rock songs. On Modern Life is Rubbish, they accomplish this goal perfectly. Each song tells you a different story about living the monotonous life of the working class, destined to live out the same routine endlessly just to get by. After numerous listens due to the crisp chord progressions, catchy lyrics from lead Damon Alburne, and fantastic songwriting, I began to focus on this message of monotony. Blur always put a fun spin on problems we all face, and they made me realize that the issues discussed in music don't have to be dire or immediate. Sometimes, the biggest problems don't seem like problems at all. They make us as listeners question our willingness to be parts of the endless loop of a capitalistic existence, only living to wake up, work, sleep, and repeat. Blur encourages us to understand that modern life can be rubbish at times, and its up to us to stray from this path to find meaning.
2. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Imagine conveying emotion better than any of your musical counterparts ever had, without lyrics, and using a trumpet as the focal point of your album. Miles Davis did that and then some on this album. I'm sure jazzheads could talk circles around me about why other jazz albums surpass this one, but I am so deeply in love with this one. Every note seems perfectly placed as Davis serenades us with perfect trumpet solos, track-to-track. Its ambient and romantic at the same time. Everytime I listen to this album I don't know if I want to relax and meditate or start a poker game. That's whats so beautiful about Kind of Blue, there is so much you can get out if despite its apparent simplicity. A simple lesson I took from this album was that sometimes quality is better than quantity. All in all, Davis delivers what I think is some of the best music humans have ever created, and we owe him so much for it.
Imagine conveying emotion better than any of your musical counterparts ever had, without lyrics, and using a trumpet as the focal point of your album. Miles Davis did that and then some on this album. I'm sure jazzheads could talk circles around me about why other jazz albums surpass this one, but I am so deeply in love with this one. Every note seems perfectly placed as Davis serenades us with perfect trumpet solos, track-to-track. Its ambient and romantic at the same time. Everytime I listen to this album I don't know if I want to relax and meditate or start a poker game. That's whats so beautiful about Kind of Blue, there is so much you can get out if despite its apparent simplicity. A simple lesson I took from this album was that sometimes quality is better than quantity. All in all, Davis delivers what I think is some of the best music humans have ever created, and we owe him so much for it.
1. Nas - Illmatic
Nas went from a small-scale street MC to working with some of the most prolific names in Hip-Hop in a matter of months. How? Unique and undeniably powerful lyricism. Back to back to back each bar hits you like a ton of bricks. Nas tells the painful story of growing up in the gang-filled culture of Queensbridge, New York in the early 90s. You get a glimpse from this apartment complex window at african american youth forced into a life of crime, poverty imposed on the neighbourhood by rich politicians, and violence becoming a staple in everyday life. It's incredibly powerful. Not only is his message strong, his delivery is impeccable. Nas is clever, quick, and crisp in nearly every single verse. I still am impressed everytime I hear lyrics like "I don't sleep, 'cus sleep is the cousin of death", illuding to the need to constantly work and maintain vigilant in a dangerous New York just to keep a roof over your head. With legends like Professor and Q-tip hopping on the production for a majority of these tracks, the end result is the magnum opus of Hip-hop. I listened to this album for the first time after high school, and its what changed my attitude towards music from entertainment to art. It showed me music that sounds fantastic can also mean something more, both to the artist and the listener. Additionally, telling others about your experience can be important for your own coping with those experiences, and being vulnerable helps with that. Illmatic still challenges modern artists to reach a similiar level of vulnerability and awareness through storytelling, and the music world should be ever greatful.
Nas went from a small-scale street MC to working with some of the most prolific names in Hip-Hop in a matter of months. How? Unique and undeniably powerful lyricism. Back to back to back each bar hits you like a ton of bricks. Nas tells the painful story of growing up in the gang-filled culture of Queensbridge, New York in the early 90s. You get a glimpse from this apartment complex window at african american youth forced into a life of crime, poverty imposed on the neighbourhood by rich politicians, and violence becoming a staple in everyday life. It's incredibly powerful. Not only is his message strong, his delivery is impeccable. Nas is clever, quick, and crisp in nearly every single verse. I still am impressed everytime I hear lyrics like "I don't sleep, 'cus sleep is the cousin of death", illuding to the need to constantly work and maintain vigilant in a dangerous New York just to keep a roof over your head. With legends like Professor and Q-tip hopping on the production for a majority of these tracks, the end result is the magnum opus of Hip-hop. I listened to this album for the first time after high school, and its what changed my attitude towards music from entertainment to art. It showed me music that sounds fantastic can also mean something more, both to the artist and the listener. Additionally, telling others about your experience can be important for your own coping with those experiences, and being vulnerable helps with that. Illmatic still challenges modern artists to reach a similiar level of vulnerability and awareness through storytelling, and the music world should be ever greatful.