I follow Spin Magazine on Instagram because I’m 37 (so I know what Spin magazine is). They do this thing where an artist picks five albums they couldn’t live without, and it made me think about the question. I’m considering studio albums that serve as a powerful and cohesive artistic statement and can be played from start to finish without skipping around.
It’s quite challenging to narrow it down to just five, so I might have to revisit this exercise in the future.
Dinosaur Jr. “Farm”
People who know me are probably sick of me talking about this record, the second one after Dinosaur got back together after over a decade. It’s very heavy, while still being beautifully melodic and moody, and it just has a huge sonic presence (especially for a trio). Dinosaur Jr. purists probably prefer the more DIY punk style of their pre-breakup albums in the 80s, but Farm for me is the formula perfected. I have listened to at least one song from this album every day since I first heard it, and I don’t know that there is any music that I like as much as it. Just the guitar solos alone. There’s a little continuity thing when the solo in “Said the People” reprises the solo from the opening track “Pieces” that I just think is classy.
Medeski, Martin and Wood “End of the World Party (Just In Case)”
I really don’t know a lot about jazz, aside from seeing NYC jazz fusion trio Medeski, Martin and Wood a number of times, sometimes with legendary guitarist John Scofield. It’s one of those things I mean to get into. I can tell you that nothing else you’ve ever heard sounds like this 2004 record, and none of the previous MMW records sound like this one. It has those funky jazz bass, clavinet/hammond grooves, but it also sounds smokey and spacey, like Bristol trip hop. It’s really out there, but not in a way that is inaccessible or too “avant-garde jazz odyssey”. It’s way out in space while being grounded to Earth by its funk. It’s amazing how none of the tracks sound too alike, all while sounding like they belong together on the record (or are from the same planet). Plus, the title is amazing. When I was 19, I used to cruise around in my maroon 1998 Ford Escort with “Shine It” blasting out of my second-generation iPod through one of those awful FM transmitters. It was my funky driving theme song.
The Meters “Rejuvenation”
Top to bottom, pound for pound this is a perfect album, there is no skippable filler. Joyous, funky, dancable new orleans music. Drummer Zigaboo Modeliste and bassist George Porter Jr. might be the tightest in pocket rhythm section in the game. if you dont shake something when you hear this album, you should see an expert because you might be dead. “jungle man” is probably my favorite “strut around town with funk on the headphones” track of all time.
Portishead “Dummy”
Around 2009, I got onto a BitTorrent platform and started hoarding MP3 discographies of every artist I heard was worth a damn to a 1TB hard drive. That’s when I first heard what became one of my favorite albums of all time. I had heard Portishead before, back in the ’90s, and based on its sound, I figured it was another electronic/sampling DJ/producer from England (as was the style at the time). Boy, was I wrong — Portishead is a fucking BAND! This is really depressing English trip-hop music, but it makes rainy English depression sound so incredibly good. It has live drums, turntables, watery vintage Fender Rhodes, amazing guitar tones,violins, and the incredible lyrics and vocals of Beth Gibbons. Every single note is so meticulously crafted and produced. This is a record made for headphones on dark, rainy days.
Jay-Z: Reasonable Doubt
This is not a surprising pick; literally everyone knows that this is a classic. Can you imagine coming into the game with a 5-star instant classic album like this? It’s just stunning, both lyrically and in terms of production. Whenever I need a little swag to do something in life, like job interviews or first dates, this is the album I go to. Jay is a personal hero of mine and one of the smartest artists in the world.
These records never get old, and I loved listening to them today, just to write this. it’s like they get better every time I hear them. I might have to come up with 5 more though.
hey, it’s that thing i always say: you could contribute to all of this writing with a nice black coffee featuring a newport 100. i might even replace the 3$ sunglasses i broke this morning!
