This has been long in the making, and long overdue. Since tagged by gracious to write about our five most 'influential' albums, I have been searching my memory for which really stand out, or what I am just currently obsessed with. Thus, this list will be a mix of both. But mostly, what I have listed are linked to me for sentimental reasons. Here it goes.
My Love for the Sound of Music has recently been revived. By exposing Lindsay to the greatness that was my childhood, I have gained a better understanding of how this musical has shaped my life. And not in a cheesy "Climb Every Mountain' sort of way. I grew up watching, dancing and singing to the songs alongside Julie Andrews and the Vontrapp children, so much so that it became part of my identity. Oh, how I longed to be Leisel, Sixteen going on Seventeen (though my understanding of that song has shifted thanks to an education in feminist literature). And to yodel while effortlessly controlling goat-marionettes. Now when I listen, I'm drawn to the sincere voice of Christopher Plumber getting choked up while singing Edelweiss to a room full of Nazis. To Leisel realizing through song that maybe Sixteen is just too young for love. Either way, it's the music I have loved for so long, and I can't see myself getting sick of it too soon.
The next two are much different from the sounds of the Vontrapps, but seem to have found a place in my list. Both remind me of a time in high school, and while some may have been experimenting and rebelling with more rock or punk sounds, here I was. Metric was about as 'alternative' as I got. I can remember 'Live it Out' being played on repeat while getting ready for ballet in the morning, or perfecting my Emily Haines head-shake while singing Monster Hospital in the backseat of a friends car. Maybe not the most mind blowing of records, but for some reason I always seem to remember it in the background.
At the same time Feist was introduced to me by way of my good friend Andrew. He picked it up while music shopping, thinking the girl on the cover resembled me. Thus started my love affair with the woman I would come to know as Leslie Feist. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but it is only fitting considering how we first listened to her. In drama class, with a supply teacher sitting in plain view, we snuck behind the black curtains, and lay down, each sharing a headphone. What we heard we immediately loved, and I haven't stopped loving since.
Though I can remember listening to Camera Obscura in high school, my favorite album of theirs wasn't discovered by me until my first year of University. 'Lets Get Out of this Country' served me well through many heartbroken bus rides home, as well as those occasional lonely nights spent in residence. Every song seemed to come at the right time, and while provoking emotion from me at time, there seemed to be a soothing quality about each song that as I was sobbing, I could also think 'It's okay, Tracyanne Campbell has been there too'.
The final addition to the list is a recent favorite, but reminds me so much of driving with my parents as a child. Rekindling my love of country classics with a modern charm, She&Him have been working their way in and out of my play list for over a year, and I can't seem to quit them. The innocence of Zooey Deschanel mixed with M. Ward has not only created an irresistibly charmed collection of songs, but has inspired me to bust out my cowboy boots and 50s dresses for the first time since I was a little girl.
While it might not be the most inspiring, or credible list, these are my favs and I simply ask you take me for what I am. For something guaranteed to be more interesting I challenge Sing City Chronicles as well as J. Broderick.
2 comments:
Five is a ridiculously low number.
where's are lindsay's five? and i won't judge your five too much
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