Favorite Albums (Vol. 1)

I must have been 25 when old media stopped influencing my music taste. When I say "old media", I am referring to Mtv, VH-1, BET, and most terrestrial radio. Popular music now a days is just too youth-centric. It is impossible to tell one group from the next. A lot of whinny voices. Musicianship is replaced by posing and haircuts. I don’t think anything “classic” has come out of this era. I hate to admit this, but I feel the last important artist of my generation may have been Tupac.

I could bitch and moan all day about how bad popular music is, but I want to attempt to focus on what I believe is the good stuff. Through family, friends, and co-workers, I’m always introduced to new music. These recommendations are all over the map, some classic, some contemporary, some possibly just disposable and for the moment.

Anyways, every week or two, I’m going to attempt to give four album recommendations based on what I am listening to at the moment. I’ll try to keep them short and to the point because honestly, I think most of the stuff I like is sort of polarizing. I linked the videos for my favorite tracks (via YouTube) so you can easily check them out. I guess my taste is fairly diverse.

Cat Power - You Are Free

Before I say anything about this album, I must confess I probably hate like 95% of female rockers. In order to be considered legit, I think most “chick” rockers have to be not just as good, but better than most of their male contemporaries. Because of this, I feel some decide early in their careers to either be super feminine or super tough. These artists are just setting themselves up for failure. That being said, Cat Power is more than legit. It is very unapologetic music. It could care less what you think of it. It is good music if you want to be alone. I like to listen to this album when I am in an anti-social mood. Besides your Ipod, all you need are shades and you are good to go for a stroll through town while dreaming. (fav track - “He War“)

Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

This is what I would call a polarizing album. You will either think it is genius or just screwed up. I think this music is referred to as psychedelic-pop. It is very conceptual, but it makes sense since the band is made up of a group of art students. Think of the bastard child of Duran Duran and Chemical Brothers. Anyways, I have a strange obsession with this album. I like a bunch of tracks on it. It is awesome driving music, just make sure you have a radar detector. (fav track - toss up “Golden Skans” or “Atlantis to Interzone”)

Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection

I probably would have never listened to this had it not been for the movie “Dog Day Afternoon”. Don’t get me wrong, I always liked Elton John, but never knew he had a “classical period“. I am used to his more theatrical stuff from the late 70’s. This album is perfect to listen to before making a big decision in life. It is somewhat contemplative. Very stripped down. Long story short, if I ever have a daughter, I think I am gonna name her Amoreena. (fav track - “Amoreena”).

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool

This is probably my favorite pre-party album. It is smart hip-hop, not simple beats with nonsense being said over it. One thing I respect about Lupe is that he works with all kinds of different producers from different genres. The album is huge (20 tracks?), but very diverse. It has some soul, some trance, even a little rock. I love how Lupe isn’t afraid to use full studio bands to produce his sound. He doesn’t go cheap and just sample tracks and beats. All I can say is that this album could just redeem hip hop if it is given a fair shake. (fav track - “Superstar“)