Terrible Analogies

I’m convinced that we’re currently living though the age of the Short Attention Span generation.  As I look at the world around me I find it being strangled by guerilla marketing, movies and television shows with spastic quick-cut editing, text and instant messaging, leetspeak, high sugar diets, channel surfing, an overabundance of video games, a lack of books, and fools of every persuasion demanding instant gratification with whatever is being hawked towards their targeted age group.

And don’t think that music has escaped unscathed.  With music being reduced to three minute pop songs and showcased in television commercials, consumers can purchase the one or two songs they heard on the radio though a variety of online services without ever having to set foot in an honest-to-God record store.  I fear the appreciation of the album as a whole has fallen by the wayside.  Few and far between are the audiophiles who actually take the time to listen though entire albums from beginning to end, soaking in the vibe and really getting into the music and appreciating the collected work in toto.

I was recently asked what albums I would consider worthy of taking an hour out of my day to absorb or load into my iPod and listen to from first chord to last bass line.  I’ll have to admit that I was a bit excited to take the opportunity to trawl through my collection and cherry pick some albums that deserve your uninterrupted attention.  Forgive me if this list seems a bit lengthy.  It can’t be helped.  I did manage to trim away several dozen albums in the interest of saving a bit here and a byte there.

Here’s hoping that you’ll pick up a few of these albums, plug in your handy studio headphones (might I suggest the Sony MDR-7506 model?), disengage the shuffle feature, and press ‘play‘…

Athlete: Vehicles & Animals
Avett Brothers: Emotionalism
Bad Manners: Return Of The Ugly
Bauhaus: Mask
Beastie Boys: Paul’s Boutique
The Beatles: Remastered Box Set
Ben Folds Five: Whatever & Ever Amen
The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker
Black Sabbath: Paranoid
Blockhead: Music By Cavelight
Bob Marley & The Wailers: Legend
T-Bone Burnett: The Criminal Under My Own Hat
The Charlatans UK: Between 10th & 11th
The Clash: London Calling
Concrete Blonde: Bloodletting
Counting Crowes: August & Everything After
Cracker: Kerosene Hat
The Cramps: Bad Music For Bad People
Daft Punk: Discovery
The Dandy Warhols: Thirteen Tales Of Urban Bohemia
Dave Matthews Band: Under The Table And Dreaming
David Bowie: Low / Hunky Dory / Ziggy Stardust
De La Soul: 3 Feet High And Rising
Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
Death Cab For Cutie: Plans
The Decemberists: Picaresque
Depeche Mode: Exciter
Depeche Mode: Violator
Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms
Disturbed: Sickness
DJ Cam: Loa Project (Volume II)
DJ Shadow: Endtroducing
The Doors: Morrison Hotel
Dub_Fx: Everythinks A Ripple
The Dust Brothers: Fight Club Soundtrack
Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo & The Bunnymen
Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians: Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars
Eels: Shootenanny!
Elvis Costello: Mighty Like A Rose
Elvis Costello: When I Was Cruel
Elvis Costello: Blood & Chocolate
Faith No More: This Is It (best of)
Fatboy Slim: You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby
Fishbone: Truth And Soul
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Frank Zappa: Freak Out!
Front 242: Front By Front
Front Line Assembly: Tactical Neural Implant
Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience
Gorillaz: Gorillaz
Grateful Dead: American Beauty
Grateful Dead: Blues For Allah
Grateful Dead: Workingman’s Dead
Green Day: American Idiot
Guns N’ Roses: Appetite For Destruction
Hoodoo Gurus: Blow Your Cool!
Ice-T: Power
Inspiral Carpets: Revenge Of The Goldfish
INXS: Kick
Jack Johnson: In Between Dreams
Jane’s Addiction: Live And Rare
Jesus Jones: Doubt
Kasabian: Kasabian
Kraftwerk: Electric Cafe
Kraftwerk: Computer World
Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV
The Lemonheads: It’s A Shame About Ray
Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man
Live: Mental Jewelry
LL Cool J: Radio
Love Spit Love: Trysome Eatone
Lucy’s Fur Coat: How To Survive An Air Crash
Marilyn Manson: Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson: Portrait Of An American Family
Mel Torme: Smooth As Velvet
Men At Work: Business As Usual
Metallica: Black Album
Michael Penn: Free For All
Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue
Ministry: A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste
Moby: Play
Morphine: Cure For Pain
The Nails: Dangerous Dreams
Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral
Nirvana: Nevermind
Nirvana: MTV Unplugged In New York
Nitzer Ebb: Showtime
Oingo Boingo: Dark At The End Of The Tunnel
Ok Go: Ok Go
Operation Ivy: Energy
The Orb: the Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
Paul Simon: Graceland
Pearl Jam: Ten
Pet Shop Boys: Discography
Peter Murphy: Holy Smoke
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
Pixies: Doolittle
Poi Dog Pondering: Volo Volo
Pop Will Eat Itself: Cure For Sanity
Portishead: Dummy
The Postal Service: Give Up
Primus: Sailing The Seas Of Cheese
Prodigy: The Fat Of The Land
The Psychedelic Furs: Mirror Moves
The Pursuit Of Happiness: One-Sided Story
R.E.M.: Green
R.E.M.: Monster
Radiohead: The Bends
Radiohead: OK Computer
Rage Against The Machine: Rage Against The Machine
Rancid: Let’s Go!
Recoil: Liquid
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magic
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication
The Replacements: Pleased To Meet Me
Revolting Cocks: Beers, Steers, & Queers
Right Said Fred: Up
Rogue Wave: Asleep At Heaven’s Gate
School Of Fish: School Of Fish
Seu Jorge: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks
Shakespear’s Sister: Hormonally Yours
She & Him: Volume One
Shillglen: Sometimes I Feel
The Shins: Oh, Inverted World
Sister Machine Gun: Burn
The Sisters Of Mercy: Floodland
Skinny Puppy: 12 Inch Anthology
Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream
The Smithereens: Blown To Smithereens
Sonic Youth: Goo
Soul II Soul: Club Classics Vol. One
The Specials: The Specials
Spin Doctors: Pocket Full Of Kryptonite
State Radio: Us Against The Crown
Steely Dan: A Decade Of Steely Dan
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood
Stone Temple Pilots: Tiny Music
The Stranglers: Dreamtime
Sublime (any and all albums)
System Of A Down: Steal This Album!
Talking Heads: Remain In Light
Teddybears: Soft Machine
Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque
They Might Be Giants: Floodland
They Might Be Giants: Apollo 18
Thievery Corporation: The Cosmic Game
Toad The Wet Sprocket: Fear
Tom Waits: Mule Variations
Tones On Tail: Tones On Tail (original pressing)
Tool: Undertow
Tool: Aenima
Tweaker: 2 a.m. Wakeup Call
Until The End Of The World (soundtrack)
Velvet Revolver: Contraband
Violent Femmes: Violent Femmes
Wax Tailor: Tales Of The Forgotten Melodies
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
The White Stripes: De Stijl
The Whitest Boy Alive: Dreams
The Who: Quadrophenia
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wolfgang Press: Queer
World Party: Private Revolution
World Party: Goodbye Jumbo
Yello: Stella
Yello: You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess
808 State: Ex El

What would you consider a “must listen to” album?