Thursday, August 16, 2007

Favorite Albums A to Z

I enjoyed doing my Abecedarian List so much, I wanted to do some more, under more specific categories of pop culture. We'll start with this list -- my favorite albums, A to Z.

I tried mostly to pick albums I haven't really mentioned before -- or at least, not very much -- on this blog. So no, you don't have to hear again how Who's Next is the greatest anything ever. (Except you just did!) I didn't repeat any artists on the list. And I tried to pick albums I genuinely love, and have listened to over and over again, all the way through. For example, I was thinking of putting the Cure's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me under K. But when I thought about it, I realized that while I think it's brilliant, I don't really listen to it that much, and when I do, I mostly hit the highlights, and skip a lot of songs. So -- it's out!

I had trouble on a couple of letters, neither of which were Q or Z. In fact, Q and Z were surprisingly easy. No, where I got stuck was X, as you might expect, and Y, which you might not. I know I didn't. I'd have thought there'd be a bunch of albums I could pick and choose from under Y, starting with "You" or "Your" or "You're" or "Young" or "Youth" or whatnot. Turns out, not so much. Not among albums I'd honestly consider favorites. Even Yellow Submarine, or Yo! Bum Rush the Show -- I couldn't list them, because I just don't like the whole albums that much.

I had to bend the rules a little. For Y, I went with an album I own on vinyl, by an artist I worship, but truthfully, though it's a very good record, I really don't play it much, or know it very well. And for X, I flat-out cheated. Sorry. (But at least I cheated with a frickin' awesome album.)

Also, I'm never sure if people are aware of this or not, but on almost all the pictures on this blog, there's some alt text you can read if you hover your cursor over the picture. Each album picture below features one of my favorite lyrics from the album in question (except the jazz albums -- I suppose I could've said "toot-tweedly-boo-bop," or something).

And here we go: Frickin' Awesome Albums, A to Z!



Appetite for Destruction
She's got eyes of the bluest skies as if they thought of rain
Guns N' Roses

Blood Sugar Sex Magik
I never worry/Now that is a lie
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Copper Blue
How can I explain away something that I haven't done?
Sugar

Dookie
Do you have the time to listen to me whine/About nothing and everything all at once?
Green Day

Empty Glass
Love can cure your problems/You're so lucky I'm around
Pete Townshend

Fearless
Some you win and some you lose and the winners all grin and the losers say/Deal the cards again
Hoyt Axton

Gordon
But not a real green dress, that's cruel
Barenaked Ladies

Highway To Hell
She had the face of an angel, smiling with sin/The body of Venus with arms
AC/DC

It's a Shame About Ray
Ship without a rudder's like a ship without a rudder's like a ship without a rudder
The Lemonheads

John Henry
But they're like the people chained up in the cave/In the allegory of the people in the cave by the Greek guy
They Might Be Giants

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

A Love Supreme

John Coltrane

Moondance
A fantabulous night to make romance/'Neath the cover of October skies
Van Morrison

Nebraska
Well they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night/Now they blew up his house too
Bruce Springsteen

One by One
Good and bad I swear I've had them both/They're overrated but isn't it fun/When you get hold of one
Foo Fighters

Piano Man
I need you in my house 'cause you're my home
Billy Joel

Quadrophenia
I went back to my mother/I said "I'm crazy ma, help me"/She said "I know how it feels son/'Cause it runs in the family"
The Who

Rum Sodomy & the Lash
I looked at him, he looked at me/All I could do was hate him
The Pogues

Stranger Than Fiction
Life is the crummiest book I ever read/There isn't a hook
Bad Religion

Troublegum
My girlfriend says that I need help/My boyfriend says I'd be better off dead
Therapy?

Utopia Parkway
She drives a lavender Lexus/She lives in Queens but her dad lives in Texas
Fountains of Wayne

Van Halen
I found the simple life ain't so simple
Van Halen

Whatever and Ever Amen
I've got this great idea/Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin fucking Mint?
Ben Folds Five

eXile in Guyville
I want all that stupid old shit like letters and sodas/Letters and sodas
Liz Phair

Young, Neil
He's a perfect stranger/Like a cross of himself and a fox
Neil Young

Zenyatta Mondatta
Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions
The Police



Posting will be spotty over the next few days; my friend Forrest from Austin is coming to town today, and I've also got relatives visiting on Sunday. But don't let that stop you from carrying on Positive Thinking Week for me! Why not try an A to Z list yourself, as Tosy and Cosh and Byzantium Shores have done?

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