First of all, I love music. It’s not just a fancy or a preference or an enjoyment, it is of great importance to me. Rhythm and melody, and if possible, invention, are in my genes. Being a wannabe artist, this is no surprise. I really get into my music. Most people do nothing, or bob their heads, at most. I am very active when I listen to music. Part of the point of music, I feel.
So, someone at work asked me this the other day, and once again I tried to explain the myriad styles and artists I partake of, or at least appreciate. I babbled and failed. Then I had this idea here: put everything in my ipod on this page. (I don’t like this question, or any black-or-white, either/or questions in general: I find them too simplistic. Besides, most people probably don’t have patience to listen to me.)
As opposed to a song or artist of the moment, these lists are mostly unchanging. I sincerely am not ashamed of anything on here, nor am I trying to show off (I just don’t want to answer that question anymore). Keep in mind that something may have emotional value, as opposed to musical. That being said, these lists are most certainly subject to “what was I thinking??”
Recent acquisitions: Mos Def “The Ecstatic”, The Cure “Disintegration”, Outkast “Stankonia”, The Breeders “Mountain Battles”, Sunset Rubdown “Dragonslayer”, Handsome Furs “Face Control”, Iggy and the Stooges “Raw Power”, Big Black “Songs About Fucking”, Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”, Jesse Malin “Glitter in the Gutter”
Artists’ entire LPs I deemed worthy to reside in my library (multiple albums in parentheses, anyone in bold has done at least one thing special): The All-American Rejects , Annie, The Arcade Fire (2), The Avalanches, Badly Drawn Boy, Basement Jaxx, Beastie Boys (2), Beck (3), Björk, Blackalicious, Bloc Party, Blondie, Blur, Boy Least Likely To, Michelle Branch, The Breeders (2), Broken Social Scene (2), Jeff Buckley, Built to Spill (2), Kate Bush, The Buzzcocks, Camera Obscura (2), The Cardigans (2), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Clash (2), D Generation (2), Daft Punk (2), De La Soul (6), The Dead Milkmen (3), The Decemberists (4), Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Descendents, The Distillers, The Ditty Bops, DJ Danger Mouse, Dr. Frank, The Flaming Lips, The Format (2), Nelly Furtado, Garbage (2), Davíd Garza (3), Ghostface Killah (3), Genius/GZA (3), Green Day (5), Handsome Furs (2), The Hold Steady (4), Interpol (2), The Jesus and Mary Chain, Jimmy Eat World, Justice, Lagwagon, Marit Larsen (2), Donna Lewis, LCD Soundsystem (2), Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (3), The Living End (2), M.I.A. (2), M2M (2), The Magnetic Fields (5), The Marvelous 3, Nellie McKay, Method Man, Moby, Money Mark, Mos Def, The Mr. T Experience (6), My Bloody Valentine, Nas, Neutral Milk Hotel, New Order, The New Pornographers (3), New Radicals, Nirvana (2), No Doubt (2), Ol’ Dirty Bastard, The Oranges Band, Outkast (2), Phantom Planet, Liz Phair, Phoenix, Pixies (4), The Police, The Postal Service, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Prince (2), Propellerheads, Public Enemy, Radiohead (2), Raekwon, The Ramones, Rancid (2), Refused, The Replacements, Res, Run DMC, Sarge (3), Save Ferris, Scissor Sisters, Sex Pistols, The Shins (2), Sleater-Kinney, The Smiths, Social Distortion (3), Sonic Youth, The Strokes, Sunset Rubdown (2), Swan Lake, Talib Kweli (2), Tegan and Sara (5), Tenacious D, The Thermals (2), They Might Be Giants, Third Eye Blind (2), TV on the Radio (2), U2 (3), Vitamin C, Ween, Kanye West, Weezer (3), Wheatus, Wolf Parade (2), Wu-tang Clan (3), The 6ths
Artists with only a song or two, that I usually, and unabashedly, don’t skip past: Asobi Seksu, Barenaked Ladies, Belle and Sebastian, Belly, Bif Naked, Billie, Blink-182, Blue October, Bright Eyes, Buffalo Tom, CCR, Cub, The Cure, Dave Matthews Band, Dropkick Murphys, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Everclear, Fefe Dobson, Fenix Tx, The Flys, Fountains of Wayne, Front 242, George Michael, The Go-Go’s, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Imogen Heap, Jack’s Mannequin, James, Jamiroquai, Jason Mraz, Jeanne Moreau, Jill Scott, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, Joan Jett & Paul Westerberg, John Waite, Josie & the Pussycats, Killer Mike, Kylie Minogue, Leevi and the Leavings, Liz Phair, M. Ward, Mates of State, Mazzy Star, Meat Puppets, Mint Royale, Modern English, Oasis, Of Montreal, Operation Ivy, Pansy Division, Peter Salett, Q-Tip, R.E.M., Restless Heart, Robbie Williams, Robyn, The Ronettes, Saves the Day, Self, Silversun Pickups, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, Spooks, Spoon, Stacey Q, Sublime, Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom, Unwritten Law, The Vandals, Yo La Tengo
Soundtracks: Clueless, Donnie Darko, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lilja 4-ever, Lost in Translation, Pulp Fiction, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Rushmore, The Virgin Suicides
P.S. I’m always open to suggestions!
