Blue

I think I've already done this, but whatever. In no specific order.....


Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

This album, specifically Shine On, really hit home at a very crucial point in my life. I was going through a lot in a lot of different ways, and though I had been really starting to get into music prior to hearing it, this sealed the deal for me. It completely blew me away; the sound was just unreal. I didn't even know music could sound like that; I didn't know music could be that good. As cliche as it is, it changed my life. I knew what I wanted to pursue in life after hearing this, and somehow, it made more things in life just make sense. I feel like I just found something. I started to play guitar shortly after hearing this, and the first thing I learned was that first solo in Shine On. To be honest, when I first heard it, I was so musically inexperienced that I didn't even know it was a guitar. Now, music is far and away the focus of my life, and I'm really starting to make some headway with a musical career.

Kid A - Radiohead

I really connected with this album too. I loved the overall warm feel of the record; the overall sound was incredible. The really down-tempo ones, like Kid A, Motion Picture Soundtrack and How to Disappear are unquestionably favorites, but I love it from start to finish. Hail to the Thief was actually the first Radiohead record I heard, and instantly loved it because I had never heard music like it in my life (I didn't know music could sound like that), but Kid A to me is what I connected with most. I've almost been in tears listening to some of it. I thought it was just sublime.

( ) - Sigur Rós

The first time I heard this too, it completely blew me away. I had already been exposed to Sigur Ros before, but hearing this sent me to another world. I see the first three tracks on the record as their high-water mark; they make up some of the best 20 minutes or so of music I've ever heard. The warmness, the lushness, the whole feeling of subdued beauty and melancholy completely wrapped me up. That whole mood really defined my life while I was hearing it, and in a way, it still does.

Ambient 1: Music for Airports - Brian Eno

This was my introduction to ambient music, and I loved it. I've since discovered a lot of ambient music I really love, like some really great Harold Budd or Eluvium, but this is probably the most important because it started me off. I've played this going to sleep more times than I can count. It was such an incredible experience. I loved the idea of just providing an atmosphere for your surroundings; it just highlighted everything. I just loved how much space there was; it let me think, and let me discover new things. The overall mood of the record was so beautiful too. It was/is unreal.

Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Hammock

I absolutely love this record, even if just for the two opening tracks. I could walk around on a sunny day listening to Gold Star Mothers or The City in the Dust on my Window for an endless amount of time. I think it's just so incredibly beautiful, and captures what life really is to me at certain times. I really wish there were words to describe it, but when I'm experiencing some incredibly profound and beautiful moments, and life just seems to come together, I think this really reflects that. Also, it puts my mind at ease, and just reminds me that all is ultimately well, and I'm happy, and privileged, to be here. I wish there was a better way to describe it, but either way, I can't get enough; this is always in my rotation.

Grace - Jeff Buckley

What can I say that hasn't already been said? It's a great record. He's an unreal singer, he uses some of the most interesting chord voicings, and overall the mood is incredible. I love it.

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

The first time I heard it, I was still listening to hip-hop, I was incredibly young, and just didn't understand it. The intro to Time honestly freaked me out a bit too. Then, after I really started to get into this kind of music, I went through my small collection of Floyd on my iPod and started to listen to it all non-stop because I realized how incredible it was; it really started to make sense to me. Then I started to sit down with this record as a whole and was continuously blown away. The guitar work by Gilmour on tracks like Time is unreal. The overall mood and atmosphere, with all the voices, the lush instrumentation, all the female back up vocals, the saxophone....all of that made it so sublime, and almost liquid, while still keeping this timeless feel of an old classic that should be played on a record player.

Blue - Joni Mitchell

The first time I heard this record, I had never heard folk music in my life. In fact, I first listened to Little Green and didn't really get it. So I then listened to Blue (the track) on a youtube page and it didn't really hit me. So I read some of the comments, and one person was on about how from the first note, they could feel the depth of the emotion. So, I listened again with a new pair of ears and different frame of mind, and somehow it hit me and made sense. It was so beautiful.The next day I put on the record for the first time on my iPod while I was outside during a beautiful day, and from start to finish, I ****ing loved it. I think I listened to it from start to finish 4 or 5 times over. I loved her voice, I loved the general feel, and I really fell in love with the words, especially in tracks like Blue, Case of You and The Last Time I Saw Richard. It really captured a moment in my life.

That's all I have for now. I think my last couple might involve What's Going On by Marvin, Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel, Censored Colors by Portugal the Man, Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk or What Colour is Love by Terry Callier. I'll post again soon.