Crowe

24. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (2007)

This is one of the albums that I associate most with musicbanter - specifically to Crowquill (whatever his name is now) who introduced me to OR (except to the album Black Sheep Boy). I prefer this album and it currently receives constant play and has a representative song on almost all of my playlists from my party playlist to my sleep playlist. This album has really come through for me in some situations and I go to it as sort of a defacto "I dunno what mood I'm in, I guess I'll do The Stage Names". More importantly, I listen to this album enough that various songs represent important events that have happened to me recently - Savannah Smiles specifically reminds me of the section of road that passes by the Chicago Aquarium as I was moving from there back home. John Allyn Smith Sails reminds me of sitting at my job watching my (at the time) new girlfriend listen to it for the first time. That kind of album really sticks to you - and is one of the reasons I'm doing this list at all.

Check out: Savannah Smiles, Unless It's Kicks, A Girl in Port



23. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (1973)

It's better than IV. Sue me.

Check out: IV and then Houses of the Holy.


22. Weezer - Blue Album (1994)

Believe me... I wanted to be really trendy and awesome and put up Pinkerton because that's the cool thing to do - especially for fanbois. F that. My generation grew up with the Blue Album and all of its gorgeous singles and for the fatty mcfat nerds like me... it spoke to my heart and mind. In 94 I was not aware of this album, but you can bet as soon as I picked it up somewhere in my early-teens, I knew all of the words almost immediately and still do. Doesn't breach top 20 because... well, that'd be too lame for Weezer. Also because Rivers in real life is a piece of **** apparently. And I believe everything I read on the internet.

Check out: You know the whole thing already.


21. System of a Down - S/T (1998)

I could not believe what I was hearing when I first heard this. I actually am proud to say I caught on to SOAD before most people did (that I knew) but I really didn't know what to think about it. My uncle, who I don't see very much, took me out to his truck one day and was like, we can't listen to this around your grandparents (whose house we were at for some family event) and he turned on "Sugar" - and this was some cassette mind you, it was maybe even the EP - because when he made me a copy - I don't remember the rest of the songs. Serj's voice is absolutely mesmerizing of course and the metal was maybe a bit too much for a 12 year old... I think at this time I was really just hearing metal (not 80s or classic metal) for the first time... and I can't say it was something I liked. It grew on me... and was one of the albums that broadened my auditory horizons as it were. My uncle also explained to me the importance of the lyrics which was something I to which I had never paid attention before. Remember... I was 12.

Check out: Spiders, Sugar, War?

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