"Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. They might not be what you listen to now, but these are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.
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This is harder than it looks, people. I keep wanting to pick the "best" albums or even my "favorite" but the memory associations don't care.
starting when I was a kid... if I can remember...
1.
The Lion King - Elton John, Hans Zimmer, etc.
Making up choreography. Drawing animals. Listening in the car with Ashley on hot summer days. When I had a huge crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (voice of Simba), I met him, and he told me I should be an artist.
2.
I Ain't Movin' -
Des'ree.
I don't remember all of those songs but I do remember dancing around to the cassette tape. Glad I was into this as a kid.
3.
Spice World -
Spice Girls.
Shut up! But they wrote their own cheesiness and I loved the personalities. Sporty Spice impressed me in concert. Not only was she the one who could sing well, but I wanted to be expressive in performances like her.
4.
Little Earthquakes -
Tori Amos.
Going straight from Spice Girls to ProfoundTori™. Watching the music video VHS at Shylah's and being introduced to T. Thought it was a good solution hanging with the raisin girls. Some of these songs wouldn't become profound until years later ("
Mother").
5.
Version 2.0 -
Garbage.
High school, on the bus in my cheerleading uniform with headphones on.
6.
Once More, With Feeling - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Musical.
Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn't really have a pleasant singing voice, but this made for some great times and was just the best show.
7.
Strange Little Girls -
Tori Amos.
Senior year of high school. Not my favorite album as far as Tori is concerned, but it was a big comfort when I saw her live for the first time. "
I Don't Like Mondays" is having a bomb threat at school on 9/11, and being rushed into the football field in the bright sunlight afterward, thinking the world might end. And all the shootings/deaths afterward that we dealt with. "
Time" is the lullaby I played on repeat as I slept.
8.
Scarlet's Walk -
Tori Amos.
Profoundly altered the way I see the world, this country, and myself? Check.
9.
Finally Woken -
Jem.
Actually, this part belongs to mix CDs even more than Jem. LA in 2004. Acting class and new friends such as Madi. Finally taking a chance. Kissing a boy for class and driving up Ventura with him, which brings me back to #8. "
A Sorta Fairytale"
10.
Lost Souls -
Doves.
Those melodies and lush sounds bring back the beauty of the ocean, the great rush of fear. Staying in hostels by the ocean with limitless possibilities ahead of me.
11.
Eye to the Telescope -
KT Tunstall.
KT Tunstall kept me company in 2006. Lost in the ocean, on a "
Silent Sea".
12.
From the Choirgirl Hotel -
Tori Amos.
O hey, need you again. "There’s beauty and wisdom in the darkness, and illumination."
13.
Tegan and Sara -
Tegan and Sara.
Summer '07. Visiting my hometown, feeling "
Nineteen" again. "And now we're saying bye." Good times with the sister. Going downtown for the show in LA and so many emo sidebangs.
14.
American Doll Posse -
Tori Amos.
I can't believe Tori made me forget my fajita at Burbank Acapulco! Craig Ferguson LIED to us. And then on tour, that stupid bright orange wig made me see blue auras, scream/cry and have a few spiritual journeys.
15.
Bring Me The Workhorse -
My Brightest Diamond.
Darkness, death, re-adjustment, inner child. Finding magic in nature and places I forgot to look. Taking pictures in nature, watching dragonflies dance. Hiking at Griffith and running in the country.
Jem
