My Top Ten Favorite Rock Albums
This list, this one, right here, this one is where I am going to lose some of you. Not that the hip hop list was not specific enough, but I am pretty sure that this list is not going to contain Black Sabbath, or Led Zepplin, or the Stones or the Beatles. So I am sure, that you all will fade away. But, I have some simple ideas as to what my favorite rock records are.
1. The Stooges-Funhouse. This record has always been my favorite rock record, since the moment I heard it. It is 37 minutes of animalistic perfection. Rock and roll as is most primal. Taking the influence of the James Brown Band, and tearing it apart in the way a trailer park in Michigan and tons of drugs will do. It is a bad porno on a sunday morning while eating eggs, it is a punch in the face and laugh later, it is what the movie Fight Club wanted to be.
2. The Rollins Band-The Only Way to Know For Sure. One of the truly great live records, made by a band that worships truly great live records. My friend Jason and I were in the audience for both nights of this record, and Jason said to me that this was a band that new how to use a treadmill or an aerobics class. The title says everything, you only know about a band by their ability to do it live. And the Rollins Band was never better than when it was live.
3. Social Distortion-Live at the Roxy. I tend to think that this is another live record I was there for. I had heard they were going to do it, and I was working at Scott Street at the time, and flew to the West Coast and saw a band destroy the Roxy. The record is a giant embodiement of snarl. Nothing, in my experience compares to when Mike Ness walks on a stage, and damn if he does not walk on a stage here.
4. Janes Addiction- Nothings Shocking. I spent my early 20s listening to this over and over again, trying to figure it out. I simply never understood what was happening, and as a result it sort of blew right through me. I had seen the band over 100 times live, and the record was something totally seperate from that. And each was gorgeous.
5. Bob Mould- Black Sheets of Rain. For starters this makes me think of Amanda, which is a great memory. But more than being attached to a girl, this is also one of the greatest embodiements of fuzz from a guitar. All the emo girls who think that the emo boys are sharing their feelings, should listen to Bob Mould.
6. Pearl Jam-Ten. Jay and I would listen to the song Alive over and over again in the dorm. And each time we thought we would hear the phone ringing. It is funny how one record marks your life. Pearl Jam is that marker. For the rest of my life, they will be the band that marks my life. And I got to play basketball with them.
7. Bad Religion- No Control. It is hard to pick one, as every Bad Religion record belongs on this list, but I truly love the song Billy, so I picked No Control.
8. The Riverboat Gamblers- To the Confusion of Our Enemies. This band made two amazing record so far, and I owe it all to Frank Lang for making sure I heard it.
9. Lucero- Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers. I have had the great luck of seeing this band since the very beginning, and i thin that the song writing in the natural successor to Bruce Springsteen. I know that is a large statement, but I think if you listen to his lyrics, through his whole of records, you shall see I am right.
10. The Black Keys- thickfreakness. This is the only band that I ever stood and cried the first time I saw them. It was a perfect combination of punk and blues. Sonic Youth meets Hound Dog Taylor. Amazing.
And for the record, all of these records could be displaced by all the Prince records. But, like the beatles and the stones, Prince is simply better than everyone else, ever.
erik said:
Bad Religion and Pearl Jam are excellent choices. Ten is one of the best albums period, regardless of genre. Cool to see a Social Distortion pick in there too, I’ve always thought of them as underrated.
Personally, I think that Joshua Tree, Howl, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Core and Disraeli Gears all deserve mention over some of the other items on this list. But it’s all preferance. You’ve got a lot of quality on here and almost all is must listen type stuff.
September 1st, 2008 at 2:56 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
I totally forgot about Joshua Tree. dammit. I also think that you could pretty much include all of their record up to Joshua tree.
I think I needed to leave off the icons, like U2, Prince, the Stones…etc.
Yeah, Joshua Tree.
Sigh.
September 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm #
Alex said:
I have listened to that Jane’s album more times than I can count. It’s my number two.
September 2nd, 2008 at 5:39 am #
matthew said:
They’re your favorites. Who would know more about that than you? You’re not saying that they should be everybody’s favorites, are you? Or you’re not saying they are the ‘best’, or the most influential, are you?
Erik’s suggests that you should add some other things to YOUR list of favorites doesn’t really make sense does it?
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:23 am #
mapletownshrub said:
American Beauty by the Dead. Amazing, spent quite a bit of time listening to that one.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:24 am #
erik said:
*refuses to feed the troll and goes on with normal business*
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:43 pm #