[Grislygus]

PART TWO

With the impending recession, car payments, insurance payments, and all of the other ways that money seems to elude us, buying new albums is pretty much on the bottom of the list. So, while scraping together enough change for another day’s lunch, I decided it was time to look into my (and my boyfriend’s) old CD collection for some of my favorites.

The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents’ self titled debut has a quirky take on story-telling with “Lump” and “Peaches” being the two tracks that have made the band famous. Cringe if you will, but The Presidents’ music will always make your inner child want to run around drunken and screaming “Lump sat alone in a boggy marsh!”

Machine Go Boom -Thank You Captain Obvious
Painfully indie, this album is everything that was good about Blur (there were good things, I promise) but takes it to the level that only indie bands are awarded. Little regard for catchy phrases and marketability allowed Machine Go Boom to sound like bratty punks while maintaining good songwriting. Often compared to Violent Femmes and the Pixies, this is a great CD to listen to if you wish you still had striped sweaters and black plastic framed glasses.

Beck – The Information
Every album Beck has ever made sounds slightly alike, but they never really are exactly alike. The Information is reminiscent of the David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust space alien years. Where Guero took a stranger, more absurd approach, The Information is darker and very nearly tells the story of a disaffected musician but contains two of my favorite Beck songs: “Nausea” and “Think I’m in Love”. If you bought the album, you already know it comes with great stickers that will speak to your grade-school Lisa Frank/Trapper Keeper sensibilities.

Radiohead-O.K. Computer
Undeniably one of the best albums of the nineties, O.K. Computer is a slow, lavishly difficult album about the ways machines dehumanize people. When it was first released, Radiohead was compared to Pink Floyd a lot because of the theme and also the delivery of each song. With all Radiohead albums, each song is layered with different sounds to make up an entire presentation that evokes a certain thought or emotion. The most well-known single of the album is “Karma Police” but it isn’t as strange as the track that follows it. “Fitter, Happier” is spoken in a robotic voice about a man who has made his life better through becoming a “productive member of society”.

Records to steal from your parents:
Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed was the Rolling Stones’ final great take on the blues (“Love In Vain”) and country (“Country Honk”) that had inspired them to make music in the first place. Most of the tracks that made the Rolling Stones an iconic rock band are included on this album such as “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Midnight Rambler”. It is definitely a great album to find and hang on to for a long time.

The Clash – London Calling
This might be in the collection of a younger aunt or an older brother and it is one of the most influential rock albums of all time. With their roots in the British punk scene, one might have expected The Clash to die down as the movement slowed, but they expanded their sound to one that would cry out for social and political change. Although it is very leftist, anyone can listen to this as a rock album and enjoy every single track.

Jimi Hendrix-Are You Experienced?
There’s an interesting saying that goes Pete Townshend (The Who) raped the guitar but Jimi Hendrix made love to his. It’s hard to imagine the music that Hendrix made sounding great if anyone else had played it. He did everything wrong but it all sounded so amazing. There are three of his most-played tracks on this album: “Hey Joe”, “Purple Haze” and “Foxey Lady”. My favorite track is a quiet, reflective song called “The Wind Cries Mary”.