All this time in quarantine gives room for plenty of reflection. I heard a quote recently saying, "what you like is more important than what you are like." Which is a little rudimentary but I think I tend to agree. There is music that you like, music that you love, and there is music that defines you. This is about the latter. These are the albums shaped my taste in music and I wouldn't be the same without them.
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)
Up until this point in my life, my exposure to music was very limited. I remember the moment so clearly. I was riding in a van with some friends to a birthday party. One of them asks the dad who is driving if he can put in this new CD he bought. He pulls out Hybrid Theory and its like nothing I've ever heard before. I was always into music before this point, but it was then that my journey of discovering music began. I asked myself: what else was out there that I didn't know about? To this day Linkin Park is still one of my favourite bands and although I liked rap and rock before, this album changed my view on music forever. Chester was an amazing artist and frontman, and he will be forever missed.
Hans Zimmer - Gladiator Original Score (2000)
This was the first R rated movie I saw in theatres. I think my parents justified it by thinking it was based on real historical events. Who knows, but that's not what we are here to talk about. I grew up on classical music and one day I'll write you a blog post on why Beethoven is the greatest composer of all time. Anyway, my foundation in classical music is definitely why I love movie scores today. Gladiator was the first time I noticed it. Or maybe even the first time I felt it (let's be honest, it was a long time ago and my memory is hazy). The movie is brilliant and the score itself is beautiful. Hans Zimmer crushes it and Lisa Gerrards voice is impeccable. From this point on, I started to notice music in movies and it is a genre I listen to on a daily basis.
Dr. Dre - 2001 (2001)
I listened to a lot of rap in high school and this is where it all started. This album is still ranked in the top 5 all time for Hip-Hop albums in my books and I don't think that will ever change. This album is chalked full of banger after banger. Many songs people still listen to today. "Still D.R.E.," "Next Episode," and "Forgot about Dre" are just the tip of the iceberg, they are all time hip-hop tracks that represent just how good this album is. From here I became a fan of Eminem, Xzibit, and Snoop Dogg. I won't go into my feelings on some of the rap out there now though.
Sigur Ros - Parenthesis (2002)
I can't always explain to people the way I feel about music. I often find it hard to relate even to people who love music because of this. I think the best way to describe it is that I feel music. It reaches the deepest parts of me. I don't know if I was always like this, or just became like this over time. But this is the band and the album that brought it to the surface. This album moved me in ways most music doesn't. To be fair, I didn't discover it when it was released in 2002, but a few years later in college. I've been a big fan ever since, and seeing them live was an experience I will never forget.
Coldplay - X & Y (2005)
This is one of my favourite albums of all time. I'm not sure I would have considered myself a Coldplay fanatic before this. I listened to the occasional song and learned "The Scientist" on the piano. But when X & Y came out I was all in. "Fix You" is the greatest song in existence. There has been a lot of disagreement over this album. It marked the first time, but definitely not the last, that Coldplay would change their sound and style. I fell in love and never looked back. Until 2019. But we won't go there.
Alexisonfire - Crisis (2006)
When I was young I would say, "I don't like country, and I don't like screaming." I will never like country. Get out of here. But I heard "This Could Be Anywhere In The World" and all of a sudden I liked Alexisonfire. This song is the perfect marriage of Dallas Green's voice and George Pettit's scream. The guitar, the harmonies, and the drop at the end make for a truly great song. I can't say I went full metalhead by any means, but have been a fan of Alexisonfire ever since, and have been known to not be totally annoyed when certain friends play their screamo music in the car. These days I find myself listening to more heavier music than ever, including bands like Wolves at the Gate, and August Burns Red.
Daft Punk - Alive 2007 (2007)
It's tough to pinpoint when I started loving EDM. In the late 2000's, pop and top 40 music started to walk away from the boy band and R & B genres, and right into dance and electronic. The likes of Skrillex, Deadmau5, and Darude certainly helped this movement go mainstream. Daft Punk were definitely the OG's of electronic music creeping onto the radio, but my exposure to much of their catalogue was limited, I was really tired of hearing "Around The World' five times a day. With this album, they mashed their hits together live and made mega mixes of them all. I love the album and thought it was a really unique way to play so many of their songs in a single show. I never got to see them live but crushed the album a ton, and firmly believe that this was the doorway into my love for EDM. That, and I really love glow-sticks.
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Not all music has to fit into a box. This is what I learned from Radiohead. Everything from their vocals, to the structure and timing of their songs, goes from typical to unexpected, and everything in between. Two songs on this album really stuck out to me. Musically, "Videotapes" was like nothing I had ever heard. The off beat syncopation of the piano with the rest of the song is crazy. If you want a cool video that explains a little more about it, check this one out. Secondly, "Reckoner." The first time I heard it I loved it, and it has been in my top 5 songs ever since. This band is incredibly talented and continues to put out unique, strange, and highly technical music. If you haven't been exposed to them, check them out!
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (2009)
In the beginning, folk music was too close to country for me. Luckily my taste evolved over the years and as I was exposed to different kinds of music, I began to love a wider range of music. I think the show "Sons of Anarchy" really helped a lot because it featured a ton of really talented folk artists. But eventually, along came Mumford. This album is spectacular. Their penchant for writing real, raw, and highly quotable songs is unmatched. I have loved every album they have since put out and can't get enough of their music. Now I would say a large chunk of my library and daily listening is folk and indie. I certainly never saw that coming.
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
This one is different. Having been born in '87, I never had the opportunity to listen to this as new music. Most of the albums on this list I discovered as or close to when they were released. I can't remember the first time I listened to U2, or who introduced me to it, or when I listened to this particular album. All I know is that this album is full of incredible songs that will go down as all time classics -- not just for me, but rock music in general. If I am making a top 100 songs list, three from this album make the cut without even thinking. I can't exactly put my finger on how this album has influenced me, but I can say for sure that hearing Bono's voice and passion ,and the Edge's sweet sweet guitar sounds and riffs, set the benchmark for how I measure music and how I feel about it.
Albums that just missed the list:
M83 - Hurry up, We're Dreaming
Kanye West - 808's & Heart Breaks
These were all in my formative years. The question I keep asking myself is: how is my music taste growing now? Am I as open as I was ten years ago? Am I seeking out different music, or just more of what I have come to love? I hope the answer is yes, that I am continually expanding my music taste.
I'm curious about you! I want to know what albums shaped your view and taste of music. Take a minute in the comments and school me on all things you!
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