Fallen Into Knowledge

I’ve been tagged in a meme by David, who seems to think that I have refined tastes in music.  Unfortunately I don’t, but the poor hapless soul that happens across this page will be subjected to my music preferences nonetheless.  At least the albums don’t automatically start playing!

Here’s the deal:  I am to rattle off my favorite album from each year starting the year I was born.  Since I had no preferences for music (other than the music my mother made on the piano as I was falling asleep, of course) before my teenage years, these are the albums I like now:

1978: Blondie: Parallel Lines

1979: Pink Floyd: The Wall

1980: B-52’s: Wild Planet

1981: U2: October

1982: The Clash: Combat Rock

1983: Violent Femmes: Violent Femmes

1984: The Doors: Best of the Doors

1985: Tears For Fears: Songs from the Big Chair

1986: Beastie Boys: License to Ill

1987: REM: Document 

1988: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man

1989: Bad Religion: No Control

1990: Dire Straits: Money For Nothing

1991: U2: Achtung Baby -  this was my first and remains my favorite U2 album

1992: Emmylou Harris: At the Ryman

1993: Soundtrack to Schindler’s List

1994: Tom Petty: Wildflowers

1995: Smashing Pumpkins: Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

1996: Cake: Fashion Nugget

1997: Pink Martini: Sympanthique

1998: Gillian Welch: Hell Among the Yearlings

1999: Moby: Play

2000: Aimee Mann: Bachelor No. 2

2001: Five o’Clock People: In the Bleak Midwinter

2002: The Velvet Teen: Out of the Fierce Parade

2003: The Black Keys: Thickfeakness

2004: Jolie Holland: Escondida

2005: The Decemberists: Picaresque

2006: Cat Power: The Greatest (although Tom Waits’ “Orphans” takes a close second)

2007: Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog

2008: Black Keys: Attack and Release: (which is a great album, even if its not the best Black Keys Album)

I don’t know what will happen as a result of this, but assuredly, something will happen. The fallout will be huge.

Tonight, on Fresh Air, Terri Gross interviewed Colin Meloy of Decemberists fame.
You can listen to it here
I searched to see if Terri Gross had interviewed him yet just a few weeks ago, thinking that if anybody could interview him well, it would be she.

{edit} yipee! Fresh Air is now available in Podcast form, via iTunes

Last time Gillian Welch payed in Portland I missed out, and was bummed.  Tonight I had another chance at seeing her, and was not disappointed.  Some musicians sound better in concert than they do recorded, some worse, and some sound exactly the same - Welch falls into the third category.  The stage was empty except for her, David Rawlings and their guitars, which was all they needed.  If you haven’t heard her music before, you had really get to it.

Ahhh, here it is. It is amazing that a band whose first release (Boy) was in 1980 could generate so much Hype. Not that I am immune to the hype, after all, I own every album that they have made to date. You might even say that I am a fan. I suppose that it is for that reason that I am gratified by this, U2’s latest release. It sounds like U2. If I shuffle this albulm with all of their music, it fits. This unlike Pop, which didn’t fit. No, there aren’t any songs here that will be smash hits; but this is the U2 that I had hoped would show up on this album. I am pleased.