i'm sick and bored...
Jan. 15th, 2006 10:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swingchickie...started going through my CD collection, which i haven't really looked at in months. I mean, i unpacked them all and put them away when i moved recently... but i haven't really looked at my CDs in forever. there were several CDs that really stood out... the ones that, just looking at the cover, bring back a flood of memories. so, since i have a whole day on my hands, and i'm feeling nostalgic (must be the advil cold & sinus), i'm doing a music meme.
(in no particular order...)
1. jamiroquai - traveling without moving
i first heard jamiroquai when i was working at Y100. i heard "virtual insanity" and thought it was a new stevie wonder song. *grin* i became obsessed with it, searched for it on every station so i could hear it as much as possible. the CD as a whole is, in my eyes, perfection -- every song just goes together. they're all different, but each one ties into the themes that run through the CD: technology, the universe, nature, love, how we as humans relate to each other. my description doesn't even do it justice. it's just a phenomenal CD as an entire work, every song in fantastic, and i think it's some of the best funk/jazz on the planet.
2. simply red - life
another CD i was obsessed with as soon as i heard it the first time. (actually, all of the CDs on this list are.) one of simply red's best albums, in my opinion. all of the band's influences and unique sounds really come together here -- mick's smooth-as-silk voice gliding over some really sexy, driving beats, interesting harmonies and lyrics... "fairground" and "you make me believe" are especially hot, i seriously get turned on when i hear those two, just from the way everything fits together on them.
3. soundtrack - sunday in the park with george
stephen sondheim is brilliant. and this is one of his best. when i listen to this soundtrack, i can't do it while reading a book or doing chores or anything else... i just sit there, singing along, because it is so stunningly beautiful and clever and moving. plus mandy patinkin *drool* and bernadette peters have really amazing chemistry in this show. i'm usually completely drained by the time i listen through it.
4. compilation - this is acid jazz, volume 6
i can't really explain this one. it just makes me feel wonderful every time i hear it. this is my sunday morning read-the-paper-and-drink-my-coffee CD. i've bought several acid jazz CDs since, and none are anywhere near as good, and speak to me so strongly, as this one.
5. october project - october project
october project's sound is so unique. i really don't know how to describe it. it's haunting, yet uplifting... lilting, but intense, and with an amazing depth. and mary (no longer the lead singer)'s voice is so beautiful and interesting. "always" has to be one of my favorite songs... the intensity of emotion in that song is unlike anything i've heard.
6. soundtrack - the last 5 years
i cannot get through even the first song of this show without bawling. i think i blogged a couple of years back about seeing it live... this show is so heartbreaking and beautiful and funny, i'm just emotionally spent even halfway through. it's the story of a couple through their entire relationship, from the time they meet until they get divorced 5 years later. but it's told from opposite timelines -- when it starts out, she is reeling from the divorce and he's just left their first date, totally giddy... by the end of the show, he's saying goodbye to her for good, and she's breathless from kissing him for the first time. (it sounds odd, but it totally works.) and the only time in the show that they're together, in the same moment, is when he proposes to her... and i just lose it every time i hear that song. seriously, if you have any interest in musicals, you have to buy this CD. (oh, and it's not all sad and weepy... "shiksa goddess" is one of the cutest, funniest theater songs ever.)
7. marc cohn - marc cohn
another CD that just all fits together so wonderfully as an entire work. everyone's heard "walking in memphis" on easy-listening stations, but there are so many other soulful songs on here. it's one of my "crank it up in the car and belt it out" CDs.
8. basement jaxx - remedy
i just put this in another music meme the other day, so i won't go into it too much... except to say that the whole CD is really fun and energizing, and is some of the best techno i've ever heard. i'm on my second copy, because i wore out the first.
9. reverend horton heat - spend a night in the box
i know i wrote about this one a while back. years ago, i was flipping stations at 7am heading to work, and came across a station playing this awesome rockabilly. i kept the station on, but there was no DJ, no announcing any of the songs, and i realized that all the songs were by the same band. and the songs kept repeating all day, and into the next day. basically it was a pirate radio station playing an album over and over 24 hours a day. i fell madly in love with the CD, had to get my hands on it, but didn't know where to look. it took days of going onto amazon.com and typing in my guesses of song titles, before "spend a night in the box" popped up. "the rev" is now one of my favorite performers... his lyrics are so fun and quirky and have a suck a "wink, wink" attitude about them. he celebrates hard livin', being on the road, and naughty girls with bombshell bodies... and it's so. much. damn. fun.
10. josh clayton-felt - inarticulate nature boy
i really can't even describe this CD, i feel so passionate about it. and i KNOW i've written about this one before. i met josh when i worked at Y100... he came to play at the station, and i had to miss his performance because i was on my way to a sales call. but a few nights later he was the opening act at, i believe, the stone balloon in delaware... so i brought some friends to check him out, and his music just walloped me over the head. it was basically the soundtrack to my life for an entire year, i barely listened to anything else. he did the entire album himself -- wrote all the songs, sang every part, played all the instruments. and it's brilliant. the lyrics are fantastic and the tunes are just so interesting and haunting. what makes the CD even more special for me is that josh died of cancer a few years ago, in his early 30s, so listening to this CD brings back the only memory i'll ever have of him playing live.
*whew*! i'm exhausted now. if you actually read all the way through this, i'd love to read about your favorite ones back... and hey, i have a $20 itunes gift card burning a hole in my pocket, any song suggestions are welcome.
(in no particular order...)
1. jamiroquai - traveling without moving
i first heard jamiroquai when i was working at Y100. i heard "virtual insanity" and thought it was a new stevie wonder song. *grin* i became obsessed with it, searched for it on every station so i could hear it as much as possible. the CD as a whole is, in my eyes, perfection -- every song just goes together. they're all different, but each one ties into the themes that run through the CD: technology, the universe, nature, love, how we as humans relate to each other. my description doesn't even do it justice. it's just a phenomenal CD as an entire work, every song in fantastic, and i think it's some of the best funk/jazz on the planet.
2. simply red - life
another CD i was obsessed with as soon as i heard it the first time. (actually, all of the CDs on this list are.) one of simply red's best albums, in my opinion. all of the band's influences and unique sounds really come together here -- mick's smooth-as-silk voice gliding over some really sexy, driving beats, interesting harmonies and lyrics... "fairground" and "you make me believe" are especially hot, i seriously get turned on when i hear those two, just from the way everything fits together on them.
3. soundtrack - sunday in the park with george
stephen sondheim is brilliant. and this is one of his best. when i listen to this soundtrack, i can't do it while reading a book or doing chores or anything else... i just sit there, singing along, because it is so stunningly beautiful and clever and moving. plus mandy patinkin *drool* and bernadette peters have really amazing chemistry in this show. i'm usually completely drained by the time i listen through it.
4. compilation - this is acid jazz, volume 6
i can't really explain this one. it just makes me feel wonderful every time i hear it. this is my sunday morning read-the-paper-and-drink-my-coffee CD. i've bought several acid jazz CDs since, and none are anywhere near as good, and speak to me so strongly, as this one.
5. october project - october project
october project's sound is so unique. i really don't know how to describe it. it's haunting, yet uplifting... lilting, but intense, and with an amazing depth. and mary (no longer the lead singer)'s voice is so beautiful and interesting. "always" has to be one of my favorite songs... the intensity of emotion in that song is unlike anything i've heard.
6. soundtrack - the last 5 years
i cannot get through even the first song of this show without bawling. i think i blogged a couple of years back about seeing it live... this show is so heartbreaking and beautiful and funny, i'm just emotionally spent even halfway through. it's the story of a couple through their entire relationship, from the time they meet until they get divorced 5 years later. but it's told from opposite timelines -- when it starts out, she is reeling from the divorce and he's just left their first date, totally giddy... by the end of the show, he's saying goodbye to her for good, and she's breathless from kissing him for the first time. (it sounds odd, but it totally works.) and the only time in the show that they're together, in the same moment, is when he proposes to her... and i just lose it every time i hear that song. seriously, if you have any interest in musicals, you have to buy this CD. (oh, and it's not all sad and weepy... "shiksa goddess" is one of the cutest, funniest theater songs ever.)
7. marc cohn - marc cohn
another CD that just all fits together so wonderfully as an entire work. everyone's heard "walking in memphis" on easy-listening stations, but there are so many other soulful songs on here. it's one of my "crank it up in the car and belt it out" CDs.
8. basement jaxx - remedy
i just put this in another music meme the other day, so i won't go into it too much... except to say that the whole CD is really fun and energizing, and is some of the best techno i've ever heard. i'm on my second copy, because i wore out the first.
9. reverend horton heat - spend a night in the box
i know i wrote about this one a while back. years ago, i was flipping stations at 7am heading to work, and came across a station playing this awesome rockabilly. i kept the station on, but there was no DJ, no announcing any of the songs, and i realized that all the songs were by the same band. and the songs kept repeating all day, and into the next day. basically it was a pirate radio station playing an album over and over 24 hours a day. i fell madly in love with the CD, had to get my hands on it, but didn't know where to look. it took days of going onto amazon.com and typing in my guesses of song titles, before "spend a night in the box" popped up. "the rev" is now one of my favorite performers... his lyrics are so fun and quirky and have a suck a "wink, wink" attitude about them. he celebrates hard livin', being on the road, and naughty girls with bombshell bodies... and it's so. much. damn. fun.
10. josh clayton-felt - inarticulate nature boy
i really can't even describe this CD, i feel so passionate about it. and i KNOW i've written about this one before. i met josh when i worked at Y100... he came to play at the station, and i had to miss his performance because i was on my way to a sales call. but a few nights later he was the opening act at, i believe, the stone balloon in delaware... so i brought some friends to check him out, and his music just walloped me over the head. it was basically the soundtrack to my life for an entire year, i barely listened to anything else. he did the entire album himself -- wrote all the songs, sang every part, played all the instruments. and it's brilliant. the lyrics are fantastic and the tunes are just so interesting and haunting. what makes the CD even more special for me is that josh died of cancer a few years ago, in his early 30s, so listening to this CD brings back the only memory i'll ever have of him playing live.
*whew*! i'm exhausted now. if you actually read all the way through this, i'd love to read about your favorite ones back... and hey, i have a $20 itunes gift card burning a hole in my pocket, any song suggestions are welcome.
