iPod Essentials.
One thing I love about the 8 gig iPod is that you can’t put too much music on it. You basically have to pick and choose what you really need and just go for it. Recently, I was filling my 8GB iPod touch (Christmas gift from the company) with music and realized that I filled it up too quickly… There wasn’t enough room for apps and games… I had to slim down to the bare essentials in terms of what I will always listen to and what I am listening to at the moment. Here are a few of my essential albums/artists. Some you might expect, some might come as a surprise…
1.) Black Flag - First Four Years and Damaged albums: I need punk rock in my life. More specifically, I need Black Flag in my life. These two albums are must-haves for me. As a sexually-frustrated and often bullied 13 year old, this music expressed everything that I felt. Anger, aggression and raw power in songs that are no more than 2 and a half minutes long. This music makes me want to either skate or break something. When I need some extra pump-up music at the gym, or if I’m upset, or if i’m just sick of sappy love songs with and whiny vocals, this is what I listen to.
2.) Kill Cheerleader - All Hail: A Punk-Metal-Thrash hybrid from Canada. This album got me through high school. Described as the love child of the Ramones and Guns ‘n Roses, this band is everything that good rock-n-roll should be: Heavy riffs, sweet guitar solos, driving bass lines, and loud drums. Songs about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, this band got me excited about rock music again in a time when I thought everything had been done before. Take the song Deathboy - it is a song about somebody so overlooked they that they go on a shooting rampage to be known. Dark, yes, but the perfect anthem for people feeling marginalized, ignored or abused. The entire album is a middle finger to the world. It is rock-n-roll.
3.) Norah Jones - Come Away With Me: I need to have me some Norah in my life. When I just want music to chill out to, or if traffic is starting to annoy me, Norah will always calm me down.
4.) The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: No explanation needed.
5.) Frank Sinatra - Classic Sinatra 1956-1960: One of those generic compiliations, but one that I cannot live without. I know every lyric to every song on this album from the beginning to end. If I don’t know what I want to listen to, I can’t go wrong with Sinatra.
6.) Cannonball Adderley - any album: Cannonball Adderley is my favorite saxist. He played with Miles during the 50’s, but established himself as a band leader and composer way beforehand. I have a good number of his albums, but currently I have been listening to “Somethin’ Else”, the 1958 album featuring Cannonball with Miles Davis. I’m thinking about switching it out for “Know What I Mean”, which is Cannonball with Bill Evans… Both albums are phenomenal.
7.) Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star: I don’t keep a lot of hip-hop on my iPod… and I definitely avoid anything Jay-Z, Drake, Kanye and Lil’ Wayne. Not that I don’t like them; I can listen to them, but not by myself. If I’m gonna listen to hip-hop I’m gonna listen to the shit I used to blast while skateboarding at the park. That is and will always be Black Star.
8.) John Legend - Once Again: I could listen to this album over and over and over again. Just like the Sinatra album, I know every lyric on this one from beginning to end.
9.) Chet Baker - The Best of Chet Baker Sings: I know I’ve written about Chet Baker before. This album is a compilation of all his vocals throughout the early part of his career. Just a great album.
10.) Wu-Tang Clan - Enter Wu-Tang (36 Chambers): From the slums of Shaolin… The RZA, The GZA, Ol Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah and the Method Man. Without them my iPod would just be an empty shell.
11.) Yanni - Live At The Acropolis: I bet a majority of people under the age of 25 have absolutely no idea who this is. Back in the 90’s, Yanni was fuckin’ shit up with his super smooth New Age arrangements. This album is the shit. Recorded at the ruins of the motherfuckin’ Acropolis in motherfuckin’ Athens, fuckin’ Greece. My parents had this concert on VHS and I watched it until the tape nearly fell apart. I’m not a fan of Yanni’s studio albums, to be honest, but the arrangements and execution of this album are fuckin’ amazing. This live album was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and features Karen Briggs playing a badass solos on violin… I seriously will never stop listening to this album.
12.) Sarah Vaughan - After Hours (Blue Note): Recorded with just a guitar, bass and Sarah on vocals. Such a beautiful way to feature the best voice in jazz.
13.) The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You: I believe the Avett Brothers represent everything that is good and right with music today. They have their own style, their own fans and tour endlessly. They aren’t trying to be anything else other than what they are. I have still yet to see them live, but from what I’ve heard they are truly a sight to be seen. They just look like they have so much fun when they play and the enthusiasm they have for their music is contagious. They have a number of albums, but this one in particular seems to be the culmination of all their hard work.
14.) Queen - A Night at the Opera: Best rock vocalist to come out of the 70’s… arguably the best rock vocalist of all time. Plus one of my favorite guitarists as well… People always remember Freddy, and rightly so, but Brian May was definitely one of the most talented guitarists of the era, and one of my personal favorite guitarists of all time.
15.) Turbonegro - Apocalypse Dudes: I love this band. In-your-face Rock’n’Roll. Nothing beats them when you’re stuck in traffic and need something loud to get your blood flowing. Also one of the funnest live shows you will see.
All of these essentials equal to about 1-2 gig of music. Everything else I usually will shuffle in and out of rotation depending on what music I feel like listening to at the time. Sometimes I’m feeling hip-hop, or jazz, or punk, or metal… however you will always see these 15 albums/artists on my iPod at all times.
