this weekend, we continue the rundown of my favorite 20 albums of all time. today and tomorrow features albums that almost instantly make me think of my summers picking sweet corn with rouge river farms (hence today's picture).
i'm not sure who introduced me to the band cake, or why i became such a fan. their music is odd, but in a good way. their music is weird, but in a good way. odd, weird, but good.
right from the get-go, this album transports me to a different time. a time where one of my fellow corn pickers would pop this in to my crappy discman (which was connected to the car stereo through a cassette addapter) and we'd all sing, clap, and harmonize along with john mcrae and the rest of the band. loudly. and as often as we could. we'd listen to it in the morning on the way to the corn field. we'd listen to it on the way to lunch or dinner, and then we'd listen to it in the car on the way home.
we had no idea what the lyrics meant (and still don't?), but that wasn't the point. the music was fun - and completely different than anything playing on the radio. oh sure, the big hit from this album, "short skirt/long jacket", got plenty of airplay, but nothing else really ever made a dent in the mainstream audience. and we loved it anyway.for this list of my favorite albums i tried to pick those that i can listen do no matter what mood i'm in. i don't have to be in any particular mood to put this on, and i rarely get tired of it. it has peppy upbeat songs like "opera singer" or "pretty pink ribbon", darker songs like the title track "comfort eagle", and to further push the fact that this is an odd album, jay-z sampled the track "arco arena" in his song "guns and roses". weird.
those of you following along will remember that i started this album countdown because i was inspired by my good friend (and fellow corn picker) mike's current album review blog. apparently the next album he will be reviewing is this very one.
1. u2 - the joshua tree
2. dave matthews band - crash
5 comments:
I remember Cake from my (brief) DJ days. I liked them, too.
This photo is outstanding. It would make a great album cover.
Woah, woah, woah.
You can't just say you were a DJ and not fill us all in to that tiny but important part of your past...
Too long of a story for this space, and not nearly exciting enough! I'll tell you next time I see you.
Hey a DJ and a corn picker -- we get all kinds in Pasadena. Like the photo of the corn field in the valley.
That field is in a little place that is barely on the map. Nestled along the slow-moving Ohio river - Longbottom, OH.
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