Music Love

I was really not sure how I would do this list. First, do I do songs or albums? Music means as much to me as stitching and I don’t know how to pick a top five anything. But I will try.

Johnny Cash – Live at Folsom Prison: My father drove a big work van. We all sat upfront and he had an 8-track that was pretty old back then. I got introduced to Tex Ritter and all the rest from a very young age. Live at Folsom Prison was the first album I can remember listening to in its entirety. Yes, we were under 10-years-old so we thought “Boy Named Sue” was the epitome of songwriting. But we would listen to the whole thing. My father switched over to cassette around the time everyone else started to discover CDs. Live at Folsom Prison was the first cassette my father played in the van. For a while it was the only cassette we had in a box of 8-track tapes the van was no longer equipped to play. I knew it was special then and there has been no change to that status in the 25 years since.

 

Nirvana – Nevermind. I was eleven when this album came out. I don’t remember when or where I heard it for the first time. But by the time I was 13, Nivana was the catalyst for everything. Yes, yes. If you listen to the album you will hear how badass Nirvana still is but I backtracked from Nirvana. Through interviews, video and liner notes I found The Pixies, I found The Frogs, I found 80’s punk and I found myself. I didn’t know what any of it meant but I found it all.

 

Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: If Nevermind taught me that I could play music, Mellon Collie taught me that I could play all the music. I have always liked orchestras, broadway musicals, acoustic rock, searing metal guitar leads, sing-alongs and bubblegum pop (I’m not complicated). When I heard Nevermind I knew I could grab a guitar and go. Mellon Collie taught me I didn’t have to keep all the songs separate. I learned to put it all out there and I have done so ever since. I actually like to cover the song “Bodies” from the second disc. When I used to play live we would play the opening riff to “Today” before dropping the hammer on their ass with the crushing drop-d rhythm.

 

Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True: The One True Elvis. If I had been in charge of naming Kadie, her name would be Alison. Since her name is Kadie, my electric guitar is named Alison.

 

Hurricane Season – Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room: I have a soft spot in my heart for Alkaline Trio. I had never heard a song of theirs until I saw them live. They were opening for NOFX at the Rock Against Bush show and I was an instant fan. Dan Andriano from Alkaline Trio released this album and there’s a lot to talk about. There is probably a blog post all it’s own in the listening of that album. In the song “From This Oil Can” there is a line: I used to drink so much I let me heart just float away. I wanted to stitch it last year for my first year alcohol free. I wanted to stitch a purple heart on it as the start of a border and every year sober, I’d get a piece back (clever, right). I didn’t because I was so afraid I wouldn’t make it to year two and I would forever see this with one heart. It is almost time to start stitching it.