My contribution to the
Muse Board's Favourite Album:
1.
The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David BowieMy parents weren't exactly fans but if your house was musical as ours, he was just there. An institution. He was that dude from
Labyrinth and who was on Live Aid and dun them 'Let's Dance' and 'Ashes to Ashes' songs that are always on the radio. When I got to my 'cool music years', 14-15, I was a Britpop kid, loving Oasis, Blur, the Manics, Placebo and Suede... you read things. I kept hearing them bigging up this Ziggy dude. Who the hell
is Ziggy? What does he have to do with David Bowie? Was he really responsible for all my favourite music? Maybe I should check out his stuff? I did, and I found the Leper Messiah. That was it. It's just. Got. EVERYTHING. Songs you can sing to, songs you can shout to, you can pogo like a maniac, and Mick Ronson fucking INVENTED air-guitar. It's a concept album, but not quite. It tells you a story but it lets you imagine the details, and when you're rocking out to it you really feel like anything is possible. Far out. And it introduced me to so much more - to all the other Bowie albums that I want to put on this list, to other types of rock, to other genres of music. It's an album by which I measure others, definitely. When I first heard
Origin of Symmetry for example, I said I loved it because it was like Queen doing
Ziggy. Haha. It also led me to view albums as complete pieces of work. Before
Ziggy I was the sort of kid who wasted Walkman batteries fast-forwarding and rewinding. Everyone who calls themselves a rock fan needs to own a copy of
Ziggy. Best bit? 'Soul Love' fades out, it's all calm and nice and quie- I'M AN ALLIGATOR!
2.
The Holy Bible by Manic Street PreachersTHE album for disillusioned teens. I bought this album after my Mum bought
Everything Must Go in about... 1996, and I stole it and instantly cast off my combats and Oasis trainers and threw myself onto the Manics fanwagon. I was moody, but my God I was glamorous. Feather boas, sparkly leopard print... all that shiz. All the way until about... 2000. I pretended I was an original 1991 fan, bought their entire back catalogue and overplayed the lot. I just completely fell for
The Holy Bible. So many WORDS. So much MEANING. I learnt it all, and can still sing every single little guitar noodle. Knew it inside out, every lyric, every little shout. And in my own weird way, I found it uplifting. A comfort, because it's so dark, and you know your life's soundtrack would never be as dark as that. As I used to say to my dad when he'd say, "This is music to slit your wrists to!" - it's just great
music. It's just SO DARK. I love it.
3.
OK Computer by RadioheadThis was one of the first 'rock' albums I bought, when it came out, having got over my E17 obsession (shut up,
Steam almost made the cut!) and getting interested into the music that was being blasted at me whenever I put the local radio on. I loved 'Creep' and that Fade Out Agaaain one but I bought
OK Computer first, for 'Paranoid Android'. What an immense piece of music. I loved 'Subterranean Homesick Alien'; it became my anthem for a while being as obsessed as I was with UFOs. I LOVE IT ALL SO MUCH.
4.
Moseley Shoals by Ocean Colour Scene What brilliant, summery, wonderful sparkly songs. Fantastic to sing to. Nothing else they've done has come close, and I haven't bothered with them, but I still play this album regularly and I still love it. So retro yet so fresh sounding, even now. There's so much passion in the music. I remember going on a music tour in my final year of school; going into little piazzas in Italy and singing songs in public. Midsummer, towns around Lake Garda. You can imagine. This was the soundtrack to that trip.
5.
Ænima by ToolJesus Fucking Christ. Hearing these dudes for the first time in 2001 ('Stinkfist') and being... absolutely mesmerised, to seeing them live later that same month? All other music in the world ceased to exist for about... erm... two years. I was ALL TOOL, BABY.
6.
Euphoria Morning by Chris CornellI shouldn't really like this much any more because of losing the person most of my memories of it are attached to. But every time you listen to it it makes its own memories. It is beautiful. That is all.
7.
The Man Who Sold the World by David BowieIt sounds like... like... grunge before grunge was grunge with a lot of stoner rock before stoner rock was stoner rock chucked in. I would actually marry this album, and I'd wear a man's dress.
8.
System of a Down by System of a DownI r getting bored of writing blurb now so I'll just use n00bspeak omg. Just, omg. It's like a rollercoaster ride of lolz and highs and rock and roll, lol. You don't stop the rockin' out. Fucken... yay. MAY I PLEASE? Remain in this space! And 'War' is fucking, the best metal riff in the known world.
9.
Mer de Noms by A Perfect CircleBeautiful. I bought this 'cause people banged on about it in magazines, I realised it was the bloke from Tool, got it 'cause I saw it in the shop one day. Best idea I ever had. Shame they split. Absolutely incredible, beautiful, euphoric, emotional, rocking band of yay. I loved their second album too but this one just about wins, for being the first.
10.
Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone AgeSod being eloquent. Choon! Choon! Choon! FUCKING CHOON! Oh here's a quiet bit, I'll sit down and chill for a... OMG FUCKING CHOON!
Runners Up: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (Very close. So close I nearly cried when I realised I'd have to leave it out. I just have better memories with other albums!), Superunknown by Soundgarden (I decided to stick Chris's solo album in instead!), Welcome to the Western Lodge by Masters of Reality, Abbey Road by the Beatles, Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails, Scissor Sisters by Scissor Sisters, Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, Stanley Road by Paul Weller...
Many More by Many More.
So relieved I didn't have to fit Muse in there. O_o
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
