So I decided to share them with you. I present them in no particular order.
1) R.E.M – Life’s Rich Pageant. This vaults me back to high school. This record was playing at the first house party I ever went to in High School. From the second I walked in the door, I was stunned by Begin The Begin. I had heard R.E.M before, but this was the first time I had ever paid them any attention. The record had a sense of urgency to it. It was like punk played by The Byrds. I think the next day I went to the mall and bought the lp.
It was also at this party that I met Jennifer Parsons. Soon after we started to date, and did so until our second year in university. She was my first real girl friend, and the only one to stay in my heart. (Despite the constant heartache we inflicted on one another…) To this day we have retained a healthy friendship.
2) The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead. I got this one for Christmas one year. I wasn’t expecting it. I had in fact at the time never heard of them. A family friend got the cassette for me figuring that I’d like it. He was right. It had a brilliant sense of humour to it. The lyrics were brazen and full of fantastic imagery. The song Bigmouth Strikes Again still makes me laugh.
I had gone through a bit of a depressing spell in High School (Not terribly surprising I guess…) and The Smiths helped get me through it. I was as misfit. I hated the system, and the microcosm of social groups didn’t really help all that much either. Somehow, Morrissey’s lyrics seemed to nail my frustration right on the head. It was the reinforcement that I needed. It was okay to be different., and I wasn’t crazy for feeling that way.
3) Husker Du – Zen Arcade. From the start of the rumbling bass of “Something I learned today” I knew I had found something special. By the time I heard Bob Mould’s guitar for the first time it became apparent it was more than special. It ignited a life long love of music.
I saw a t-shirt for this band at the first all ages show that I ever went to. It was 5 bucks to see 5 bands. I still remember the bands that played. Tough Justice, Section 17, Schizoid, WAFUT, and Dog Meat BBQ. It was cool. It was at that show where I began to start figuring some things out. I did fit somewhere. I fit with the others that didn’t fit. (Kinda funny really…)
I was a kid from the burbs who wanted something different. So I went out and found it. It was the start of what has so far been an interesting life. I took Robert Frost’s other path.
4) Public Image LTD. – Compact Disc. The Sex Pistols were pretty awful, but Pil on the other hand was brilliantly inspired. Johnny Rotten had managed to create Art Punk, and it worked. Compact Disc (or Cassette, Album, Poster etc…) was a loud ruckus. I loved it.
This was another house party album. I went to some rich kid’s summer home (Not very Punk I realize…) and had a killer time. It was the first time I got high. It was a splendid time. I met a girl named Jessica there and fell hard for her. It didn’t really go anywhere… well not more than a few clumsy make out sessions, but it was brilliant nonetheless. I still smile when I think of that night. I can’t believe that was almost 20 years ago.
5) Sugar – Copper Blue. This was Bob Mould’s second band. It was loud and heavy, but had a pop sensibility. This in my humble estimation was the best record of the 90’s. The songs “Helpless” and “Changes” seemed to resonate rather well with were my life was going.
I had just moved to Calgary to go to school and knew no one. I got a part time job at a record store to try and keep afloat, and got this as a promo disc. (Only after I professed my undying love of Bob Mould to my boss…)
Anyway, I went for beers with classmates one night, and I got a lift home from one of them. I played this disc in the car on the way, and wound up with a roommate. Chris Hoy was the only good roommate I ever had. We lived together on and off for nearly a decade.
He became a partner in crime. There were so many hair brained schemes (Too many to count.) and drunken nights of total debauchery. He was a brother too me and was almost instantly adopted by my family. Nothing was sacred when we hung around… I miss him a lot.
I’ll never forget the time he came home with a case of beer and a garden gnome. His eyes were wild and insane. (But that’s a story for another time…)
Every time I listen to this disc I think about those days. Every happy, stupid moment comes rushing back like it was yesterday. I usually have to turn the volume up on this one.
6) The Cars – Heartbeat City. This is the only rock and roll record my dad and I can agree on. Generally he hates most everything I listen to, but he actually bought this one for me… Because he liked it…
It was a birthday present from him. I remember sitting in the breakfast nook of our old house, and he handed it to me. He looked pleased with himself, as if he had scored some points or something. (Not that he ever needed to worry about that. My Dad rocks…)
I used to catch him every now and then with my Walkman on, humming away to “Magic.” To this day, the song reminds me of him.
7) The The – Dusk. The first time I heard this Cd was in a little café that I used to hang out at called the Koop. This was the kind of place that stayed open to spite itself. It was a great little refuge in tucked away in a seedy shit hole of a building that should have likely been condemned. Chris and I discovered it by accident, and became part of its faithful clientele. It became the central meeting place for all my friends and me in the 90’s. I formed some very important relationships in that café.
I met my ex-wife there, but more importantly I met lee and Grant. These are two people that to this day I hold in the highest esteem. I think everyone should have a pair of well-matched vegan activists in their lives. They have managed to keep me grounded over the years, and saw me though some pretty rough times. I own them more than you can possibly imagine.
Anyway, as with all things, The Koop eventually went the way of the Dodo. The Cd however remained in the collection and is still in constant rotation in my ipod.
8) Doughboys – Happy Accidents. This record is the near perfect document of my time at CHMR in Newfoundland. I spent just about every waking minute of my time at that radio station. (Much to my parents chagrin…) This disc managed to get played about 5 times a day for nearly 4 years.
It was at CHMR that I met Russell. Over the years, he has been more than key player in my life. Russ is a brother to me. He couldn’t be any closer. Not even by birth. Over the years he seems to have adopted my family as his own, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If it weren’t for Russ, I wouldn’t be a comedian today. Out of boredom one night we started a sketch comedy troupe. Somehow we managed to write 8 half hour episodes for radio, and then managed to get ourselves on the CBC repeatedly. I have always suspected that he’s both a genius and a natural grifter. He is a super hero to me. (But he sucks ass at air hockey…)
9) The Clash – London Calling. I have had about 6 copies of this album since 1986. It is as perfect an album as I can possibly think of. This disc has traveled with me literally everywhere I’ve been. From San Francisco to Florida and Vancouver to St. John’s, it has kept me company. It is my open road record. I take it when I tour. It reminds me of me. I have a near unexplainable connection to it. I have debated its merits with just about everyone I know. I have given it as a gift to countless others. For some reason I insist on sharing it.
I remember sitting in a Chock Full of Nuts diner in San Francisco, having a cup of coffee and humming along to “Spanish Bombs” and thinking to myself that life couldn’t be much better than this.
10) Bob Marley – Legend. The only compilation to make it on the list. This reminds me of working at Bar None in St. John’s. It was a punk bar, and one of those near perfect venues to see a band. There was many a sweaty night spent in the pit slamming into one another at high velocity.
During the day, we used to pump this record out into the street. We smoked a lot of dope and talked about taking over the world. Bob was a prophet and we were his priests.
11) James – Pleased To Meet You. This one is quite special. It reminds me of the people that are closest to me now. Denise, Russ, Brett Martin (thebrettmartin.blogspot.com), Peter Anthony, Dan Rock (danielrock.blogspot.com), and Erin. It fits with how I think about all of them. I love them all. They are the ones that have supported all the decisions that have gotten me to this point in my life. These are the people that reminded me why I do what I do, and pick me up when I fall down.
Of course there are others… but those are for another time.
Now it’s time to sleep.
