25 Albums - Part Deux

6. Vauxhall and I - Morrissey

At a family reunion one summer, my cousin made me come and listen to this Morrissey album with him. I had listened to The Smiths a bit, but had never heard any of Morrissey's solo work. ( Remember, in the early 90's, I was still fairly young!)

I was hooked. Since then, Morrissey has been a staple in my life, especially when I am feeling down. Anyone who has dated me knows, that if they walk into my house, and I'm laying on the bed listening to a Morrissey album, there is something wrong with me in the head.

7. Add It Up - The Violent Femmes

I didn't realize it until just now, but the same cousin as mentioned above, got me hooked on the Violent Femmes. I love "Add it Up", well, because it's a compilation of "hits". From the second you hit play, you know you're in for a punk rock/rockabilly/gospel/pop music roller coaster ride of fun.



8. Nevermind - Nirvana

I know, it sounds cliche. Didn't this album "just totally change the lives" (sarcasm) of everyone in my age group? Well, let's me honest. It did, to many. Unlike many other grunge bands that I was into back in the day, when I hear Nevermind, or any Nirvana album, I still get excited. It was nice to be an angst ridden teenager, and have someone out there with power and fame, that felt just the same way as I did.

Kurt Cobain would have been 42 this year. His birthday is over now, but for all you die-hard fans out there who celebrate his birthday, you may want to check out this link, just for kicks : http://www.ehow.com/how_13459_celebrate-kurt-cobains.html

9. Phantom Power - The Tragically Hip

This album came out the summer that I ran away from home, to Vancouver. Every time I hear a song from it, I get a sick feeling at first....remembering how badly I scared and pissed off family and friends.

But, I still have it in heavy rotation after all these years. Gord Downie let the other members of the band write songs for this album, and I think that what makes it so different from some of the other Hip albums. All the songs are beautifully written, and tell stories that are uniquely Canadian.

On a side note, when I was walking down the train tracks in Thompson, Manitoba a few years back, with Mr. Henry, I couldn't help but start humming "Thompson Girl". now that song will forever be ingrained in my memory. Thanks, Das Hips.

10. Mellow Gold - Beck

I'll never forget it. One day, a bunch of us went to a friends house to chill out at lunch time. We were hanging out in her basement, when the video for "Loser" came on. It was brand spankin' new at the time, and I had never seen it, being stuck with Farm TV, and all.

My girlfriends who had seen it already, started complaining about how stupid it was, and what horrible music, and going on about "oh-my-god-he-dresses-so-weird", and so on.

Meanwhile, I was on my knees in front of the television, thinking " Oh my god, there's someone else in the world that dresses as weird as I do." And I totally dug the music.

It wasn't long after that, that I had a fall-out with the popular girls I had known and been friends with since kindergarten, and my life was never the same.

And I thank Beck for that.