Where would the world be without music? Music is one of life’s oldest art forms and has reached the hearts of generations upon generations. But today within this post, I look at the albums that have stolen my heart, my mind and my soul. Now to say I have a definitive favourite would be impossible to say but I can pick a top five. So to speak.
So to start things off:
The first album I ever loved:
Good Charlotte – The Chronicles of Life and Death
I received this off a friend of my mum for one of my birthdays when I was about 8 or 9, around the time of the release year. I had never expressed that I liked Good Charlotte, nor had my mum. Her friend didn’t like Good Charlotte. But she got it me, and oh deary lord! I had found heaven. Well I’d found that album that your mum lets you listen to as a kid, because she knows that it makes you happy, but wouldn’t dare let you listen to it with her now.
The first album I ever bought:
Kanye West – Graduation
I remember that my sister had this on her iPod and whenever she wasn’t using it, I snook it away and listened to Graduation on repeat, specifically Homecoming. I had no idea who Chris Martin was at the time, researched, discovered Coldplay. Avoided them. Kept listening to Kanye. It was the first album that me and my friends knew a lot of the songs to, as this was his breakout album in the UK really.
The album that changed my life:
MUSE – Showbiz
Now the problem you’d have with this is that, Showbiz came out in 1999. I was only 3 then, so hopefully it’s obvious that I got to this a lot later than older fans. To this day it’s still my favourite MUSE album, none of the other five have come anywhere close to Showbiz. MUSE have become more widespread, yet retaining their original sound in some essences, but the raw edged, noisecore, mad screaming guitars on Showbiz are what made me go;
Holy shit!
The ‘coolest’ album I’ve ever bought:
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
Contrast ey? Humbug marked a change in direction for Arctic Monkeys. They moved away from their lad-ish, tongue and cheek Rock style, borrowed from The Streets and moved more towards a Queens Of The Stone Age, classic rock sound (probably because Alex Turner met Josh Homme). It was slower, more thought out, sexier, deeper, more artistic. It wasn’t “We’re lads and we write songs about pullin birds and ‘munters’ but we play guitar so we’re not pop”. They moved away from their successful style and took a risk, and thank God they did. Although their next change on AM was just pointless.
The worst album I’ve ever bought:
Arctic Monkeys – AM
Lets just move on shall we?
The first album I ever shunned, then loved:
Amazingly, this only occurred last year with Holy Fire by Foals.
Holy Fire, will always be a special album for me. First time round, I thought what the hell is this?! Autotune?! No swamp?! (I should clarify in case you don’t know, Foals had announced that the songs on the album, were much more, Swampish than their previous releases). Inhaler was just insane when I first heard it on Radio 1, then we got the anthem that is My Number, even though Zane Lowe truly murdered the drum snare on its world première. Once I sat myself down and forced myself to play Holy Fire all the way through, I released it wasn’t even half as bad as I first titled it as. Plus I lost it to Providence.
So now for:
My top 5 (6) albums
5. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade
The first album I ever listened to that people called me an emo for. For some reason, this empowered me to dive in deeper to MCR’s incredible earlier work, discovering, Vampires Will Never Hurt You, Demolition Lovers and all of Three Cheers. The Black Parade was the album for my generation to revolt to. Teenagers was and still is an absolute, God send.
4. Hurts – Happiness
The first album I’ve had an emotional breakdown award goes to… HURTS! In all seriousness, Hurts debut Happiness is one of the most emotionally traumatic experiences I’ve ever knowingly faced, and I do it numerous times a month. It’s a classic pop album for those of you who want pop with a few more tears and heartfelt ballads instead of bad singing and manufactured dribble.
3. Breton – War Time Stories
Well didn’t you read the review for War Time Stories? NO! Well then get your backside onto it!
Here
2. MUSE – Showbiz
You read what I put before right?
1. WU-LYF – Go Tell Fire To The Mountain / MONEY – The Shadow Of Heaven.
My number 1 has been an indecisive mess for sometime and seemed to have been captured by WU-LYF in 2012. Then when MONEY graced their presence into my life, I knew they were going to make something big. The Shadow Of Heaven to be exact (which earned them a 10!) But for the remainder of my life, I seriously doubt if I could pick a favourite of the two. If I’m ever at gunpoint and I’m asked this question, you know that I’ll be dead.
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