I’m a music person. My first album that I bought was a CD version of Soundgarden’s Superunknown (1994). I remember making my parents stop the car so I could buy it at Spec’s music in South Miami on our way to the airport for a family trip. I quickly moved on from there to general radio pop/crap, mixed with Adam Sandler and Weird Al Yankovic albums. My musical taste was ruled by what was popular on the radio or TV for a long time until high school

Well, to be fair, and thorough, I did have some seeds of quality music implanted in me at a young age. My dad was an avid fan of Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield and other Motown soul groups. Some of my earliest memories involve standing in front of his old jukebox watching the rainbow lights change color behind the tubes with bubbles floating up (hard to explain, but trust me, it was a psychedelic experience at that age). My sister also had some influence on my musical taste. It was her who introduced me to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and many other classic rock groups that I carried me through middle school. She is also responsible for getting me into the reggae sounds of Sublime and Bob Marley.

In 10th grade, I came across two things that would change my life forever: marijuana and a band called Gomez. I first heard of Gomez from an internet message board (someone was suggesting good music). I downloaded a couple of songs and immediately fell in love. My fond memories of the first times I ever got high are also associated with the first times I heard Gomez. They were the first band that I truly felt like I had discovered on my own. Gomez opened the door to lesser known bands as a way for me to find music that felt like it was truly mine. I found myself singing or humming songs that weren’t on MTV and that other people (for the most part) didn’t know. This made me feel great. It made me feel like an individual. Gomez catalyzed the expansion of my musical tastes.

When I got to College, the door that Gomez had first opened was now completely knocked off it’s hinges. Being in southern California has opened up opportunities for me to see great live music pretty much any weekend that I want. The people that I have been lucky enough to befriend in college have also been a huge source of musical education, many of my new favorite bands have been introduced to me through one of my friends.

I look back at that first album I got when I was 6 years old. I look at myself now. Sometimes I forget that I am the same person. I’ll be twenty years old in a couple days. I now play bass guitar in a “band” with my friend Greg. And I am an avid collector of vinyl LPs of all types. Whenever I get a new album or hear some new song that catches my ear, I still have that same excitement that I first felt when hearing Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”. Without further delay, here’s a list of some albums that I have been keeping me alive during these last treacherous weeks of finals.

Silver Jews; American Water (1999) & Starlite Walker (1994)

The Silver Jews are not your typical band. The only permanent member throughout all seven albums (1993-now) has been David Berman. Stephen Malkmus appears on a majority of the albums, providing Pavement-like guitar riffs and back-up vocals. The music has the song writing quality is reminiscent of Dylan while the voice evokes hints of Cash mixed with Bill Callahan of Smog. The songs range from the dreamy-abstract stories of love and loss, to the epic and grand songs of American dreams gone sour.

Starlite Walker is the second Jews album, but it is the first that captures the now established Silver Jews sound. It is an ambitious album with lots of great song writing and experimental songs. Listen to this album if you want to hear things that you have never heard done with music. The stories that the songs tell are epic and fun. This album is best heard straight through. Also, this is a disclaimer for Silver Jews music in general: this type of music can only be appreciated if it is the center of attention and the only thing you are focusing on. It is not the type of music to listen to casually. Sit down, put on some headphones and dive in. Top Songs: New Orleans, Trains Across The Sea, Pan American Blues.

American Water is arguably my favorite Silver Jews album. Like always the songs are poetic and multi-layered, but it is the instrumentals that make this album stand out. This album has the most obvious Malkmus contributions out of all the albums. Malkmus’ epic guitar riffs and solos complement DC Berman’s trademark baritone vocals perfectly; they are the perfect match. The instrumentals in this song are less experimental and more catchy, while the songwriting maintains it’s high standards of quality and abstraction. Apparently this is a great road trip album… I haven’t had a chance to try it out for myself, but I can imagine it being great. Enjoy this album in the comforts of a nice set of headphones or while cruising around in your car, either way… I think you will enjoy it. Top Songs: Random Rules, Smith and Jones Forever, People, Blue Arrangements.

Starlite Walker: 9.5/10

American Water: 10/10

Galaxie 500; On Fire (1989)

I heard about this band on a random list of the greatest indie rock albums. I’ve given it a couple listens and have found myself enjoying it greatly. My second time listening to it I put on my Sony MDR-V700s and lied down with it playing, fell asleep and dreamed colorful dreams of shooting stars and galactic transformations. Give it a try. Top Songs: Blue Thunder, Strange.

8.5/10

-D+; No Mystery (2006)

My good friend Ross got me listening to Phil Elvrum with The Microphones & Mount Eerie and only after many listens did I finally start to enjoy his interesting sound. After seeing a couple Phil shows live I still don’t really get it. I think “The Glow Pt. 2″ is one of the best albums ever made and I think that time will show how good it really is. But aside from that album theres only a couple of Phil’s songs that I can enjoy. Not true for his other band D+. D+ sounds like Beat Happening but take away Calvin Johnson and replace them with with Elvrum and Karl Blau. The result is a poppier more accessible band with the familiar low-fi sound that makes K Records great and the instrumental experimentation that made “The Glow Pt. 2″ the epic album that it is. Top Songs: Hear Lies: Red, White and Blue, Pandora Balks, Reach for the Sky.

8/10

-Yo La Tengo; Painful (1993)

I had heard “I’m Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass” plenty of times before I ever came across Painful. The former had a bunch of great songs that put Yo La Tengo on the map for me, but I regret taking so long for searching for the roots of Yo La. This album is dreamy and a mix of slow building songs with faster songs reminiscent of Sonic Youth. This album is a lot of fun and it really made me have a lot more respect for the early 90s in general.

8/10

-Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks; Real Emotional Trash (200

This is a great rock album. Malkmus has found a new home with the Jicks and they rock just as hard as any Pavement album that I’ve ever heard. But to be fair, I haven’t heard all that much Pavement. The songs are long and that is a good thing. Malkmus doesn’t seem like he is ever going to run out of quality guitar-driven songs that make you want to bang your head through a window just to compete with his epicness.

-Why?; Almost Live From Anna’s Cabin & Alopecia (2003)

If you haven’t heard of Why?, I suggest you stop reading this right now and go buy an album. Since it’s beginnings Anticon has always been at the cutting edge of hip-hop music in Northern California. cLOUDDEAD set the benchmark for avant garde hip-hop and beat-making. Doseone’s spoken word poetry matched perfectly with Yoni Wolf’s vocal experimentation which was all alive with Odd Nosdam’s legendary beat-making and sampling skills. That band is a now a thing of the past and from it’s ashes came Why?. Why? moves Anticon from the cutting edge of hip-hop to the cutting edge of rock music. Why? has done what no other “white-boy” has ever dared to do: blend indie rock roots with the avant-garde hip-hop vocals perfected by cLOUDDEAD. This album isn’t an official release (it was sold on their first tour at the merch table), and it is filled with a bunch of “almost live” versions of some of Why?’s best songs as well as few obscure ones. Just listen to the fucking band! Top Songs: Maze, Bad Entropy, Ha x 4.

10/10

-Big Youth; Everyday Skank - Best of Big Youth (1980)

Just a great reggae/dub album. Manley Buchanan AKA Big Youth is the king of toasting. His dub-style beats will make you want to get down and boogie on the dance floor while his vocals will keep you going till the very end. For those fans of roots reggae and classic dub genres, you probably already know of THE Big Youth, if not, take this advice, you won’t regret it. I usually look down upon greatest hits albums but this one does it for me. Top Songs: S90 Skank, Cool Breeze, Screaming Target/Concrete Jungle

7/10 - it’s not gonna blow your mind, but it’ll get you dancing

Honorable mention/for next time: The Halo Benders; Don’t Tell Me Now, Love as Laughter; Sea to Shining Sea, Pavement; Wowee Zowee (SE).

I hope you enjoy this music and please try to support the bands by buying their music or seeing them live if you are able to!

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