20 Essential Albums

(My friend Damon did this on Facebook, and tagged me, so I thought I'd share it here for my friends not on Facebook, as well as there.)

Think of 20 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life, or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, and emotions. These are the albums that - no matter what they were, musically - shaped your world.When you finish, tag 20 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

My list isn't really in chronological order because I didn't necessarily find these albums the years they came out. I might be off a bit due to my own level of maturity or discovery or whatever.

1. Dad's 8-Track of 50s Classics
Released: Unknown
I found it: ~1976

When I was little, my dad had this 8-track with all these great songs from the 1950s on it. It might've been a Dick Clark compilation, but I don't remember. I learned how to operate the 8-track player at an early age (we also had the Grease and Saturday Night Fever soundtracks on 8-track), and I loved these songs. I would crank it up in my brothers' room (they had an 8-track player in their room, the lucky boys) when they weren't around and listen to these songs and - it's embarrassing to admit - dance.

Highlights: "Personality," by Lloyd Price; "Maybellene," by Chuck Price

2. Van Halen II, Van Halen
Released: 1979
I fell in love: 1980

My brother Andy had this on cassette, and he was a big early influence on me, musically. I don't know for sure if I really liked the music or if I just liked hanging out with him and listening to it. I'm pretty sure I was obvlivious to the blatant sexuality of David Lee Roth's lyrics. I think I mostly just thought it was all a big joke.

Highlights: "Somebody Get Me a Doctor," "Beautiful Girls"

3. Pyromania, Def Leppard
Released: 1983
I fell in love: 1983

Another one of Andy's picks. I also enjoyed his Ratt, Journey, and Quiet Riot cassettes, but nos. 2 and 3 on this list are the ones that really had an impact on me. We went on a camping trip, and I remember being attached to Andy and his portable cassette player. Luckily they had two earphone jacks in those days. By the time Pyromania came out I was the ripe old age of 11, and I wanted to rock.

Highlights: "Rock of Ages," "Foolin'," "Photograph"

4. Vacation, Go Go's
Released: 1982
I fell in love: 1984, '85

5. Speaking In Tongues, Talking Heads
Released: 1983
I fell in love: 1984, '85

Nos. 4 and 5 go together on this list. My oldest brother Dan moved into the back house after my grandfather, for whom the room (it was really just a room, not a "house") had been built passed away. My grandfather died when I was 9 (on the night of my holy communion; I never had to do another Catholic thing as a child again), but I'm not sure if Dan moved in right away or if the room was empty for awhile, or what. Some time passed, but I'm feeling vague tonight. My brother Dan was 18 or 19; he was cool. He was into music and clothes and his locked door was a temptation I couldn't ignore. When he wasn't home, and I could get away with it, I would slip the spare key to his room off the key rack in the kitchen and sneak into his room, where I would try on his clothes (his clothes always smelled like Paco Rabbane, which was way different from my dad's Old Spice), snoop around his stuff, and "borrow" his records. These two were my favorites. I think the Go Gos really tapped into my feelings about boys and what I thought dating would be like when I got older; the Talking Heads was something Dan liked and so I therefore assumed it was something I would like, too. I was right on both counts.

Highlights: Go Go's: "Vacation," "Girl of 100 Lists" (I can still probably sing this song from memory), "Get Up and Go;" Talking Heads: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)," "Burning Down the House, "Girlfriend Is Better"

6. Ghost in the Machine, The Police
Released: 1981
I fell in love: ~1985

I knew who the Police were, like everybody else in the 1980s, but I didn't realize how much I liked them until the 7th grade. I wasn't in the 7th grade in 1981, so I was about 4 years late finding this album. We had an assignment to make some kind of illustrated book/diary thing (?), and I remember that this album matched my mood perfectly in the 7th grade, so it played heavily in that project. Also that year, I had a crush on this boy (his name was Eric), and he was friendly enough, but you know how that goes: he was beautiful (tall, blond and gorgeous); by the 7th grade I was already well-used to liking boys more than they liked me. We were friends and talked on the telephone and he walked me home once in awhile, and even saw a movie together, thanks to Serena's excellent matchmaking skills (we saw "The Breakfast Club" in the Marina with her whole family). Needless to say, this feeling put me in a funk. To my credit, rather than turn to whatever the sappy boy-band of the day was (I have no idea who that might've been), I found the Police.

Highlights: "Invisible Sun," "Omegaman," "Secret Journey," "Darkness"

7. Murmur, R.E.M.
Released: 1983
I fell in love: 1985

I can see a theme here... most of my music has been chosen for me by other people. I wonder if that's common, or what? I became a fan of R.E.M. and this album because of my friend Missy. I guess we were in the 8th grade, so this is around 1985? Missy introduced me to R.E.M., the Sex Pistols, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran (DM and Duran Duran elicited "thanks, but no thanks" from me), Pink Floyd with Syd Barret, U2, and a bunch of other 80s bands. She had the 80s look down totally until we got a little older and she went full-on goth. I was a little nerdy, brown, marching band kid who liked to read; she was this tall, bleach blond beauty with perfect skin and awesome clothes. I don't know how we fit together, but we did. We had fun.

Highlights: "Radio Free Europe," "Catapult," "West of the Fields"

8. Abbey Road, the Beatles
Released: 1969
I fell in love: 1987

In the 9th and 10th grades, I had a regular Saturday night babysitting gig. I was/am not a natural childcare giver - I didn't like babysitting very much but I liked these kids (Galit, about 10 years old, and her little brother, Guy) and their parents. Once the kids went to bed I engaged in every babysitter's favorite past times and snooped around their house, played with Tali's makeup and Jacob's drafting table (never touched his actual work but loved all his pens and pencils and paper), raided the 'fridge, talked to boys (Charlie, Ron) on the phone, and fell asleep on the couch. One other thing I did was listen to Abbey Road every Saturday night for the two or three years I babysat for them, and though I did play it softly, there were always some nights when Guy would come downstairs and say that the final chords of "The End" had scared him.

Highlights: "Something," "Because," "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window"

9. Ragin', Full-On, Firehose
Released: 1986
I fell in love: 1989

So, it's 1989, and Adam and I were dating. High school dating for me had not been much of a success up to this point - I mean, there was the date rapist, the drug addict, the guy for whom I was merely a placeholder (he was actually very nice), all the guys I liked more than they liked me, and one or two others who shall remain nameless. Adam was the first boy who liked me first who I valued as a person and a friend first. Hmmm. That's a deep observation, there. Anyway, he had many things going for him: he had long hair, he was tall, he was attracted to me, he had a car, I could trust him, he was smart as hell, he was a lot of fun, he had a car, and he had this album. We wore it out. Or I did, I'm sure he got sick of it first. I had never been to a concert of any kind until he took me to McCabe's and the Palomino to see these guys.

Highlights: "Chemical Wire," "Another Theory Shot to Shit," "Caroms"

10. Bleach, Nirvana
Released: 1989
I fell in love: 1990

During my senior year of high school, I met Patrick while working at the library. He liked me first, which I always enjoy pointing out to people. As it's been well-documented that I had a boyfriend that year, and he (Patrick) was much older (5 years older), we were just friends for years before we dated. He had a few things going for him: he exposed me to lots of music, he hung out with me when he could've been with people who were older and much cooler (and legal), he was attracted to me, he took me to Hollywood, he had a car, he was patient, he was older, wiser, and funny as hell, and he knew something about everything (I always like know-it-alls). He gave me lots of music as our friendship went on and changed, but this was the first thing he gave me. I'm pretty sure it was on cassette. We used to drive around and listen to it in his white Toyota truck with the giant tires and the loud-as-hell sound system.

Highlights: "Floyd the Barber," "Negative Creep," "Swap Meet"

11. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
Released: 1973
I fell in love: 1990

This was the first CD I ever bought. I remember being home one day, alone, at my parents' house. I think it was the summer. I had this playing on the CD player loud enough to rattle the glass bulb covers on the ceiling fan in the kitchen, and I was walking through the living room when I saw someone on the front porch. I went to answer the door, and it was Eric, the boy I had been in love with in the 7th grade. (He had moved away at some point, and had written me one or two silly letters, so he knew my address.) He was still beautiful, and better yet, he had a motorcycle parked at the curb in front of my house. He made a comment about the volume of the music, so I turned it off, locked the door, and took off with him on his motorcycle for a truly awesome afternoon. We spent a few days together and went out and hung out and fooled around and then he disappeared. That time with him, when, basically, a dream came true, was pretty special, and while I don't feel great about losing him, I also don't wonder what might've happened, like I have with so many of my other failed relationships, which seems funny, since there was no closure or real end to it. He went away, and that was it, and it was perfect just the way it was.

Highlights: "The Great Gig in the Sky," "Any Colour You Like," "Brain Damage"

12: Presence, Led Leppelin
Released: 1976
I fell in love: 1991

I always liked Led Zeppelin, and I remember having many, many conversations in high school with Rachel about the bands we liked and who we thought was better (Zeppelin for me, the Who for her) - it took me awhile to work my way around to Presence, but once I did, it was pretty much my soundtrack for awhile. When I finally got a car in 1991, I had this crappy little 1984 Subaru with a portable CD player in it, and pretty much the only CD I had in the car for a very long time was Presence. I know most people don't think it's that great of an album (I worked at a video store with this guy Mitch, and he tried to talk me out of liking Presence), but for me, it's my favorite.

Highlights: "Achilles Last Stand," "Royal Orleans," "Hots On For Nowhere"

13. Gentlemen, Afghan Whigs
Released: 1993
I fell in Love: 1993

This was another gift from Patrick. Patrick has had a really big influence on the music I enjoy (Afghan Whigs, Nirvana, Captain Beefheart, Black Sabbath, Molly Hatchet, Aerosmith, McCoy Tyner, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus: yes. Dio, Rainbow, Robin Trower, Cheap Trick, Miles Davis, Datarock: no), and while this is a pretty dark album (and maybe a weird one to give to a young woman you like) it's been a favorite ever since I first heard it.

Highlights: "Be Sweet," "Debonair," "My Curse"

14. Grace, Jeff Buckley
Released: 1994
I fell in love: 1994

1994 was a rough year for me. I was engaged to marry Drew, and starting to feel trapped and confused. I suppose I was in love with him (read: I wasn't in love with him), but it was a hard thing, to be 22 and not ready to get married. His family was perfect, he was totally wonderful (even my sister liked him), but I saw myself making his life a living hell. I didn't trust myself to not fuck it up. I was working at Crown Books in Malibu, and my friends there, Leigh and Cheney, were outnumbered by my enemies (Beth, Jessica, and Alex), so I'm not really sure why I stuck around. I could've found another retail job, I'm sure, but leaving two things seemed like one too many decisions to have to make at one time. After I broke up with Drew and canceled our wedding two weeks before the date and everyone hated me, Cheney and I used to drive around Malibu in my Toyota Celica listening to this album. He was a kid (five years younger than me), but for awhile we were really close and hung out after work and stuff, and I guess I'll leave it at that.

Highlights: "Last Goodbye," "So Real," "Dream Brother"

15. Post, Bjork
Released: 1994
I fell in love: 1994

In 1994, an old friend of Adam's, Sean, opened a funky little coffee shop in Culver City. After 4 years of being in a relationship with Drew, where his friends had become my friends (his friends now all figured I had the plague, and I was pretty much in agreement), I needed a social life, and I sure wasn't getting it at work. I started hanging out at Sean's place, and with Sean's friends, and one day I met this guy, Jesse. Jesse and I were talking about something, maybe a party?, and he mentioned that he was friends with Patrick. Suddenly, he put two and two together (because I guess Patrick had told him about me), and he figured out who I was. He invited me to the party, and I told him I had to check "with my manager" to make sure I was free. I think I was putting him off a bit, I didn't really know him, and I didn't know what the deal was yet. He thought I was an actress or something because I said "manager," and that was a fun mistake for awhile. Anyway, the next day, I was back at the coffee shop, and so was Jesse, with Patrick. After all those years of waiting, we finally hit it off as more than just friends, and started dating for real. This was what we mostly listened to (also: Six Feet Under, Cannibal Corpse, Black Sabbath... but Bjork was special) during those early exciting days. Hyper-Balled in particular was a favorite.

Highlights: "Hyper-Ballad," "You've Been Flirting Again," "Isobel"

16. OK Computer, Radiohead
Released: 1997
I fell in love: 1997

I don't remember buying this CD, or who told me about it, I doubt I heard any of these tracks on the radio, I didn't have the first two albums (The Bends, Pablo Honey), I didn't know who Radiohead was. Somehow I acquired this CD, and for about 4 years it was pretty much the only thing I listened to. In 2001, after 15 years of working retail, I finally got a civil service job, which I hated. I missed my friends at Rizzoli, I had a long commute - this album made it bearable. Then one day I was getting in the parking lot elevator, and I realized that the "ding" of that crappy decrepit elevator was the same as the "ding" in one of the songs, I think it's "Lucky."

Highlights: "Subterranean Homesick Alien," "Let Down," "Lucky," "The Tourist"

17. Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, PJ Harvey
Released: 2000
I fell in love: 2000

I feel like this album should come before no. 16 even though that doesn't make sense, since it was released after. But I associate this the most with my last year at Rizzoli, before I got the civil service job. We sold music at our bookstore, and this came in one day and we were all listening to it in the store. Eventually it was the only thing I was listening to, for awhile. I really loved working in that bookstore (mostly Santa Monica, but Beverly Hills has a couple good memories, too), and if I want to go there again, all I have to do is fire up "You Said Something" and I'm right there, in the back room, in the office, in the lit section.

Highlights: "Good Fortune," "You Said Something," "Kamikaze," "This Mess We're In"

18. Clear Spot/The Spotlight Kid, Captain Beefheart
Released: 1972
I fell in love: 2004

More of Patrick's music. He played Beefheart for me for years, with me mostly going, "Okay, now can we listen to something else...?" until one day I we were listening to this album in the car (I should point out that most of my listening takes place in the car), and "Crazy Little Thing" came on and I suddenly understood what I was listening to, and started to like it. Patrick told me a story about how when I was with Drew but he and I were still friends, how hard that was for him. He was always there for me as a friend, and never said or did anything inappropriate. During that time, he told me later, "my song" was "Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles." That's a sad song. And my eyes aren't blue. Still, it's romantic, no?

This is taking Forever! To be continued...