My Life In Records

I know this isn't really an album, it's a collection of some of her work, but it's the Nina Simone collection that I first got to know and that contains many of my favorite performances-- "I Want Some Sugar in my Bowl" was the first cover song I ever really performed, and of course now I'm covering "Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You", a Carolyn Franklin song that Nina performed on her "Nina and Piano!" record.  I don't know if I can say this respectfully enough, but Nina feels like my soul twin.  I could cover her work for the rest of my life because it's so easy and natural for me to get inside the songs. 

I had an office job a few years back that I had to commute to, so I associate this album with the sights of my commute-- Lake Washington and the sunrise over the Cascade Mountains.  Rattle and Hum is such a gutsy recording. My favorite aspect of this album is the way that the band worked with blues and gospel and folk musicians, people with big names that they admired and respected. I love collaboration too. It's one of the most exciting parts of being a musician. I listened to Rattle and Hum almost every day for several months, and hummed it in the bathroom at work (it was nice and echoey in there). It was my comrade in the soul-stifling world of a receptionist. 

Upon first listen, I thought Gillian Welch was "too twangy"; upon second listen, I thought she was okay; by the third listen I was totally hooked. If it hadn't been for a friend's insistence that I get to know her work, I might not have listened to it three times! Gillian Welch is a masterful songwriter, one of the best contemporary songwriters I know of. She knows how to match story to song in a way that's absolutely devastating. Many of her songs bring me to tears. It also comforts me that she is a strum-and-sing kind of singer/ songwriter, much like myself, and she relies on her musical partner David Rawlings to supply the fine flourishes (I rely on my buddy Nathan Smurthwaite).

Elliott Smith wrote the best pop songs ever!  I was electrified by his work the moment I first listened to it.  His lyrics were down-to-earth and catchy, using normal phrases that one would use any day. I thought his scratchy, lo-fi, four-track recordings were wonderfully rebellious.  I also found them incredibly empowering (I did most of my debut album on a 4-track).  Elliott Smith used the power of understatement to get his songs across.  I learned a lot about songwriting through him. 

The Red House Painters dared to be meditative (some would say "boring", others "depressing"; they don't get it). I was soothed by Mark Kozelek's voice and by the slow, marching movement of the music. Also, the angst of his unrequited love songs was a good backdrop for the drama of my college romance.

I discovered Nick Drake when Matt, one of my Marzuki bandmates, introduced me to his music. Nick Drake was just a man and his guitar, but the songs on "Pink Moon" are totally perfect and complete. I collected all of his work that I could get my hands on. He was so good, he needed no accompaniment. When he did incorporate a band or an orchestra, the result was sometimes disappointing. He was an inspiration to me as a songwriter and guitar player. 

I discovered the Cocteau Twins in college, and instantly loved their dreamy, soulful sound.  I listened to this album over and over again for several years until my friends began to criticize me for liking only "pretty music".  I admired the way that Elizabeth Fraser was so free and experimental with her voice; she could sound like a dozen different vocalists.  I used to pretend I was her whenever I was in the studio with Marzuki (my old band).  Some of those vocals are indeed reminiscent of her style, although slightly off-key.

Other than my teenage crush on the sexy Nuno Bettencourt, I loved this band for their song "More than Words", the first song I ever really learned on the guitar. (And I STILL love that song, contrary to popular sentiment!) Once I bought the album for its hit song, I was compelled to listen to all of the hard rock that comprised most of the album-- and I began to like it! They were talented, quirky, and incredibly skilled, and Gary Cherone's voice was husky and beautiful. My two best friends and I used to cruise around in a brown Chevy Citation with this album blasting through the neighborhoods.

This album was the soundtrack to my high school years and all the introspection of adolescence. I used to retreat into this album, lie and stare at the ceiling while listening to it on headphones. The opening chords are still as familiar and welcoming as home. 

This was my dad's record that I used to play over and over, sitting on the orange shag carpet in our den.  I loved the simplicity and repetitiveness of his songs and his warm, rich voice. Gordon Lightfoot's sound actually reminds me of the sound of my dad's playing and singing, which is maybe why it was an instant hit for me.  I'm comforted by the sound of a man and his guitar