Another music meme: “Pick an album for every year of your life”.
I guess anyone born much before the mid-50s is going to have trouble with the early years, says Jim. You don’t know the half of it. I was born in 1960, and I’ve really struggled with anything before 1966. I like Rubber Soul well enough, and I think Another side of Bob Dylan is a really important album, but there’s no comparison with how strongly I feel about most of the later choices.
So my list starts in 1966 – around the time the clock stopped on popular music. Most of these are, in my opinion, seriously great albums; several of them are so great they’ve pushed out other great albums (Screamadelica, The Queen is Dead and the Beta Band’s 3 EPs are just some of the albums that surprised me by not making the list, not to mention anything by Robyn Hitchcock).
Share and enjoy. I think any three of these would give you a pretty good view of my mental soundworld, should you be interested in it.
| 1966 | Bob Dylan | Blonde on blonde |
| 1967 | the Beatles | Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band |
| 1968 | Family | Music in a doll’s house |
| 1969 | Captain Beefheart | Trout mask replica |
| 1970 | Soft Machine | Third |
| 1971 | Anne Briggs | Anne Briggs |
| 1972 | Nick Drake | Pink Moon |
| 1973 | Faust | the Faust tapes |
| 1974 | Eno | Taking Tiger Mountain (by strategy) |
| 1975 | Patti Smith | Horses |
| 1976 | Shirley Collins | Amaranth |
| 1977 | David Bowie | Heroes |
| 1978 | Wire | Chairs missing |
| 1979 | the Homosexuals | the Homosexuals’ record |
| 1980 | Elvis Costello | Get happy! |
| 1981 | the Teardrop Explodes | Wilder |
| 1982 | the Fall | Hex enduction hour |
| 1983 | Laughing Clowns | Laughter around the table |
| 1984 | Scott Walker | Climate of hunter |
| 1985 | Yeah Yeah Noh | Cutting the heavenly lawn of greatness… Last rites for the god of love |
| 1986 | Mighty Ballistics Hi-Power | Here come the blues |
| 1987 | David Thomas and the Wooden Birds | Blame the messenger |
| 1988 | Peter Blegvad | Downtime |
| 1989 | Swans | The burning world |
| 1990 | KLF | Chill out |
| 1991 | The Orb | The Orb’s adventures beyond the ultraworld |
| 1992 | Julian Cope | Jehovahkill |
| 1993 | Underworld | Dubnobasswithmyheadman |
| 1994 | Sabres of Paradise | Haunted dancehall |
| 1995 | Tindersticks | Tindersticks (second album) |
| 1996 | Future Sound of London | Dead cities |
| 1997 | the Verve | Urban hymns |
| 1998 | Embrace | The good will out |
| 1999 | Clinton | Disco and the halfway to discontent |
| 2000 | Godspeed you black emperor! | Raise your skinny fists like antennas to heaven |
| 2001 | cLOUDDEAD | cLOUDDEAD |
| 2002 | Simian | We are your friends |
| 2003 | the Shins | Chutes too narrow |
| 2004 | the Earlies | These were the Earlies |
| 2005 | James Yorkston | Hoopoe |
| 2006 | Beth Orton | Comfort of strangers |
| 2007 | Radiohead | In rainbows |
| 2008 | John Kelly | Come all you wild young men |
8 Comments
Didn’t The Doors come out in 67?
That’ll teach me to trust record labels. (It says 1971 on the label of my copy and 1973 on the sleeve. Very odd.) Well, it’s a fine album, but it doesn’t dislodge Pepper. That gives me a vacancy in 1971, which lets me get some more folk in. Sorted.
Very odd indeed given that Morrison died in 1971. Or perhaps “died”…
I reckon I’ve only heard four of your list all the way through. And that includes the first two.
What can I say, except that you’re a big Julian Cope fan. Wouldn’t it have been a blast if he continued with Mac and Paul Simpson and made an album instead of splintering back in Liverpool then. Oh, what ifs?
Love, T-Rex,Joy Div, The Smiths? Well, can’t put in everything. At least there’s The Fall! Can’t even start with my list or I’d go bonkers.
Lively subject.
I was only sort of interested in your list at first – some great picks and some that I was only marginally familiar with. But when I saw “Blame the Messenger” (an incredible, lost classic!) I knew I had some homework and listening to do…
My own attempt is here.
It’s funny, I have a bit of a grá for “The Good Will Out” by Embrace too…
My first year is easy: Beatles ‘65. Great album, currently only available in the Capital Albums boxed set.
I pick Another Green World by Eno for the current year because I bought the CD and finally heard it for the first time. Is that acceptable, or does the album have to be released in the year it represents? Stupid memes.
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