25 More Albums.

In 2009 I participated in a Facebook thing where you list 25 albums that are important to you. I turned it to this post in 2013. This is a sequel of sorts. 25 more albums that affected my life.

1. Willie Nelson - Teatro. There are so many Willie albums that could be on this list, but Teatro is such a great album. From the Django intro to the overall atmospheric feel of the album, listening to this one always makes me play guitar better.

2. Misfits - Legacy of Brutality. The entire original discography is essential, and all equally good, but Legacy is the first Misfits album of mine and still contains some of my favorite Misfits songs. I learned to play guitar to this album. To this day the first thing I do when I learn a new instrument is play a Misfits song or two on it.

3. Frank Lynch - Static Aether. This might seem a little self serving, but it's true, this album is very important to me. It was the first time I released MY music. I'm still proud of the work I did with Fled Records, but releasing my own material was something I'd been meaning to do since high school.

4. Various Artists - The Year In Seven Inches. Both this and Flex Your Head had a big impact on me, but since I already went into Flex Your Head here, I'll discuss the other great early Dischord comp this time around. The bands on here inspired me to write some of my first songs. I still love the short, no nonsense hardcore these bands played. Just direct, simple, fast, heavy music.

5. I Hate Myself - 10 Songs. I'm not sure how I discovered this one, but it fast became a favorite of mine after I found it. The CD version is actually 11 songs, as it includes a comp track that wasn't on the LP version. This band satires a genre while exemplifying it. To A Husband At War is one of my favorite songs.

6. Buckner and Garcia - Pac Man Fever. Eight songs about eight great arcade games, made at the height of the arcade craze. I know it sounds a little dated, but I love it. We listen to this almost every time we go to an arcade. This was out of print for a long time, and when they re-released it on CD they had to re-record it for the release, as they could not obtain rights to the original recordings. This brings up two things I don't like about big record labels. First, it's their music, yet the label isn't allowing them to put it out there. Second, not only is the label preventing the artist control over the recordings, they are just sitting on them. If they don't want to release the music, they should allow someone else to. No one should hide art.

7. The Booked - Feel The Pride. We were going to work with The Booked with Fled Records before we ran out of money. I absolutely love the sound on this album. The songs are heavy and catchy, just the way I like my oi. The split 12" we were working on would have been great.

8. Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe. This one kinda surprised me. With Youtube on my tv through my PS3, browsing and enjoying random videos is easier than ever. I clicked on a video of Chvrches live on some show, and although the music was very different than what I would normally pick up on, it stuck. Enough stuck with me to get me to track down more of their music, and they quickly became favorites of mine. They not only inspire me to explore more and more music, but they inspire me to make music.

9. Youth Code - Youth Code. Another Youtube find. I had yet to get really into industrial music. Maybe a little here and there. I cannot get enough Youth Code though. They got me to start my own hard industrial project, though time will tell if I stick with it or not.

10. John Coltrane - Soultrane. Technically not my first Coltrane album, as I've had and loved Miles Davis' Kind of Blue for years. This is the first proper Coltrane album for me though, and it holds a special place. His music is so great, and this is the one that started my collection. I love driving around northern Michigan listening to Coltrane.

11. Paramore - Paramore. I've been into Paramore for a long time, and I really enjoy their earlier music, but this album is something else. It's their first since the original band splintered, and while it sucks that half the founding members left, it's proof that the remaining members can endure. What I like most is that this is one of those albums that is more a complete work than a collection of songs.

12. Black Flag - What The. This didn't make the list because it's my favorite Black Flag album, rather it's on here because of what it represents. The return of the almighty, always controversial, one and only, Black Flag. Greg Ginn is one of my favorite guitarists. I've gone on and on about the Black Flag/FLAG controversy, and that's not what I'm doing here. Before the reformation (or reformations, depending on your point of view) Black Flag was one of my all time favorites. Because of this reformation, I got to see the legends in action. Black Flag live was one of the best shows I've ever seen, which is saying something.

13. Guy Clark - Old Number 1. While an older album, I only got into it recently. This is definitely a songwriters album. The kind of album that makes me wanna go lock the door and write song after song. I love any album that makes me NEED to write.

14. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band. I admit that it took me a long time to jump on the Beatles bandwagon. It's not that I didn't used to like the Beatles (and related material), it's just that one, I was a bit put off my the pedestaling done to them, and two, I hadn't got around to them yet. Now that I've opened myself up to their catalog, I am enjoying it. Besides Beatles material, I've gotten into John Lennon's post-Beatles work. This album in particular is so good.

15. Bad Brains - The Omega Sessions. Perhaps I should have put the Roir tape, or I Against I, or one of the live ones, but I chose this EP for the list because of one song. Stay Close To Me sounds like something I've imagined but never found, until I heard this EP. There is just something about the way this song sounds.

16. Rancid - And Out Come The Wolves. I really thought this was on my first list. This is one of those rare albums that seem to never get old. I had a cassette copy in my car that went everywhere with me. I love all their albums, but Out Come The Wolves will always hold a special place with me.

17. Frank Sinatra - Nothing but The Best. Sinatra is another one I should have been really into for a long time, but I've only recently got really into. He is a classic for a reason. Although he didn't write (he has a total of seven songwriting credits, all shared credits), he is an inspiration as a performer. I listen to his singing like I listen to a guitarist, if that makes sense. I wouldn't normally write about or even collect a "best of" style compilation, but this is a great start to any Sinatra collection.

18. Dead River Drag - Dead River Drag. Rollinghead and Dave Grant in particular were big parts of the 90s Kalamazoo scene and a big influence on me when I was getting into playing music. After Rollinghead broke up, Dave went on to form the short lived Dead River Drag with a few ex-bandmates. I didn't get a chance to see them live or pick up their one release when they were around. I did pick a copy in a used bin quite recently, and I'm happy to take another trip back to some of my early influences.

19. Django Reinhardt - Any. I know it's a cop out not naming an album. I did this last time with Motorhead, and I'm doing it this time with Django. Easily the best guitarist I've heard. There is just no one who plays quite like him. He does stuff with two fingers I won't ever accomplish with four. His body of work amazes and captivates me.

20. Chuck Higgins - Pachuko Hop. I picked this up in a little record store on the Kalamazoo mall based solely on the album title. Mano Negra covered Joe King Carrasco's Patchuko Hop on their Puta's Fever album. I hadn't got into Carrasco yet, and when I saw this album I couldn't remember who Mano Negra covered. I bought this album just in case. The album I got is actually a singles compilation, not the album by the same name. Either one is great. I love the sound of these songs, and I love the sound of Chuck's saxophone. Chuck Higgins and John Zorn both make be want a band with a saxophone.

21. Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil and I. Another songwriter's album. I just love the songwriting on this one. Kristofferson is one of my favorite songwriters. He writes the kind of songs that I wish I could. I love his singing/playing style and I love the overall sound of the album, but the songwriting is my main draw.

22. Willie Nelson - Heroes. I know I've already done a Willie album, but his body of work is such an inspiration to me that I cannot stop at one. Heroes is not only a great album, it's one of those albums that works great as a whole piece, not just a collection of songs. While not an out and out concept album like Willie has done so well several times in the past, the album nonetheless has an overall theme that just works. This quickly became one of my all time favorite albums, and it always makes me want to play guitar and write songs.

23. The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock - Vivaldi Conceri L'Amoroso. Vivaldi is one of my favorite classical composers. While his "Four Seasons" is quite well known, I really like his concertos. This album in particular really sounds great. While I've liked classical music forever, I've never got really into it. Now that I am starting to really explore the genre I am finding it fresh, exciting, and full of possibility. It's like this huge world I am lost in. It's such a deep and varied genre, and there is a lot to explore. It really brings me back to a time when more genres felt large and unexplored.

24. The Animals - The Animals. I discovered the Animals in my parents record collection. Their mixture of covers and originals and their way of making the covers as much their own as their originals continues to influence me. While I could have picked any Animals or Eric Burdon and the Animals album, I picked this one cause it was not only among my first, I always wanted to pay homage to the packaging on this one, especially the "Life-lines of the Animals" on the back of the sleeve. Maybe if I put out an album with a full band sometime I will.

25. Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth. I used to hate self-titled albums. Not the albums themselves, but the lack of an album name. It always seemed like a wasted opportunity to me. I've included five self-titled albums in this list. It doesn't really bother me anymore. Sometimes I even kinda like it. Sometimes it feels right. I'll probably do it myself before too much longer. Anyways Sonic Youth was a big influence on my noisy approach to electric guitar, as well as in influence in my noise recordings.

Well, there you have it. 25 more albums that have been an influence. Some have been in my life for a long time. Some I should have brought up last go-round. Some are just really new and sticking with me right now. I'll have to do this again in a few years.