5 Albums To Know Me
Lately I have been thinking about the albums that sculpted my current taste in music. I have influences from all over the place that played a role in developing my taste. At a young age it was '70s and '80s country music, middle school was thrash metal, high school was hip hop, and now it's psychedelic and jam band music. I've gone through phases all over the place that have come together into this beautiful melting pot that I dig into each and every day.
I am going to briefly touch on five albums that are essential in shaping my taste!
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - "Texas Flood"
This is an album grabbed my attention the first time I listened to it and never let me go. I first heard this album in elementary school when my dad was playing it in the truck. I was mesmerized by the skillful guitar playing and the pain in SRV's voice as he played the blues. This album made me dive into the rest of SRV's discography to then venture off into the infancy of the blues with artists such as Muddy Waters, Albert King, and more. This is truly the album that got me into music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC5H9P4F5Uk
2. Marty Robbins - "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs"
My grandfather used to play Big Iron off this record constantly when I was little and there was always something about the song that gripped me. The masterful storytelling about the great bouts between the law and the bandit, the soothing tone of Marty's voice, and the sweet strings created a picture in my mind. This picture opened me up to tons of country music from the golden era with the likes of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and ole Johnny Cash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NuX79Ud8zI
3. Metallica - "Kill 'Em All"
Middle school was a rough time for me emotionally, much like most American kids going through the awkward stages of growth necessary to enter adulthood. My angst was high and my temper was short fused so I turned to my uncle who was always a metalhead. He showed me Kill 'Em All and I was in love with its ferociousness. It was fast, it was heavy, and it was aggressive. It was the perfect thing to get me to release tension without having to do any physical harm. This album opened me up to the likes of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Slipknot, and more as metal is still one of my favorite genres... especially the old stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6TjsBeJsM
4. Tyler, The Creator - "Wolf"
High school was a time for me to dive into hip-hop. I went through the traditional old-head phase where I was only interested in Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Biggie but then a friend introduced me to Wolf and "experimental" music became much more accessible to me. This wasn't limited to hip-hop either, this translated over to Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, MF DOOM, and more. The weirdness attracted me, the dark synths, heavy 808s, and dark lyrical themes opened me up to trying nontraditional music. It really helped me expand my boundaries of what I like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivI0J1Z1uK4
5. Grateful Dead - "American Beauty"
My love for the Grateful Dead didn't come until my junior year of college. I had listened to their music before then and had never gotten the hype. I then revisited American Beauty and got it. It clicked instantly. This album made me not only dig into Grateful Dead live archives but it sunk me into the rabbit hole that is '60s and '70s psychedelic music... a genre I already liked because of Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain". American Beauty did more. It made me fall in love with a band like I have never done before. It made me learn the history of the band, the culture that surrounds them, and it made me feel like I was part of something big... like a big family. Something totally unique that I don't think happens with many bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9uyMjzmT3k
I am going to briefly touch on five albums that are essential in shaping my taste!
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - "Texas Flood"
This is an album grabbed my attention the first time I listened to it and never let me go. I first heard this album in elementary school when my dad was playing it in the truck. I was mesmerized by the skillful guitar playing and the pain in SRV's voice as he played the blues. This album made me dive into the rest of SRV's discography to then venture off into the infancy of the blues with artists such as Muddy Waters, Albert King, and more. This is truly the album that got me into music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC5H9P4F5Uk
2. Marty Robbins - "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs"
My grandfather used to play Big Iron off this record constantly when I was little and there was always something about the song that gripped me. The masterful storytelling about the great bouts between the law and the bandit, the soothing tone of Marty's voice, and the sweet strings created a picture in my mind. This picture opened me up to tons of country music from the golden era with the likes of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and ole Johnny Cash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NuX79Ud8zI
3. Metallica - "Kill 'Em All"
Middle school was a rough time for me emotionally, much like most American kids going through the awkward stages of growth necessary to enter adulthood. My angst was high and my temper was short fused so I turned to my uncle who was always a metalhead. He showed me Kill 'Em All and I was in love with its ferociousness. It was fast, it was heavy, and it was aggressive. It was the perfect thing to get me to release tension without having to do any physical harm. This album opened me up to the likes of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Slipknot, and more as metal is still one of my favorite genres... especially the old stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6TjsBeJsM
4. Tyler, The Creator - "Wolf"
High school was a time for me to dive into hip-hop. I went through the traditional old-head phase where I was only interested in Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Biggie but then a friend introduced me to Wolf and "experimental" music became much more accessible to me. This wasn't limited to hip-hop either, this translated over to Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, MF DOOM, and more. The weirdness attracted me, the dark synths, heavy 808s, and dark lyrical themes opened me up to trying nontraditional music. It really helped me expand my boundaries of what I like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivI0J1Z1uK4
5. Grateful Dead - "American Beauty"
My love for the Grateful Dead didn't come until my junior year of college. I had listened to their music before then and had never gotten the hype. I then revisited American Beauty and got it. It clicked instantly. This album made me not only dig into Grateful Dead live archives but it sunk me into the rabbit hole that is '60s and '70s psychedelic music... a genre I already liked because of Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain". American Beauty did more. It made me fall in love with a band like I have never done before. It made me learn the history of the band, the culture that surrounds them, and it made me feel like I was part of something big... like a big family. Something totally unique that I don't think happens with many bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9uyMjzmT3k
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