Albums That Measure Our Lifetimes
I was in boarding school during Geography class when the Principal called for me and next thing I knew I was on my way home to a scene of complete chaos. My dad had died the night before. That night, around 3 in the morning, I was listening to Tapestry by Carole King and ever since that this important in its own right album meant more to me than it ever might have.
It made me think of albums that measure your life, albums that are just titanic to you, that if they didn't exist something would be different. Here are some of mine.
1. Simon And Garfunkels Greatest Hits – Oddly enough, my sister doesn't remember it, but it reminds me of my late brother-in-law and summers in Scotland as a kid.
2. Neil Diamond's Hot August Nights – a very serious romance, maybe my first deadly serious romance. It nearly killed me thereby setting a trend for the rest of my life.
3. Elvis Costello's Get Happy!! brought me back from the edge of suicide.
4. Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear -Loving this album so much, it made me feel as though maybe I could write about music. Maybe Icould hear what other people missed.
5. Jim Reeves Greatest – I was listening to this a couple of years ago, and it reminds me of my Mom as she played it incessantly. "He'll Have To Go" and "Different Drum" take me back to a time before I had to hate her.
6. Billy Joel's An innocent Man – One of the biggest and most disastrous loves of my life, and this was the soundtrack to it. Funny about unsuccessful romances, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. This was one of the most devastating things that ever happened to it and I probably wouldn't change it if I could and I definitely wouldn't change the album.
It is as if the most important moments of my life have their own soundtrack!
