25 albums

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 25 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good.

I didn't take my favorite music to college freshman year because I thought I'd never leave my room if I did, but here goes.

1. Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA." I played the hell out of this casette, and got to go on rides all over New Mexico when we went home for fiestas and fourth of july because my uncles thought I was way cooler than Nicole who was obsessed with Whitney Houston =). Sadly I lost the casette along with 4 other albums that I had collected in my lobos ballcap which I left in cousin Jeff's tree house in 1984. Haven't been back since.

2. Indigo Girls: Rites of Passage
"Galileo," "Romeo and Juliet," years of longing punctuated by awkward moments, and 1 year of total avoidance of dating and holy shit when I go to an Indigo Girl's concert I can't help but remember every awkward step, and over analysis and other sundry baby dyke move I made. Thank God the gay boys took me in, in '92.

3. Simon & Garfunkel: Bookends
I really liked that Mrs. Robinson song =). I ended up marrying an older woman but not Mrs. Robinson old. =) I also loved Hazy Shade of winter which I listened to on the old record player in the family room stretching out on the rug and drawing.


4. Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True

5. Elvis Presley: Blue Christmas--- best christmas album ever, takes me back to the 70s and my first bicycle.

6. Sting: The Soul Cages
I wanted to be in love in the worst way in high school. DENIED. And so I fantasized I'd been scorned instead burnt by love, like it was a decision of mine not to date, not the fact that I was a raging homosexual trapped in christian suburban hell.

7. INXS: Kick
I tried to do my hair like Michael Hutchins in jr. high school. It was the only thing that made having curly mushroom hair bearable for me. This also marked an obsession with all things Australian phase--- further bollstered by repeated viewings of Crocodile Dundee.

8. Lyle Lovett: The Road to Ensenada. I must have sung I can't love you anymore a million times walking back to Chinatown from the Castro in the wee hours of Saturday morning, after a night of dancing with Tristan. And that goddamned Private Conversation song how many times did I sing that shit to myself in college. You've gotta love Lyle Lovett though. I actually hated Julia Roberts for a long time after they divorced. I thought she fucked him over and it made me mad. I consider him a close friend--- even though I haven't bought any of his music since Step Inside This House (I hated it).

9. Third Eye Blind: How's it gonna be? was on heavy rotation in 98 and 99. I was a morbid kid what can I say?

10. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Soundtrack
I tried so hard to become a gay boy in college. I couldn't help it. They were definitely enjoying themselves more than the lesbians, at least the ones I saw moping around campus.

11. Whitesnake: I grew up in Colorado, and in the 5th grade David Coverdale and Lani Kitane were the closest thing to a lesbian couple I'd ever seen.

12. Pulp Fiction Soundtrack
Freshman year college birthday party. So fun! Thanks roomates. Son of a preacher man such a hot track

13. Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville
Young lesbians when the young lady you're interested in is obsessed with this album it probably means she's straight. She might be fun though, and she might make you a mix with the support system song on it that makes you like Liz Phair too.

14. Yoshi Toshi- In House We Trust--- you would have doubted my efforts to become a gay man if I didn't have some techno albums right?

15. Bob Dylan-Blood on the Tracks
Tangled up in Blue--- what a song. There's a lot of other music I like by Dylan but I've accumulated too many MP3s to start buying up albums now. But blood on the tracks I started listening to in 1996, and it carried me through 2000, and a long greyhound ride from Frisco to Denver.

16. Aretha Franklin Best of: Baby Baby Sweet Baby. R E S P E C T. The house that Jack Built. Among my more delusional fantasies in college was being able to sing like Aretha Franklin. I love her. Her voice is so inspiring and powerful and so is she.

17. Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason. On the Turning Away. Played this a lot in 1992 after Jessica died and 2 others in our class also passed on.

19. Metallica: Enter Sandman was another anthem for 1992.

20. Tribe Called QUest: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
I washed hella dishes listening to this in Pierson Dining Hall.

21. Flashdance soundtrack
loved it. Still love it

22. Prince the hits boxset: nonstop. Favorite song then Pope. Favorite song now Purple Rain.

23. Mos Def: Black on Both Sides

24. Evan Ziporyn: love this guy

25. Tibetan Bowl Music: yes I'm serious