As many of my acquaintances know, I am a staunch fan of music. Although I go back and forth between whether I enjoy movies or music more, it’s undeniable that I listen to music much more simply because of the convenience. Whether I’m strolling across campus, driving, working on projects that don’t require critical thinking, etc, music is constantly being directed into my ears. That being said, I am a member of a dying breed of music fans that still adheres to the coherence of the classic studio album. I’m not saying that many times throughout the day, I will switch songs from different albums and artists depending on my mood, but there is something truly powerful about the capability of the studio album. A threshold at which an artist can arrange a list of tracks in order to assert particular concepts, emotions, and possibly opinions. Although this list isn’t comprehensive nor is it in any particular order, this is a brief selection of some of my favorite albums. Some of them happen to have been produced by my favorite artists. Some of them simply aren’t.
1. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
We begin with an album by one of my favorite artists. It seems like the go-to album for many LZ fans as well as casual listeners is their untitled fourth album (but generally regarded by the public as Led Zeppelin IV). Without a doubt, it’s a powerful album, containing the all-time classic, “Stairway to Heaven,” and other masterful tracks such as “Going to California,” and “Black Dog.” For me, however, I tend to harken back to Led Zeppelin II as my personally favorite LZ album. I absolutely have no problem with the high fantasy concepts integrated into later albums such as IV and Physical Graffiti, and I wouldn’t be pleased if Led Zeppelin had have clung closely to their original sound throughout their career. Their high fantasy concepts are one of the defining qualities of Led Zeppelin, but as far as the purist masterpiece of classic Led Zeppelin goes, II takes the cake.
“And if I say to you tomorrow. Take my hand, child, come with me. It’s to a castle I will take you, where what’s to be, they say will be.”
2. Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
Continuing on with another one of my favorite artists. Oh! How fans of post-punk mourn the loss of the late and great Ian Curtis who unfortunately committed suicide after only completing two studio albums as the lead vocalist and songwriter for Joy Division, but in his short career, he managed to be the cornerstone of one of the most influential bands of the 20th century. Both albums by Joy Division are irrefutable masterpieces, and all of Joy Division’s music (Demos, unreleased tracks, etc) is of a quality much higher than many artists can hope to ever achieve, and, although it depends on what day you ask me which Joy Division album I prefer, I’d say that my subjective tastes can be summarized by assuming that Unknown Pleasures is my favorite of the two. It’s haunting. It utilizes space as an instrument in itself (a concept many punk and pop punk artists tend to forget). It recognizes negativity in the world without maintaining a negative perspective. It’s brilliant.
“A change of speed, a change of style, a change of scene, with no regrets. A chance to watch, admire the distance. Still occupied, though you forget.”
3. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Although many people assume otherwise, I’m not a sincere Pink Floyd fan. I often have an “I don’t listen to them as much as I should” attitude about the ordeal. Pink Floyd is no doubt an influential and important musical artist, and even their sophomoric efforts highlight something special within them. For me, however, I only really listen to Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and my PF fav, Wish You Were Here. From beginning to end, the album is a theatrical (but personal) assault on some of the questions we face as someone as young as myself must confront as age proceeds. The titular track, itself, is a self-contained masterpiece of songwriting.
“How I wish, how I wish you were here. We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year.”
4. Mars Loves Venus - The Brunettes
A truly underrated and underground classic, Mars Loves Venus is a clean, soft-spoken, and enjoyable album that is often go-to for me when testing a new record system. The lyrics are poetic, the music is complex, and the production is tight. Truthfully, however, this is literally the only album by this particular artist that I’ve given a listen to, and the album is quite the haunting piece of glory that the previous two selections were. It’s an innocent and enjoyable album from the beginning without regrets, and there is an objective charm to its eccentricity.
“Ever since I started working at the record store, I get to flirt with many girls than I did before. There are tall, short, blonde and brunette, but none can converse me how we used to get.”
5. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
One of the first more obscure concept albums that I was ever introduced to. The Flaming Lips have a…complicated place in my heart. If you take Pink Floyd’s music and combine it with more grungy, alternative rock such as Nirvana, you’ve got The Flaming Lips. Although the meaning of the album’s lyrics is debatable, they will maintain the aura of a concept album in my heart.
“Let them know you realize that life goes fast. It’s hard to make the good things last. You realize the sun doesn’t go down. It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning ‘round.”
6. Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
At first glance, this album isn’t much to dissolve in terms of content. On the cover we see Zevon smiling awkwardly at us with a pure red background and the title of the album and his name listed on the top. At first glance, you could interchange it with any other classic rock album. Then, you begin listening to the tracks on the album, and you listen to the groove change and the emotions begin to spiral, and it leaves you feeling breathless. The titular track, especially, is a classic example of “happy music meets dark lyrics.”
“Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun. With a Thompson Gun for hire. Fighting to be done.”
7. Agaetis Byrjun - Sigur Ros
Finally, the most obscure and strange album on this list. There’s something about this album by the Icelandic band, Sigur Ros, in which the lyrics are not Icelandic, but written in a language invented by the band members that obviously mimics Icelandic, that is so enticing, and although we can’t quite reconcile the lyrics with our personal emotions and thoughts, I’ve never encountered music that so abstrusely defines concepts and feelings with music, exclusively. Rather than lyrics to accompany the music, the vocals, themselves, are instrumentation rather than traditional singing. The bizarre nature of the singing style is reminiscent of an instrument rather than a voice, and it’s all the more breathtaking for it.
“ég er kominn aftur inn í þig það er svo gott að vera hér en stoppa stutt við ég flýt um í neðarsjávar hýði á hóteli”
