Everyone has at least one album. Their "go-to". An album that defined their life at that time. An album that moved them to tears. An album that struck them as a masterpiece that they needed to share with every person they knew on a first name basis. An album that got mostly ignored by those people. Everyone has at least one. I have two, not because I exist to break my own rules, but because these two albums had an impact on me during my freshman year of college, with one of them released and the other's "free liver" version was released.
The two albums are "Beat the Champ" by the Mountain Goats and "Flood" by They Might be Giants. The former was released in 2015 and the latter in 1990, five years before I was born.
"Beat the Champ" is a concept album about professional wrestling. I don't even like professional wrestling For a long time I thought of pro-wrestling as a joke and a good source of video game material that I also thought were jokes. Then I heard this album, and my whole concept of the entertainment sport was changed, if only for a short time. It became a lifestyle. I was raised to the level of high art. The album is introspective, examining the lives of the people in this field and their humanity in and out of the ring.
The style of the album changes from song to song, but the Mountain Goat's sound in general is described as indie-folk. They're known for their focus on lyrics and simple, repetitive melodies. This album utilizes both by getting stuck in your head while making you forget any preconceived notions you have towards wrestling.
"Flood" is a little less focused, but all tied together in the first track "Theme from Flood". The tone is silly, eccentric, strange and humorous. The entire album is an enigma, each song a sort of riddle to be deciphered. The listener is left either wondering what the song means or why it was written. "Birdhouse in your Soul" being an example of the former and "Your Racist Friend" a shining example of the latter. The album spawned some of TMBG's most iconic songs, impressive for a band known for their extensive discography.
They Might Be Giants work in a few different rock genres as well as children's music, and their known for their word play and eclectic combinations of instruments.
These two albums don't encompass the entirety of my music taste, but they're a good representation of it. I hope in reading this you remember a few of your favorite albums. Go back and give them another listen, all the way through, and reminisce about when you found them.
