Are you one of the “everything but” people? Those who when asked about what types of music they like reply “I like everything but…” Generally these people fall into one of two categories: everything but country (EBC) and everything but rap (EBR). Obviously there are more classifications, including ones with multiple buts (everything but opera and classical) however, EBC and EBR seem to be most prevalent. If you’re one of these people I am going to go ahead and call you a liar. I’ll say it to your face the next time I see you and mean it. Why are you a liar? Because you don’t truly feel that way.
On second thought, liar may be a bit harsh. How about misguided or lazy. Misguided if you actually believe that you truly enjoy every genre of music save one or two. Jazz, Blues, Latin, Gospel, Electronic, and New Age are a few that also count when you are considering the all encompassing everything. When was the last time you actively listened to a full record from all of these types of music? This doesn’t even include the rest of the music found around the world. Failing to see the big picture is understandable and can be overlooked. Please stop saying that you enjoy everything though.
Lazy people I am not so forgiving with. Using the “everything but” to cover your ass when we discuss music is unacceptable. You know what albums you like to listen to so name them. Name the actual artists you like so I can tell if our interests match up. When I talk about music with you I am not asking for the hell of it. I may make you a CD with things I think you’ll enjoy, or I may use your suggestions to find stuff to add to my collection. Don’t be lazy and make me ask you 473 detailed questions about what you are or aren’t specifically listening to. Throw me a bone and be a participant in the conversation.
Sorry for the sanctimonious rant dear reader, but it’s because I really enjoy music. Sure it took me trying to impress a girl to open up my musical tastes (she is smoking hot), but having it opened was the important thing. How is this Andy Rooney like behavior related to today’s subject? Listing only 5 albums that represent your entire music collection will be a daunting task for lots of people, myself included. I’d prefer not to see “I listen to everything, but here is my list.” Yes, some of you smart asses are going to do that anyway, but who will be laughing when your comment gets deleted? Also, with this list if you include the best 3 songs from each album I’ll put them on the site so everyone can sample them. It isn’t necessarily my favorite albums, but the ones that represent a good chunk of what I like:
- Are You Experienced? by The Jimi Hendrix Experience – This was one of the first CDs I personally owned. It reminds me of listening to the greatest hits album that turned me onto the band in the first place. Ten of the tracks would have a legitimate chance of making my all time favorite songs list. This album was chosen because it represents the classic rock in my collection. AC/DC, Twisted Sister, and The Rolling Stones are were also considered for this choice. Choice cuts: “Hey Joe” “Manic Depression” and “Remember.” Not the most well known songs from the album, but ones that shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Da La Soul is Dead by De La Soul – Everything good about hip-hop is represented on this album. Intelligent lyrics, head nodding beats, catchy hooks, social commentary, and even some mention of violence have this album touching on mainstays of the current rap landscape. Humor is what really pushed it ahead of some of the other artists I was inclined to mention. Usually having six skits is a recipe for disaster but that’s not the case with this album. Plus it reminds me of listening to the tape with my cousins who introduced it to me back in the early 90s. Other artists to almost get this spot include Outkast, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, N.W.A., Eazy E, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Choice cuts: “Bitties in the BK Lounge” “Afro Connections At A Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)” and “Fanatic of the B Word.” If you don’t listen to any other song listen on this list listen to “Bitties In The BK Lounge.” Two minutes in the song there is one of the best back and forth raps ever.
- American Recordings by Johnny Cash – Cash’s debut album on Rick Rubin’s American label is a great one. I really don’t have too much more to say. It’s Johnny Cash singing and playing the guitar. Country music is a genre I don’t know much about, but I know these songs don’t sound anything like the stuff that has made country the most popular format for American radio stations. Representative of Johnny Cash (I own 11 more albums of his) and Loretta Lynn. Two classic country stars who worked with modern producers exposing them to a new generation and resurged their careers to a degree. Choice cuts: “Delia’s Gone” “Thirteen” and “Tennessee Stud.” “Thirteen” was written by Danzig and performed by Johnny Cash. You don’t get much better than that combination.
- The Flying Club Cup by Beirut – By far my favorite album from 2007 and the one I listen to the most right now. This album represents ones you hear that trendy friend talking about, but you’re completely clueless so you go listen to it. Once you do you totally use it as an indicator of how in the know the people you talk to about music are if they have heard about it. So in other words if you haven’t heard of it it’s ok. If you have heard of it you could quite possibly be a prick. It’s not a given but very possible. Representative of The Arcade Fire, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Interpol, TV on the Radio, Cat Power, and the Decemberists. Choice cuts: “Sunday Smile” “La Banlieu” and “Cherbourg.” Two of these three tracks speak of seeing someone smile and the other one doesn’t have any lyrics. I guess I enjoy smiles.
- In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars – Go to their MySpace page and listen to the whole album for free. I picked this album for three reasons. The music is really good, they represent lots of the music I found through spending countless hours on MySpace trying to find new bands (I am telling you this girl was SO hot) and because they represent the bands you would have never known were it not for a commercial or TV show. No I haven’t heard their songs in any major commercials but they’re label mates with commercial princess Feist. Other bands represented by this album are Feist, New Buffalo, Keren Ann, Damien Rice, Basia Bulat, Band of Horses, Bishop Allen, The Heart Strings and many many others. Choice cuts: “Take Me to the Riot” “Personal” and “Life 2: The Unhappy Ending.” My favorite of the bunch is “Personal” about the interesting interaction between people meeting through a classified ad.
Does this list represent every single album I have? Hell no, but it’s the best I can do with the guidelines. See how difficult it is when you List 5 albums representative of your music collection.
Tags: Beirut, Danzig, De La Soul, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Stars
July 9, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’ll be posting my list later, i just wanted to tell you how happy it makes me that De La Soul is Dead is on your list. It will definitely be on mine.
July 9, 2008 at 10:51 am
This is too hard…
These come in no particular order either.
Tenor Saw “Fever”
Pig Destroyer “Terrifyer”
Godspeed You! Black Emperor “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven”
Jethro Tull “Aqualung”
Nas “Illmatic”
July 9, 2008 at 11:06 am
This is hard for me, because I don’t normally buy a CD. I usually just burn my favorite artists’ songs onto a mix CD and listen. There are a few CDs that I really love though.
1.) The Blue Print – Jay Z — I liked Jay a lot before this CD. Hard Knock Life, Give It To Me, Big Pimpin, City is Mine… I thought all those were hot joints. But when I heard Izzo for the first time (on the BET Awards) I knew I had to have this CD. And I got it. Now that I think back, Izzo isn’t even one of my five favorite songs on the CD. 1.) Jigga that Nigga, 2.) Takeover, 3.) U Don’t Know 4.) Renegade 5.) Hola’ Hovito. Jay is my dude. He’ll probably appear on this list again in a minute. LOL
2.) Experience Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix — This is a best of Hendrix. I like several of Jimi’s songs. I just really got into him about three years ago, but man, his music is on point. I admit, I’m probably a little mainstream when it comes to his music, but hey, at least I branched out a little. LOL 1.) Purple Haze, 2.) Voodoo Child (Chile), 3.) Hey Joe, 4.) The Star Spangled Banner (this is HOT) 5.) Fire
3.) Nu Nation Project: Kirk Franklin — I grew up in church, and I love GOOD gospel music. Just because it talks about Jesus and God doesn’t make it good music. But Kirk Franklin put out several CDs that I thought were great. This was his best in my eyes, because he branched out in a major way. Riverside made me appreciate what an electric guitar could do for almost any song. 1.) Riverside, 2.) Revolution, 3.) Gonna Be a Lovely Day, 4.) Lean on Me, 5.) Something about the name Jesus.
4.) Greatest Hits – Earth, Wind and Fire — I’m an old school head. I love old school R&B. EW&F, Maze, LTD; I love their styles. But EW&F had this special something that probably influenced every R&B and Hip Hop artist in the last 20 years. I love so many of their songs, I don’t even know where to begin. 1.) Reasons, 2.) Serpentine Fire, 3.) September, 4.) Can’t Hide Love, 5.) Let’s Groove.
5.) The Black Album – Jay Z — Yeah, he had to come back. My theme song is on this CD and I like several of the cuts on this one, besides that. This was supposed to be Jay’s last CD, but he’s put out like two more since then. But this remains to me his best work. There’s not one “filler” song on this CD, in my opinion. 1.) Public Service Annoucement (my theme song), 2.) What More Can I Say, 3.) Encore, 4.) Dirt Off Your Shoulders 5.) December 4th.
July 9, 2008 at 12:15 pm
In no particular order, just what I’m sitting around listening too tonight:
Employment by Kaiser Chiefs: Namely “I predict a riot”, “oh my god” and “born to be a dancer”
Phil Collins Platinum Collection (yeah I know): Sussudio (of course), ?In the air tonight” and “Take Me Home”
Hard to pin down any given album by The Who, I had a stretch where I would buy every single one of their CDs I ever saw. Have random exports discs from Japan, compilations, old and remastered Tommy discs. I don’t know why, but they’re just the damn best classic rock band out there as far as I’m concerned. Whenever I listen to “Teenage Wasteland” I always recall a day when Potter and I were driving around Tuscaloosa in his shitty little red Honda (or toyota) with the song at full blast, Potter SCREAMING, absolutely SCREAMING, the lyrics and both of us half drunk and on a search for food and other random potter artifacts. I still laugh every time I think about it. Love Reign O’er Me is my favorite of their songs though. Squeeze Box is always a jam too.
Johnny Cash’s Essential 1955-1983 comes in since you already mentioned American. Love “Rock Island Line”, “One Piece at a Time” (because I am the Reverend) and “I Got Stripes.”
Goblynz of course because it was the music that Jobi and God’s Army lived by. By the way, you got somewhere I can upload this album I know McDonough was wanting to download it. Fireball Island, Space Cannibals, and Redneck Hunter.
July 9, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Used mostly compilations since that’s what digital music has lead me to:
1) REM – Eponymous
– from when I was young, before they became popular
2) U2 – Under a Blood Red Sky
– live, serious energy, see above
3) Stone Temple Pilots – Thank you
– summarizes that whole musical era for me
4) Richard Cheese – The Sunny Side of the Moon
– the most fun you can have with your clothes on
5) Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
– I appreciate someone destroying themselves in order to
entertain me
-mikeray
July 9, 2008 at 1:14 pm
My best friend has a t-shirt that says “Everything you think is cool, I thought was cool five years ago” and jokingly suggested I get one that said “Everything I think is cool, I should have thought was cool five years ago.” As I get older, well, that should probably be more like 10 years ago. I have the pop-culture taste of a 16-year-old girl.
1) Midnight Roads and Stages Seen – Jason and The Scorchers – The quintessential “cowpunk” acts live album, released well after their brief blast of popularity in the 1980s, when a subset of Nashville was trying to
make “Music City” mean more than slick, radio-friendly country. Not sure how well it worked, but for me and my friends 10 or 15 years later, the fusion of the old country our parents and grandparents loved and the punk aesthetic we were coming to love made perfect sense. … and made us cuff our jeans, regrettably. It begins with lead singer Jason Ringenberg quoting Rudyard Kipling “He who rides the tiger finds it difficult to dismount.” A perfect precursor to two discs worth of what happens when CBGB is dumped into the Ryman Auditorium. Essential tracks: “Golden Ball and Chain,” “Broken Whiskey Glass” and “Last Time Around.”
2) Hot Fuss – The Killers – I was living in England when this came out, though I picked it up on leave back in the States. At the time, my Brit friends were split between indie kids and dance music fans, but everyone liked it. It became a soundtrack to those midnight to 8 a.m. watch shifts. I read a review that said this album would become our generation’s “Joshua Tree,” which might be ambitious, but it certainly has sticking power. Essential tracks: “Mr. Brightside,” “Smile Like You Mean It” and “Somebody Told Me.”
3) Tell All Your Friends – Taking Back Sunday – I listen to more emo than I like to admit in certain company. And yeah, I’m 27, but, yeah, I still wear skinny pants and complicate my hair and sleep in a Saves The Day t-shirt. This is all teen angst all the time, grinding guitars and uncomplicated (not like my hair). It’s much more straightforward than most of my other favorite emo stuff (like TBS’ later albums and those creepy, sweeping Thursday albums). Essential tracks: “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From The Team),” “You’re So Last Summer,” and “There’s No ‘I’ In Team.”
4) The Sound of The Jam – The Jam – I fell in love with a lot of Britpop and indie when I lived in the UK (natch). It was hard to pin down one album. I went back and forth between Arctic Monkeys and Stereophonics and Franz Ferdinand and Editors (the last two can easily be represented by The Killers choice above). So I went back to the Godfathers. The Jam is SO British, they never hit big in America. They didn’t try to sound un-British and they sang unpretentiously about British topics. And Paul Weller is straight awesome. Essential tracks: “The Eton Rifles,” “Down In The Tube Station At Midnight,” and “Town Called Malice.”
5) Live At Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash – Hey, I’m from Hendersonville. I rejected country for a long time, but then came back to it. But Johnny never left. Civic pride, probably, more than anything else. Plus, me and my grandmother and my parents could all agree. Essential tracks: “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Cocaine Blues,” and “Jackson.”
July 9, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I absolutely love music! I have songs running through my head constantly throughout the day, of all genres, so it’s very difficult to narrow down this list, but I will try.
1. Pride and Prejudice soundtrack – This is probably my top movie of all time (the one with Kiera Knightley) and I thought the music was phenomenal. When I first bought the CD I listened to it over and over again in the car, and some of the melodies get stuck in your head for days. My favs are “Dawn”, “Liz on Top of the World”, “Your Hands Are Cold”, and “Mrs. Darcy”.
2. Sara Bareilles – My best friend introduced me to her music. She downloaded the CD for me and I forgot about it. When I finally listened to it, I couldn’t stop! This one played over and over again in my car, too. Favorite songs are “Love Song”, “Come Around Soon”, and “Gravity”.
3. Corinne Bailey Rae – I was visiting a friend in Atlanta and he told me about her. I was in Barnes and Noble and saw her CD on sale, and bought it. It was in my cd player for months!! Some of my favs are “Enchantment”, “Breathless”, and “Seasons Change”.
4. Three Doors Down – Away From the Sun – I love all of their albums, but this is my favorite. The songs never get old. Some of my favs are “Away From the Sun”, “Here Without You”, “I Feel You”, “Dangerous Game”, and “Going Down in Flames”.
5. Kirk Franklin – The Nu Nation Project – Brian already mentioned this CD, and I have to agree. Christian music isn’t my favorite genre, but I do love a good gospel song. My favs are “Lean on Me”, “He Loves Me”, “Gonna Be a Lovely Day”, and “You Are”.
Honorable Mention – Growing up, country music was what I listened to, because it’s what my dad listened to. I’m not a big fan of it now, but Brad Paisley is someone I love to listen to. I can’t think of a song of his that I don’t like. Mud on the Tires is my favorite album, and these are my top picks: “Whiskey Lullaby”, “Little Moments” and “The Cigar Song”.
July 9, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Johnny Cash – Unearthed box-set: Not really an album, but it encompasses just about everything I love about Johnny Cash. It has some new recordings of old classics, the greatest hits from his American Recordings albums, and lots of great covers and outtakes.
The Clash – London Calling: I love the Clash, and this is their best album. They hadn’t gotten really weird at this point, but they started blending a lot of genres without completely abandoning their punk roots. The title track is amazing, as is “The Guns of Brixton”, and there really aren’t any bad songs on this album.
AC/DC – Back in Black: I know there are a lot of Bon Scott fans out there that would hate this choice, but I honestly prefer Brian Johnson to Bon Scott. No offense to Bon Scott of course. This album starts out with “Hell’s Bells” and doesn’t stop rocking until it’s over.
Tom Waits – Used Songs: I hesitate to use a best of album, but I only started listening to Tom Waits in the last couple of years so I’m not as familiar enough with the rest of his albums to pick a favorite, so this album encapsulates all of his early albums for me. His lyrics are witty and clever, and the subject matter of the drunken bar-life is near and dear to my heart.
Drive-By Truckers – Decoration Day: Another band I only began listening to within the last year or so. All of their albums are solid, but this one’s the best, with “The Dirty South” a close second. The Truckers blend rock with country beautifully, and I love how their songs tell stories. “Sink Hole,” “Decoration Day,” “Heathens,” and “My Sweet Annette” are the highlights of this album for me.
Honorable Mentions in no particular order: Black Sabbath – Master of Reality, Nashville Pussy – High as Hell, Outkast – Stankonia, The White Stripes – Elephant
July 10, 2008 at 10:24 am
1. Ten by Pearl Jam: This album has to be included because it was the first album I purchased for reasons other than it being liked by my older brothers. It is essential to my representative 5 because it initiates my journey into personal discovery and preference in the musical realm. It is for this reason (musical considerations aside) that Ten makes my list.
2. O by Damien Rice: Damo is one of my favorite contemporary songwriters. His writing method (self-described as “vomiting”) explores and exemplifies feelings that most are ashamed to talk about. Anger, resentment, lust, and a plethora of other bestial states of mind are all expressed in a refreshing manner that isolates itself from those found in the incessant number of teen pop songs that attempt to convey such things. Coupled with the writing, the album’s meticulous production send it over the top. Rice’s independent status allows him complete freedom in the production realm, and his experimentation is bold. Lisa Hannigan’s vocals compliment Damien’s, and the cello tops off the instrumental mix with perfection. In short, he’s my hero and ultimate man-crush.
3. Requiem by Durufle: The choral rendition of Requiem contains some of my all-time favorite moments in musical history. Particularly the dynamic variation and minor to major shifts found in “Sanctus.” This album makes the list representing the beauty that can be present in music. It was close between this one and Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites by Yo-Yo Ma (highly recommended for those cello fans out there).
4. Upstairs by Shane and Shane: This is my good Christian music representative album. The theology is biblically grounded, which is surprising in today’s Christian music industry. The simplicity of this album puts it up toward the top of my list. It’s rhythms are percussive and inventive. The mellow, unplugged feel to the album help to remove it from that cookie-cutter, happy-all-the-time-or-God-will-punish-us feel that comes with pop Christian music. The album also gets props for being independently recorded in an upstairs room at one of the Shane’s home over the course of a few days when they found time. Excellent recording/production quality are present nonetheless.
5. Mockingbird by Derek Webb: I enjoy music that is socially aware. Webb’s lyrics represent an insightful (sometimes cantankerous) voice in the realm of Christian music that you will never hear played among the crap they play on Christian radio. Mockingbird is an entire album that explores ethical considerations for all of humanity and especially for those who identify themselves with the Church.
July 10, 2008 at 9:26 pm
No particular order and no greatest hits. I personally feel greatest hits, anthologies, and box sets are cheating. Also, this was pretty freakin hard narrowing it to 5 there will be a top 5 and then a next 5.
1. Trouble by Ray Lamontagne – Started listening on a whim and now I can’t stop. If you haven’t heard Ray or watched his ‘Abbey Road’ special you need to check it out. Also check out his set on Live from Bonnaroo 2005. I’ve never heard an artist so physically and emotionally in to each song. Unofficially he is my man crush.
2. Licensde to Ill by Beastie Boys – Brass Monkey, She’s Crafy, Paul Revere, Fight for Your Right, and Girls. Play it at your next gathering and just sit back and watch people you would have never imagined belt out all the lyrics.
3. Moondance by Van Morrison – Hands down my favorite CD to listen to on long trips.
4. Undertow by Tool – The first tape I can remember hiding from my parents. There was just something about a naked morbidly obese woman in the fetal position and a man tucking it to make a fruit salad that I figured they probably wouldn’t approve of at that time. For that case they probably wouldn’t approve to much of it know. It was the meditate and “build the hate” cd neede for certain occasions.
5. Ten by Pearl Jam – I think I pretty much fell asleep to this tape for an entire school year. I’d sleep with big head phones an have to wake up at the end of side one to flip the tape. It’s amazing how much an iPod would have ruled back then. No bad song and a bunch of great ones.
The next 5 – Ain’t Life Grand by Widespread Panic (my pseudo-Freddie wanting to come out), Flood by They Might Be Giants (my goofy, geeky side coming out; I have to thank my wife for exposing me to this one), Come Away with Me by Norah Jones (she has the voice we all wish our mother’s had when they were singing us to sleep at night), Rage Against the Machine self titled first release (again, another way to “build the hate”), and Doggystyle by Snoop Doggy Dogg (a rap classic)
The next few and one’s I’m embarrassed to admit — Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson (Hi. My name is Billy and I’m a fan of crappy music), Justified by Justin Timberlake (see the previous explanation; plus, he’s as close to the 1980’s Michael Jackson alive), and Chariot by Gavin Degraw (Hi. My name is Billy and I watched a season of One Tree Hill and the best thing that came out of it was this CD).
July 11, 2008 at 4:34 pm
1. Reinventing Axl Rose by Against Me! – It opens up with a song about love between your grandparents, but not in the Blink-182 way. It made me realize it was ok to not be able to write po-punk songs and that every single one of us could put out albums.
2. Rivanna Junction by Tim Barry – Punk guy does country and does it well. Opened my mind to the parallels between musical genres I hadn’t seen before.
3. Pick a Bigger Weapon by The Coup – Hip-Hop with a leftest message that will make you shake your ass. Trust me. There is never a bad time to put this record on.
4. Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate – Emo before you could buy it at a store in a mall. Good fucking songs, all of them.
5. Goddamnit by Alkaline Trio – This album was the first one I bought as an adult. It is fucking perfect. (I drove drunk in the fog of san diego to this album)
July 14, 2008 at 11:14 pm
1. Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails. This was the first CD I ever bought. Sure, I may have been too young to been listening to Trent Reznor’s angst, and my Baptist preacher father probably would have freaked had he known my cousin introduced me to it, but it has probably had a more profound effect on my musical taste than anything in my library (which contains more NIN than anything else).
2. Faith by George Michael. 52nd best selling album of all time in the US. Six out of its nine tracks were top five Billboard 100 hits. As a child of the 80s, its music has had a massive impact on me, and Faith is one of the greatest albums to come out of the 80s. Still, since I’m talking 80s albums, I would be remiss to not mention U2’s The Joshua Tree, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Depeche Mode’s Violator, and Prince’s Purple Rain, all of which had an immense impact on me.
3. Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses. As influenced as I was by pop music in the 80s, I was equally influenced by 80 glam metal. Banging around to GNR and Bon Jovi on MTV with my older cousins is one of my earliest musical memories. It led to the love of a great guitar solo that I still cherish. Bands like GNR, AC/DC, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi laid the groundwork for my love of rock music, old and new.
4. Core by Stone Temple Pilots. To me, this album represents everything great about 90s rock. While I love the sound of Nirvana’s grunge, bands like Pearl Jam and STP seemed to stay closer to the rock traditions that got my blood pumping. From Rage Against the Machine to Smashing Pumpkins, 90s rock music still reigns in my mind as the epitome of rock, and STP stands at the head of the pack.
5. Infinity on High by Fall Out Boy. Yes, I can say, without reservation, that I like Fall Out Boy. After the music of the 80s and 90s, contemporary music had a lot to live up to. Still, bands like Fall Out Boy, Cold Play, AFI, The Killers, and Muse are, in my mind, keeping the spirit of the music alive. Plus, with the addition collaborations like Velvet Revolver and Audioslave, and revivals like Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, music is still very much alive.
July 15, 2008 at 10:54 pm
1. misfits-walk among us. my brothers instilled my love for this band early in my life. my husband cemented it with his acoustic version of “skulls”.
2. journey greatest hits. steve perry has one of my favorite voices ever. and combining his powerful vocals with cheesy lyrics is a win win situation for me. you can’t deny that when you hear “just a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world. . .” you start singing along- even if it’s in your head.
3. violent femmes. easily my favorite band in high school. simple instruments-no crazy synthesizers/ mixes- just silly lyrics and catchy tunes. “good feeling” indeed.
4. billie holiday-God bless the child. my favorite song “lover man” is actually not on this cd, but her smoky, jazzy vocals make me simultaneously happy and sad. i also really love big band type music.
5. operation ivy-energy. i stole this cd from a good friend in school, because i couldn’t find it in stores (before i could order things online). from beginning to end, this cd is awesome. i remember spending entire days, nay weeks, listening to this cd on repeat and still never getting all of the words right. (those ska lyrics move too fast).
and because i can’t put everything i love- janis joplin, led zeppelin, outkast, concrete blonde, johnny cash and radiohead get a special mention.