Continuing the conversation (and the really long list), here are Nos. 125–101. (Just a reminder, these are not listed in any particular order.)
125 The J.B.’s — Funky Good Time: The Anthology (1995) CD
The J.B.’s were James Brown’s backing band that included such luminaries as Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker. This spectacular comp, which has a lot of Brown on it (as well as some non-Brown tracks), introduced me to the good shit when it comes to hard-edged, horn-based funk. “Doing it to Death,” “Pass the Peas,” “You Can Have Watergate, Just Gimme Some Bucks and I’ll Be Straight,” “Givin’ Up Food for Funk,” etc. Funky Good Time showcases how much of James Brown’s ’70s sound should be credited directly to his backing band. He really extended the worthwhile portion of his career by at least a good five years thanks to the musicians he surrounded himself with during this period.
“The Grunt”
124 Life Without Buildings — Any Other City (2000) CD
This Glasgow band borrowed from the Rough Trade heyday in spectacular fashion. I fell in love with this record instantly, but it didn’t hurt that a spectacular short-lived fling was associated with my introduction to it. I doubt I’ll hear another band like this anytime soon.
“New Town”
123 U2 — The Joshua Tree (1987) cassette
If you grew up in the 1980s and this record didn’t make a big impression on you, I’d be surprised. I was 11 when this came out and I recall how odd the songs sounded to me at the time, particularly the eerie sonic textures of “With or Without You.” This record never grows old.
“With or Without You”
122 Townes Van Zandt — Townes Van Zandt (1969) LP
TVZ is one of my favorite songwriters and certainly one of the more underappreciated artists who worked in the country-folk genre. “Waiting Around to Die” is a force to be reckoned with and I now can not disassociate the song from this video footage. But the rest of this record also features what I feel are Townes’ best collection of songs. TVZ served as my introduction to one of my favorite artists that I’ve discovered as an adult.
“I’ll Be Here in the Morning”
121 Iggy Pop — Lust for Life (1977) CD
Iggy’s solo debut is a tour de force in which the songs you don’t know as his staples — “Tonight,” “Some Weird Sin,” “Sixteen” — are just as good as his hits, the title track and “The Passenger.” Bowie’s fingerprint is all over this record, which doesn’t hurt. My formal introduction to Iggy came on the Trainspotting soundtrack, which used “Lust for Life” in brilliant fashion. But it wasn’t until I heard this record a couple years after Trainspotting that I became permanently hooked on Iggy.
“Some Weird Sin”
120 The Magnetic Fields — 69 Love Songs (1999) CD
At the time of its release, 69 Love Songs was the only thing I cared to listen to for weeks on end. I took the afternoon off work the day it came out and pored over the detailed interview included in the booklet while listening to the three-disc volume on repeat. I still think this is one of the most impressive musical releases of the past five decades. I’m fortunate to have seen all 69 songs performed live, too.
“Reno Dakota”
119 Charles Mingus — Blues & Roots (1959) CD
I was into my second jazz phase when I picked this up at a Circuit City around ’97. I hosted a jazz radio show in college with a friend (he was a bigger jazz fan than me, so I was more along for the ride), and he introduced me to Mingus, but not this record. There’s something about the sound on this album that gives the listener an impression that a single mic was lowered into a small, sweaty, smokey room. I flipped for “Moanin'” instantly, with its swirling horns and mischievous mood.
“Moanin'”
118 Shellac — At Action Park (1994) LP
I was an angry kid when this record came out, so Steve Albini was a perfect fit for me. This is some of the angriest, most aggressive shit put to wax in the 1990s, and I fucking breathed it in and held it in my lungs for as long as possible. I throw this on — along with the preceding seven inchers — every eight months or so and it still fires me up.
“Dog and Pony Show”
117 Snoop Dogg — Doggystyle (1993) cassette
Jon and I used to drive around my hometown in his little station wagon listening to this on cassette. For some reason, his car stereo wasn’t working, so he had a small boombox sitting on his front dash. We blared this shit like the fucking wannabe gangsters we weren’t. Every time he’d turn a corner, the boombox would slide from one end of the dash to the other. “Tha Shiznit,” indeed.
“Tha Sniznit”
116 Andy Votel — Vertigo Mixed (2005) CD
Speaking of Jon, he introduced me to Votel, and this was the first comp of Votel’s that I heard in its entirety. Upon my first listen, I thought, “YES, this is what a rock and roll DJ can do!” Votel dices and splices a bounty of prog rock on this offering and the results are exceptionally listenable.
“Track Ten”
115 Various Artists — Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era (1998) CD
The motherload for anyone wanting to get into garage rock, Rhino’s 4-CD box was a blessing for a young, impressionable lad like me. I’ll never forget the advice Nick Rudd, then an astute record store clerk, passed on to me when I told him I was thinking about ordering this box from Swap: “Oh, you’ll love it. It’s great, because all the songs are good even though most of the bands never recorded entire records worth listening to.” Of course, I disregarded his advice soon after I bought Nuggets and started buying entire albums by the Electric Prunes, Count Five, The Seeds, The Remains, etc. Nick was wrong in some cases, but more than 10 years into collecting garage rock, I can admit there is certainly some truth to what he said.
The Elastik Band – “Spazz”
114 Funkadelic — Funkadelic (1970) CD
While I like Maggot Brain a smidgen more, it was Funkadelic that introduced me to Funkadelic. I love this period of the band’s work because the music is so moving and mystical. I had already fallen for Sly, Jimi, Curtis, and even The Meters by the time I first heard Funkadelic, but none of those bands prepared me for the rawness of this record. Most people think of funk music when they think of Funkadelic, and that obviously fits; but this was one of the first records I ever listened to that left me thinking, now this is soulful.
“I Bet You”
113 The Soft Boys — Underwater Moonlight (1980) CD
The Soft Boys taught me that punk could be exquisitely musical and decidedly weird, too. “I Wanna Destroy You” is the hit, but “Insanely Jealous” and “Tonight” are my faves. Alan Davies is a sadly underrated guitar player and Robyn Hitchcock is one of the greatest rock and roll songwriters. Underwater Moonlight is enough proof in and of itself.
“Tonight”
112 Pavement — Slanted & Enchanted (1992) LP
The memory is etched in my mind: laying belly-down on the carpet in Josh’s barren bedroom at his mom’s house as we listened to this album on cassette for the first time. I don’t remember why Josh had decided to pick this up — probably he had read about it in some fanzine and decided to believe the hype. I would have discovered Pavement with or without his help — they were too good and too influential for me not to — but I’m glad he sparked my love affair with the strange, grungy, pop goodness that is Pavement.
“Perfume-V”
111 Depeche Mode — Violator (1990) cassette
No one else mining the mainstream pop landscape sounded anything close to Depeche Mode in 1990, at least not to my ears. David Gahan was sublime. Some people my age track their interest in subversive electronic music back to Pretty Hate Machine, but for me it was Violator.
“Policy of Truth”
110 Beatnik Filmstars — “Bigot Sponger Haircut Policy” single (1995) 7″
I enjoyed all sorts of quirky British and Scottish indie rock during the mid-’90s: Urusei Yatsura, Boyracer, Boo Radleys, Bis, Hefner, The Wedding Present, etc. But none of it wowed me like the title track to this seven inch. My old Technics turntable had a repeat function that would pick the arm back up when a side was done and drop it back down at the start of the record. I wore that function out on side A of this sucker. What a catchy little lo-fi sonsabitch.
“Bigot Sponger Haircut Policy”
109 The Cars — The Cars (1978) LP
Another hand-me-down from my biggest brother and a classic debut album if there ever was one. This record cemented my love affair with New Wave. ‘Nuff said.
“Moving in Stereo”
108 Sloan — Twice Removed (1994) cassette
Sloan presented me with a lovely foil to Nirvana and I adored this album, the band’s second. I recently ran into Tyson, a friend from childhood, who also loves Sloan. He doesn’t like this record as much, though, calling it “college rock.” I suppose I would agree with that completely if you stuck a “CMJ” in front of “college rock” for further clarification. This is simply an addictive, quirky, melodic, power-pop masterpiece. It fits directly into a slim file of likewise albums, like Velocity Girl’s Simpatico, Possom Dixon’s self-titled debut, and Matthew Sweet’s 100% Fun. I just happen to like this record the best.
“Coax Me”
107 Nena — “99 Luftballons” single (1984) 7″
I was 8 when this song took over the airwaves. I had never been exposed to a foreign language in any substantial way. On that level alone, this song blew my mind. The fact that it was abstract and catchy just cemented its status as the best song I had ever heard. Also, my brother liked it, which made it all the cooler.
“99 Luftballons”
106 Wilco — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) CD
For some odd reason, I wanted to not like this record so damn much. I wanted to witness a nice backlash to the mountain of hype that preceded its release. But then I heard it and just a short time later I saw Wilco play at Foellinger and damn it if it wasn’t as good as advertised.
“I’m the Man Who Loves You”
105 Red Hot Chili Peppers — Mother’s Milk (1989) cassette
Brad introduced me to the RHCP while on a bus trip for band. I was just a freshman in high school, and nothing of this ilk had ever filled my head with such glee. The Chili Peppers really were the consummate band for a high schooler to fall in love with. They were perverse, free of filters, silly, sexy, spastic, un-P.C., funky, clever, offbeat, and just plain FUN. Soon, I would be, too.
“Taste the Pain”
104 The Kinks — Face to Face (1966) CD
I was already quite familiar with The Kinks’ early catalog when I read a review of Face to Face in a magazine (I forget which) that championed the album as an equal to Sgt. Pepper’s and Pet Sounds. That piqued my interest, so I checked it out and was promptly flattened by its excellence. I’m not going to say it’s on par with this or that record; what I will say is that I had never heard The Kinks as I heard them on “Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home” and “Sunny Afternoon.” This record was my gateway to the rest of the group’s late-’60s, early-’70s catalog. Upon hearing the breadth of their work from that era, I became convinced that The Kinks were the best rock band of their time. I still hold that belief.
“Sunny Afternoon”
103 Roky Erickson & the Aliens — The Evil One (1981) CD
Just a phenomenal hard rock album. After listening to the 13th Floor Elevators for years I had no idea that Roky’s solo stuff would be this heavy. Granted, most of his solo stuff isn’t, but this record showcases not only his weirdness in all its glory (“Bloody Hammer,” “Two-Headed Dog,” “Creature with the Atom Brain”) but also his pop sugartooth (“I Think of Demons,” “I Walked with a Zombie”). The Evil One may have more of Roky’s personality in it than even his stuff with the Elevators.
“I Think of Demons”
102 Dinosaur Jr. — Green Mind (1991) cassette
Some records will always be linked to distinct mental images. Green Mind brings to mind a drive through the country in Jon’s first car, which had those silly oblong speakers laying in the rear dash. There’s a good reason why so many of the records on this list are linked to Jon: when we spent time together in junior high, high school, and college, music was always the central feature and we always had a blast.
“The Wagon”
101 Serge Gainsbourg — Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971) CD
Outside of possibly Prince, I can’t think of another figure who operated so exclusively within the mainstream and produced such sexual music. I only first heard Melody Nelson about three years ago. I’m sad I waited so long to expand my Gainsbourg collection, because I could listen to the bass on this record for the rest of my life and never tire of it.
“Ballade De Melody Nelson”
Up next, Nos. 100–76.
5 Comments so far
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The Noiseboy Online 
Ah, I’m loving these lists!
Re: Snoop. Is not the thievery of holiday lawn ornaments and their subsequent return, post-police-pullover in the dead of the a.m…is this 5-0 deception not gangsta?
Those “silly oblong speakers” were blown within two days of their purchase, thanks to Green Mind, EFIL4ZAGGIN, and How the Gods Kill.
“Music was always the central feature, and we always had a blast.” Indeed. Nothing is new under the sun.
Comment by Jon March 1, 2009 @ 7:11 pmThank you for your words about Iggy. I find it kind of devastating that they use “Lust for Life” in that horrid Carnival Cruise ad. I don’t like that association, so this helps.
Comment by jeffandkaro March 4, 2009 @ 11:43 pm[…] The records that sorta made a big impact on me, part 2 […]
Pingback by The records that sorta made a big impact on me, part 5 « The Noiseboy Online March 22, 2009 @ 4:13 pmI grew up in the eighties and didn’t hear anything from The Joshua Tree until 1997. Maybe that’s why I didn’t connect with it.
Tyson rocks.
Comment by Todd April 4, 2009 @ 2:21 amis there anyway that you can send me the “bigot sponger haircut policy” mp3 so that i can include it on a mix cd for a blog that i do for my friends?
it was one of my absolute favorite songs in high school, but i had the CD stolen like 5 or 6 years ago, and had completely forgotten about it until now. let me know! thanks!
Comment by db June 25, 2010 @ 3:28 pm