"These are a few of my favourite (albums)..."

"These are a few of my favourite (albums)..."

• Saturday, 11 April 2020

Someone tagged me in one of those Instagram posts where they ask you to list 10 Albums That Changed Your Life over the course of 10 days and, as lovely an idea as that is, I deffo can’t commit to that because a) I will most likely forget, b) I will most likely change my mind halfway through, overthink, and then sack the whole thing off and c) I don’t want to bore people by clogging up their feeds as much as I already do with cries for attention and begs to read my stuff.

In that same vein, then, I figured I’d make a quick blog post about the whole thing. If you know me, you know that I love a good list and it’s something a bit different from the usual content I post.




So away we go – 10 Albums That Have Changed My Life:

1)      Traveller – Chris Stapleton 

He may appear to be a thick-bearded Seventies outlaw-country throwback, but make no mistake: Chris Stapleton is a soul singer, with a preternaturally creaky voice that can turn wizened or brawny, full of pained howls and distended vowels. He leans towards an artful and gimmick-free simplicity and lacks showiness in his stories about flawed characters; he’s raw and without the whole ‘I’M n0T lIk3 tH3 oTH3R G1rLz*’ *(country singers) “authenticity” people try and masquerade behind. His lyrics are beautiful. Best song has to be Sometimes I Cry. For sure. Shit. I smile just thinking about it – which is sort of weird and twisted because it is one of the most painful songs I have ever heard, with Stapleton’s rough growl and southern twang. So good.

2)      Rumours – Fleetwood Mac

I’m only 21 so I sort of lack the cultural baggage this album truly stands for. If Rumours was a person, they’d be that old, sweet, quite complicated friend who gets more and more interesting every time you talk to them. They might tell you the same story again and again, but you’re always able to find some new twist or detail or angle which you never noticed before. Rumours gives me something different every time I listen to it. And Stevie Nicks’ hair is just one reason to give it a go.

3)      Back to Black – Amy Winehouse

There is literally an entire article dedicated to this album in The Guardian, called Why the Best Album of the 21^st Century is Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black,’ and if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, I don’t know what will. It’s quietly beautiful. It’s impermeable in nature; it contains the sorts of songs that will be listened for decades to come. Winehouse’s voice is one thing; what she sings about is another. This album is the very definition of a ‘beautiful tragedy’ and it bangs every time.  

4)      Come on Over - Shania Twain

I would listen to this album every time I got in the car with my mam (along with Dolly Parton's Greatest Hits and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack) and the lyrics 'get a life, get a grip, get away somewhere take a trip’ had might as well be tattooed on my arm because I take that phrase far too literally (in a Corona-free world, that is.) Yeah, I love Shania. I mean, who else could slate Brad Pitt in one song and then flip to a track about domestic abuse in Black Eyes, Blue Tears? A pioneer of feminism in music and proof you can look good in head-to-toe leopard print. Goals. 

5)      The Stranger – Billy Joel

I gave my mam a shoutout so it’s only fair I include the other 50% behind my genetics. I remember being set the task to clean out my dad’s old CD/cassette tape drawer in the garage as a child and finding a dust-ridden, scratched disc at the very bottom of the cupboard. I put it in the stereo to see if I recognised it and, before I knew it, I was being clumsily waltzed around the room by my dad to the tune of Vienna – possibly one of my favourite songs ever still to this very day. Again, it’s very much the sentiment attached to Joel’s album which makes it a standout for me; I hear any of his songs and I immediately think of my dad and him lecturing me to “slow down, you’re doing fine, you can’t be everything you wanna be before your time.”

6)      A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay

I know, I’m openly admitting to loving Chris Martin – and I’m not even sorry. No shame. I don’t care how basic it makes me. They might be something of a pop culture punching bag (when and why this has occurred is beyond me) and if they were a colour they’d be a nice, gentle beige but are you really going to sit there and tell me that The Scientist is a bad song? Of course you’re not. You know exactly what you’re getting when you select a Coldplay playlist on Spotify – nice, slightly melancholy, songs that you can play in the background as you go about your day or turn up to full volume for a heavy whack of nostalgia. And they’ve collaborated with Beyoncé. And they support, like, 30 different charities. And they come across as decent guys – all of them, Chris and…er…the others. And they’ve sold nearly 100 million records. You know why? Because beige goes with everything – everyone likes a nice beige. 

7)      Body Talk – Robyn

Reminds me of some of the best nights out/girls holidays I have ever had with friends because it nearly always includes some absolute bops from this hyper-optimized fembot that you don’t fuck with. It’s hilariously catty and euphorically weird. I only need to hear the intro to Dancing on my Own and can pretty much smell the upstairs room of Pulp in Leigh. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing.

8)      Greatest Hits of Bagatelle – Bagatelle

I don’t think Greatest Hits albums technically count but this one is a must, simply because every single song on here is a banger – are you even at an Irish wedding if you haven’t been whisked around the dancefloor by a piss-drunk uncle to one of these bangers? Are you even in a pub or sat round someone’s kitchen table if a distant relative doesn’t whip out their fiddle/tin whistle (casual obvs) and start playing Second Violin? I’m never normally a fan of Irish bands with the exception of Westlife’s Key Changes (each and every single one of them form a piece of my personal brand along with Linda McCartney sausages and falling down the stairs) but Bagatelle strike a different sort of chord. Kind of hard to explain, if I’m honest. I hate to be that gal but if your fam is Irish, you’ll get my vibe. Also, Johnny Set Em Up is my favourite song; it’s simple, it’s easy to listen to, and the lyrics are beautiful. 10/10. Just thinking about it is making my eyes water a bit.

9)      Mary Poppins Original Soundtrack

Julie. Fucking. Andrews.

Fin.

P.S: I don’t care if cast albums don’t count. I will Sister Suffragette you if you try and take this away from me xoxo We all know that Mary Poppins bangs and if you disagree it’s just because you never got a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down and you know it.

10)   AM – Arctic Monkeys

I’m immediately cast back to my Teenage-Angst-Rebllion-You-Don’t-Understand-Me-And-What-I’m-Going-Through days every time I hear a track of this album. Do I Wanna Know? – legendary. Arabella – gorg. And Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? Was always played towards the end of a night when a house party began to slow down. This bad boi is the soundtrack of my teenagehood. It’s haunting in the best possible way and, though it hardly competes with some of the legends and their works that I’ve listed above, we all know that, without AM, Arctics wouldn’t be where they are today. Facts brought to you by the musical genius that is she, Kerry Maxwell. Word. 

Some top contenders that narrowly missed out for no other reason than that the list specifies ten albums:


The Beyoncé Experience 2007 Live Album – Beyoncé. Queen B can do whatever she wants. She can. This live concert recorded back in 2007 proves it. She can dance like a demon in heels and proceeds to mash up Crazy in Love with Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy minus Jay-Z. Beyoncé could slap me across the face with this album and I’d still say ‘thankyou.’


What’s The Story Morning Glory? – Oasis. Offspring that vacate the womb in the Greater Manchester county are genetically modified to know the lyrics to pretty much every song off of this album. Honestly. It’s the truth.


Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen. All my friends know I’m in love with Bruce Springsteen and I am completely ok admitting that on the internet for all to see.