Musical Chairs

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."
-High Fidelity

This is my tag to all of you. I want to know..

1. The total number of albums you own.
2. The last album you bought.
3. The last song you listened to today.
4. Five albums that mean a lot to you.

I'll start the ball rolling. Waaaaay back in the day, I managed a record store. So I listen to some, shall we say, eclectic stuff. I'll try to keep it simple for starters.

1. The total number of albums you own.
I own a lot of cd's and a smattering of vinyl. I once owned something like a zillion, but it got whittled down in the lean mid Nineties. (1 used cd = $5, 2 burgers at BK for $2. Do the math.) Lately I've been transferring them all to mp3 on my computer to save room and scratches.

2. The last album you bought.
Aha Shake Heartbreak -Kings of Leon
This is a killer album. Highly recommended.

3. The last song you listened to today.
As of posting: Ocho Mambo -Gypsy Kings

4. Five albums that mean a lot to you.

"Time" -Electric Light Orchestra
This was the first album I ever owned. I got it for my birthday in 1981. I've always been a sucker for ELO since. "Rain is Falling" is my favorite track, and "21st Century Man".

"Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow
You still wander the fields of your sorrow.
What will it bring?"
"Warning: Live Jumbies" -Jumbalassy
Jumbalassy was a local reggae/soca/dancehall group here in Seattle. Few people outside the Northwest have probably heard of them, but this album meant a lot to me. Reggae saved my life. It really did.

"Dreamboat Annie" -Heart
More loyalty from me to a local band! "Soul of the Sea" makes me choke up a little. This album reminds me of walking on the beach at Alki Point with my old friend, Nasir.

"Time, time, time, time
Never ask what's become of us
Just dedicate your sorrow
Here and now
To the soul of the sea
And me..."

Without Mercy -The Durutti Column
Ethereal music from Britain. It isnt easily definable, which is what I like. Kind of trance, kind of lush, kind of electronica...but it pre-dates all those styles. I can put it on and relax, carried along by beautiful music.

Misplaced Childhood -Marillion
I have a special memory of every early Marillion album, but this was the first one I ever heard. Me dear ol' Ma, she had a friend who was a new waver in the 80's. The winter of 1990 he brought over all his old vinyl and this was one of them. I've loved it ever since. My most special memory was of taking Ms. Sabine to see Marillion's ex lead singer Fish perform. He never tours the US anymore, so it was a once in a lifetime. I remember holding her close as he sang:

"I was walking in the park dreaming of a spark
When I heard the sprinklers whisper
Shimmer in the haze of summer lawns
Then I heard the children singing
They were running through the rainbows
They were singing a song for you
Well it seemed to be a song for you
The one I wanted to write for you,
For you."

Once in a lifetime.

I'm always walking in the park, always dreaming of a spark.

For you.

There are more albums that mean a lot to me. A lot more. But we have to start somewhere, eh?