Fifteen Albums…

Someone posted this on facebook. I like doing these little quiz-type things, but I rarely post them. This one really got me thinking so I thought I’d go the extra mile. Here are the directions:

Rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums you’ve heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.Tag fifteen friends, including me because I’m interested in seeing what albums my friends choose. To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, click “Write a note”, paste title and rules in…

And after the appropriate 15 minutes, here was what I came up with:

  1. Joe Firstman- War of Women   01 Introduction to _The War Of Women
  2. Sarah McLachlan – Mirrorball Building a Mystery
  3. Dido- No Angel All You Want
  4. Andrew Lloyd Webber- The Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack The Phantom of the Opera
  5. Jewel- Spirit Jupiter
  6. Carole King- Tapestry So Far Away
  7. Love Actually Soundtrack God Only Knows
  8. Alanis Morrisette- MTV Unplugged Head Over Feet
  9. Veronica Mars Soundtrack We Used To Be Friends- The Dandy Warhols
  10. Granian- On My Own Two Feet Contagious
  11. Carly Simon – Coming Around Again As Time Goes By
  12. Maroon 5- Songs About Jane The Sun
  13. Teitur – Poetry & Airplanes Rough Around the Edges
  14. Moulin Rouge Soundtrack Elephant Love Medley
  15. Ally McBeal: For Once In My Life featuring Vonda Shepard You’re the First, the Last, My Everything

Honestly, I surprised myself with some of the answers. I was thinking of entire albums and not just favorite songs or favorite bands (most of which didn’t even make the list!). Also, the thing all fifteen of my choices have in common is that the entire album is strongly linked to something in my life…a place, a time, an event, etc. As a result, most of them are from my past…when I actually listened to entire albums obsessively and before the majority of my music came in its live form.

I’ll never forget, for example, listening to The Veronica Mars Soundtrack in my car quite heavily the last few months of college…or having Sarah McLachlan’s “Surfacing” on repeat while getting lost in Washington DC on a Girl Scout trip…or listening to Jewel’s “Spirit” while playing Pokemon on my Gameboy. Then, of course, there is the album I listen to whenever I am deeply upset because it can be the only thing that makes me feel okay (that would be Joe Firstman’s “War of Women”, also strongly connected to what I still consider to be the best day of my life).

I could go on, but all of these albums make me feel something above and beyond the music itself. I’m sure it’s that nostalgic link that will keep these albums firmly implanted in my brain for years to come.

~ Kristen

Kristen’s Concert Calendar: 5/10-5/16

It’s Carney Week! Saturday is their big show at the El Rey. They are moving to NYC (yes, it’s really happening this time) to be a part of Spiderman on Broadway. They will be gone for awhile. As the first local LA band I fell in love with, this is a big deal to me. The apocalypse could be coming and I would not miss this show. Their first full length CD, Mr. Green Vol. I, also comes out this week (May 11th). So even if you can’t come to the show on Saturday night, you can still celebrate Carney week, by going out and getting a copy of the CD (you’ll want an actually copy as the artwork is brilliant).

If you’d like to celebrate Carney week, I’ve earmarked daily suggested activities along with the rest of the amazing musical events happening this week (and there are quite a few good ones this week)…

Monday: Ashes Divide and Sweethead FREE at Spaceland (10pm)…if you’re looking for the lead singer of A Perfect Circle or a guitarist for Queens of the Stone Age, here’s where to find them
ALSO: SO & SO at The Hotel Cafe (8:30)
ALSO: The Like FREE at The Echo (10pm)…they’re back! And they’re doing a month long Monday night residency!!
ALSO: Wartapes FREE at Silverlake Lounge (11pm)…also playing every Monday in May
ALSO: The Filthy Souls at 14 Below in Santa Monica (8pm)…and another great month-long residency…wow, Monday’s are going to be busy…
ALSO: Songwriter’s in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)
CARNEY WEEK: listen to their EP Nothing Without You and Reeve Carney and the Revolving Band Live at Molly Malone’s CD and celebrate the Carney that was. Also, go to bed early, falling asleep to “Think of You”.

Tuesday: Mississippi Man at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: Transfer at The Viper Room  (10:25)
ALSO: The Northstar Session at Molly Malone’s (9pm)
ALSO: Kate Nash at The El Rey (8pm)
CARNEY WEEK: get up bright and early and bust down the doors of your Local Best Buy to pick up a copy of Mr. Green Vol. I. Listen all day long. 

Weds: Trent Dabbs and The Daylights at The Hotel Cafe (9,10pm)
ALSO: Ben Folds and Kate Miller-Heidke at The Music Box (8pm)
ALSO: Curly Rock in the Round at Cubana Club Showroom featuring Curtis Peoples, Ernie Halter, Tony Lucca, Lisa Loeb, Tyrone Wells, etc. (8pm)
ALSO: Beachwood Rockers’ Society at Crane’s
CARNEY WEEK: introduce the new Carney CD to all of your friends. 

Thursday: Lemon Sun and Crash Kings at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Jakob Dylan at The WIltern (8pm)
ALSO: Sally Jaye at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Purple Melon at Molly Malone’s (10pm)
ALSO: Carole King and James Taylor at the Hollywood Bowl (7:30)
ALSO: Ben Folds and Kate Miller-Heidke at The Music Box (8pm)
CARNEY WEEK: start making plans for Saturday. Arrange car pools and pre-concert dinners. Don’t forget to make time for that place down the street that sells the apple mint lemonade. If you feel so obliged, this is the evening to gather together all your friends and discuss the merits of the new CD…song by song…at length. You can do this while making your “I love you Zane Carney” posters

Friday: Turin Brakes at The Echo (8:30)
ALSO: Carole King and James Taylor at the Hollywood Bowl (7:30)
ALSO: Andrew Bird at Largo at the Coronet (8:30)
CARNEY WEEK: go to Molly Malone’s to see Carney Bassist, Aiden Moore, perform some of his solo work at 8pm…don’t forget to tell him you love the new CD and can’t wait for Saturday night

Saturday: CARNEY WEEK: The night you’ve been waiting for. Come to The El Rey to rock out with Carney to all their new tunes that you’ve spent all week falling in love with. (8pm)
ALSO: 30 Seconds to Mars at The Greek Theater (7:30)
ALSO: Carole King and James Taylor at the Hollywood Bowl (7:30)
ALSO:  Annuals at Spaceland (8:30)
ALSO: Andrew Bird at Largo at the Coronet (8:30)
ALSO: The Real Sunset Strip with Scheff and The Hawk featuring Terra Incognita at On the Rox (10pm)

Sunday: Patrick Park at The Autry (7:30)
CARNEY WEEK: begin your Carney detox program…but not before watching Spiderman and making tentative plans for your NYC trip next fall… 

To Keep in Mind:
May 19th: Queen Caveat at The Viper Room
May23rd: Frightened Rabbit at The Music Box
May 28th: The Silent Comedy and Dirty Sweet at North Park Theater (in SD)
June1st: First Aid Kit at Bootleg
June 3rd: Mumford & Sons at The Music Box
June 6th: Mumford & Sons with The Silent Comedy at BellyUp (in SD)
June 10-13th: BONNAROO (in Tennessee)
June 25th: Warped Tour in LA
July 10th: Lilith Fair

~ Kristen