Basement Jaxx- Kish Kash
I bought this album in Toronto...I didn't know anything about this band...only through DJ's and the internet. The only song I knew of was "Cish Cash" and I had heard it from a snowboarding video. The cover also struck me as cool. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Basement_Jaxx-Kish_Kash.jpg I decided to take it even though it was a $30. It's an AWESOME album...and also the album that first showed me that there was cool, good music on the DJ side of things. (yes lets not go there...*slaps wrist*)
Vapor Trails- Rush
I did know a little bit of Rush at this time when it came out. I only knew of the little songs...the ones on the radio but also songs like Freewill, Distant Early Warning...etc. I bought it and loved it. It was my first main Rush cd to get as I did download the music I had before *slap on wrist* .
Heart- Greatest hits
This was 2 years ago...I was working for S.A.I.T and I was running out of music to listen to on the train (ride to work and back). At the time I didn't have a working MP3 player and only my cd player. So I was searching through the parents cds and found Heart's greatest hits. Thinking to myself...oh yeah....right...Barracuda! Sure why not. I took it along and fell in love with everything else on that cd. That is when I became a heart fan...on the train.
Jeen O'Brien- Sixties
I saw this girl in Toronto the same time I bought Basement Jaxx. My dad's friend was the manager of Jeen and invited us to the bar to watch a show. I fell in love with the music I was hearing. It was sooo good. It was like Joni Mitchell, which I was into at the time and mixed with rock. That night was def. a life changing experience. Talking to a manger and then talking to Jeen and Hill. It was the coolest thing I had ever done yet. Bonnie gave me both albums of Jeen and also one of Hill's and it felt like a door kinda nudged open (only a little bit)..."yeah this is damn cool...". I will never forget that night. It was awesome. so very awesome.
Postal Service- Give Up
I hated this album. I hated hated hated hated it. Until....
my first snowboarding competition. We were to go to Edmonton for the comp. While driving up everyone except me knew about Postal service and they had the cd. They started playing it and I was like...WTF is this? This is NOT music!? I bitched about it for some time until finally, it was growing on me. Yes we did listen to it over and over for the 3 hours up, then the time going to the hill...coming back and then the 3 hours back to Calgary. By the time we were at my house I was singing along with everyone else. That comp was super fun too. That whole weekend was fun. This album welcomed me to the world of club and electronica...
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Fever To Tell
Prom night...I didn't go to that...I said f**k it...I don't do that shit and went to the after grad party instead hahaha. It was held at the ski hill in the ski jumping tower...yeah for real! and so everyone is getting pissed and it was funny. The coolest DJ was there...DJ Mollyfi, she rocked the house man...I remember going down there to listen for a bit and she was singing to "last night a DJ saved my life..." It was rad. It's always cool to see people so into the music... Anyways for the album...it was after the party when my friends and I decided to leave. We played this cd the whole time. It totally fit the moment... Anyways we searched for a liquor store and none were open...NONE! So we went to my friends house to grab his hookah and found a deserted tree ravine area place to smoke shisha...well...I didn't ...it wasn't good anyways because they were having problems and most of the time they were sucking in water hahahaha and then my friend lit his pants on fire, accidently...it was definately good times... . Anyways anytime I listen to that album that night comes flooding back. There was a full moon that night.
District 7- District 7
My first punk show. I went with my band members. It was halarious man. Halarious! It was alright music. Another band was The Buzzing Bees (Which I love and have their album), Honey Rocket...(these girls are f***ing scary but can rock you to death), Passado (great metal band...damn it got crazy when they were on stage...crazy) and then District 7. The singer sounds like those backstreet boy punk band...not bad though...this is when it wasn't "IN". It was great though. I love their music as they were one of the first guys to try it out and the instrumentals are not bad at all! Certainly better today than your average pop punk band.
Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand
During grade 11 and 12 I had a ride to and from school everyday. The main albums during that stage was Franz Ferdinand. I think we played that album a good 50 times until we got sick of it. Def good times in the burb. Doing 140 on crowchild trail and getting home in 10 mins. We had a record once. From our school to my house it took us 5 mins (on a good day of traffic it will take a person about 15-20 mins to get home from my school). No joke. It was unreal. We only played one song from a cd.
Fugazi- 13 Songs
Wow...this is old school. I bought this album during a boxing day sale...I do believe that was in grade 10. Those songs from that cd were my main rush to get me going for snowboarding comps and snowboarding itself. I remember listening to that cd in the car while my friend and I went up to Fairmont to snowboard. This band is sooo old school, I love it. Good times.
The Go Find- Miami
My this is a gem. This was also a huge snowboarding CD. Nationals. I heard a song from them from CJSW (a local indie show)...I loved it right off the bat because I love Postal Service and it was the same type of music. I knew my coach loved The Postal Service...so I gave a copy to her and she loved it. So that year was full of The Go Find. We listened to that cd in antipation for nationals and in defeat going back to Calgary. Plus the bass is rad in this album....that was when I found out that the Lexus had a good stereo system!
Metric- Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Another snowboarding moment...My friend that was in the group showed me Metric. Loved it from the beginning. I remember the one time I was gonna drop into the pipe and she was like...what are you listening to!? I yelled back..."Wet Blanket!" and she smiled. Rad. This album is rad, also their next one Live It Out is so wicked. They put on a very good show too.
Modest Mouse- Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Yet another snowboarding moment lol...can you see a trend? I do...and I love it! YAH! This album was a key album for us (by us I mean my group) 2 years ago. That is all we would sing on the chairlift..."Ice Age heat wave can't complain, if the worlds at large, why should I remain?" and the random moments that people would scream out..."Please bury me with it!" haha good times.
Vailhalen- Pop Violence
I first heard their stuff on CJSW...This album I listened to a lot on the bus ride home from work, last year. I bought this album at sloth records. Such a rad band. It was kinda like a....I don't know if I wanna call it ritual but it was the main album I would always listen to on the way home...it was winter time and it was dark and it just seemed to fit with the mood the cd gave me.
The New Pornopraghers-Twin Cinema
If it wasn't Vailhalen it was this album that took it's place, on the bus ride home. Great Canadian band from Vancouver. I also heard this from CJSW. Basically the same reason I listened to Pop Violence, except it was a more happier version.
Red Hot Chili Peppers- By The Way
Yet again another snowboarding memory. This was one of my coaches fav albums that year. It was on heavy rotation at the COP gym center when we were doing dry land training. I tell ya back flipping in the air with that album is brilliant! "Minor Thing" was a huge track...good for doing a speed run. Also "Throw Away Your Television" was on heavy rotation for me.
Robert Plant- Mighty Rearranger
Just one thing....BEST CONCERT EVER!
Robert Plant is my f***ing hero. That guy, even now can bring such a presence to the stage it's incredible. The only real and unfortunate memory I have with this album is the fact I listen to this when I was fixing computers at S.A.I.T. Oh and I guess it was around my 18th birthday...I guess thats more important haha. Yeah and then I went to the concert on the 22nd. I wish Mr.Plant would come back to Canada...if not i'm treking to the UK!
The Shins- Oh Inverted World
Another snowboarding album...lol I think I dont need to explain..same deal as the rest.
Slayer-Reign In Blood
*sigh*....errr what can I say...ummm it has to do with snowboarding and an ex boyfriend? haha Well he liked it a lot...slayer is alright...only good for getting pumped up for a run or something...I wouldn't play it for fun..beacuse it isn't fun to listen to...it gives me headaches.
The Stars- Set Yourself On Fire
Grade 12...listened to this while doing math. Never got math. I got music. One of my friends gave me this cd to listen to...she also got me into many other things such as Tegan and Sara, Sondre Lerche, The Stills and Sara Slean. The Stars is such a jazzy rock type album that it's great to listen to anytime.
The Stills- Logic Will Break Your Heart
Another snowboarding/school album. "Changes Are No Good", "Gender Bombs" and "Animals and Insects" were the main tracks that were on every mix cd that we had. This was during my Grade 11th year and also 2nd year into my snowboard club...everything was good! and the music was good! Life was damn good!
System Of A Down-Toxcity
Ah yes...the band that I cannot stand now. Why? Because for 3 f***ing years I spent my life focusing and playing SOAD in my band. I was sooo god damn closed minded those years it's enough to make me feel sick. No wonder I couldn't grasp different music...I listen and breathed this album for too long of a time. In the end we broke up (I did) because no one cared (except for me and the guitarist) and because I couldn't stand listening...yet playing it!... the same thing over and over...they didn't want to change so I said f**k it...I need to focus on something else. So to this day if I hear a song I remember the band...and I laugh...because it was funny. Their new stuff is alright though.
Tegan and Sara- So Jealous
Its so sad that I don't have anything pinned to this yet...It's such a great album...hopefully something down the road will appear.
Treble Charger- Wide Awake Bored
The song "Brand New Low" was the song that I was supposed to play in for the grade 8 talent show...about 2 weeks till the show I had a hard time trying to find the band members to practice with...getting pissed off now...wondering what the f**k happened to them and questioning my ability of playing guitar for them...During a lunch hour...as the music nerd as I am I usually practiced during the lunchtime...(why deal with all the bullshit drama outside?). So I opened my guitar case and there is this extremly long large note from the other guitarist in the band explaining why I wasn't in the band anymore. I don't have the exact paper anymore because I was so pissed off I teared it apart and through it around the room. But I do remember it saying this ..."Allison, the reason why I don't want you in the band is because you are too cool for us...i'm sorry"
TOO COOL!? WTF was this guy talking about!?! I was anything BUT cool back then. So I was even more pissed off about that than being kicked out of the band. LOL! .
The Weakerthans- Left and Leaving & Reconstruction Site
Another snowboarding one. Coach showed me this band. Again apart of everything that we did in our group.
Broken Social Scene- You Forgot It In People
I almost forgot about this one! This is another one that my coach found.
Jack Johnson- In Between Dreams
That morning on the day of Nationals...I scarfed down my carpet tasting bagel, threw on my gear...grabbed all the things that were considered lucky, tucked them into my jacket pocket. Talked to my snowboard for a bit (for real). Made my way to the village...grabbed my bib...#81...got on the chair...no one else was there...it was just me and my friend. And guess what was blaring in the distance?...Jack Johnson. It was dumping so much...oh man what a day. I got a free sled ride too! It was wicked!
It's funny how most of this relates to snowboarding...I didn't notice how many albums were connected with it. Snowboarding means so much more to me now than it ever did. It's here to stay. And yes I agree with Sean...Music is powerful. It can send you back instantly to when you first played it. It's awesome. I love it.
A few artists that didn't have an impact on me with their albums but rather their singles
Jamiroquoi- Canned Heat
Groove Armada- Super Stylin'
Groove Armada-My Friend
Deep Purple- Highway Star
A lot of At The Drive-In was used for the first couple years of snowboarding
Big L- Fall Back (Featuring Kool G Rap)
Blur- Coffee and TV
Death Cab For Cutie
Desaparecidos
The Faint
her space holiday
Iron Maiden
Oasis- Wonderwall
Ok Go- Get Over It
Pinback
The Pixies- Monkey Gone To Heaven
Porcupine Tree- Prodigal
Sparta
Tilly and the Wall
Wassabi Collective
Kate Ryan-"Libertine" ...the story behind this one was at nationals...this one girl who was a coach for calgary snowboard club...shes french and she was showing us some tracks and they were cool! It was french dance music...COOL! so now I like Kate Ryan.
