Brian Eno: most of Before and After Science, all of Another Green World
I still remember listening to B&AS in Todd W.’s dark, mildewy basement after swimming all day in his pool. My swimsuit was still wet, and the AC was blowing down on us from the window near the top of the ceiling. I’m not sure who else was there–several of my high school friends. High school had ended in June, and now it was August, and though I had only a vague idea of what was around he corner, I knew things would never be the same. When I hear these songs, I feel like I am still there, shivering, trying to make those last few days of summer last forever.
Al Green: Al needs his own 100 song list. My God. It seems an act of great futility. to choose simply one song of Al’s
Bill Withers: Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone
I read somewhere that he set a record for rfor the most repetition of a phrase in a song.
Gillian Welch: Time (The Revelator)
I haven’t liked a new record this much in a long time, and this song is the highlight–a long, meditative piece about facades and superficiality from the woman who used to speak in a thick, Alabama drawl, though she grew up in L.A. (Los Angeles, not Louisiana).
The Carpenters: Rainy Days and Mondays
I used to use to listen this song over and over again when I was a kid. On 8-track (the only way to truly hear The Carpenters). My parents ordered a set of 8-track Greatest Hits off of television–Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Carpenters.