I was at dinner with GGP and Nancy Jo tonight, and we were talking about the Masterpieces class she gives over at AU. I brought up Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians as what I consider a seminal work, so wonderfully representative of everything that minimalist movement was going for. On the drive back to Balto, I got thinking about pieces or moments that instantly changed by idea about what music was or could be, and I came up with this list.
1. Mahler 2 I became slightly convinced that we were conjuring up some dark and scary stuff when we’d play the opening salvo. Seriously. I contemplated keeping holy water in my case. The first few moments of this piece are like a red commissioner phone straight to Satan.
2. Â Pretty much all of Kid A, especially Everything in Its Right Place and the title track.
4. The sickness that is Eddie Van Halen’s guitar sound, especially on Unchained. I like, sprained my ankle doing air guitar to this song and then tried to play it off as a “practicing gymnastics” injury to my schoolmates.
5. Paul Banks’ voice. So, so, earnest.
6. Bjork’s “Post” album. I remember cutting myself on the jewel case in my haste to get it into my stereo.
7. Lever du Jour from Daphnis et Chloe. Yes I know Ravel gets 2 entries. Stop judging me!
8. Fixing a Hole from Sgt. Peppers. A perfect pop song.
9. STP’s Purple was the soundtrack to the end of high school. For about 2 years, it just hung around my ears.
10. Music for 18 Musicians. Is it a clarinet? A singer? Wait, when did the marimba turn into a shaker? What?
I’m getting there with some other new music, but hesitate to list my hipster-lite inclinations. Still, if you don’t like Washed Out and Little Dragon, you probably want to avoid riding in my car for a while. I can’t stop. And if you see me with a busted ankle, it was definitely not from an ipod dance party. Definitely. Definitely not.
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