gute Laune

I totally stole this from Pitchfork’s 5-10-15-20, but I really like the idea. It reminds me of Rolling Stone’s Hot List, or top 5 lists in zines I used to love. I promise in between these ages I listened to other, more acceptable stuff, but when I look back on these particular ages, these were the first albums that came to my head:

5 My very first album. Such cool album art, and it really got me moving. 

10 Collecting albums was a really big deal to my parents and my sisters. When I got my first ‘rock’ album, I was so proud to add it to the family collection. ‘Crush On You’ is timeless and was my anthem in the 5th grade. 

15 When I first saw/heard “My Sister”, it was as if Juliana Hatfield had witnessed my entire existence of being the 3rd of 4 girls. No, she doesn’t really have a sister, but she knows what it’s like. This album is the reason she was and still is my very favorite. In the past decade or so, she has not only continued to produce amazing rock music, she has also become a writer, a painter, and, of course, she is really good at it, too.

20 My late teens/early 20s were rough. This was pre-internet dating, but I met a really special person through a Juliana Hatfield Listserv who shared a love for music. This is one of the bands he introduced me to.

25 Of course I liked the whole album, but the single is so important to me because I chose to listen to it at Jackpot Records based on the picture alone. I will never forget the moment I put the headphones on and heard “Such Great Heights”. I stayed there, geez, maybe 15 minutes? Just transformed to this blissful place. I also learned about Iron and Wine because of the B-Side. I also remember seeing them at the Blackbird, my friend’s super cool friend being impressed that we were there, and asking how we heard about them, and how proud I was of being the one of the firsts to know about them.

30 This album feels like a time capsule of the three plus years of watching Khaela perform all over Portland. I got to know all of these songs live first, some of them before they even had music!!

35 I am technically 34 right now, but imagine I will still love most of this album by the end of the summer. Favorites: “Love In The Dark” and “Shangri-La”