15 ALBUMS - THE EARLY YEARS

There is a "note" circulating on Facebook that reads:

"Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life."

I normally don't participate in such things, but found this particular "note" to be an interesting look back at the music that helped "create" the "person" that I am today.

The first four of the fifteen influenced my childhood prior to high school...

The Cars
by The Cars
1978

I received a tape recorder as a birthday gift when I was a kid. One of the uncles had coordinated with the mother and the father and bought me The Cars on audio cassette. The uncle had married into the family, and, since his wife, the aunt, was a younger sibling of the father, he was also the extended family adult closest to me in age. His youth and love of music provided me with this gift that was listened to thousands of times. When the first notes of any of the songs from The Cars begin on the radio, I get a slight tingle of recognition that fires up my nervous system. Unfortunately, the aunt and the uncle divorced after a couple of years, so my musical apprenticeship was short-lived. Nevertheless, it was an important one.

Gene Simmons
by Gene Simmons
1978

I received some money as a gift for my birthday and I now had a tape recorder. The Gene Simmons solo album from KISS was the first album purchase I ever made. I remember it sitting in a bargain bin at K-mart, the face of The Demon staring out at me. I was at K-mart because it was one of the few retail stores in the town I grew up in that sold music. The cassette was sitting in a bargain bin because the four solo albums from the members of KISS didn't sell very well. I knew none of this at the time. I only knew that Gene Simmons was "dangerous" and I was intrigued by both the cover and the vague rumblings of disapproval from adults that I occasionally gleaned from conversations about KISS. I eventually wore the cassette out through overplay. I don't know if this is a good album of the KISS pantheon because I am so biased. I like that it tries a lot of different things musically. Gene has no problem incorporating R&B background vocals, country riffs, and ballads into his hard rock. This album still sings to me.

Oh, No! It's Devo
by Devo
1982

I was introduced to Devo in junior high school. Devo was weird and subversive. They sang about potatoes and monkeys and mutants. Surprisingly, I found that I could relate to all of these "characters." Oh, No! It's Devo just happens to be the Devo album that arrived at the perfect time in my life for me. I had also received a record player from The Parents shortly before receiving it, so it was one of my first vinyl LP albums. (I already owned Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and Freedom of Choice on cassette tape.) And, I love songs like "I Desire" and "Deep Sleep" as much as I do the more popular "Peek-a-boo!" and "Big Mess." These strange songs were a perfect accompaniment for a time of trying to discover who I was and where I "fit in" amidst the challenge of hormone-addled brain and body.

Friend or Foe
Adam Ant
1982

Friend or Foe was another album purchased from K-mart, although on vinyl this time. I had heard "Goody Two Shoes" on the radio and loved it. I was singing songs from the album when the mother asked me where I had heard them. I told her they were from my Adam Ant album, specifically from the song "Here Comes the Grump." Being somewhat naive, I didn't understand a lot of the sexual innuendo in the song, especially the play on the word "come." Needless to say, the mother confiscated the album and informed me that I was never going to get it back. This confused me because an album like Gene Simmons had never been confiscated and it seemed more in conflict with our family "morals" and Lutheran background than Friend or Foe (and filled with as many sexual references). Therefore, this album was a turning point for me. It showed me the power of music, specifically, and art, generally. On our next visit to K-mart, I bought the album again, and made sure that I hid it from the mother. I listened to it in my bedroom with the sound turned down or while wearing headphones. I made sure that the album cover was stashed away. I was cutting the ties that bound me to the mother. I now had secret music.

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15 ALBUMS - THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS

15 ALBUMS - THE LATER YEARS