Which Album Would You Choose To Flip Over and Over Forever?
Food for thought: if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be? While this question is purely hypothetical, most of us would have trouble even whittling down a top-five list of our all-time favourite albums, let alone, one singular album. You can imagine how problematic this becomes once you factor in even the slightest bit of musical taste.
But it goes beyond personal preference, doesn’t it? I mean, I love the Eagles, but I’m pretty sure if I had to listen to Peaceful Easy Feeling forever, I’d be feeling a little less than serene. No, I think that the recipe for musical staying power has less to do with taste and more to do with variation and trivialities.
For instance, have you ever wondered why The Beatles had such a profound impact on music? While the talent, charisma, and hair may have played a part in their success, the real driving force was their kitchen sink approach to creating music. American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier once stated that it was “unwise ever to assume that [The Beatles were] doing only one thing or expressing themselves in only one style...one kind of feeling about a subject isn't enough...”
To get to the meat of it, I think that we may be more inclined to drop the needle, flip over and repeat when we can identify different influences contained in a given piece of music. That’s not to say that music has to be meditative in nature, but I think there’s something to be said about discovering new things with each listen.
While there is comfort in the familiarity of certain songs and albums, I have come to not only appreciate, but also truly enjoy a record that keeps me guessing. The Who’s Tommy, which is one of the first (and finest) rock operas has always been one of my favourite albums, not only for its musical ingenuity but also, a pretty solid story. For me, listening to the album is like re-reading one of my favourite books - I never tire of it.
As I so often state, music is a personal expression of our own tastes and preferences. That’s really what it really boils down to, isn’t it? While I sincerely believe that our propensity towards a certain style of music may say a thing or two about us as individuals, let’s pray to the gods of rock and roll that we never have to make the daunting decision of just one album.
Until next time, stay groovy.
-A