Listography - Albums by a Band

A little while back Listography brought you 'Now That's What I Call Music' which asked you to list the first 5 albums you owned. Cue much embarrassment and plenty of red faces (and also possibly my favourite ever Listography entry - if you have two minutes to spare please do read it. Just don't forget to come back to me ok?).

Anyway, this week I thought I would give you all the chance to redeem yourselves and revel in your coolness by listing your 'Top 5 Albums by a Band'. Though I have my suspicions that one or two of your lists will be almost as bad as your original ones. Not naming any names though. And it certainly wouldn't be Him Up North or Reluctant Housedad.

So here we go - Kate Takes 5's Top 5 Albums by a Band (in chronological order from when I first heard them, naturally).

1. The Stone Roses.

1989

This was given to me by a friend, recorded onto a blank cassette, with the promise that it was a) brilliant and b) a pre-recorded version of the album that a friend of a friend was given that nobody else in the entire world had a copy of. Point one was completely and utterly true. Point two - I'm guessing not so much. I loved that album like no other and played it to death - literally. My pre-recorded heirloom died in my ghetto-blaster a few months later and I was forced to get the real shop bought version which I was slightly confused to find out was exactly the same as my own 'unique' version. Hmmm.
Years later when my husband and I met and moved in together we went through our amalgamated cd collections to get rid of the duplicates. When I saw my beloved Stone Roses Album on the top of that pile all I could think was - 'If we ever break up I'll kill him for this'.

2. . Pink Floyd. Dark Side of the Moon.

1991

My University album. Listened to in darkened smoke-filled rooms with lots of long haired types sitting on the floor and nodding their heads with eyes closed in concentration. Yeah man.

  

 3. Radiohead. The Bends.

1995

Actually I like all the Radiohead albums up to Kid A. Then it all just went a little weird and up their own arses.   It's easy to forget how great they were - if you haven't listened to this for awhile dig it out and pop it in the car. I know you all have a copy of it somewhere.

 4. The Libertines. Up The Bracket.

2002

*Sigh*. Ah Pete. Sent down at the weekend for 6 months for sliding down the slippery ski slope of white powder that ain't snow. So much wasted talent. Of course both Libertines albums are equally brilliant but I've chosen the first because that was when I first fell in love with them. Watching them perform 'Boys in the Band' on Jools Holland I knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship. Now Pete just needs to sort himself out and realise it too.


3. The White Stripes. Elephant.

2003

The White Stripes are\were a band that stopped you in your tracks as soon as you heard them. We were lucky enough to see them live a couple of times. The first time was at a small outdoor gig in Dublin when I lectured the young couple in front of us for arguing during their set. I'm surprised I didn't have a pint thrown at me. Or a fist. With true poetic justice my husband and I had a big argument on the way home and some poor bloke tried to step in to calm the situation. Oh dear.
The second time we saw them we brought our 6 month old baby to the gig in a moment of unparalleled bad parenting madness. She still has the wristband they gave her. Unfortunately no ear plugs though.


So there's mine. I'm sure I've missed a couple of blinders and will want to re-write it as soon as I've read some of yours, but that'll do for today.

So, if you've been here before you know what to do, if you haven't - just write your own 'Top 5 Albums by a Band' post on your own blog and then come back here and add your details to the linky below. Want to know more? Click the Listography Page at the top of my blog.

Anyone still there? Finally as an added bonus - next week I am pimping out Listography so if you fancy hosting it for a week just leave me a comment with what your theme would be, or if you don't want to host just vote for someone else's suggestion.

Looking forward to it!

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Music I want my kids to listen to

So Ghostwritermummy and Alexander Residence have got us all a Twitter about 'Music I Want My Children To Listen To '. After reading their posts and their lists of artists I couldn't wait to jump in.

One of my very first posts was about the music I listen to on the school run. It included Nirvana and the fact that it didn't seem to gain me very many brownie points with the school mums...

Music is hugely important in this house. However, when I was growing up we weren't allowed to even watch Top of the Pops. Dad was pretty strict about it, but whenever he left the house on a Thursday night the four of us would gather around the TV with my elder sister and her tape recorder. We would have to be absolutely silent whilst she stealthily pressed the play and record button in unison as soon as an artist stepped on stage, before expertly cutting of just before Mike Read made some cheesy quip.

Ah the good ol' days...

One of my choices for this post is from this era. Both my older sister and brother were big David Bowie fans. So by default I was a big David Bowie fan. As their records were passed down to me I grew from wanting to like them to truly and completely loving them. How many times I played Diamond Dogs and Hunky Dory I have no idea, but I can recall being very upset years later when I heard my brother had reclaimed all his vinyl only to give it away before becoming a monk. (Weird but true).

So Bowie - you've made it into this Hall of Fame. You should be very proud.


My next choice isn't even a choice - it's just a foregone conclusion. As I mentioned in my Dinner Party Listography two of my three children are named via Bob Marley. The problem with Bob is that he is so ubiquitous around the world that he has almost become tacky, so it is easy to forget his brilliance. However, I defy anyone to watch a documentary about him without loving him, or put on any of his albums without ending up in a happier place at the end of it.

Arise Sir Bob.



Finally I'd like my kids to listen to The White Stripes and The Libertines. Two great guitar bands that I come back to time and time again. When our daughter was 6 months old and we had no babysitter (and no clue) we brought her to a White Stripes gig. The bouncer nearly fell over in shock but bizarrely let us in. I spent most of the gig sitting outside feeding her but even so - she'll get to tell her friends that that was her first gig. Pretty cool in my book, and as long as we haven't damaged her ear drums for life she might keep listening to them.

  

Ghostwritermummy has a linky on this so be sure to pop over and join in.