The Only Ten

One of the most classic parlor games, especially among media lovers, is to figure out a top ten or a top five according to some particular guideline (e.g., top ten albums of the 1970s or top five Bravo reality stars). For this week, I didn’t want to research anything, but I did want to challenge myself. So, I decided to pursue this idea, but I removed the category. Instead, I used a couple of restraints.

Because of my love of reality television, I know a lot of different programs in this genre. One of my favorite is Alone. If you are not familiar with it, the basic premise is this: ten or twelve survivalists are thrown into an inhospitable environment and told to survive. Each person is completely on their own; they are isolated from the other contestants. They come into the show with a set amount of clothes and 10 extra items of their choice. (If you are interested, you can see the supply list for the show here.)

I took the idea of the ten items and shifted it to music. For the past week, I have asked myself the following question: If I was allowed only ten albums to listen to, which ten would I choose? To make this even harder on myself, I took compilations out of this equation; it had to be ten proper albums. (If you are curious, I would have added Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection and The Smiths’ Louder Than Bombs if I allowed for compilations.) The following are what I came up with.

Chris Isaak, Heart Shaped World

If you have read at least two dispatches from me or talked to me for some period of time, you are very familiar with my deep, unironic love for the music of one Chris Isaak. Is he just riffing off of old Sun artists and Roy Orbison? Sure. Do I care about that? Not in the slightest. The music still works. This is one of my all-time favorite albums. I have, in fact, gotten it in three different formats: cassette, LP, and CD. If I am taking only ten albums, I have to include this album. It’s a non-negotiable.

A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory

Again, if you have met me or listened to me talk about rap music at some point, you should be aware of the fact that I love A Tribe Called Quest, and that I especially love this album. It is around 35 years old, and it still hits every time. Phife and the Abstract are just hungry and spitting on this album. A masterpiece that still influences rappers today.

Vulgar Boatmen, You and Your Sister

I have already waxed rhapsodic about this album. I invite you to read that dispatch to know how I feel about this album. Short form: this album is delightful, and I can listen to it whenever and be charmed.

PJ Harvey, Is This Desire?

In my mind, any of her albums save Uh Huh Her and The Hope Six Demolition Project were in the running for this project. There was no way I was going to do this without putting in a PJ Harvey album. When I thought about it a little more, it had to be this album. While I also love her other albums plenty, this one will always be ahead of them. I love the production on this album. I love its insularity. It takes me on a strange journey every time I listen to it, and I love it for that. Furthermore, I had to choose it because of “The Wind” and “Catherine,” two of the best songs in a catalog full of masterful songs.

Mission of Burma, Vs.

In thinking through this project, I had to consider what moods I would go through. These first four albums are pretty midtempo. There has to be a faster album in the mix, something to really pick up the pace. This is where Vs. comes into the mix. Mission of Burma opens this album with “Secrets,” an absolutely barnburner of a song. Vs. comes out of the gate hot and lets you know that these boys are not playing around. Over the course of the album, the trio keeps up the tempo, playing post-punk with a fluidity and style that few other bands ever have. It’s a beautiful album that rewards repeated listening, a requirement for this particular project.

Jesus and Mary Chain, Psychocandy

I couldn’t make this list in good faith and not put this album here. One of the absolute blueprint albums for shoegaze—and a generally chaotic, noisy album—it is going to satisfy the need for catharic release that would build up over time. You do need a release for that sort of thing after all. Plus, for me at least, I can listen to “Taste The Floor” at a painfully high volume whenever and be absolutely delighted.

Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime

In a surprise to myself, I decided that this slot, which was originally going to go to Pia Fraus’s beautiful album Field Ceremony, should go to those boys from San Pedro. Not too long ago, I listened to this album back to front with my wife on a road trip, and the thing that stands out the most about it—aside from its straight-up brilliance—is the fact that it covers so much ground. There are D. Boon’s solo pieces, contemplative songs about the state of the world, weird funk workouts, and straight-up punk thrashers. It’s an absolute masterpiece, and I believe that when I’m stuck with these ten albums, I will be extremely happy that one of them is this.

Beat Happening, You Turn Me On

The last three albums for this project are all different, but they share a similar characteristic: they all play with repetition. I love repetition, both the concept and the song by The Fall. I know that I need things that drone in my life. This album plays with repetition so well. The swan song album from Beat Happening is perfect. Everything they had learned from their previous albums comes to the fore on this album. The songs are great. Everyone in the band is in excellent form, and the songwriting is sharp. In thinking about this project, I listened to this album for the first time in a while, and I was immediately entranced. I knew it had to go into the ten. (Fun fact: “Godsend” was almost my wedding song, but my wife and I decided against making our family and friends listen to a nine-minute song.)

Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express

I was having a battle with myself about what electronic album to put in the ten. I knew there had to be one, and that it couldn’t be a club album. While I like those albums, it was not going to be appropriate for long-term listening. What raving was I going to do if I was just hanging out by myself? Furthermore, I can only listen to “Prix Choc” so many times. So, to fill this slot, I had two choices: this album and E2-E4. So, I listened to both. While I feel that my rationale for choosing this album—it has discreet tracks—is arbitrary, it is not a statement on the quality. Trans-Europe Express is stupendous. “Europe Endless” gives me the repetition that I want. “Hall of Mirrors” gives me some creepy nightmare vibes, which I can always use. And “Trans-Europe Express” is a perfect techno song, even if that term hadn’t been created yet. An absolute hallmark of an album.

Steve Reich, Music for 18 Musicians (1978)

While I have heard later recordings that are also amazing, I chose the original recording because it is the liveliest one of the bunch, letting the beauty of the composition shine through loudly. You can feel how the song shifts in and out of phase best in this recording, and I think that the performance is at the right speed (some play it slower, which isn’t quite right in my mind). For myself, I knew that I would need a piece of classical composition if these were the only ten albums I could have. With space running out, I was deciding between a Russian ballet score or Reich. As you can see, Reich won out. That being said, it was very close to being a recording of Swan Lake. This got the tip because of detail, subtlety, and the ever-important repetition.

So, there you are, the ten albums I would listen to forever if forced to do so. Thankfully, no one can make me do that. For some of you, all of these albums are very familiar. If they aren’t, I give them all my strongest recommendation.

As I finish this project, there are so many albums that are left on the cutting room floor that would be like 11-20. Those might include My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Pia Fraus’ Field Ceremony, Slowdive’s Souvlaki, Alvvays’ Antisocialites, E2-E4, Suicide’s first album, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., The Gun Club’s Miami, Wire’s Pink Flag, The Go-Betweens’ Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, and The Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms, among others. Margins are extremely thin, but when I look back on this list, I’m very happy with it.

As I noted last week, I’m not doing anything for the week of Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with your family and/or friends. Try not to buy too much stuff. As always, take care of yourselves and each other. With permission, pet a cat or dog. Also, on that note, please help control the pet population: have your pets spayed or neutered. My facility is overrun with stray dogs and cats, particularly kittens. So many kittens have died on us this year. It sucks. Please keep this from happening. Get your pets spayed and neutered.

On a less dark note and a total tangent, here is a music video from the Swiss feminist post-punk group LiLiPUT: