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War ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ (1975)
War mixed R&B, funk, jazz, Latin, psychedelia, and reggae music all together in a melting pot that reflected the background of the musicians that comprised the multi-ethnic band, forging one of the more progressive soul groups of the 70’s in the process. Their 1975 album Why Can’t We Be Friends? is a viable walk down…
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Death Cab For Cutie ‘Plans’ (2005)
Death Cab For Cutie’s lead singer and songwriter Ben Gibbard has been such a fixture in the Indie Rock scene for so long now that it’s easy to forget in 2005 Death Cab was just beginning to reach their star power. Following 2003’s excellent Transatlanticism that was released independently and saw the band achieve cult-like…
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Guns N’ Roses ‘Appetite For Destruction’ (1987)
No album for me better represents all the glorious excess of the hard rock in the 1980’s combined with a heavy dose of top-tier musicianship than Guns N’ Roses 1987 magnum opus Appetite For Destruction. Slash and Axl Rose have become somewhat of a minor punch line in recent years due to a variety of…
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Don Henley ‘The End of The Innocence’ (1989)
When I was young Don Henley’s song “The End of The Innocence” played a pivotal role in establishing my love for music. The thematic subject matter about getting older and losing the carefree life of being at home with your parents spoke to me in a visceral way, serving as sort of a reminder that…
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The Wallflowers ‘Bringing Down The Horse’ (1996)
Any time your father is one of the greatest American songwriters of all-time, expectations are gonna be a little high. It’s an almost impossible scenario to carve your own niche under the looming backdrop of all-time albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks, and yet Wallflowers lead singer Jakob Dylan (who if…
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ZZ Top ‘Eliminator’ (1983)
ZZ Top’s brand of Texas blues generated a ton of smash hits during their heyday during the mid to late 70’s, and in 1983’s Eliminator they introduced synthesizers and drum machines to create a more pop-oriented and commercially viable version of the boogie rock that made them famous. If you’re looking for the album that…
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Peter Frampton ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’ (1976)
Frampton Comes Alive! was the album which put Peter Frampton on the map, similar in that way to The Allman Brothers Band’s 1971 live album At Fillmore East which jumpstarted the commercial appeal of a band by capturing the raw, infectious energy of their live show. To this day it remains one of the best-selling…
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Dashboard Confessional ‘The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most’ (2001)
Chris Carrabba was the poster child for emo music during its formative years. He single-handedly made the introverted kid lacking self-confidence blessed with a penchant for observational insights cool, and doubly so when that protagonist was armed with an acoustic guitar and an earnest approach to telling his story. This Holden Caulfield from Catcher In…
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Carpenters ‘Christmas Portrait’ (1978)
When I was a kid my mom would play Christmas music starting Halloween night after we were done trick or treating (yes, this is a true story). Her love for the holidays was infectious, filling our home with the smells of fresh-baked cookies, aromas of mulled wine slowly boiled over the stovetop, the sights of…
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Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers ‘Once Upon A Christmas’ (1984)
It’s hard to imagine a more iconic match in the mid-1980’s than Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers teaming up to do a Christmas album together, but the world managed to grace us with its presence for one winter in 1984 when they released Once Upon A Christmas. It’s a terrific soft-listening experience filled with all…
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Frank Sinatra ‘A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra’ (1957)
Christmas has changed a lot in America since 1957’s A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra was released. The holiday has certainly become a much more consumeristic affair, filled with month-long advertisements and shopping sprees, and by and large the holiday has effectively become a secular celebration. There’s no hiding the fact that religion’s popularity is…
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Hanson ‘Snowed In’ (1997)
If you grew up in the 90’s there’s an absolute guarantee that you know exactly who Hanson is. Their smash single “MMMBop” off their debut album Middle of Nowhere was an absolute cultural revelation at the time, dominating the commercial airwaves and sending the three brothers on to worldwide fame. Part of that was due…
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Brett Eldredge ‘Mr. Christmas’ (2021)
Brett Eldredge has one of the finest and rich country voices in the industry today and is a consistent go-to for me when I’m in the need of an old-fashioned emotional pick me up. The title track off his 2020 album Sunday Drive has made me well up with tears on numerous occasions (a story…
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Vince Guaraldi Trio ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ (1965)
A Charlie Brown Christmas was an absolute staple this time of year during my childhood, dutifully airing on PBS and ABC each season during the holidays like Linus’ warm safety blanket. For kids like me who didn’t have cable growing up (my parents didn’t get cable until I was 18 which is sort of insane…
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Bad Religion ‘Christmas Songs’ (2013)
Earlier this year I spoke about the impact Bad Religion had on the punk rock music I grew up on in my write-up on their 1988 album Suffer. A brief refresher in case you missed it: It’s hard to overstate just how influential Bad Religion was on the punk rock I grew up on during…
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Ray Charles ‘The Spirit of Christmas’ (1985)
By the time 1985 rolled along Ray Charles was well past the commercial success and utter brilliance of his work in the late 50’s and 60’s (1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music being his seminal work) and had become somewhat of an afterthought in American pop culture. In other words, 1985’s The Spirit…
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Butch Walker ‘Over the Holidays and Under the Influence’ (2017)
Butch Walker is one of America’s best songwriters and producers that you’ve likely never heard of. His personal catalog is extensive and filled with his unique blend of grimy rock bangers sandwiched in between saccharine sweet love songs (The Rise and Fall of…Butch Walker and The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites being his definitive solo album in my book)…
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Trans-Siberian Orchestra ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ (1996)
I grew up in Cupertino and saw its rise from a relatively docile South Bay city to the tech epicenter of the world during Apple’s meteoric rise as the largest company on Planet Earth. Every year around Christmas my family would take a quick five minute drive from our house to Oak Meadow Court where…
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Neck Deep ‘Life’s Not Out To Get You’ (2015)
Neck Deep’s 2015 sophomore album absolutely bucked the trend of the sophomore slump, delivering some of the best pop punk of the 2010’s which is saying something considering how much the genre had seen a resurgence in popularity that decade. Life’s Not Out To Get You sounds incredible– Lloyd Roberts’ and Matt West’s guitars are…
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Van Morrison ‘Astral Weeks’ (1968)
Every morning I try and find some time in the day to take a walk by myself. With a family of five including our dog and full-time employment this isn’t always easy or achievable, but it is something I aspire to accomplish. There’s a real calmness in the brisk morning air and the relative quiet…
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Minor Threat ‘First Two Seven Inches’ (1981)
Despite playing together for a mere three years Minor Threat’s influence on the American hardcore punk scene is indisputable. They were the harbingers of the DIY aesthetic (eschewing corporate influence to do everything from music production to concert promotion themselves), were fiercely unapologetic in their straight edge ideals (avoiding illicit drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex),…
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Stiff Little Fingers ‘Inflammable Material’ (1979)
Born in the late 70’s in Belfast, Ireland in the midst of “The Troubles”, a period of time where ethno-nationalist conflicts and police brutality dominated the lush Irish scenery, Stiff Little Fingers were basically thrown into a living situation that was perfect for their fast and aggressive punk rock to flourish. Capturing the mayhem and…
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Fear Before the March of Flames ‘Odd How People Shake’ (2003)
Fear Before the March of Flames is the kind of band that parents around the United States heard playing from bedrooms 20 years ago and collectively were like “this doesn’t even sound like music, this is just noise” and for the first time in forever they were probably right. They’re the definition of that teenage…
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Cigarettes After Sex ‘Self-Titled’ (2017)
We’ve talked previously about how some albums are an aesthetic as much as they are a collection of songs (The XX’s self-titled 2009 debut and Bon Iver’s 2008 album For Emma, Forever Ago being two great examples), and Cigarettes After Sex is undoubtedly a band that fits that mold perfectly. Featuring reverb-soaked guitar arpeggios, soft…
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Toto ‘Toto IV’ (1982)
Toto is one of those yacht rock bands from the 70’s that seemingly tried everything under the sun sonically. They rolled up their favorite components of genres ranging from funk, pop, rock, soul, prog-rock, jazz, and the blues, stitched them together with expert musicianship, and slapped a sweet sheen of production prowess on top that…
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The Doors ‘The Doors’ (1967)
Long considered one of the best debut albums of all-time, The Doors self-titled 1967 debut had a nearly immediate impact on the formation of psychedelic music that was beginning to dominate in the late 60’s. The Doors had it all in the grab bag of eclectic rock– drummer John Densmore’s feverish jazz-influenced syncopated rhythms that…
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Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’ (1987)
The history behind Def Leppard’s Hysteria is a wonderful story about persistence in the face of adversity. After releasing their breakthrough hit Pyromania in 1983, Def Leppard went on a world tour that put them on the path to becoming one of the largest glam metal bands of their era. They initially entered the studio…
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Phoenix ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ (2009)
If you went to college in the late 2000’s there was no escaping Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This was one of those glittery boppy Indie rock albums that was custom-made for the coming-of-age college demographic, fun and carefree and subtly sophisticated in the sort of way that made you feel like a child and adult all…
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The Black Keys ‘El Camino’ (2011)
Garage rock is one of my purest loves, and The Black Keys were one of the bands that encompassed the garage rock movement of the early 2000’s. Initially the band was just a two-piece drummer/guitarist blues rock combo a la The White Stripes, and while they experienced some underground success during the decade alongside their…
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Lit ‘A Place In The Sun’ (1999)
A Place In The Sun holds a special place in my heart in that it features “My Own Worst Enemy” which is the first song that I ever played live in front of a group of people. During eighth grade my middle school held a Talent Show where students were invited to participate. It was…
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Matthew. ‘Yesterday & Forever Ago’ (2023)
Today we’ll be covering my debut LP Yesterday & Forever Ago, which was officially released this morning. I previously covered the pretty wild turn of events that came about during the recording of this album in my writeup of the EP I released earlier this year entitled CAMBRIA: The Lost Sessions, so I won’t belabor…
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Brand New ‘The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me’ (2006)
It’s hard to put into words what Brand New meant to me during my late teens and early 20’s. They were undoubtedly one of my favorite bands for a long period of time, held the top spot for a good chunk of that, and spanned multiple groups of friends. Deja Entendu was the soundtrack to…
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Dexter Britain ‘Royalty’ (2023)
I first discovered Dexter Britain 10 years ago on Soundcloud when I heard his 2012 release Music To Sell Cars By. I was immediately taken by the richness of his sound and the heart each of his arrangements had, each one teeming with life and dramatic flair. At that point I signed up for his…
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Warren Zevon ‘Excitable Boy’ (1978)
Warren Zevon was the king of sardonic sharp wit, one of those rare artists who was able to cover the obscene and macabre and yet leave you bobbing along with a smile on your face. The title track from Excitable Boy is a sterling example of this splendid artistry– the song details a young misanthrope…
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2Pac ‘All Eyez on Me’ (1996)
Generation-defining artists like Tupac Shakur naturally get the benefit of contemporary listeners seeing their material with rose-tinted glasses on their material as the years go by. That benefit certainly applies to the final album released during their lifetime as well– that final release is typically put on a bit of a pedestal, even if the…
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My Chemical Romance ‘The Black Parade’ (2006)
The Black Parade was emo’s answer to The Who’s Tommy, a concept album that sounded more like a Broadway musical production than a standard rock record. From soaring guitars to a rollicking rhythm section to Gerard Way’s distinctive gritty falsetto and dramatic enunciation, The Black Parade was Vaudeville on steroids and one of the most…
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About the Author
Jason Matthew Plank listens to copious amounts of music and writes about one album each day. He is currently active in the bands Related to Strangers (post-hardcore) and Kindergarten Cartel (punk covers of children’s nursery rhymes).
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