21

In honor of my 21st birthday (yes it was last week, but I've been busy), I've decided to put together a very, VERY rough shortlist of my 21 favorite albums of all time. I'm doing this mostly because I've never actually put a list of favorite albums of all time together (soooo many to choose from), but also because it's a lot of fun to do and I figure it should happen anyway. And who doesn't love to read lists?

So here's the thing about the list: there are a lot of omissions. There are several albums I wanted to put on here for the sake of having them on here - albums like Wilco's 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' or Elliott Smith's 'XY' - but chose not to because they, as albums, weren't significant to me in the way these others are (though the artists themselves are WAY significant to me). I mean, I know 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrol' is a phenomenal album, but I tend to listen to 'A Ghost Is Born' more often.

And also, these are by no means the best albums of all time, but simply my favorites. I mean, if I were to put together a list of what are 'supposedly' the greatest albums ever, few of these would make the cut. And along those same lines, I've left off many classics because we know they're great albums, they just don't mean as much to me as some of these others.

Finally, I could easily put the entire Beatles catalog on this list, but for the sake of other albums, I'll only include one.

Without further ado, here is a (ROUGH) list of my 21 favorite albums (with a few words for each):

1. 'Seven Swans' by Sufjan Stevens: Easily my favorite. Gentle, calming, beautiful, and best of all, meaningful - this is Sufjan's 'Christian' album.

2. 'OK Computer' by Radiohead: My introduction to one of the
best bands ever. Every song is great.

3. 'Illinoise' by Sufjan Stevens: More intricate Sufjan, super melodic and absolutely brilliant overall.

4. 'Master and Everyone' by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: About as soft as you can get. Very gentle, acoustic. Really flippin' beautiful.

5. 'The White Album' by The Beatles: My favorite of theirs because it was my first musical memory, listening to Mom's favorite band. What else could possibly be said about it?

6. 'Elephant' by The White Stripes: I used to hate the White Stripes. Then I heard this record and changed my mind.

7. 'Joshua Tree' by U2: Another band whose entire catalog could possibly be on the list. Just gorgeous.

8. 'Greetings from Michigan' by Sufjan Stevens: Sufjan is on here a lot because he is a genius. Beautiful songs with acoustic guitar and banjo, including my favorite song of all time, 'For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti.'

9. 'Sea Change' by Beck: Like you've never heard Beck before; soft, sad acoustic balladry.

10. 'Legend' by Bob Marley: His greatest hits. Defines my springtime now.

11. 'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd: So simple yet so complex, this is mellow 70's psychelia. Perfect introduction to the band and the decade.

12. 'Lateralus' by Tool: Sure, Tool sometimes gives off the impression of being a demonic band, but I defy you find a better metal album from the last 10 years. This was one of my first CDs ever.

13. 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' by Coldplay: Piano-driven alt-rock with one of the best voices of modern music. Makes me think of winter

14. 'The Bends' by Radiohead: Their second album, and it really shows how much they've changed. It's straight-up modern rock, but really, really good.

15. 'The Lonesome, Crowded West' by Modest Mouse: I could have put many of their albums on here, but this is the one I turn to the most. Kings of indie rock.

16. 'Funeral' by Arcade Fire: Redefined indie music, and you can see it in most bands today. Really impressive.

17. 'Takk...' by Sigur Ros: Icelandic atmospheric prog-rock. Defined my freshmen year, perfect for chilling.

18. 'Weezer (The Blue Album) by Weezer: Grandfather of modern punk and emo. Lots of catchy tunes.

19. 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' by Neutral Milk Hotel: A new addition to this list, preceded Arcade Fire with the whole 'redefining indie music' thing. Can't stop listening to it.

20. 'Give Up' by Postal Service: Pop techno, beautiful melodies, really catchy.

21. 'Stadium Arcadium' by Red Hot Chili Peppers: Not a landmark album by any means, but full of potential top-40 hits. Another spring time pick-me-up-er.

God's Good Earth

I'm going to school to learn how to put things into words. Usually I think in words, constructing sentences in my head regarding the details of my surroundings.

But sometimes I simply do not have words to say. Sometimes the power of God's earth overwhelms me and whatever it is I'm feeling inside just cannot be put into words.

I think this is the best picture I've ever taken.

Nerd Mode

First things first: I always find it interesting that even though I have exponentially more time on my hands during break from school, I usually end up being lazy and am far less active than I am during school. I think it's because school keeps me on an active routine, and thus I am more motivated to do stuff.

While on break, sitting on the couch watching television always sounds more attractive than cleaning, writing, moving. So some things suffer over break. Like updating this here blog. But now school is in full swing again and life becomes active once more.

Some cool things happened last night and I found myself hopelessly entangled in Nerd Mode.

After Bible Study (where I had some cool revelations, more on that in a bit), I ended up in my room with Katie, my roomate Greg and his girlfriend Steph. Katie and I were about to jump head-in to disc 3 of 'Planet Earth' when Greg and Steph came in to hang out. Greg asked about my record player, and the ball got rolling.

I often find myself living with two different kinds of people: those in tune with the more artsy culture I tend to follow (indie music, small-market films, classic literature) and those who couldn't care less about that kind of stuff. Mind you, I don't consider myself 'cooler' because I appreciate this stuff more. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' - other people have other interests. If anything, I'm just a big nerd.

And I fall into Nerd Mode sometimes, like when Greg asked about my record player - he's one of those not exactly in tune with my interests (though, of course, Greg and I are close friends and share several common interests.) As I started explaining the vinyl to him, Steph turned her attention to my Sufjan Stevens records. That's when I really got excited - I can sing Sufjan's praises for hours. And I probably would have last night if 'Planet Earth' hadn't been calling my name. Either way, I started playing Sufjan for them and talking fast and answering their questions and being a big nerd about my music and my vinyl. This is stuff I am really passionate about, and if there are more people to be learned on it, then I am willing to do the learning.

It was good time in my room hanging out with Greg and Steph, even though I was being a nerd and probably completely overwhelmed them (Katie is used to this kind of stuff.)

I found it interesting that this exchange with Greg and Steph happened last night because of what we had discussed at Bible Study. Josh had mentioned at group the passage Psalm 103:5, which says God 'satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.' We discussed this in relation to our desires for things like music, movies, etc. (it's a Bible Study for those who find themselves more into artsy stuff like indie music and such), and my friend Max had an interesting thing to say.

Max said that he doesn't desire to watch more movies (which threw us all off because he's a film student and knows more about movies than anyone I've ever met), but that what he truly enjoys is watching a favorite movie of his with someone who has never seen it, or discussing different aspects of movies with someone else.

And it hit me - I'm the same way with music. Sure, I love to get a new CD or find a new artist and listen to them, but my real excitement comes from sharing that with other people. And as we talked about it more, we connected that idea with the idea of community, and how we are called to live in community and fellowship. I was excited because I thought about how maybe we have this excitement because this is how God sometimes calls us into community, through passions like these and our willingness to share them.

Yes, I got caught up in Nerd Mode last night. When I get worked up about my passion for music, all these desires I have to share my passion overflow and I get to be like a kid on Christmas morning.

Maybe you could say my youth had been restored like the eagle's.