The Pilot
Friday, March 30, 2007
Page A3
Opinions
10 music albums that have meant a lot to me
By Matt Tessnear
matthewtl 984@earthlink. net
I’ve always believed that
music is one of the most im
portant and influential of all
the material things on this
planet. There are so many
great types of music, and
there is a type of music for
every mood.
Everyone has a different
set of musical preferences
and certain genres fit with
each person’s personality.
A person might like jazz,
rock and country, but can’t
stand rhythm and blues. An
other person might prefer
rock, rhythm and blues, and
classical, but can’t stand the
twang, of traditional coun
try.
Others like every
thing but gangster rap and
twangy, Loretta Lynn-style
country. Eliminating those
two would be my personal
preference. I’m not the big
gest fan of Americana or
European techno, but I can
handle anything but the two
styles above.
I’ve had several con
versations recently about
favorite albums, favorite
songs and favorite artists. I
think it’s hard to find a fa
vorite album, if you are a
big music fan of any genre.
The same could be said for
songs and artists. I have my
favorite artists, but there are
10 albums that have influ
enced my life, shaped my
actions and that describe my
personality. So, in essence,
they are my 10 favorite mu
sical albums of all time. I
think- this list portrays my
wide range of musical fa
vorites. Listed in reverse
order:
10. “Dark Side of the
Moon” by Pink Floyd con
tains such a wide variety
of sounds. Some of them
are weird. A few songs on
the album have the moan-
Tessnear
mg voice
of someone
who appears
frustrated
with life.
“Speak to
Me Breathe”
and “Great
Gig in the
Sky” are
two of my favorite druggie
tunes.
No, I’ve never done
drugs, or even smoked a
cigarette, but this album is
full of songs that are great
for “chilling.”
9. “Nimrod” by Green
Day is one of the few al
bums from the 1990s that
really struck a chord with
me. It has a great group of
songs, from top to bottom.
“Good Riddance (Time
of Your Life) is one of the
great “moving on” anthems
in modem music. Some dis
like it for its synonymous
relationship with graduation
ceremonies.
I like the punk sound
of “Nimrod,” but it doesn’t
hold true to the punk norms
of ’90s music. Green Day
did a great job of mixing in
additional sounds with their
punk for “Nimrod.”
8. “Joshua Tree” by U2.
Released in the late 1980s,
this set is the closest
come to enjoying Christian
music. “Joshua Tree” really
had strong religious themes,
and the songs ultimately
made mention of God. This
album was characterized
by great guitar sounds and
inspirational lyrics. I’ve
found myself listening to
this album when I need a
pick-me-up.
7. “The Essential Billy
Joel” by Billy Joel was not
an original album release,
so it could be pronounced
unfair for the purposes of
this list. However, it’s my
list and I’m making the
rules, so back off.
Joel’s var> ^ lyrical
styles, but constant piano
mastery and strong voice
make him one of the best
musical artists of all time.
From “Anythony’s Song
(Movin’ Out) ” to ‘ Piano
Man” to “New York State
of Mind,” this CD provides
care and sympathy for mo
ments when I’m just not
100 percent. Runners up for
Billy Joel would be “Glass
Houses” and “52nd Street.
6. “American Idiot” by
Green Day makes the band
the only group or artist with
two on my list. I actually
didn’t listen to Green Day
growing up in their “Nim
rod” and “Dookie” days.
This album hooked me on
Green Day-style punk.
This album is solid from
top to bottom andj^s a good
CD for riding doj^pne road
with the windows down and
the meter on my speedom
eter above 55.
5. “Feels Like Today”
by Rascal Flatts single-
handedly converted me into
a country music fan. Well,
the album and a former girl
friend who loves country
music. Honestly, though,
this album made me fall in
love with country music.
“Bless the Broken Road”
and “Then I Did” wooed me
with their soft sounds, while
“Fast Cars and Freedom”
won me over with rock-
style guitar play. Thanks to
this set, I am now a contem
porary country music fan.
4. “Catch Without
Arms” is a hard album to
place. Mike Mitteer, my
roommate, introdi^Bimie to
the album after hHLrother
sent it to him. The artist,
Dredg, is not a mainstream
group, but they have a great
mix of sounds. Unlike the
title, Dredg’s versatile
mixture of styles definitely
caught me.
3. “Continuum”by John
Payer is a flashback to the
early days of roots Ameri
can music. It has blues, jazz
and country sounds, and re
ally fuses together all of the
great styles that were popu
lar during the first half of
the 20th century.
Mayer’s voice is soft and
pleasing, while the album
harks back to Hank Wil
liams and Elvis Pressley’s
styles. This album is a C-L-
A-S-S-I-C.
2. “Make Yourself’ by
Incubus is my “screw you.
I’m pissed off’ album. In
cubus caught many with
“Drive” in 1999. However,
that song is probably actu
ally my fifth or sixth favor
ite song on the disc.
This was probably the
first album that I would
in my CD player and
iBIn to, over and over.
Like Dredg, Incubus has a
large mixture of sounds and
they use some of the synthe
sizer effects that made ’80s
music so much better than
today’s offerings.
1. “Thriller” by Mi
chael Jackson came out
a few years before I was
bom. Jackson released the
record in 1982, to be exact.
It is the quinnesential album
that should be in every col
lection. Jackson may be a
weirdo now, but footage of
his moonwalks across the
stage are evidence of the
great entertainer that he
used to be.
“Thriller” has so many
different moods, also. “Baby
Be Mine” and "Human Na
ture” are soft ballads, while
Van Halen rocks out
oi^^eat It.” Add in the
first ever moonw'alk on the
stage at Motowm 25 to “Bil
lie Jean,” and the best music
video of all time, the ^ort
film known as “Thriller,”
and you have the best album
of all time.
I own this CD, the spe
cial edition, and my parents
still own the vinyl version.
This album came out in a
time w'here vinyl albums
were still the popular, and
pretty much only purchas
able, music vehicle.
It has a solid mix of
songs you can dance to and
that will make you want to
crawl into bed and hide from
the world. It encompasses
every mood and is my fa
vorite album of all time.
The Pilot
Bob Carey and Nancy-Pat Dire
Faculty Advisors
Matt Tessnear
Editor and Chief
Krystina Sigmon
Designer
Rachel Lloyd and Katie Bryant
Photo Editors
Jared Graf
Sports Editor
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Ali Cunningham
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Staff Writers
Haley Black
Ashley Carter
Kate Gazaway
Kayley Potter
Rachel Tucker
Staff Photographers
Phone Number: 704-406-3533
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WISDOM ON WHEELS:
Be careful when you play these 10 sofjs
NOT YOUR
AVERAGE SUNDAY,
n
Conley
By Jacob Conley
jacl211@gardner-webb.edu
As you have probably
figured out by now, my
mind works in some strange
ways. The latest example of
this occurred the other day
as I was watching a special
on The Learning Channel
about conjoined twins.
The special profiled
16-year-old sisters and the
challenges of being Siamese
twins. My first thought was
not one of admiration for
overcoming challenges. In
stead it went something like,
“If they want to get married,
they will have to move to
Utah.” I know that some
people might claim that
this is inappropriate, and
it might have been. If you
think about it, most things
in life can be considered in
appropriate if applied in the
wrong situation.
Music is a perfect ex
ample. Most people would
agree that Afroman has some
questionable and offensive
lyrics in his music but, if
played at the wrong time,
a completely innocent song
can be offensive. There
fore, I decided to make like
Casey Kasem and present
Jacob Con
ley’s Top 10
Most Offen
sive Songs
If Played At
the Wrong
Time.
10. You
would most
likely be of
fended or terrified if, when
you were going in for tri
ple bypass surgery, your
surgeon began humming
“Achy Breaky Heart” by
Billy Ray Cyrus.
9. If you were work
ing at the North Carolina
School for the Blind, your
favorite song should not be
Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses
At Night,” or “I Can See
Clearly Now” by Johnny
Nash.
8. If you have dinner
with Michael J. Fox, don’t
serenade him with The
Georgia Satellites’ remake
of “Hippy Hippy Shake.” It
would not be prudent.
7. If you are performing
for a group of deaf students,
don’t choose to do a rendi
tion of Simon and Garfun-
kel’s “Sounds of Silence.”
6. If you work at a nurs
ing home, Tim McGraw’s
“Live Like You Were Dy
ing” is defiantly taboo.
5. If McGraw ever per
forms a concert at Harrah’s
Cherokee Casino, he should
leave “Indian Outlaw” off
his play list.
4. “Red Red Wine” by
UB40 is not a good choice
for the opening hymn at the
Baptist State Convention.
3. Playing Toto’s “I Miss
The Rain Down In Africa,”
as Jesse Jackson is deliver
ing a speech will probably
land you a spot on the eve
ning news or, at least, the
Daily Show.
2A. If you are a life
guard at a nudist beach and
a swimmer is suffering from
hypothermia, don’t play
“Blue Moon” from your
stand.
2B. If you’re dmng re
lief work for the people of
New Orleans, the Scorpi-
‘Rock You Like a-Hur
ricane” should not be your
theme song for the week.
1. If you’re working
with people in wheelchairs,
don’t listen to Disturbed’s
“I Stand Alone” or The Pro-
claimers’ “I’m Gonna Be
(“I would walk 500 miles).
It would make people rise
up in protest and make me
laugh until it hurt.
Marching band Invites you
Campus community
has first opportunity
to hear new band
The new marching band
will make its first joyful
noise Saturday as part of
the festivities surrounding
the spring exhibition foot
ball game.