5-10-15-20

Hello, all! Sorry for the absence; I've been busy with work, as well as procrastination. (Can't ya tell?!) This summer's been a memorable, exciting one though, and I'm grateful for that.
Today, I thought I'd start a small series here. 5-10-15-20 is a series that occasionally runs on the website http://pitchfork.com/ , where the site talks "to artists about the music they loved at five-year interval points in their lives." I thought it would be interesting to do the same for myself today, but here's where the (modest) originality comes in: for the next 3 Wednesdays, I will also write about the television shows, websites, and movies I liked at five year intervals, as well. (If I get a good response from this, I might write about the books I loved, too.) I'd like to say that I hope Pitchfork doesn't send me a cease-and-desist order for this, but admittedly that would be pretty cool.

Age 5

"You are the Sunshine of my Life" by Stevie Wonder



This is a cheerful, upbeat tune from Stevie at his prime; full of clever instrumentation and having an overall warm atmosphere. That's my initial reaction anyway; I listened to it today for the first time, and it made me smile for more than one reason.
My father loves to hum songs from his past when he's on the move, and I slowly absorbed them. This one is one of the first I remember hearing, and I know how my dad whistles this tune, how he only seems to remember the first two lines, the unusual phrasing of the second line, and the improvisation he makes for the rest of the song--and much of this, I know by heart. May you all get the chance to know a loved one's idiosyncrasies so well.

Age 10

"Try Again" by Aaliyah



It might surprise some of you to know this, but I once abhorred listening to the radio. "Turn it off!" I would say from the back seat. "Let's talk instead!" I saw music as a barrier to conversation, and I found my friends and family to be more intellectually and emotionally satisfying than any static piece of music. I'd express my annoyance every time the radio was turned on, and while my mother often complied when it was just me and her, but my sister loved her mainstream dance and pop radio stations, and while a minor argument would often ensue, the result was that I often sat in (relative) silence as Z103 played on the radio.

I'm glad my sister won those arguments in retrospect, because I have developed a deep memory for pop music from that period. "Try Again" stands out as a great example of this, heavily played as it was in the year 2000. It's also a great example of a song I'm so familiar with, that is so foundational in my understanding of music, I can hardly imagine hearing a pop song without it. It's not because this is a particularly great song--although it is--but because it was a tune that stuck in my brain when I was young, and served as a basis for considering and comparing music of similar genres that were to come. I know every note in this song before it comes; even if I cannot recite them, or have memorized the lyrics, I know the sounds and instruments of this song, note for note. Other songs that had this impact on me include Bran Van 3000's "Astounded", Cher's "Believe", and "No Scrubs" by TLC.

Age 15

Demon Days by Gorillaz (album)



I went to the mall with friends almost every Thursday at this point. I would see them buy albums, and I grew curious. Sure, I could hear the elegant, shiny radio song, but if a song or band really interested me, I should listen to their album to get a broad picture of what they're really about. The first CD I got was Blink 182's self-titled album, purchased on a friend's advising; I listened to half of it once, then my sister took it. I saw it once more--badly scratched--then never saw it again. A few months later, when more strongly considering purchasing albums, I took a long, hard look at the Sloan's greatest hits: I liked the band, they were Canadian, and how could I go wrong with a greatest-hits collection? But if I did this, and I liked the music, I knew I would be tempted to buy another album, and then more, creating a new vice in my life. As I was thinking about all of this, the attendant at the sadly-shuttered Sunrise Records asked, "Do you want help with anything?" I slowly turned around and said "...Yes. I'd like to buy this."

I went home, and for the first time, I put the CD on my computer. There, I listened to the music with convenience, as I worked. The album was good, but I knew this was the same shiny music I would have heard on radio at various points between 1992 and now--or I should say, 2005. I cautiously returned to Sunrise Records, and after some research and consideration, I purchased the album Demon Days by Gorillaz, at what I felt was a great personal cost (15 dollars!). The album had received exceptional reviews, and more importantly, it contained a song I liked: "Feel Good, Inc."

The album was a minor revolution in my life. Containing numerous great songs and a full suite of memorable ones, Demon Days helped change my perspective on music. It contained many songs that would go on to be hits (Dare, Dirty Harry), and a few others that were so good, I felt blessed that I had heard them when many people with radios would not (O Green World, Kids With Guns). Even the weak points on the album were memorable, providing the messy experiments I'd hoped to hear from a band--albeit a fictitious one--on an album (White Light, Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head). Expecting more of the same, I would purchase many more albums, with varying degrees of satisfaction, but I always remembered my first true album experience.

Age 20

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz (album)



2010's been a disappointing year in new music for me, personally. I was let down by a few releases I was excited for (Holy F***, Trent Reznor in How to Destroy Angels), and some other greats were only pretty good when I'd expected great (Crystal Castles, the new Gucci Mane mixtape). I have a feeling I'll revise this year's post if I ever get the chance to rewrite this, as Kanye West looks to be coming out with a new disc this year, and what I've heard so far has been incredible.

Until then, it seems things have come full circle. The new Gorillaz album was exciting and fun, living up to my sky-high expectations. I now know a great deal more about the band than I did when I picked up their first album, and I see how Damon Albarn, the British pop star who is secretly this band's mastermind, has grown as an artist; this album , coming after the score he wrote for an operatic retelling of a classic chinese story (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/monkey/journeytothewest?q=monkey%20journey) and the sombre, similarly-different album with the group The Good, the Bad and the Queen (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/goodthebadandthequeen/goodthebadandthequeen?q=the%20good%20the%20bad%20and%20the%20queen), the album is less-accessible but very artistic, just as I'd expected. I find it funny that Damon Albarn thinks that stuff like this is "pop":