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Robert Short's Favorite 'Desert Island' CDs

Posted on Wednesday, August 06 2008 @ 11:26:43 CDT by Duncan Glenday

The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds - An emotional masterpiece that seems new every time I hear it. It seems to exist out of time- sounding older, but also less dated than anything else from the 60's. Maybe that's because it focused on the universal struggle of where an individual fits in families, relationships, and the stark and faceless outside world.

Genesis: A Trick of The Tail - Second by second, it is the finest album by a band that was truly finding themselves in the wake of Gabriel's departure. The highpoint for me is Hackett's barely audible wailing as Collins sings "and I pretended to have wings for arms" on "Mad Man Moon".

Echolyn: As the World - Echolyn are one of the few American prog bands to stay intrinsically and defiantly American. Even though I wouldn't hear a note of it until late summer 2002, it still reminds me of carefree summer days in the mid-90s where me and my siblings would tramp around the neighborhood and come back to the house at nightfall, exhausted.

Yes: Tales From Topographic Oceans - Sure, it's too long, too self indulgent, and guilty of nearly every sin it's been accused of, but there's something amazing in hearing Yes groping to push the envelope in every conceivable direction.

Modest Mouse: Good News for People Who Love Bad News - Isaac Brock and his band obsess over death, and then declare independence from it on an album mostly remembered for it's hit "Float On". The cut most of the jamming and polish things up a bit, but there is no whitewashing the frantic, lisping howl of Brock's voice or his serpentine guitar leads.

The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin - "Waiting for Superman" is "Waiting for Godot" for people raised on pop art. "Race For the Prize" examines the idea of responsibility with the most famous keyboard line in indie rock. "The Spark That Bled" turns a papercut into an existential triumph. It must be heard to be believed.

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Combining the muted mysteriousness of folk music with groundbreaking sonic experimentation created a work that?s almost as much puzzle as it is record. It begs to be listened to repeatedly.

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica - I think the only way I will be able to devote the attention necessary to understand this album will be if I get stranded on a desert island.