Music Staples

Joy Division: Closer
(London 1980)

This is de rigueur to bleaksters like yours truly. An absolute all-time fave.

The Clash: The Clash
(Epic 1977/2000)

The original UK version is to be greatly preferred to the tinkered US version. You should, of course, have both.

The Ramones: Ramones
(Sire 1976)

The ostensible definition of rock'n'roll (although a little slow compared to the insanely fast live album It's Alive!).

Mission Of Burma: Signals, Calls, And Marches
(Rykodisc 1981/1997)

I feel sorry for you if you've only heard Moby's version of "That's When I Reach For My Revolver". This is an EP full of disciplined and intelligent punk greatness, supplemented with the great 1980 single "Academy Fight Song".

Gang Of Four: Entertainment!
(EMI 1979/1995)

Widely albeit obliquely influential in its mildly funky twitch and jagged guitars. Subversive, exciting, and lyrically in a class of its own. Post-punk never got better.

Wire: Pink Flag
(Restless 1977/1992)

Well-remembered for its minimalism and frenzy, but not always for its wit and warped pop. The musical range in display here is amazing.

Buzzcocks: Product
(EMI 1989)

The Buzzcocks were awesome. This 3CD set collects the first three albums, plus the near-perfect 45 collection Singles Going Steady, plus a 24-minute live set from 1977, plus three EPs and an unreleased track from 1980. Only the punkier debut EP Spiral Scratch (and thereby Howard Devoto) is missing.

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Psychocandy
(WEA 1985)

Awed by the fuzz.

Swervedriver: Juggernaut Rides '89-'98
(Castle 2005)

One of the most unjustly underappreciated bands. Stellar overdrive. Epic. I might add that it's a humble and dumbfounding moment when you realize you're such a big fan of some band that you're willing to shell out $30 for an import double-disc compilation of album tracks and B-sides because it contains three previously unreleased tracks and a previously unreleased demo version of their first single. (You, of course, already have most of the B-sides.) That said, Swerverdriver were AWESOME, and that 1989 demo version of "Son of Mustang Ford" is weird, different, and great. But why, oh why, didn't they include "Volcano Trash"?

My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
(Sire 1991)

Universally and correctly agreed to be the pinnacle of the shoegazing movement. This is one of those albums whose inventiveness seems inexhaustible.

Pixies: Doolittle
(4AD/Elektra 1989)

Most of this incredibly wide-ranging classic is gleefully demented, and everything puts some sort of weird spin on things. Always refreshing.

The Observers: So What's Left Now
(Vinyl Warning 2004)

Driving staccato Rickenbacker bass lines, pummeling drums, trim trebly guitars, and chanty T.S.O.L./Misfits-style ooohh-ooohh's frame smart lyrics that contain a dose of well-placed cynicism. Unpredictable mini freak-out modes give a neat twist to this slab of intense, sinister, and uplifting punk rock of the first order from Portland, Oregon. Already a classic in my view.

Chet Baker: The Best Of Chet Baker Sings
(Capitol 1989)

OK, I have guilty pleasures, too (these date back to 1953-56). So what?

Go-Go's: Beauty And The Beat
(IRS 1981)

Loving this album (with guilt) has been a lonely trek through the ridicule over the years. Alas, no more! It truly warmed my heart to read this vindication of the record's virtues over at Splendid.

T.Rex: Electric Warrior
(Warner 1971/2003)

Irresistible piece of campy sleaze to which the then-future punks were playing air guitar in their bedrooms. Profundity wasn't exactly Bolan's aim. For example, sexuality is often expressed, of all things, in car imagery, whose ubiquity a friend found highly amusing (I do, too). Forget being serious for a while, and just get it on and shimmy to the beat and the silly wordplay. This record was meant to be judged by its cover. (Awesome, isn't it?)

The Velvet Underground: Peel Slowly And See
(Polydor 1995)

I could personally do without the drummerless 18-minute lo-fi rehearsal version of "All Tomorrow's Parties," but otherwise this is truly essential: all of VU's studio albums, plus outtakes and live tracks.

Television: Marquee Moon
(Elektra 1977)

Arguably the greatest guitar record ever.

Iggy & The Stooges: Raw Power
(Columbia 1973)

Arguably the greatest rock'n'roll record ever. (But Fun House comes close, as does Velvet Underground & Nico.)