Ok, in posts and emails I’ve received more than a few suggestions to buy:
“Dylan—buy ‘Blood on the Tracks.’ Even if you don’t love it at first—and you prob won’t—give it 10 or 12 listens. It’s a masterpiece. “Shelter from the Storm” is a wonderful love song.”
“I became a Dylan convert this summer (and I grew up on hair metal in the late 80′s and used to share your opinion re his unintelligibility). Pick up a copy of Blood on the Tracks. The whole album’s excellent, but “Tangled Up in Blue,” “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go,” “Shelter From the Storm,” and “Buckets of Rain” are the best tracks.”
So I will buy basically all of the songs/albums people suggested and see what I think. Be forewarned, however, I went through a very long Michael Jackson phase that extended much further than it should…. Ok, I admit, I bought the massive Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection last fall. And I liked it. What an artist he was and what’s great about the collection is that it contains all of these demo tracks for songs like Billie Jean and songs that were cut from albums that still sound great.
But on I now go to Dylan and Bloc Party and Incubus and David Crowder and Wilco and James Brown and Sigur Ros and Muse and Sufjan Stevens and The Flaming Lips and Eddie from Ohio and Kepano Green and Springsteen and the Newsboys and Reliant K and Augustanna and Ben Harper and Miles Davis (ok, maybe not Miles Davis) and the Fray and Daughtry and Carrie Underwood and Norah Jones and Spokie Daly Pride (seriously) and Maren Ord and Lisbeth Scott and Darrell Evans and Allison Krauss and Old Crow Medicine Show and the Dixie Chicks and I can’t type anymore right now. It might be wise for everyone to go buy Apple stock because iTunes is going to be busy.
posted January 4, 2007 at 5:32 pm
What do you consider to be the ten best blog entries of 2006?
posted January 4, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Give the Dropkick Murphy’s a try. How can you go wrong with bagpipes, drums, and punk rockers – all at once?I think you’d like the lyrics to “Last Letter Home”, off the Warriors Code album. http://dropkickmurphys.com/discography/lyrics/warriorscode/lastletterhome.html I admit it helps to see them in writing once … punk rockers do tend to make a lot of racket, and sometimes it’s hard to distinguish the words precisely if you’re not already familiar with them.
Great Big Sea would get my vote for Guaranteed To Cheer You Up Music, as well … ah, how can one help but laugh at songs like Helmethead, or The Jolly Butcher, or – my personal favourite – The Night that Paddy Murphy Died?I dare ya. Give it a listen when you’re in a bad mood, and see if you can stay in a bad mood for long. 
posted January 4, 2007 at 11:24 pm
I am a big Dylan fan. You should listen to his gospel records Slow Train, Saved, and Shot of Love and even Infidels. Other favorites are Oh Mercy, and Time out of Mind.
posted January 4, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Don’t forget Johnny Cash. He fits perfectly right between Dylan and U2.If you want a great band with faith but outside the mainstream, don’t forget The Call. What a great band, and if you like U2 I think you’ll like their sound, too.Wilco…I bought Wilco, but it’s taking awhile to grow on me.
posted January 5, 2007 at 12:20 am
Don’t forget about Pandora.com! You can hear stuff for free.
posted January 5, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Dropkick Murphys are unique but if you’re going to venture into Punk Rock and still want a bit of familiarity try Me First and the Gimme Gimmes…think all your favorite pop tunes, from Van Morrison to Billy Joel with a punk rock vibe…