E – A Man Called E (1992)

Mark Oliver Everett is one of my absolute musical heroes. He later founded the band Eels which is one of my favourite bands that ever existed. Before Eels, he used to perform under the name E. He had already made a self-released album under his own name, but this was his first major label record. Later on, E felt like his music was more of a band effort so he wanted a band name and he came up with Eels so that his solo stuff would be found close to his band stuff. He didn't realise that there are actually a great many bands between E and Eels in the alphabet (like Eagles for example). I've liked music of Eels since 2002 when I first saw them live at the Makasiinit in Helsinki. This show blew my mind and ever since I've been a huge fan. It wasn't until a few years ago though that I got my hands on E's solo stuff, because I had never before seen his CDs anywhere.

Johnny Flynn – A Larum (2008)

Johnny Flynn is an actor and a singer-songwriter from Southern England. The first time I heard about him was when I attended Shakespeare's birthday party at the Globe Theatre a few years ago. He performed some of his songs there and I really liked his voice and his songs. I was living a musical phase where I was really into folk music and his acoustic folk songs really sunk into me. I only bought this CD much later, but after the gig I started listening to his music on Spotify. This debut album of Johnny Flynn's is his best one in my opinion. The sounds are quite authentic and he focuses on what matters in folk music. Storytelling, vocals and acoustic guitars. From his performance live, it was quite apparent that he is an actor. Some might find this a bit annoying in a musical artist, but I actually liked it, because he was also a good performer.

Carpenters – A Kind of Hush (1976)

Now this is an album even I didn't remember I had. It was among some vinyl albums I got from my grandmother. I'm probably listening to this album the first time now as a preparation for this blog post. The sounds on this album are incredibly cheesy, but some of the compositions are quite good actually. I feel like Carpenters would be one of the best bands to make amazing covers of. The original Carpenters songs are incredibly cheesy, but they have some interesting melodies and I'm sure with a different kind of production these could turn into something great. There actually is quite a good cover album of Carpenter's songs already. It features bands such as Sonic Youth and The Cranberries. I kind of wish I had that album instead of this one.

The Wombats – A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2007)

I remember being first introduced to this band by seeing the music video for Let's Dance to Joy Division on TV. The fast guitars, the melodies and witty and funny lyrics drew me in immediately. At the time I was listening to quite a lot of Joy Division and I remember having danced to Joy Division in various indie discos, so the lyrics hit me really hard. It is indeed very ironic to dance to Joy Division's songs that are among the most miserable tunes ever made by anyone. The Wombats on the other hand, were something completely different. Their songs are happy and up tempo and actually perfect for dancing. An indie disco hosted at a no-longer existing bar in Helsinki, Belly, used this song in their indie discos and they would always play Love Will Tear us Apart back to back with Let's Dance to Joy Division. I bought the album quite quickly after becoming aware of the band.

The Streets – A Grand Don't Come for Free (2004)

Anyone who knows my musical taste, knows that I'm not a big fan of rap or hip hop. The main things I like about music are melody and vocals. Then why do I own this album? I really liked the first The Streets album with it's dark and melancholic urban sounding backgrounds and I liked the fact that Mike Skinner was rapping in a heavy Birmingham accent about societal issues, which seemed like such a departure from mainstream hip hop at the time, which was mainly misogynistic and very American and non-melodic. I found myself really liking a few songs from the first album, so when I saw this CD with a couple of pounds in a record store in Notting Hill, I decided to buy it. Unfortunately, this second album is not by far as good as the first one. The backgrounds are, at least to me, very lazy compared to the predeceasing album.

Wilco – A Ghost Is Born (2004)

I first listened to this album in a now non-existent record store, called Stupido, in Helsinki. I had heard about the band and heard some good reviews on it, but I had never actually heard the band. Then I saw this album being advertised as a new release. Encouraged by the reviews, i wanted to listen to the album and did that there in the record store. Already from the first couple of songs it became clear that I had been missing out on something amazing before. Wilco's experimental and sometimes even noisy, yet delicate and melodic music hit me really hard immediately. I took the CD immediately to the counter and bought it. The clerk asked me what I thought about it and when I said that it sounded quite amazing, he said that he himself had found it a bit too experimental. I only understood what he meant later on, when I got to listen to the album in its entirety, but even then I disagreed with him.

Queen – A Day at the Races (1976)

Queen is included in most lists of the best bands that ever existed. Also, many of their albums are included in best ever albums lists. A Day at the Races doesn't have that many hit songs that would be known to wider audiences, but it is an amazing album. I got this album on vinyl from my father who had bought this album back in the day when it was a new album. It's one of the greatest albums I've gotten from him. There's something very special about holding an original copy of a legendary album. The smell of the cardboard and vinyl is part of the experience and when you lower the needle on the record, the tiny scratches you hear make the sound truly authentic. I like to think how it must have felt back in the day to get a new vinyl album and to take it home and listen to it for the first time. you rarely get that same sensation anymore, because you can already listen to the album in advance online.

Laura Marling – A Creature I Don't Know (2011)

Laura Marling is one of the most interesting new folk artists in the scene. I've only started listening to her music quite recently, but I really enjoy all of her albums I've listened to. I've been fortunate enough to find some of her CDs for very affordable prices recently. I bought this CD with just a couple of pounds from Fopp, a record store in Covent Garden. It's a cardboard case which I always prefer to plastic cases, because they look more authentic and don't break as easily. The CD cover is just a sketch drawing that's not particularly interesting, but I still prefer a nice cardboard cover. Laura Marling is a British singer-songwriter who makes lively and modern songs that draw influences from Americana folk scene. It's not purist folk though and there are some more modern pop and rock elements on her albums as well.

Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981)

There's no good reasons to make a Pink Floyd compilation album. If there's one band in the world that knows how to make great concept albums, it's Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd's albums are far more important than the individual songs on them. You can see it in the amazing album art, in thought of concepts and in songs that follow each other without gaps. Then why do I have this album? My father was a huge Pink Floyd fan back in the day and he had quite a few albums on vinyl. At some point, our vinyl player broke down and it was the 90's, so people didn't really care about vinyl records, so all the music was bought in CDs. I really liked Pink Floyd as well, and since my father was very pleased about that, he made a tradition to bring me one Pink Floyd CD from all of his work trips. For this reason, I have most of the Pink Floyd albums on CD. My father didn't perhaps realise that this was a compilation album so from one of his trips, he brought me this album.

Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (2005)

If there's one musical style that defines the mid-00's, it's this kind of indie rock that got its influences both from the 90's brit pop and from 80's post-punk and new wave. Maxïmo Park is one of the most typical bands from this era. Their songs have catchy melodies, strange rhythm changes and punk attitude. I was never a huge fan of this band back in the day when they released their first albums. Only later on, I discovered them on a Indie Rock compilation I bought from London in 2010. I still don't have any strong feelings about this band, but I think this band's significance is apparent now years later when we look back at the mid-00's. Britain was filled with bands like this, but Maxïmo Park has stood the time better than many others. This debut album of this Newcastle based indie rock band unfortunately stayed as their best work they ever made.