White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (2007)

From the first notes of the album it is clear what we're dealing with here. This is a n indie rock album from the 00s. It wasn't that apparent at the time, but that decade's indie rock had a very particular sound that now in hindsight seems almost too unified and it could've done with a bit more diversity. Then again, I was a big fan of this recipe at the time and I haven't lost all my appreciation for it, even if it does sound a bit boring from time to time. I don't remember exactly how I found White Rabbits, but I remember being very impressed about the opening song Kid On My Shoulders when I first heard it. It has an intensive, almost menacing riff throughout and it's one of very few songs that have drawn me in with its rhythm, rather than melody. It took me a while to discover the whole album, but when I noticed that it wasn't just a one hit deal, even though, that one is still probably my favourite.

Various Artists - Forrest Gump Soundtrack (1994)

I've said this before about compilation albums. In this time of streaming, they have sort of lost their purpose. Then again, you might think of them as mini-playlists. Back in the 90s, the compilation albums were a good way of discovering new music, but also, owning music was quite important as you couldn't listen to music you didn't have in some physical form. Of course a lot of music was on cassettes, minidiscs or CD-Roms, copied from friends. Anyhow, Forrest Gump was a great compilation as a teenager when I became interested in the music of the 60s and 70s. Just like the film progresses in chronological order from rock n' roll era eventually to the early 80s, so does the soundtrack. It wasn't just music, but a kind of music history lesson at the same time. Or, at least an American music lesson. Afterall, the film focuses specifically on American history.

Benjamin Gibbard - Former Lives (2012)

I used to love Death Cab for Cutie. I mean, really love it. It was definitely among my favourite bands back in mid-00s. And even now, I have to say that Transatlanticism and Plans are phenomenal albums. Then, after these albums, something happened. Death Cab for Cutie had become a household name in the indie rock hall of fame with Plans and then the long-awaited follow-up album Narrow Stairs was a huge disappointment, at least to yours truly. The following albums after that were even worse and I lost all my interest towards the band. So, when I noticed that Ben Gibbard had released his first solo album, my expectations were really low. Then again, I found it in a sale for a couple of pounds, so I thought, hey, let's just give it a go, and I have to say, it was a lot better than I expected. Not Plans or Transatlanticism good, but still a very nice album.

Uriah Heep - Forever (1997)

As a preteen, I used to mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal. This was what was fashionable in Finland at the time. Especially for boys, bands like Metallica, Guns n' Roses and Nirvana, were the coolest bands out there. At some point me and my friends started discovering the roots of this music genre we were so much into, and discovered bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. I also realised at this point that these were the bands my father had listened to as a young adult. He had some of these albums on vinyl as well, which was really cool and it sparked my interest in vinyl. Uriah Heep definitely wasn't as well known band as the ones I mentioned above, but I liked their music immediately. It was more melodic than most of the other bands in that genre and I've always been something of a fool for melodies.

Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed (2002)

It's always a bit strange writing about Greatest Hits albums. They don't have similar kinds of stories as the studio albums do. Of course they may have good personal stories. As a teenager, many of the albums that were in heavy rotation were greatest hits albums. This best of compilation by Manic Street Preachers is somewhat different as I bought it slightly later than Manics were really a thing. The reason I bought this was that I didn't have any individual Manics albums. I always kind of liked the band, but it wasn't, I guess, important enough band to me that I would've bought the albums. Therefore a compilation album seemed like a good way to own some of their best songs. Let's face it, back in 2002 it was still all about owning music. Ever since the arrival of streaming services like Spotify, compilation albums have lost most of their appeal.

Love - Forever Changes (1967)

I haven't been familiar with Love's music for that long. I mean, I've been aware of the band for quite some time, but it took me ages to actually start listening to their music in any kind of systematic manner. One of the incentives for me to pick up their albums was the book 1001 Albums you must hear before you die. I was surprised that an album this good had not really reached my ears before. The album cover was very familiar, but these songs weren't usually included on any hippy-era compilations and thus I wasn't familiar with the songs. When I had listened trough the album once, I knew that it should have a status of a classic album. I bought the album on vinyl some time later here in London. The album was never a commercial success, but it has been later recognised as one of the best albums ever made.

Lillie Mae - Forever and Then Some (2017)

This is one of my favourite albums from recent years. When I was writing my top 10 albums list for 2017 I had only just discovered this album, so I didn't rate it as highly as I would now. In the last few years, I've really been into modern country music. Country music has a bad reputation amongst most people in Europe, probably because of all the absurd "patriotic" cowboy artists and bands out there in the US. But once you find the right artists, you'll find out there are some absolute jewels within the genre. This is one of the best country albums that I've ever heard. Lillie Mae started performing live already when she was 3 years old and she's played guitar and fiddle from very young age. Before her solo career she performed on Jack White's solo records and on The Raconteurs album. Her solo stuff outperforms both of those projects in my opinion. Especially Forever and Then Some, which so far is her best piece of work.

Broder Daniel - Forever (1998)

Broder Daniel was a Swedish indie rock band. Their songs usually have quite dark melodies and there's youthful enthusiasm that shines through from their almost punk-like attitude. Especially the early albums are also quite lo-fi even though the style is much bigger than for most lo-fi bands. The vocals are kind of endearing as they are not very strong. The attitude is definitely the best feature of this band. I first heard about the band when we were having an evening with friends where each of us presented an album other people probably hadn't heard before. Someone brought in Broder Daniel's later album Cruel Town. I didn't think I had heard this band before, but later I did discover that I probably had heard the band's songs in the film Fucking Åmål (Show Me Love in English), a film by Lukas Moodysson. This music is perfect for that film as I think the music really represents teenage rebellion, that the film also represents.

MJ Hibbett and the Vaidators - Forest Moon of Enderby (2010)

MJ Hibbett is one of those personalities that have a cult standing in London, but is hardly known outside the city. I remember first seeing him play at a small music festival called Pop Fest back in 2012. He was this nerdy guy with an acoustic guitar playing songs about old computers, dinosaurs and nerdy indie kids of the 80s. His act was as much of a stand-up comedy show as a musical performance. The songs are really well made though. I ended up buying this album along with a couple of others in a box set, because they cost next to nothing. Since then, I've seen MJ Hibbet a couple of times at a pub in Fitzrovia, where he had his own club. The other acts in that club were quite similar to his. I remember, for example, seeing a musical version of Jurassic Park in there, that was quite brilliant. I haven't seen MJ Hibbett now in years and I don't even know if he's still performing, but if you get a chance to see him, it's all good fun!

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

I really do like stories like the story behind Bon Iver's debut album. It seems to be quite a common story with musicians, where they have tried everything they have in breaking it in the music business and just when they're almost ready to give up, something changes everything. I don't think anyone, least of all, Justin Vernon himself, could've predicted what kind of success would follow this album. While living in South Carolina, Vernon fell ill and was very frustrated with songwriting and his life. He travelled to Wisconsin, where he was originally from, to be alone with his thoughts. He hunted his own food and was completely isolated from other people. While there in the cabin, he wrote songs, first without lyrics, that became later this album with added lyrics about lost love and feelings of mediocrity. This melancholic album then unexpectedly proofed very popular and made Bon Iver one of the biggest names in the indie circles.

Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)

This was the first Belle & Sebastian album I ever listened to. Usually the first album you listen to from a band maintains a special place in your mind. For quite a long time I thought this was the best album by Belle & Sebastian, but now I do have to admit that If You're Feeling Sinister and Boy With the Arab Strap are better than this one. It doesn't, however, mean that there would be anything wrong with this one either. It has some of my favourite songs from the band such as I Fought In a War, The Model and There's Too Much Love. This fourth album was a bit of a change from the earlier albums. The overall sound is still quite similar, but the lo-fi expression has been mostly replaced by more polished finish and there are more band members in addition to Stuart Murdoch singing the lead vocals in different songs. Specifically, Isobel Campbell's vocals are noteworthy.

Them Bird Things - Fly, Them Bird Things, Fly! (2009)

This is one of the most random albums I own. When I had lived in London for a while, I felt like I didn't know at all what was happening in the music scene in Finland anymore. So, I tried to keep up by doing a bit of research online and Them Bird Things was one of the bands that caught my eye. I ended up buying quite a few CDs I could find second hand when visiting Finland, this among them, to keep up with Finnish music as well. I have to admit that I have hardly listened to this album since I bought it. I kind of do like the sound, but it's not an album I would often choose. Them Bird Things plays indie rock that has influences from 60s style surf rock. In a way, you can recognise the Helsinki sound in the album. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it is that makes up the Helsinki sound, but there were quite a few indie albums like this released there towards the end of the 00s.

Julee Cruise - Floating Into the Night (1989)

There are many good movie soundtracks out there, but usually they are either instrumental score pieces, or collections of pop/rock songs from various bands and artists. In any case, they're usually not fantastic albums in their own right. To be fair, Floating Into the Night isn't a soundtrack per se, but many of the songs are most well known from David Lynch's movies or television series. Some of them were even made particularly for those productions. The album however, isn't a soundtrack to any single one of those productions. Songs of this album can be heard in Lynch's Blue Velvet, Industrial Symphony No.1 and television series Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is where I know this album from. I always loved the music of Twin Peaks even when I didn't really know who the artist was, or that this album existed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was there a soundtrack album with these songs, there was an actual album featuring these songs and more.

Matthew Halsall - Fletcher Moss Park (2012)

Most of my favourite jazz albums are from late 50s or early 60s. That's when jazz had it's golden years. There are only few albums from recent years that I think can compete with some of those albums. Fletcher Moss Park by Manchester-based trumpeter Matthew Halsall is one of them. This album takes clear influences from that early 60s period and I can hear similarities to such artists as Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans. The studio quality of the 21st century gives this style of jazz a magical sound. Most of this album is quite relaxed in terms of tempo and sounds. The amazing harp played by Rachel Gladwin gives the album a magical sound. The trumpets played by Halsall are subtle yet very eloquent. Like Miles Davis proofed in the 60s, sometimes the notes that are not played are just as important as the notes that are played. 

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008)

I've heard many times the claim from slightly older people who have dedicated their lives to music that everything has already been done and nothing new can be made in music anymore. Getting older myself, I start to see this point. Pretty much all the music nowadays sounds a bit retro. Then again, I feel like this has probably always been the case. Younger people just don't have the experience yet of having listened to all of those old genres. Then again, something did change in the 00s. This was time when albums began being released that were so blatantly retro that they seemed like an intentional attempt to go back in time. At first thought, this might sound like a very negative thing, but I actually think this has many positive sides to it as well. When bands don't have to think about what's fashionable right now, they will focus on just making music that they really like, which usually is a much better approach. 

Ace - Five-A-Side (1974)

I think it's quite fascinating how some bands that are somewhat popular in their time are completely forgotten while others gain a cult following. Ace very much belongs to the first group of bands. I don't think there are many people who didn't live in the 70s who would have any idea this band ever existed. I certainly didn't before, as a result of rummaging through the vinyl albums left at my grandmother's place by mu father and uncles, I took this home along with many other vinyl records. I can see why Ace hasn't secured its place in memorable classic rock bands. There is nothing particularly original in these songs. There's a strong AOR vibe in the songs and the style is very 70s Americana rock. I was a bit surprised to find out that the band is actually from UK from Sheffield. Back in the time of its release, the album did make it quite high on the charts.

Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969)

Nick Drake is one of those artists I kept hearing about for a very long time, before I actually familiarised myself with his music. Now it seems quite mad how long it took me to start listening to him. I only really started listening to his music when I moved to London. Nick Drake must've been a strong influence to so many of the 90s and 00s singer-songwriters I adored as a young adult (and still do). His tragic death at a young age limits his discography to three albums, but they're all fantastic. His debut album Five Leaves Left is my favourite out of the three, probably because it's the most melancholic and, you know me, I like my songs sad. I bought this on a vinyl only a few years ago when they made a re-issue of all of Drake's albums. This is the kind of music that needs to be listened to on vinyl to get into a right mood.

The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues (1988)

I started my journey to adult music in the early 90s. Around that time, especially for a pre-teen boy, it was all about electric guitars. This meant that 80s music with all the synthesisers was a no go. It took me years and years to realise that there was actually some really good music made in that decade. It just wasn't the kind of music I associated with that decade. To be fair, I've kind of started to appreciate that synth music from that decade as well recently, but that's another story. Anyway, I had never even heard of the Scottish band The Waterboys until I moved to London. I don't really remember where I first encountered them, but it definitely was a surprise to me that I hadn't heard about this band that sounded so great. It fits in well with other indie bands of the 80s in terms of the sounds, but there's some true originality with this band as well.

Emmy the Great - First Love (2009)

My first encounter with Emmy the Great was fairly soon after the release of this debut album of hers. A friend of mine used to have a music blog where he listed best albums of the year and he listed this one there. I really liked the album. It sounded fairly simple, but I kind of like simple melodies. The lyrics are really well written and who doesn't like a good break-up album. Back then, it would've been reasonably difficult to find this album anywhere in Finland, so I didn't buy it straight away. I actually ended up buying her second album, Virtue, first when I had just moved to London. This one I only found years later. Got it quite cheap at that time. Emmy the Great's folky sounds are quite well produced. There are elements of trad folk in there with some excellent fiddles, but the overall sound is much more modern, which I perhaps like a bit more.

Dan Michaelson - First Light (2017)

It seems strange to write about this album now that the spring is in full bloom, sun is shining and it's warm outside. This album is a proper winter album. Then again, now that I'm listening to the album in COVID-19 lockdown with sun shining in trough the windows, it sounds glorious. Some people have a voice that makes gives you shivers even when the song or the melody isn't that exiting. Dan Michaelson has one of those voices. If I were to compare it to some other voices out there, the most apparent comparisons would be Bill Callahan or Matt Berninger of The National. The deep voice has also been put in the very front in his music through production, so you'll hear all the little faults, but also all of the rasp. I think one reason why I adore these raspy low vocals is that it's a complete opposite of my own clear and high ones.

The Cardigans - First Band on the Moon (1996)

I've said it many times before, but the Swedes really know how to make good music. It's quite astonishing how many great albums come out of Sweden, considering the size of the country. The Cardigans is one of those very popular bands that people know at least around the Western world. Then again, most Americans will only know the biggest hit Lovefool. If your knowledge of The Cardigans is limited to this hit song, I seriously encourage you to check out other songs and albums as well. I mean, it's a good catchy tune, but in my opinion, it's not even close to being the best that the band has to offer. First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by The Cardigans and it's probably the first one that's really strong from start to finish. I perhaps slightly prefer the albums that came after, but this is still one of the finest albums from the band.

Deep Purple - Fireball (1971)

As a pre-teen, learning to play the guitar and bass, I was mostly listening to hard rock, grunge and trash metal bands such as Guns n' Roses, Nirvana Metallica and Megadeath. Around this time, radio started playing Eurotechno and I personally couldn't understand why anyone would want to listen to that stuff. Any music that didn't have overdriven guitars sounded a bit lame to me. Then again, the bands I mentioned were going out of fashion and because I didn't like the new stuff that was coming out, I turned my focus on history of metal. My father had old LPs from 70s bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep and these records opened up the world of 60s and 70s rock to me. Deep Purple was one of the heaviest bands of the 70s and also really melodic, which made it really good contender to win me over. They were one of my favourite bands for a few years.

Slowhill - Finndisc (2002)

Slowhill is a Finnish collaboration between Tapani Rinne (his surname means 'Hill' in Finnish) and Vellu Maurola, a.k.a. DJ Slow. The former is a saxophone player known for his experimental ambient jazz band Rinneradio. The latter is a music producer and a DJ. Out of this collaboration comes a really unique sounding album combining jazz, ambient and electronic beats. The album was awarded the Blue Note label as well. This is the first electronica record in Finland to receive such honour. There are some noteworthy appearances on the album as well, such as the hip hop artist Paleface and producer Kalle Chydenius playing the bass. I don't think this album was very well known in Finland, but I can be quite proud of my native country for releasing stuff like this. Sometimes genre mashups can go horribly wrong, but this one is a great success.

Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000)

Some people find it strange that Elliott Smith is my all-time favourite artist. I can't really explain it myself, but I just fell in love with his music immediately when I heard his album XO. I get a sense that most Elliott Smith fans consider Either/Or his greatest album, but I personally have always preferred XO and Figure 8, which have a bit more in terms of production and instrumentation. I really love the use of piano in these albums. Now that I've started recording my own music at home, I feel like these albums also provide a strong influence for the sounds that I'm going for in my own recordings. I don't really have a piano or even a keyboard and I'm not that good at playing them either, but I really do like to mix acoustic folk-songs with more modern indie sounds as Elliott Smith has done on these two albums.

Junip - Fields (2010)

Back in the 00's I was a big fan of Swedish-Argentinian singer-songwriter José Gonzáles. I thought it was quite incredible how he could create such beautiful music merely with a nylon string acoustic guitar. There is something amazingly hypnotic in the combination of the classical guitar and Gonzáles' smooth vocals. Junip is Gonzáles' band project. There are more instruments but the feel of the songs is quite similar to his solo stuff. The 70's style rock organs bring fantastic psychedelic elements to his music. Having a band in the background also allows them to add more instrumental hypnotic jams to the songs. I may have a slight preference to Gonzáles' solo albums as there's something truly mystical about the stripped nylon string guitar and his voice, but Junip is still a great spin-off project focusing on the hypnotic qualities of Gonzáles' songs.