anything goes with emma chamberlain - the greatest music albums of all time (in my opinion)

Episode Date: July 3, 2025

[video available on spotify] a few months ago i made an episode about my favorite songs of all time. conversations about music can be complicated, but nothing bad happened, so i feel ready to talk abo...ut music some more. today, i’m sharing my favorite albums of all time. Listen to my playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5C6H9YJjkiRyF44940N0Ff?si=9679dba99a2b4a77 Shop the hottest summer trends & new drops at Walmart.com/trends This episode is brought to you by American Eagle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 A few months ago, I made an episode about my favorite songs of all time. And going into recording that episode, I was nervous. Unless you're talking to somebody who has the exact same music taste as you, conversations around music are complicated. For the person talking about their music taste, it's vulnerable. It's kind of like pouring your heart out. And for the person listening to the other person talk about their music taste, it can often feel cringe, pretentious, or just deeply incorrect. It's one thing to make a playlist and have it be public.
Starting point is 00:00:34 It's another thing to discuss music. Ooh, that can go wrong quick. Now, I try not to read comments, so I don't really know what people thought about the episode, but nothing really bad happened. So now I'm not as afraid anymore. I feel ready to talk about music some more. So today I'm going to be sharing my favorite albums of all time. I briefly interrupt this episode to let you know that this episode of Anything Goes is presented by Walmart. Summer's back, baby, which means a whole new wardrobe. Thankfully, you can find trends
Starting point is 00:01:09 that speak to you for less at Walmart. You know, for me, summer is about simplicity and comfort because warm weather is pleasant, but only if you dress properly for it. So I'm trying to wear breathable but cute clothing all summer long. From casual hangs to vacation, Walmart's the place to find all your summer pieces. Think chic, eye-lit styles, breezy dresses, it-girls shoes, vibrant colors, and more. Shop the hottest summer trends and new drops at walmart.com slash trends.
Starting point is 00:01:44 That's walmart.com slash trends. That's walmart.com slash trends. Now back to the episode. When I was making this list, I kind of felt basic. Like, a lot of the albums on this list are albums that I feel like everyone knows are incredible albums. But as I was listening through to all the different albums that I've loved over the years,
Starting point is 00:02:04 the ones that really just hit in my brain were a lot of times the ones that are critically acclaimed. I feel like when I made my greatest songs of all time list, there were some personal picks in there that I found through the Spotify algorithm, that got fed to me, that they felt sort of undiscovered and it felt like I was discovering something. In this episode, you're probably not going to find out about an album that you haven't heard of. But I think the reason for that is it's really hard to make a No Skips album. And even in this list, like I'm not obsessed with every single song on every single album. Some of these albums have like five, six singles on there that I'm obsessed with.
Starting point is 00:02:56 And then the rest are just nice ambiance. And I enjoy listening to them, but they're like not my favorite songs of all time. There are a few albums in here where every single song is perfect, and I will clarify which ones those are. But the art of making a good album isn't necessarily about making 10, 12, 15 songs that are all perfect, but I feel like it's about having five or six songs that are perfect and then the rest just support those songs really well. And so you can put the album on and disappear into that vibe. And there were some albums that almost made the cut, but there were a handful of songs on there that I just hated. It's really a magical, magical experience to listen to an album front to back.
Starting point is 00:03:48 Is that the saying? Front to back is used to flip over the record or whatever. Anyway, and love the entire thing. In honor of the occasion, I'm wearing a Beatles shirt that I actually almost donated. It was literally in my garage, in the donate bin for months. And then right before I was about to donate the whole lot of stuff that I had, I was like, wait a minute, no, I need that shirt. And I pulled it out of the pile and I'm wearing it today. I don't know why I almost donated it. I think it's because it's really busy. It's like a long sleeve scoop neck, fully printed all over it. The Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts Beatle album cover.
Starting point is 00:04:29 And I just don't wear busy stuff like that anymore, but I had to keep it because it's like an artifact. Anyway, so without further ado, let's begin. And I will say, I put these albums in order of when they came out. So we're starting at the earliest and ending at the latest. So let's start with what I think is my favorite Beatles album. I spent like an hour and a half trying to figure out what my favorite Beatles album is because I grew up with all of them. My dad has been playing the Beatles for me. By the way, every single person has this story. I feel
Starting point is 00:05:04 like everyone's dad has been playing the Beatles for them since By the way, every single person has this story. I feel like everyone's dad has been playing the Beatles for them since they were a kid, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I know, this is not a new story, but it's true for me since I was in the womb. I've heard them all, I love them all. And so choosing a favorite was really, really challenging. I chose Magical Mystery Tour, came out in 1967. I think this is my favorite.
Starting point is 00:05:29 I was talking to my dad about it, and he told me that this actually wasn't a big album for them. Apparently they only released it in America. It wasn't like Abbey Road or the White Album, where this was like a worldwide album. There was a lot of songs on it, like way more than 10. It's like a long, solid album.
Starting point is 00:05:49 This was like kind of an off album for them, which is interesting because it's possibly my favorite. I think what I really like about this album is that number one, it's short, and I actually kind of like short albums, whereas a lot of Beatles albums are really long. But also I feel like Beatles albums are really long. But also, I feel like the energy is really unique. There's something really peculiar about it. And when you're
Starting point is 00:06:12 listening to it, there's like this subtle sense of something's off. Like, there's like a spookiness to it and eeriness to it. And I'm really drawn to stuff that's spooky and eerie. A lot of Beatles albums, you listen to it and it's just it. And I'm really drawn to stuff that's spooky and eerie. A lot of Beatles albums, you listen to it and it's just like fun and lighthearted and sweet and comfortable and you feel like you're laying in your bed wrapped in a warm blanket on a lightly rainy night. That's how a lot of Beatles albums feel. Beatles albums can also feel like laying on the beach in the sun on a hot day. Like it can feel like all of these delightful things. I think that's what the Beatles do so well.
Starting point is 00:06:49 Just like it feels good to listen to. So that's why I like Magical Mystery Tour because a lot of the songs on there have sort of an eerie, weird feeling to them. There's sounds going on that evoke weird feelings. To me, listening to Magical Mystery Tour is like being at a carnival, at a circus, okay? It's like sitting down in the circus tent with popcorn and cotton candy, and at first comes out a woman wearing a gorgeous gown
Starting point is 00:07:22 and wearing beautiful makeup, and she's juggling and she's hula hooping and she's riding a horse and it's beautiful and it's exciting and it's overwhelming and you're laughing and you're eating popcorn and you're eating cotton candy and it's this wonderful delightful euphoric experience. But then a minute later comes out a magician and all of a sudden the tone of the room changes, and he brings out somebody, and he puts them in the box, and takes out a saw, and in theory,
Starting point is 00:07:52 saws the person in half. You know, magicians do that, they cut people in half. And no one really understands what's happening. Like, how is this magician seemingly cutting this person in half, but yet they're not screaming and wailing in pain. Nothing bad is happening, but the tone in the room gets a bit more tense,
Starting point is 00:08:09 a bit more frightened. Something eerie is going on. Following that, a man comes out. He's nine feet tall on these stilts. And it's cool to see, but you're not eating your popcorn anymore. You're not eating your cotton candy anymore. There's a weird pit in your stomach when you look at this person on the stilts because
Starting point is 00:08:28 as you're wowed by them walking on them and by the way that they look in the stilts, you're also kind of thinking about what if they fell over? What would happen? Would they get really deeply injured? What's going on? Magical Mystery Tour is an emotional roller coaster that to me resembles an evening at the circus. Moments of euphoria and moments of eeriness and spookiness. And I absolutely love this album. This is an advertisement from Better Help. Something that's been stressing me out lately
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Starting point is 00:10:13 anything. This episode is brought to you by Dzone. For the first time ever, the 32 best soccer clubs from across the world are coming together to decide who the undisputed champions of the world are in the FIFA Club World Cup. The world's best players, Messi, Holland, Kane, and more are all taking part. And you can watch every match for free on Dazon, starting on June 14th and running until July 13th. Sign up now at dazon.com slash FIFA. That's D-A-z-n dot com slash FIFA. Okay, moving on to the album, All Things Must Pass by George Harrison, 1970. I almost didn't include this album because it's actually technically super, super long. I really only like the first half of the album. However, there have been days where I've put this whole album on and listened to it on repeat. And even though the second half of the album isn't as exciting to me, it doesn't connect
Starting point is 00:11:11 with me or resonate with me as much, the first half is so wonderful that I'm including it anyway. I mean, listen, to start about this album, even just the title of the album is an absolute Pinterest quotable banger, okay? All things must pass. That's just true. That's just something we all need to hear. I feel like it really paints a beautiful picture of how this album makes you feel. It makes you feel comforted.
Starting point is 00:11:44 It makes you feel. It makes you feel comforted. It makes you feel thoughtful. It puts you in your, as they say, it puts you in your feels a little bit. Ew. But true, this is an album, this is a loving album. It's about love. To me, it feels like the utmost yearning for love possible, but in a comforting, soft way. To me, listening to this album feels like the utmost yearning for love possible, but in a comforting, soft way.
Starting point is 00:12:06 To me, listening to this album feels like sitting on your grandmother's couch during holiday break. Maybe it's Thanksgiving, maybe it's Christmas, maybe it's Hanukkah, whatever. And you're sitting by the fire. And the rest of your family is in the kitchen, they're cooking dinner. And you're alone in the other room, warming up by the fire under And the rest of your family is in the kitchen, they're cooking dinner. And you're alone in the other room warming up by the fire under the same blanket that you've been
Starting point is 00:12:29 sitting under at your grandma's house since you were a small child. And you feel an overwhelming sense of calmness. You're very calm. You're very peaceful. You feel very safe. There's not even a drop of anxiety in your body because everyone you love is with you. You're in an incredibly familiar place. You feel unbelievably safe. But while you're sitting there, you subconsciously decide to delve into something that's a little bit less safe. You start yearning for someone.
Starting point is 00:13:03 This could be a crush. This could be somebody that you just started dating that you're not close enough with to bring to the holidays with your family, or vice versa, they bring you to the holidays with their family. This could be an ex. So there's this interesting sort of juxtaposition where you feel incredibly comfortable. You couldn't be more safe, but you're yearning and it hurts a little bit. And it gives you that pit in your stomach. It gives you that sort of lump in your throat, but yet you should be feeling so safe and so comfortable because you're on your grandma's couch. That's how this album feels to me. Because sometimes when you want somebody, you feel alone in it because you're the only one who wants that person. You know what I mean? Like it's a very insular experience, but this album weirdly gives you
Starting point is 00:13:51 that feeling of wanting somebody, but in a less insular way. I can't even explain it, but that's why I just did. I actually did. I can't explain it because I just did. Um, and that is All Things Must Pass by George Harrison for me. Okay, moving on. Moving on to an album that is actually less discussed. This is an album that my dad showed me that I would have never found otherwise. This is a dad pull, okay?
Starting point is 00:14:18 Actually, all of these are dad pulls. My music taste is very much my dad. The Ocean Blue by The Ocean Blue. This came out in 1989. This is 80s vibes in the best way possible. This album makes you feel like you are the main character in an 80s movie. I love an album that makes me feel like the main character. I think we all do. And it is a bit cringe to discuss music that makes you feel like you're the main character in a movie because it's a bit like
Starting point is 00:14:49 Narcissistic to be like wow this this music really makes me feel like I'm the main character and like you know It can kind of change your behavior you put your headphones in you kind of walk with a little bit more of a strut than you Normally do like everything about it's kind of cringe, but I don't care. It's fun. I like listening to music that makes me feel confident, that puts a pep in my step, makes me feel cool. You feel like you're a senior in high school, you're wearing jeans, you're wearing a tight white t-shirt, you're wearing a tight leather jacket, you're wearing the perfect pair of beat up loafers,
Starting point is 00:15:23 you're driving a red convertible. You're hot. You're cool. Everybody wants to be you, but they never will be able to. That's the fucking vibe of this album to me. That's how it makes me feel. Now I'm not saying that that's necessarily a good thing, okay? It's kind of douchey, but there's something, but even though the album actually doesn't sound douchey, but there's something about listening to it
Starting point is 00:15:45 that makes you feel douchey, almost because it is a really cool album. And it's almost like if you were the main character of an 80s movie listening to that album, you're listening to the album because you're fucking cool. You know what I mean? You're fucking cool in a slightly toxic way. In a theatrical way, right?
Starting point is 00:16:02 Like in real life, being cool, being the cool kid, it's complicated, it's different. In a movie, it's romanticized, it's harmless, it's fun, right? So I'm looking at it in that way, in a romanticized way, not in like a reality way. Because there kind of is no such thing as being like the cool kid who everybody wants to be. Like that vibe in real life,
Starting point is 00:16:31 that vibe in the movie, hot. Some songs on this album feel like being the hot 80s main character, waking up, having one bite of cereal and saying like, fuck you, mom, I'm going to school and I'm gonna go like fuck my girlfriend in the hallway. Like that's how some songs feel. Some songs feel like getting ready for homecoming night. You know, like doing the hair, you know. For some reason this character in my head feels male, but it could be anything. Like, feels like slicking the hair back. It feels like shaving the face.
Starting point is 00:16:58 Like, it feels like that. It feels like, you know, going to the homecoming football game and like flirting with a girl, sitting under the bleachers after the football game and playing spin the bottle. It just feels like an 80s movie. It feels like an 80s movie and it's really good. But not in a basic way, like in a that's the cool music that the main character listens to kind of way. All right. Moving on to Harvest Moon by Neil Young.
Starting point is 00:17:29 This album came out in 1992. It's so funny because my dad played Neil Young a little bit when I was a kid and I didn't really like it. I didn't like his voice. I felt like it was too rough for me. Like it was too rough around the edges for me. But I actually met Neil Young once when I was a kid because I guess he hangs out in San Francisco.
Starting point is 00:17:47 And one day my dad and I were walking around and my dad was like, oh my God, my dad started fangirling and I was like, what? And he was like, it's Neil Young. And I was like, who's that? Anyway, my dad was like, hey man, really big fan, like love your work, whatever, love what you do, you're amazing.
Starting point is 00:18:02 And I was like, who's that guy? Anyway, now later, that's a sweet story to me because I love Neil Young now that I'm older. I love the music. I get it. I get it. It just took me a bit. And the album Harvest Moon of 1992 makes me feel like I'm on a cross-country road trip
Starting point is 00:18:18 on a motorcycle. Now, what's funny about this is that is my nightmare. Motorcycles are incredibly dangerous. And I'm a paranoid, anxious person. I'm thinking about crashing the motorcycle. I'm thinking about something going wrong on the motorcycle and me having to fix it. And of course, me not being able to do it and me being stranded with no water and no food.
Starting point is 00:18:40 However, this album makes me feel like I'm on one in a way that by some miracle feels stress-free Feels like magic This album feels like driving through what seemingly is like the same landscape for days and days straight But because you're on the road and you're looking at it all you actually notice the subtle differences You start to notice when the desert turns more lush. You notice when the lush landscape turns to slight rolling hills in the distance. To the naked eye, the landscape has looked the same for days on end. But to you, subtle little things become meaningful. And on this road trip, in between long stretches of solitude and self-reflection,
Starting point is 00:19:27 you have these deeply meaningful interactions with people that mean more than ever because you've been alone a lot, but also just because by chance, everyone you meet is special. And that doesn't always happen. But on this particular cross-country motorcycle road trip, everyone you meet seems to mean something to you. And every conversation you have is one that you'll remember. Why? It's luck, it's chance. It's just being at the right place at the right time with the right people.
Starting point is 00:19:54 You never want the road trip to end. Even though it's tough, there are moments where you run out of gas at the wrong time. There are moments when you have trouble with the engine, but the experience is so meaningful, so rewarding that it's okay. That is listening to Harvest Moon by Neil Young for me, for me, as somebody who's never ridden a motorcycle. Actually, I did ride a mini dirt bike as a kid. My cousin got one. My cousins were very outdoorsy and
Starting point is 00:20:22 I wasn't as much. So I'd go to their house and they'd have like a zip line in their backyard or they'd have like a fucking mini bike, like mini dirt bike. And this was my time when I was out there home to be adventurous. So I went on their little mini dirt bike one time and lost control, ran into a tree, busted my kneecap. Never wanted to go on any sort of motorized bike again, but I can't say I've never been on one because I have. Okay, moving on to Parachutes by Coldplay. This album came out in 2000, a year before I was born.
Starting point is 00:20:56 This album reminds me of being a kid, like being like six years old, because even though it came out five or six years before I was five or six years before I was five or six, it was played a lot. I feel like I'd be at summer camp and like weirdly parachutes would be playing, which by the way, this is a very solemn album. This is not like a fun album. It's like kind of sad. So it's kind of weird that I heard it a lot as a kid because I feel like it's very much like an album you listen to in a certain type of moment, like where you're kind of going through something you would think, but
Starting point is 00:21:27 actually it was quite pop, you know? Listening to Parachutes by Coldplay feels like it's the first day after a horrifically painful breakup where you actually feel okay. It's the first day where you feel a glimmer of hope. Now I'm not talking about a lot of hope. I'm not talking about you woke up and everything changed. Now you're suddenly feeling incredible, ready to find somebody new to date, ready to go out on the town. Everything's better now. No, this is like the first day where you feel a glimmer of hope. You're still in the trenches of sorrow. It sounds like
Starting point is 00:22:01 a massive ocean with the tiny glimmer of hope in it. Does that make sense? Because this album is sad. It hurts. There are a few songs where that glimmer of hope is shining brighter. There are songs where that glimmer of hope is a bit more dull. It feels like the first day where you feel that glimmer of hope after a breakup and you're in the airport and you're running to your gate alone because you're about to go on a trip somewhere fun, somewhere you've always wanted to go alone. You're going to Paris, you're going to New York City, you're going to Los Angeles and you're running through the airport and you're a little bit stressed but you're excited and
Starting point is 00:22:40 you're trying to not really think about your breakup, but it's slipping into your mind. But for whatever reason on this particular day, it doesn't hurt as bad as it usually does. Still hurts, but not as bad as it usually does. And you're also feeling like a sense of freedom, like, oh my God, I'm about to go on this trip and I don't have to call or text my ex. I get to be free for the first time in a long time. But for us who enjoy being in relationships and are sad to see one go, that feeling of freedom is sort of a silver lining though. That is parachutes by Coldplay for me. Okay, next we have Give Up by the Postal Service. This came out in 2003. This is like the first
Starting point is 00:23:21 full album I fell in love with. And I fell in love with it because my dad had an iPod That he got from his friend. It was like a hand-me-down iPod from his friend so it had his friends music taste on it, which is interesting because This is not an album I would have listened to if I hadn't had this iPod at my disposal The only reason why I ever heard this album was because my dad's friend was listening to it and then I got a hold of the album. So it's like this weird sort of kindred thing with this album for me. And it's shocking to me in retrospect that as a kid I liked this album because it's not
Starting point is 00:23:54 an album that I feel like kids would grasp onto. I'm not saying that like, oh my God, my music taste was so evolved as a kid. Not at all. Like I, there were so many things that my dad showed me as a kid that now I love because my taste has evolved. But at the time, I really didn't understand and didn't appreciate because it takes a long, long time to develop your taste. This was like a weird one-off thing where I liked it even though it's an unusual album
Starting point is 00:24:20 for a kid to like, I feel like. But it wasn't because I was ahead of the game, it was more just because it was like a blip, like it was a weird off chance that I just for some reason liked it. And I listened to this album on that iPod over and over again because it was like one of the only albums on there. And I absolutely fell in love with it. This album, to me, stick with me here
Starting point is 00:24:43 when I describe what this feels like, okay? This album sounds like what the inside of a genius's brain would sound like. If you were to go into the brain of a rocket scientist, okay? And there were to be background music. This is what that background music would be. Not that this album is like background music because it's definitely not. It's an intentional listen. I mean, it can be good background music because it's a pretty chill album, but it's like, it feels like you're in a genius's brain.
Starting point is 00:25:13 And maybe it's because there's a lot of clinical beep-boop type of sounds that almost sound machine-like, sterile, like all white walls, big window skylights, no art on the walls, lots of really pristine, beautifully designed machinery and equipment, everyone's in pristine lab coats, feels like scientific, it feels smart. But I think what's interesting about it is that it's not all sterile though. That's why it feels like, instead of just saying like this album feels like a science
Starting point is 00:25:49 lab, it feels like the scientist in it. And even beyond that, it feels like the inside of the scientist's brain. It feels like the scientist you're seeing, it feels like, what am I talking about? You get what I'm saying? No, you don't. You probably don't get what I'm saying. But there's a bit of wit and a bit of humor in this album amidst this professional, sterile, clinical environment. There's a bit of humor, a bit of wit. And I feel like that humor and wit is coming from this fictional scientist that I'm describing. That's the vibe of this album.
Starting point is 00:26:28 You're going to listen to this album and be like, what the fuck was she talking about? I don't know why this album feels that way to me, but it does. Explaining that was like explaining a really weird dream, but hopefully you stuck with me. Okay, moving on to Ganging Up on the Sun by Guster. This album came out in 2006. Here's the deal. I love this whole album all the way through.
Starting point is 00:26:50 I do. It's fun. I love listening to it all the way through. The first five songs are my favorite. And a lot of times when I listen to this album, I'll listen to the first five songs, then go back to the first one. But the whole album is good, which is why I think it's valid to put it on here, even though the first five are so strong and are my favorite.
Starting point is 00:27:06 And I love them back to back. Like, I love them in order. Okay, this album feels like hanging out in your friend's garage on like a late summer's day. There's beer pong out, there's card games out, there's a TV playing like some sort of sports game that no one cares about in the room. Literally no one in the room cares about it, but it's on anyway. You're a few years into college, you're home for the summer, and you're hanging out with your high school friends
Starting point is 00:27:32 in a basement, and you're building a time machine. In one of the songs on this album, there is a lyric that says, I built a time machine going to see the homecoming queen. And so, yes, I do think that inspired this feeling, but it actually feels this way. It feels like you're with your high school friends a few years after high school, you're shooting the shit in the garage, and then you get the idea of like, let's build a time machine.
Starting point is 00:27:58 Okay? And so everyone starts like taking parts off of an old motorbike and I don't know like a printer that you have in your garage and everyone together is building this time machine. And it's kind of a joke like I found this like tutorial for how to build a time machine on Reddit and like we should just fuck around and like make it and see what happens. So everybody's kind of laughing. It's like not serious. Nobody really wants to time travel, but you guys are all bored and hanging out and so you build, you ultimately build a time machine. Now when listening to this album, it actually feels like the time machine works, but not in a scary way,
Starting point is 00:28:33 in like a fun way where you guys just get to go fuck around. Like you travel to the twenties and you like get drunk with people and then you travel to like the sixties and you're at Woodstock all of a sudden. And then you travel to like when you all were kids and you get to meet yourself as kids and you're like, but it's all fun and lighthearted and not deep at all. This is not like a deep album necessarily. The first song on the album though is very slow and quiet and doesn't really like match the tone of the rest of the album. And it's almost like that song is like the bike ride to your friend's garage to hang out. And then the rest of the album is like hanging out. It's very interesting. That's how I perceive it. Okay. Moving on to Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend. A lot of the albums on this list
Starting point is 00:29:21 are like bands albums that they named after themselves, which I think is very interesting that like these bands like these albums enough to name themselves after it, you know? And I guess rightfully so because it's making the list. This album came out in 2008. I discovered this album actually through the Wii game Just Dance. Is that what it was called? Just Dance?
Starting point is 00:29:43 Yeah, where you'd like hold the Wii remote and dance. The song, A Punk, was on Just Dance and I really loved the song. And then when I got old enough to like listen to albums on Spotify and like understand how to even find music on my own, I found this album again because I loved that song and I listened to the whole thing and I loved it. And to be honest, I love all of the early Vampire Weekend albums almost equally. Like there's Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend, there's Contra, and there's Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend. All of those albums are phenomenal. And I had a really hard time choosing which one to include. But Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend, I feel like,
Starting point is 00:30:25 is maybe my favorite. This album is like what the band Vampire Weekend sounds like. This is their sound. Do you know what I mean? Here's how this album feels. All right? And honestly, how Vampire Weekend's first two albums really feel. It feels like you're a prep school kid, It feels like you're a prep school kid, okay? Wearing, like, collared shirts, pleated skirts, boat shoes, you know, not a hair out of place, square sunglasses. And I'm not talking about Vineyard Binds.
Starting point is 00:30:56 You're wearing polo. This is fucking classic prep school shit. You're on the East Coast, all right? This is not a West Coast prep. This is an East Coast prep. This is like, as the kids say, old money. This feels quiet luxury to me, okay? And it's the first week of summer. And maybe you go to school in Connecticut,
Starting point is 00:31:19 and for the summer, you're hanging out at your aunt and uncle's massive, massive mansion in the Hamptons or on Martha's Vineyard or something. And there's nothing on the agenda. You're riding your bike everywhere. You're getting tan on the beach, reading books. You're meeting new friends. You're going with those friends to the deli. You're eating sandwiches every day, like yummy fresh sandwiches, like a focaccia with pesto and mozzarella and tomato and salt and a little sprinkle of balsamic. You're eating that fucking sandwich, you're bringing a fucking pack of beers to the beach. I don't know why music makes me feel like I'm drinking beer. I don't even like beer. But I've mentioned beer like twice already.
Starting point is 00:32:06 It's very weird. You're casually flirting with a bunch of people, nonchalantly flirting with a bunch of people. You're having, honestly, you're having sex on the beach at night, but you're getting away with it and it's not like, and there's no sand getting into the genitals. Like it's actually going really well,
Starting point is 00:32:24 the sex on the beach. That's how this album feels to me. It feels like a fucking hot prep school summer. Like the perfect hot prep school summer on the East Coast. I mean, this album also kind of feels like, it almost feels like the first, you know what it feels like? Here's what it feels like, let me clarify. It feels like the last week of prep school
Starting point is 00:32:44 and the first week of summer. It feels like. Let me clarify. It feels like the last week of prep school and the first week of summer. It feels like that two-week period. That's what this album feels to me. It's wonderful. I have not had an experience remotely like this. I didn't go to college. I didn't... Well, I used to go to Maine, which is the East Coast, during the summers as a kid. But it wasn't like a
Starting point is 00:33:05 preppy East Coast experience. That was like a fisherman town, like very quaint, very quiet, not a lot of kids around, like very fisherman town sort of vacation. So I never got that experience. Like the experience that I'm describing is foreign to me. And yet it feels like I've experienced it when I listened to Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend. The band Vampire Weekend, if I'm correct, they met at like a preppy East Coast college. So it's interesting that their music makes me feel that way,
Starting point is 00:33:39 and it made me feel that way even before I knew anything about them. Like their sound is so specific. I briefly interrupt this episode to let you know that this episode is brought to you by American Eagle. Looking to reset your wardrobe, upgrade your essentials? Well, I've got great news. A new season means new arrivals at American Eagle. From light wash jeans to easy breezy dresses to trending tube tops, American Eagle has all of the must have styles.
Starting point is 00:34:07 Some of my favorite summer essentials are the perfect pair of jean shorts and the perfect tank top. That is the backbone of my summer wardrobe. And you know, American Eagle has that. And it gets better. American Eagle has just dropped a collab with the hit series, The Summer I Turned Pretty. Think graphic tees with vintage prep appeal and trend right denim that you'll wanna wear on repeat.
Starting point is 00:34:30 Visit ae.com to shop online or shop in store. Now back to the episode. Next we have Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix. This album came out in 2009. And it's kind of funny to me that Phoenix has made its way onto this list because I've actually had a love-hate relationship with Phoenix like when I was younger, like probably 10, 12, 13, maybe even 15. I really loved Phoenix. And then I sort of fell out of love with Phoenix for a few years because I think I heard it
Starting point is 00:35:02 too much. But then in my 20s-ish, well, I'm in my 20s, but when I was 20, I fell in love with it again. I rediscovered the band Phoenix and realized, oh wait, this is good motherfucking music. This is what this album feels like to me. Another pretentious romantic experience. If you thought my description of Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend feels pretentious, just. Like if you thought my description of vampire weekend by vampire weekend feels pretentious, just wait for this one. Wolf King Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix feels like a Friday night during the summer. It's a warm night in Paris. In Paris. Yeah, I went there. I went there. You and your friends are at a natural wine bar. Yeah, I know, it gets more pretentious. Can you believe it?
Starting point is 00:35:45 At a natural wine bar in Paris, warm summer, Friday night, everybody's glass of wine looks like amber sea glass, red sea glass. You know, a classic glass of red wine looks thick, almost. But the thing about natural wine is that it glows in the evening light like a piece of motherfucking sea glass. Okay? So there's glasses of natural wine glowing like pieces of sea glass. There's a DJ inside of this natural wine bar playing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix. You and your friends are on the sidewalk. The music is bleeding from
Starting point is 00:36:20 the inside to the outside. And you weren't planning on having a night of dancing, but after a few hours of laughing with your friends, getting a little wine drunk, you're like, fuck it. You know what? The music is good. This album is so fucking good. And you get up from your seat and you're dancing a little bit.
Starting point is 00:36:37 Everybody is laughing, smiling, and it's joyous. And it's a bit chaotic, but not in like a club way. It feels like it almost feels like a block party. Everyone's happy. Everyone's in a good mood. The music is good. It's like upbeat, but it's not so upbeat. It's like, oh my God, I need to be head banging or something. It's like the perfect level of upbeat. And you have an incredible night. And at the end of the night, you walk home under the lights and everyone's still laughing. And it's almost like the noise from the wine bar carries home. Not until you're in your bed sleeping is there silence.
Starting point is 00:37:13 Oh, and by the way, you're wearing a red cardigan, lightweight, with like a light tank top under it and chunky, thick, black reading glasses. There's something about this album that just you have to be wearing a red sweater and big, chunky, black reading glasses. There's something about this album that just you have to be wearing red sweater and big chunky black reading glasses. Like you have to, I don't know why. And that's that. Moving on. Oh my God, this album is so good. It's so weird that I love this album as much as I do because it really doesn't sound like other music that I like as much.
Starting point is 00:37:44 It's a very different vibe. It's very upbeat. It's very, very like snappy. Like the BPM on this one's really high. And I like a lot of really soothing music. That's like majority of what I like. This is like the most intense party album I have on my list.
Starting point is 00:38:02 Tourist History by Tudor Cinema Club. This album came out in 2010. Now here's the deal, I told my dad that this was on my list of best albums of all time and he's like, that makes sense, that's like an album for young people. And I was like, is it? I feel like I'm gonna be 90, this album comes on and I'm fucking like, ooh, it's so good.
Starting point is 00:38:22 Literally, when I was writing this outline, making my list, I was obviously listening to all the music as I was trying to figure out what was going on the list and how I felt about it and all that. When I put this album on, I was walking on the treadmill and all of a sudden I was like, holy fuck, I wanna start running. Like I literally wanted to turn the fucking speed
Starting point is 00:38:43 up to seven miles per hour and start like heavy jogging. I could have turned my speed up to 10 miles per hour and kept up with the fucking pace because of how much energy this album gives me. It is a headbanger. Like after this, like after I record this episode, this is probably the album I'm going to put on and I'm going to like dance in my living room. I'm not kidding. I feel this way about no other album I've ever heard in my life and It's weird because it's like it's not a cool album to me. Like this isn't a flex, but it just is so fucking good to me this album feels like an underground like basement party or like a warehouse party and
Starting point is 00:39:23 Everyone is wearing a suit in black Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Everyone. It's very like Saint Laurent vibes. Okay. Like very like suit, chic glasses, tousled hair, very Saint Laurent. And everyone is literally dancing like a fucking freak. Like if you were to like look at an aerial view, it would look like, okay, you know when you look at germs under a microscope and they're all wiggling around in a clump? That is what this party looks like. Everyone is moving, dancing uncontrollably, almost as though they're on some sort of stimulant. Everything would point to that there's drugs going around this party. But the thing is, there isn't. That's the plot twist about this party. Tourist history by
Starting point is 00:40:09 Tudor Cinema Club is playing at this party. There's no need for drugs. When you listen to this album and you dance in your living room and you close your eyes, you will feel like you're in this basement party drenched with sweat in your suit with your tousled hair and your sunglasses. You will feel like you're there. And let me tell you, you're going to feel good. Okay, moving on. We have two albums by possibly one of my favorite bands of all time, and that would be Beach House. I absolutely fucking love Beach House to the point where I'm actually going to be naming two of their albums, Bloom from 2012 and Depression Cherry from 2015. We're skipping ahead a little bit with 2015
Starting point is 00:40:51 and then we're going to go back in time for the next album that I'm going to be discussing. But these two albums to me sort of bleed into each other. Like they both give me a similar feeling because I listened to them at the same time. There's also another Beach House album that was a runner up, Once Twice Melody from 2021. It's their latest album I think. And I fucking love that album as well. But that album has a different feeling to these. So I didn't want to lump it in. But just know that I also love that album. Bloom and Depression Cherry feel like a foggy day at the beach. Seagulls flying everywhere, squawking, and you're wearing a cream cable knit sweater
Starting point is 00:41:30 and baggy jeans, no shoes. You're wearing brown leather rainbow brand, worn in flip-flops, but they're on your front porch, drying out from being wet from the ocean earlier, okay? You're alone on the beach. No one you know is within a hundred, 200-mile radius of you, 300-mile radius of you, maybe even a 500-mile radius of you.
Starting point is 00:41:55 You're really alone. And maybe that's because you chose to live in a cottage on the beach for the summer. Maybe you're on a writing trip because you're a writer or something. Maybe you were going to go on this trip with a significant other group of friends, but you had a falling out with them, so you just ended up going on the trip yourself. You know, for whatever reason, you are at a beach house. You're staying at a beach house, which is ironic because the band is Beach
Starting point is 00:42:25 House. I'm not just saying this. I'm not saying that this album makes me feel this way because the band is called Beach House. These two albums genuinely, you feel like you're staying at a beach house and it's foggy and it's the second half of the day. It's not 2 PM. No, no, no. It's 4 or 5 PM. It's like late, late, late summer, early, early fall, you know? There's a bit of a crisp coming in the air, but it's not quite cold yet. Now, let's really zoom into this, okay? You're walking around on the beach, cable knit sweater, ripped up jeans on, no shoes, and you're a bit lonely, yes, but in a sweet way. It hurts that you're there alone, but not in a bad way. It hurts that you're there alone, but not in a bad way.
Starting point is 00:43:07 It hurts because you love the people that you miss, not because you have nobody to miss. You wish that there were people there with you, but it's not overwhelmingly painful and miserable that they're not there either. You're almost enjoying the experience of missing them. You're forced to be alone with your thoughts and some of those thoughts are comforting and some are painful and they're all swirling in your mind at once. And there are moments where you feel a lump in your throat, but there are also moments where you catch yourself smiling a little bit. It's very bittersweet. That's Beach House. Okay, moving on to Wild Heart by Current Joys. This album came out in 2013.
Starting point is 00:43:45 This album is a little bit depressing to be honest. It feels like being 90 years old and remembering what it was like to be 16. I fucking love this album. Like this is an album that makes you feel, I don't wanna say sad. It makes you feel deeply nostalgic. Like it makes you feel like you're remembering a really sweet memory
Starting point is 00:44:07 that is so far in the past. It's painful in some ways to remember them. There's something about the way that this album sounds where the way that they produced it, it's all very hum-like. It's not super clear. It's not super sharp. It's not like listening to an Ariana Grande song where like you can hear every single word. You can hear every single strum of a, every single press on the piano you can hear. It's sharp, right? The production on this is very soft and warm and hum-like. And it's almost like how a memory feels where when you, like in the moment, everything you
Starting point is 00:44:42 see is sharp, but a memory is more soft. But it feels like a deeply nostalgic memory that holds weight because the memory was so joyful and because it's so hard to grasp that it's over. That's how this album feels. So yeah, listen to that one with caution because it will hurt you. Okay, next we have Salad Days by Mac DeMarco. This album came out in 2014. I love a lot of Mac DeMarco albums, so it was really hard for me to choose a favorite. This one, undeniably, means the most to me,
Starting point is 00:45:17 has the most songs on it that are like, every time I put it on I'm like, oh, God, wow, that's good. But it's hard because I really like I like so many of his albums. To me, this is an undeniable summer album. A lot of these albums do feel like summer. I feel like because we want music to transport us to a happy place.
Starting point is 00:45:35 And let's not lie, summer is the happiest season. So I feel like a lot of albums are summer albums. This to me is like the ultimate summer album, or it's one of them. It's one of, there's a few albums on here me is like the ultimate summer album or it's one of them. It's one of, there's a few albums on here that are like the ultimate summer album for me. This is one of them. Okay. Listening to this album feels like going on a weekend trip to the beach with friends, staying in a cute little cottage. You have a crush on one of your friends. They're
Starting point is 00:46:00 staying at the cottage with you. So there's like a bit of tension there, a bit of flirty, but you guys have never hooked up. Nothing's happened, but there's this excitement of like, ooh, maybe something will happen this weekend. In the mornings, the mom or dad of the friend group is making a massive batch of scrambled eggs that will of course not get finished. In the afternoons, you all hang out on the beach and there's a soft hum of people in the distance playing pop music on a speaker.
Starting point is 00:46:28 The mom of the friend group, the dad of the friend group is reminding everyone to put on sunscreen. No one listens. Everyone's getting absolutely baked. Some of the friends are reading books, some are swimming, some are having a little debate, sitting crisscross on a towel discussing things debatefully. That's even a word, debatefully? Is that a word? Now it is. Someone's running out to go grab everyone lunch. The mom or dad of the friend group goes out and grabs burritos for everyone. Everyone's eating burritos on the
Starting point is 00:46:57 beach. At the end of the day, everyone goes home and showers and gets ready for dinner, go and have dinner somewhere. Then have a little party at the little cottage, invite people that you met at the beach earlier in the day. That's the vibe of Salad Days by Matt DeMarco. Next, oh my God, I'm like, part of me is, this is an amazing album, but it's like so basic that I'm cringing even before I say it Currents by Tame Impala came out in 2015. Okay to me everything about what I'm about to say the fact Okay, the fact that I'm saying this album is like so obvious and so cringe But then on top of that the way that I'm about to describe how this album feels is even worse currents by Tame Impala
Starting point is 00:47:43 Feels like what I think taking DMT would feel like. Okay, now if you don't know what DMT is, let me Google it because I really don't know. DMT, it's a drug. I think it's psychedelic. Might not be. Might be. Let's see. What is it? DMT is a strong psychedelic drug, which means it can affect all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time and emotions. Psychedelics can cause a person to hallucinate seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted. A lot of people talk about going to other countries and taking DMT and having this incredible
Starting point is 00:48:18 mind bending, mind altering experience because I don't think DMT is legal here or something in the US. I don't know why people have to leave the US to go get it. But anyway, I feel like I've heard so many stories about people truly tapping into themselves and understanding themselves and the world around them through a really intense DMT trip. And Currents by Tamenpala makes me feel like maybe I'm on a little bit of DMT, not fully tripping, but a little bit. I don't even do drugs like this, so I can't even really speak to it.
Starting point is 00:48:51 I've barely done mushrooms. Not in a real way, in a party setting, which barely counts. And I didn't take enough to really be transported. Anyway, this album feels like you're being sucked into a black hole. If you were to be on earth one second and sucked into a black hole in the next second, this album feels like that split second of being sucked into the hole. This album feels so deep and so guttural. There's so many just genius, I don't even know the word because I don't understand music that much, but there are these like, how do I explain it? Oh my God,
Starting point is 00:49:32 it's so hard when you want to describe something but you don't have the vocabulary for it. Okay, if I'm describing this correctly, I feel like there's maybe it would be like the chord progression. The way that the sounds are put together in the order that they're put in, makes the sounds hit so deep. Does that make sense? It's like a wave of like, oh fuck, that's crazy vibes. I can't describe this album.
Starting point is 00:49:57 Like you just have to listen to it. It feels like being sucked into a black hole, but not dying and just like floating around in there for a little bit. And then at the end being spit out and put back onto earth. That's how currents by Tame and Paula feels to me. Okay, moving on to City Club by The Growlers. This album came out in 2016.
Starting point is 00:50:16 I have listened to the entire discography of The Growlers. I one time went on a road trip with a friend and we listened to the entire discography, the whole thing, every single song. It's almost like their entire discography is one big album because their sound is very consistent. But I will say, if I had to choose a favorite album, an album to listen to first for The Growlers, I would say City Club. And to me, The Growlers feel very van life, very like California hippie, riding motorcycles, surfing, skateboarding,
Starting point is 00:50:50 fixing the van engine by yourself, motorcycles strapped to the back of the van. Clothes are what vintage buyers look for when they're looking for vintage that they can resell to people who live in Silver Lake in Los Angeles for like $500 up charge because everyone in Silver Lake in Los Angeles are trying to look like they live in a van and ride a motorcycle and surf every day. But in reality, at best, they just have the motorcycle. This character that you feel like when you listen to City Club by The Growlers actually bought those clothes new and wore them in to the point where now they would be desirable to vintage buyers.
Starting point is 00:51:31 You know what I'm saying? They just wore their clothes. They actually got under the car and fixed the engine, and that's why their jeans have oil all over them. They actually rolled down a sand dune one day for fun and got caught on, like, a plant and their shirt ripped a little bit. They actually wore in their clothes. City Club by the Growlers feels like surfing all day and then eating at a diner for dinner.
Starting point is 00:51:56 Burger, onion rings, strawberry shake, fuck it. Feels like meeting someone at the beach during the day and ultimately having a romantic encounter with them at night in the van. It feels like van life, but without the content. You know, like van life became a trend, you know, in a lot of times in tandem with sort of like being a content creator.
Starting point is 00:52:18 City Club by the Growlers is van life before the internet, before it was romantic, before it was a trend. I don't know. I wasn't alive then, so I can't really speak to it. But I think maybe. Okay, next we have What Do You Think About the Car by Declan McKenna. This album came out in 2017. Oh my God, I love this album. It's so fun. You know what it feels like? It feels like biking around on a summer day, headphones in, alone. You've been wearing the same outfit for a week because it's not that dirty. And maybe your friends are out of town, maybe they're on a vacation, you're alone and you spend hours biking through dense tree-lined streets. And eventually you end
Starting point is 00:52:56 up downtown and you go into the convenience store and you steal a candy bar, honestly. This album feels like stealing. But in a way that's harmless. Although I've never been one to steal. I'm not a thief. There was a phase in high school, I remember, where everyone was stealing. It was the cool thing to do. Everyone would go to Nordstrom and steal from the makeup area, or they'd go to Victoria's Secret and steal underwear. They'd go into the fitting room and put on 10 pairs of underwear and then pull up. Like I can't tell you how much thievery was happening in high school. I never participated. It really made me uncomfortable and I knew I wouldn't get away with it because I'm not a good liar like that. Actually, I'm a good liar about some stuff, but not about that. Like I'm a good white liar. I
Starting point is 00:53:42 can do a white lie left and right, like something harmless. Like if somebody's like, what do you think about my outfit? Be honest. And I hate it. I'll be like, oh my God, it's cute. And they buy it, which I'm not saying is like the right thing to do. I'm just saying I'm good at that. Or like, if somebody's like, I just learned how to play guitar. Like, can I play a song and sing for you? And it's like so bad. I will like smile and clap and laugh the whole time as though I'm watching Adele perform rolling in the deep life. I like the person will think I am truly moved by the performance, even when I'm not. So like, I'm good at lying like that. But like if I'm actually like, if I'm like stealing something and like the store, one of the people working at the store comes up to me and says,
Starting point is 00:54:23 you fucking stole something. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. Just take me away. I can't. But this album feels like, back to this album, what do you think about The Car by Declan McKenna feels like? Being a bit of a punk. And that's why I say stealing a candy bar from the store. It feels like eating that candy bar while riding around downtown on your bike
Starting point is 00:54:45 and then stopping at a bookstore to roam around, but not even read anything, not even read any of the titles. Just roam around for the sake of roaming around. Headphones still in, store clerk says hi and you say, eh, what's up? It feels like getting a text from an ex or from like a shitty old friend that you don't really want to hang out with and ignoring it. It feels like biking over to the local carnival at night and getting a corndog for dinner It feels like falling asleep with your headphones on there's something about this album That feels like a full summer day on the bike with headphones in and the headphones don't come out until the next morning It feels like a full day in your own world with an undertone of punk,
Starting point is 00:55:26 rebellion, teen angst. This episode is brought to you by Cozy. Getting your home to not just look right, but also feel right is so important. I think what I love most about my home is how there are so many little details around the house that bring me so much joy. One place that I hang out a lot is my couch. I take naps on there. I get a bunch of work done on there. When I'm shopping for a piece of furniture or home furnishing, I'm looking for something that's comfortable but also fun to look at.
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Starting point is 00:56:45 Shop online and get $15 in PC optimum points on your first five orders. Shop now at nofrills.ca. Next we have Song of Hers by Hers. This album came out in 2017. I so deeply love this album. And to me, it feels like sitting in a warm, cozy living room, the lighting is orange, there's candles lit, it's fall, the weather outside is cold and crispy as autumn is. There's a game night happening. There's like maybe 10 friends hanging out. Some people are playing UNO. Three people have been playing Monopoly for literally three hours. And everybody's like, wait, have you seen so and so? And it's like, yeah, they're still playing fucking Monopoly in the corner. There's a cheese board out. And here's the deal. The brie is gone.
Starting point is 00:57:32 The brie got eaten up quick. And like the really yummy whole wheat crackers that just crumble in your mouth, those are gone too. The good stuff's gone off the cheese board. But there's still some really solid options left. Like smoked Gouda is still available. There's some really crispy, seedy crackers still left. Nobody's really touched the fig jam because everybody's kind of afraid of that. They're not really down to adventure into that. But the foodie of the group is telling everybody that they need to try the fig jam on their
Starting point is 00:58:03 cracker with the cheat. Like it makes the whole thing. Everyone's laughing and having fun. There is some wine floating around, perhaps even like a sangria, like some sort of like sweet wine sort of situation happening. The only drama of the night is that there's actually two exes there who are in the same friend group and they're respectful towards each other and everything's actually going quite well between them. It's a bit tense in the same friend group. And they're respectful towards each other, and everything's actually going quite well between them. It's a bit tense in the beginning, but then actually by the end of the evening,
Starting point is 00:58:29 everyone's like, oh, they're gonna fuck. Yeah, yeah, they are. They might be getting back together. Because four glasses of sangria and over the course of a few hours and a few games of UNO, suddenly the spark is back. The night goes later than expected. No one's home till 2 a.m. earliest.
Starting point is 00:58:44 It was a delightful night, warm, cozy, and filled with laughs. That is how Songs of Hers by Hers feels. The next album is unexpected, okay? Becauseves is truly a no skip album. Like there is not one song on there that isn't perfect. It is the perfect album. It's amazing. And listen, like the production on it is not my vibe, right? Like it's very clean and precise.
Starting point is 00:59:24 And like I tend to like a more like grittier So it's very clean and precise. I tend to like a more grittier sort of production. I like that sound. But somehow, Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves defies all odds. It really does because it's country, it has slick production, but alas, it's one of my favorite albums of all time. This album feels like looking the best you ever have, okay?
Starting point is 00:59:47 Let's say for me, it's like long, dirty blonde hair with a blowout, a cute, beautiful little dress on, maybe like a little red dress with like white trim. Makeup is perfect. I look fucking snatched in the face. Like, contour is just absolutely carving up the fucking face. Fake lashes on like sporadically, almost like twiggy, like little twiggy lashes on,
Starting point is 01:00:11 lips overlined, but done so well that it looks like I have lip injections. Like I look gorgeous. Perhaps a few little fake freckles drawn on, but so well done that the freckles look real, you know? Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves feels like looking the best you ever have, riding a horse, naturally, at Golden Hour, dusk.
Starting point is 01:00:31 A beautiful, this album feels like a beautiful image. Gone wrong, you're bawling your eyes out. Sometimes out of sadness, sometimes out of happiness. Emotional roller coaster. This album feels like everything is perfect, but you can't stop crying and your makeup smearing and your hair is getting stuck in your face and your horse that you're on starts running a little bit too fast. That's how this album feels to me. It's amazing. Speaking of horses, the next album is Pony by Rex Orange County. This album came out in 2019.
Starting point is 01:01:05 This album, oh my God. This album is so good. I was listening to it again, of course, when I was writing this outline and I was like, I was literally alone, like, fuck, this is so good. Like, I was like, it's so good. And some songs on the album are really upbeat and really fun and really like up, up, up.
Starting point is 01:01:24 And some are really deep and like hit, you know, and are slower and sadder and deeper. But it's a very like self-reflective album in sometimes a fun way and sometimes in a deep sort of sentimental way. This album to me feels like being in your room alone during the fall. Pumpkin candle is lit. And you're two weeks post a slight rough emotional patch in your life. Maybe you had a depressive episode. Maybe you had some drama with your friend group and it put you into kind of a dark place for a little bit. Maybe you went through a breakup, but you're starting to feel really good. In fact, you actually feel great. And on this particular night, you're listening to music and you're cleaning up your room and getting your space back to feeling good again. That is how this album feels.
Starting point is 01:02:14 There are moments that are upbeat and fun, like when you're throwing all your dirty clothes into the hamper. You're not doing a lot of work, but there's a lot of satisfaction. Do you know what I mean? Like when you scoop a bunch of dirty clothes off the floor and put them into a hamburger, it's like, ah, fun. And you throw them in, it's fun. And then there are moments when you sit on your bed for a second and you just listen to the music and you're thinking. There are both of those sorts of moments in this album.
Starting point is 01:02:39 Some that are upbeat, some that are calm, but all are in a way healing. And I think that's sort of the subject matter of the album as well. It's like about overcoming rough patches. There are quite a few songs sort of about that. Next we have the new abnormal by The Strokes. This album came out in 2020 and it's actually my favorite Strokes album. I love The Strokes, one of my favorite bands of all time. However, this is my favorite, like no skips album. Like I love every single song equally. And as a whole, I really listened to this album on repeat. Like with the Strokes, they have so many incredible songs and I discovered them in a very sporadic sort of way where like there were like a lot of songs off of a lot of the albums that I liked, but I didn't
Starting point is 01:03:24 really listen to their albums as full albums. I more discovered individual singles from their early work, then their album came out in 2020. I listened to the whole thing as a longtime fan who has listened to their full albums, but never in a deeply intimate way. I had a very intimate experience with the new Abnormal by the Strokes one summer. It's a symbol of a good summer. But to me, it's like a city kid summer. Even though I had a very Los Angeles beach summer with this album, it actually feels like a
Starting point is 01:03:57 New York summer. It feels like living in New York, hanging out on the balcony fire escape thing of your apartment in New York, spending the days eating fresh fruit that you cut up for yourself and painting watercolors in a rip tank top and like Calvin Klein boxer briefs. It's like getting dressed sloppily in the middle of the day to go for a walk, to go get a coffee and chat with the locals for a bit. It's going out at night and getting drunk on New York rooftop bars. It's like the perfect New York summer.
Starting point is 01:04:29 Lazy day, fun night, comfy clothes, making art. It's, listen, the description's cringe. Like, it's cringe. And you know what? I'm realizing as I'm recording this episode and discussing how all this music makes me feel that I think good music makes, it allows you to experience a cliche in a way.
Starting point is 01:04:51 An experience that almost doesn't even exist. That people pretend exists, but it rarely does if ever. It allows you to live sort of like a fantasy. And I think the fantasy of that sort of New York summer, would that be the reality of a New York summer? I don't know. I've never had one, but I want to believe that it would feel like what I described and how the album feels. And that's kind of the cool thing about music, I guess. Okay. Next we have, If I Am Only My Thoughts by the band Loving. This album came out in 2020. This album feels like what it would feel like to reincarnate as a dandelion,
Starting point is 01:05:26 but have human consciousness still a little bit. A dandelion in a field of dandelions left undisturbed in a field that is almost never seen or touched by humans, at most is passed by once a week, twice a week. There's a peacefulness, a calmness, a tranquility in this existence. There are no bad days, there are no stressful days. A sunny day feels like a warm hug from a blanket as a dandelion. A foggy day feels like a light, refreshing,
Starting point is 01:06:01 comforting mist on the skin of a dandelion. Rainy days feel euphoric, like a shower. There's no bad days, there's no stress. It's true peace and tranquility in existence. This album is so unbelievably fucking peaceful, you're not even going to know what to do with yourself. You're going to want to fall asleep. This is a great album to listen to on a plane if you have plane anxiety. This is a great album to listen to
Starting point is 01:06:28 while working if you need something to calm you down and keep you chill while you're working. I absolutely love this album. And it's so subtle, but there are some really interesting philosophical lyrics going on. but it doesn't scream for your attention, you know, and it can very easily just be background noise. But if you listen, there's also some substance to it as well. Next we have Sling by Claro. This album came out in 2021. And I remember discovering this album when I was on a family trip in a beach town and it was a very foggy weekend, the particular weekend that we were there.
Starting point is 01:07:07 And so in a lot of ways, this album reminds me of a foggy beach trip with family, but it actually, it doesn't just feel like that. It feels like that to me because that's how I discovered it, but it also feels like being a mouse that has human consciousness, such as Stuart Little, and living in a little hole in the wall and having a very simple, peaceful routine that isn't perfect. Like, Sling by Claro doesn't give you this sort of feeling that everything's perfect. There are complicated feelings, complicated emotions, but none of them are overwhelming. It's almost like to be a mouse
Starting point is 01:07:47 living in this little hole in the wall. You have happy thoughts, you have neutral thoughts, you have sad thoughts, but all of them just come and go sort of fluidly, almost because the existence is very simple. You know, you wake up in your little matchbox bed because you're a tiny little mouse, you make your bed, you make your little morning tea. You watch the humans stress out about
Starting point is 01:08:08 human stuff and lightly smile through the little hole in the door of your little home in the wall. You do house chores. You hand sew little clothes for yourself. And at the end of the day, you cook dinner for yourself from little morsels of tactfully stolen food from the nearby store. It's a very sweet, very quaint existence. That is how Sling by Claro feels. It feels very sweet. It feels very safe. It feels like solitude, living as a little mouse in the wall alone, but in a way that is not lonely. Maybe sometimes. So that's how that feels. Okay, let's move on. Last but not least, wait, we're almost done.
Starting point is 01:08:48 Last but not least, we have Gemini Rights by Steve Lacey. This album came out in 2022. This album feels like if you could run forever and never feel pain. Like, you know, when you go for a run and your joints hurt and you're out of breath and you're tired, it doesn't feel, like running doesn't feel pain. Like, you know when you go for a run and your joints hurt and you're out of breath and you're tired, it doesn't feel... Like, running doesn't feel good.
Starting point is 01:09:08 Well, imagine if running did feel good. Imagine if you could run for miles and it never hurt. That is what Gemini Rides by Steve Lacey feels like. It feels satisfyingly tempoed. It feels like running. And it's funny because I actually listened to this album. I've listened to this album a trillion times running on the treadmill. This used to be like my treadmill album.
Starting point is 01:09:34 It is such a phenomenal album. It has one of my favorite songs of all time on it, Bad Habit, massive song, everybody knows it. But the rest of the album is so good too. And I love the journey like it's a great journey like you start at the beginning and you end at the end and The order that it was put in is so smart and it just flows so beautifully And it's a fucking phenomenal album. And if you want to go on a run and feel as close to painless as possible
Starting point is 01:10:03 I would recommend it. That's it. Those are my best albums of all time. Now listen, these lists are subject to change. Like my favorite songs of all time, favorite albums of all time, these are subject to change. And ideally, what I hope for is that in a year, two years down the line, I'll have discovered more music to add to the list. Like I don't want this to be a finite list. So hopefully I discover more music over the next few years and at some point I can make another one of these and add on to these lists. Anyway, that's all I got.
Starting point is 01:10:36 I've been talking for a long time, so I'm going to let you go. But I did make a playlist on Spotify. It has four songs from each of these albums on it. So you can get a little taster for each album. I didn't want to add the full album to each because that would be a really long playlist. The playlist is like six and a half hours as it is, and I only added four songs per album, but it's a really fun listen. You can get a feel for all the different albums based on my four favorite songs from each
Starting point is 01:11:04 album. So go check that out on my four favorite songs from each album. So go check that out on my Spotify. It'll be linked in the description of this podcast episode. Unfortunately, I can't include the songs or else I'll get copyrighted. So I have to just describe them in weird levels of detail. That's all I got for today. I hope you all enjoyed. If you did, tune in Thursdays and Sundays for new episodes of Anything Goes. I'm always here to hang out. so come hang out if you want. You can find Anything Goes online anywhere at Anything Goes. You can find me online anywhere at Emma Chamberlain.
Starting point is 01:11:33 And you can find my coffee company in the world at Chamberlain Coffee. If you have any music suggestions for me, let me know on Instagram at Anything Goes or at Emma Chamberlain, honestly. Just send me music recs if you have have any based on what you can tell that my taste is. I love you all.
Starting point is 01:11:51 I appreciate you all and I'll talk to you very soon. Happy music listening. Seriously, get out there and listen to some music today and let it hit your heart. That's your homework. All right. I love you all. Talk to you later and bye. Bye.

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