Artist: The Doors

The Doors have always been a divisive band in the minds of music fans. Even a casual observer knows The Doors for, if nothing else, their enigmatic front man Jim Morrison. Since the band's beginning, Morrison's maddening personal and artistic complexities have been equally hailed and reviled. I see both Morrison and The Doors as musically innovative, flawed, poetic, exciting, excessive, intriguing, and seemingly free from artistic or corporate constraints. Morrison's father may have said it (although begrudgingly) the best: "My son had a unique genius, which he expressed without compromise."

A good choice for: the listener with an open mind.

Listen here to The Doors, their 1967 self-titled debut.
Listen here to Strange Days.
Listen here to Waiting for the Sun.
Listen here to The Soft Parade.
Listen here to Morrison Hotel.
Listen here to L.A. Woman, their 6th and final studio album, completed shortly before Morrison's death in 1971.

R.I.P. Lala

Sadly, my go-to music service site, Lala.com, is now defunct. To make a long story short, some sort of business deal involving Apple was the cause of the site's shutdown. So, all of the links I have posted to songs and albums up to this point are, therefore, inaccessible. I will work to re-route each of those links to a "living" digital location.

Thanks.

Album: Funeral

As of late, The Arcade Fire have found themselves in danger of earning that dreaded label: overhyped. Whatever your personal view on the band's status, put that aside for a moment, and listen to them with fresh ears at a time when they were brand new and label-free. Listening to their debut album Funeral for the first time is a moment I like to recall. As I always do when listening to something completely unknown and without preconception, I waited with anticipation for the music to unfold. And unfold it did. Coming out of my computer speakers back in 2004 was an exuberant yet mournful, delicate yet aggressive, insular yet relatable string of songs that were decidedly fresh-sounding. With each track, I experienced that rare feeling of complete sonic satisfaction...roughly the verbal equivalent of "That's it! Yes! Score!" Here's hoping you'll be compelled to similar exclamations.

A good choice for: fans of large, full, somewhat bombastic, wall-of-sound type sounds; Led Zeppelin's more ambitious pieces; The Polyphonic Spree; The Flaming Lips in certain moods; those who have experienced the loss of family members.

Tracks to try: The "Neighborhood" songs - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)

Listen here.

Album: Moon Safari

Every now and then, a real breakthrough album comes along that creates a brand new world of sound unlike something we've heard before. And, consequently, that album influences many other artists who want to be a part of it. Air's 1998 full-length debut Moon Safari is one such album. It's a delicious blend of space lounge, electronica, '70s synth, and that certain je ne sais quoi (obligatory French reference as Air are a French band...says so right there on the album cover)!

A good choice for: fans of chillout, downtempo, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Zero 7 and the like, bilingual song titles; Francophiles.

Tracks to try: La Femme d'Argent, Sexy Boy, You Make It Easy, New Star In the Sky, Le Voyage de Penelope

Listen here.

[Thanks to Jeremiah H. for his inspirational devotion to this album!]

Album: One Beat

Sleater-Kinney are no more, but they left some seriously good music behind, not to mention a major influence on any "girl band" worth their salt. Carrie, Corin, and Janet received all kinds of cred for their political, often feminist message as well as for their solid musicianship. Make no mistake, they shouldn't be labeled (read: dismissed) as some riot grrrl band, but as a band that simply rocked. All of this is evident on the stellar One Beat from 2002. (If you like this, please try their final studio album, The Woods, released in 2005...and while you're at it, 2000's All Hands On the Bad One.)

A good choice for: fans of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Breeders, Hole; thoughtful/thought-provoking lyrics; rrrock.

Tracks to try: One Beat, Oh, Light Rail Coyote, Step Aside, Hollywood Ending

Listen here.

Album: The Sophtware Slump

Like Radiohead's incomparable Kid A (which no description can serve nearly as well as a proper listen), Grandaddy released their second album in the year 2000. This timing seemed appropriate for both, considering their overall aesthetic and thematic content. The Sophtware Slump is what Kid A might have sounded like if Radiohead hailed from sunny California and felt considerably less ambitious...Sort of like Kid A-lite.

A good choice if you dig: songs about technology, alienation, robots, etc.; cool atmospherics; electronica seeming simultaneously impersonal and intimate.

Tracks to try: Hewletts Daughter, The Crystal Lake, Chartsengrafs, Broken Household Appliance National Forest, Miner At the Dial-A-View

Listen here.

Album: Partie Traumatic

If you don't like dance pop records, best skip this one. That said, if you do like dance pop records, there's lots to like here. Groundbreaking material it is not, but Black Kids made just the sort of infectious, danceable, sometimes silly, no-brainer of an album everybody needs now and then.

A good choice if you like the sounds of: '80s-tinged house party music with the occasional hint of disco flair; Cut Copy; Ghostland Observatory (check Delete.Delete.I.Eat.Meat and Paparazzi Lightning).

Tracks to try: Hurricane Jane, I'm Making Eyes At You, I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You, Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)

Listen here.