No Lifeboat Needed.

Back when Ben & I lived in the small house, we used to sit around our tiny living room and ruminate on the perfect desert island music collection. I was thinking about that today, and realizing that if I were stranded on a desolate land mass with my record player and the five albums I'd picked in say, 1985, I would probably serve myself up to the sharks without a fight. Same goes for other moments in my life. The five year span of 1996-2001 was a bit of an aural Armageddon, and while I still hold a place in my heart for my bohemian days, I'm not sure I'd want to be left with only my 1989-1991 picks either.

But I think I can find a high point from each semi-era and create a set I could feast on day in and day out. Chronologically speaking:

Teens:
Duran Duran's self titled. This one had a merciless battle with Rio, but the raw, dreamy, art house version of the band dropped their tightly produced, Vivienne Westwood affording version of themselves like a feather. This is my favorite:

Early 20s:
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's Deja Vu. Something happened, eh? Yeah, I found my people. And I found myself. And floral skirts. And Birkenstocks. And incense. And un-permed hair. Other picks were Neil Young's Harvest and the Grateful Dead's American Beauty. But this is the one, and this is the song:

Late 20s:
A lot happened over this time. I was thrift shopping, costume making, and figuring out what the hell was next. Experiments like Dead Can Dance and The Chieftains were fueling my aspirations, but Squirrel Nut Zippers Hot is responsible for actually changing my life. Oh, yes:

Mid 30s:
Forgetting that the years leading up happened at all, I cleansed myself and emerged from the flames of ultra-lounge with a new-found ear for the guitar. Interpol and Bloc Party got their fair share of air-strumming in my undies, but it was Arcade Fire's Funeral that, for lack of appropriate words, murdered me. I have never once not cried when hearing this song. Did it tonight. Damn them:

Late 30s:
Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. For anyone who thinks of Rock It when you hear his name, you have no idea. Exactly 10 years prior he was conductor of a psychedelic train headed straight into the center of the earth. Um, yeah:

I'm not ready to define the current times, so, for now, I'll just hang out under the palm trees and eat coconuts.