A few posts ago, I asked what films could be characterized as “generation-defining” … like Star Wars, The Matrix, and perhaps now, Napoleon Dynamite.
After chatting with my longtime friend Gary Scott (church elder, moviegoer, frequent commentor) and new friend Luke Brodine (musician, ministry pioneer, U2 fan) at church, it was clear that I had to come back and expand the question.
What albums would you consider “generation-defining”?
In my lifetime, it seems like some of the most prominent albums as far as influence have been Michael Jackson’s Thriller, U2’s The Joshua Tree, and, more recently, perhaps Moby’s Play. No, I’m not saying these are the GREATEST albums (well, in U2’s case, yes), but in terms of the way they’ve influenced major changes in the musical landscape, and both reflected and revised the thinking of up-and-coming generations. I include Moby’s Play because it was huge on the radio, it became the foundation of several television commercials, and it brought sampling to a bigger platform than ever before.
I’m also tempted to pick something from Beck… I suppose it would have to be Odelay.
I’m sure the Beatles belong here, but which album most affected a generation? Sgt. Pepper‘s? The White album?
Looking at today, yesterday, and the last few decades, what would you classify as “generation-defining” albums?
Born in ’84 too late to see the initial run of Star Wars so I was born well after Sgt. Pepper, the Beatles break-up and the murder of John Lennon. But the Beatles seem to have maintained their influence with Beatles One which is the only way my friends and I have heard their music, so that is influential. I know nothing of rap so I won’t comment about it’s influence. U2’s Joshua Tree, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. “Bomb” seems to be starting a revival of old school (u2 -style) rock’n’roll and moving rock beyond Nirvana (also a big influence, my first memory of mainstream music was when I heard that Kurt Cobain was dead). I know only a bit of mainstream music but more of CCM. Artists there that have reversed the trend and encouraged self-expression, creativity, and curiosity have been Kevin Max (formerly of dcTalk, Switchfoot, and Jars of Clay. I think Cash’s The Man Comes Around is big as well. O Brother Where Art Thou for bringing back blugrass and tradtional country.
Funny that we are now on the verge of the end of the album age. Compared to film, it was short-lived, starting in the 60’s till the maybe 80’s.
But here’s my guesses:
60’s
Miles Davis, Blue.
Jimi Hendrix, Are you Experienced?
Beatles, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Beatles, White Album.
Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
(the last two choices are probably dubious since they were not big-time sellers)
70’s
Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
Rolling Stones, ummm… that real drunk and high album. oh, Exile on Main Street.
Sex Pistols, Forget the Bullocks, Meet the Sex Pistols
(ok, most of what I know of the 70’s, outside of Stevie, is from greatest hits collections. zep, al green, ramones. but i’m trying to reclaim that lost era of my birth and pre-school.)
80’s
Michael Jackson, Thriller
Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel of Love
Clash, London Calling
U2, Joshua Tree
Prince, Purple Rain
Run DMC, King of the Hill
90’s
Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet
Nirvana, Nervermind
U2, Achtung Baby!
Biggie Smalls, Ready to Die
Radiohead, OK Computer
Britney Spears, Hit Me Baby
Really, really inadequate. I guess you could lump in Ricky Martin’s debut, heck maybe even William Hung’s. But Moby’s Play as generational-defining? Not on your life. Good album, though. Hopefully Arcade Fire’s Funeral will become generational-defining. But I doubt it.
The 90’s are really the only decade I’m qualified to comment on….
Nevermind.
OK Computer.
Weezer’s The Blue Album.
Albums alone are significatnt, but so to are Albums over time – a band or musician in their growth. U2 defined my teens and 20s, and still define my 30s in a way that no other band can. I think I can see their mucisical changes match up to a degree with changes in myself. As Larry Mullins quipped in the “Rattle and Hum” movie – “Its a musical journey.” So I’d say it isn’t just an album as much as it is a series of albums that define many generations because generations are not stagnant in their development and neither are bands. Generations grow and develop. Anoyone who says my generation is the same now as it was when we were 15 or 25 is blind.
I don’t think any albums defined the 1990s as much as OK Computer and Achtung Baby. And, though I’m not a fan, I guess it’s only fair that I mention Nevermind.
As for music released this decade, I think you’d have to list Love and Theft, Kid A, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and perhaps Sea Change.
No modern rock fans?
How about The Strokes – Is This It? or The White Stripes – Elephant?
That last post was for albums that might become defining albums of the new decade (00’s?). Not that they are yet.
I agree with a lot of the picks here. Personally, I have always thought that Nirvana’s “Nevermind” defined my generation, or at least Generation X, but I think we may be forgetting something:
The stuff we don’t like.
I am thinking of albums by people like Britney Spears.
What about her “…One More Time” album? Is there a Britney Spears generation, completely obsessed with consuming fluff? I don’t like to think of this, and it is arguable that Mrs. Spears’ image is the generation-definer and not the albums, but I think her additions to our culture, however terrible, certainly exist.
It’s late, but I’ll try not to be brief…
– Pet Sounds, Beach Boys – how could you not put the album that drove the Beatles to higher artistry?
– Thriller, Michael Jackson
– Rumors, Fleetwood Mac – Gigantic selling, still popular
– IV, Led Zepplin – “Stairway To Heaven” alone has affected guitar players forever
– Nevermind, Nirvana
– What’s Goin On?, Marvin Gaye – brought social awareness to R&B and later Rap/Hip-Hop
– Blue, Joni Mitchell – showed poetic lyrics could still be poppy, just see Counting Crows (a personal “defining” band)
– Play, Moby – Jeff’s right on with this pick
– Hangin’ Tough, New Kids On the Block – my wife Sarah said this jokingly at first, but after a moment’s consideration, we both realized that this late-80s boy band was the precursor for much of pop music in the late 90s up till today
– Joshua Tree, U2
– Jars of Clay, Jars of Clay – This album influenced much of what was to follow in Christian music in the 90s (heck, even I was in not 1 but 2 bands copying their sound)
– Grace, Jeff Buckley – this is my “really out on a limb” choice, but hear me out… that histrionic voice, so high and so clear, can be heard on almost every Brit Rock record in recent years… Radiohead, Coldplay, Travis, Starsailor… the list goes on…
As for my personal choices, here is a quick rundown of what’s not included above:
– Automatic for the People, R.E.M.
– August and Everything After, Counting Crows
– Pink Moon, Nick Drake
– A Few Small Repairs, Shawn Colvin
– Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco (I think it’s too soon to tell if this will join the ranks of the previous list, even though I love it, I love it, I love it)
– Time The Revelator, Gillian Welch
My, my, Jeffrey, your list is mighty “white” (Michael Jackson doesn’t count). I’m no expert on hip-hop/rap — I’m not even much of a fan — but I think Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” should be on the list.
With a very few notable exceptions – thanks lbrodine for including What’s Going On?, which totally eclipsed my memory for Lord knows what reason, and christian for backing me up on Public Enemy with a better, more seminal choice – christian’s right, this listing is almost exclusively Brit/Am whitey white.
So two more inarguably generational-defining albums from the 90’s:
NWA – Straight outta Compton
Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of…
This is arguable, again because of the newness of it, but:
Kanye West – College Dropout.
Play is a terrific album and I admire Moby greatly, but generation defining? I’ll throw a couple into the pot if they haven’t already been mentioned…Radiohead-OK Computer & REM-Automatic For the People
An album I’m hoping will be defining (for the “evangelical church” at least) is Derek Webb-I See Things Upside Down
As for albums from black artists, I have been wracking my brain all morning. In many cases, black artists influenced white artists who then transformed their style into something for the masses. I would have to say Robert Johnson is a great example of this, because Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page would never have thought to play the blues without Johnson defining the style way back when… and Bob Marley would have to be included for the massive impact that reggae has had on American music…
Another album not to be forgotten is Blue Lines from Massive Attack. This early 90s release influenced most trip hop and pop acts that followed.
Speaking of electronic, Kraftwerk would have to be in that list.
But for Derek Webb (who I am a big fan of), if he was to be remembered for an album, I think “She Must and Shall Go Free” was more paradigm shattering than “I See Things Upside Down” when it comes to CCM.
What about the Velvet Underground? I was born way after their initial run, but their albums had an undeniable impact on alternative music for years to come. As Brian Eno famously said, not many people bought their albums, but everyone who did started their own band.
I’ll be seeing it in a few hours. I’m so jazzed…
Just a comment:
A gutsy tomboy mechanic named Kaylee (Jewel Staite) keeps the engines oiled and fueled. Jayne (Adam Baldwin), the wisecracking human equivalent of a pit bill watchdog
Pit bill?
Pit-billed?
Put bull?
But probably not.
(Not sure if this is heading anywhere where an editor might see it, just thought I’d point it out.
I am about three hours from the nearest theatre that’s showing this, and sans car, too. It’ll be at least ten days before I see this, and possibly more, which is a che ho see nai toe wahnai.
Holy Smoke!
Absolutely stunning, and surprising.
I can hardly wait to see it again.
ditto that, mr. grant.
Just a tip for those seeing it and I thought it was a really nice touch…
You need to listen to the news reports in the background.
ok, so i still haven’t seen the series, but i did see the movie (of course, being a buffy fan, i loved the dialogue). and i haven’t read your full review jeffrey. and maybe you address these points of contention in that review, but:
1) Shepherd tells the capt. that he doesn’t care WHAT he believes in, just believe in something. excuse me? the agent (ok, so i done forgot everybody’s name) believes in something, something he can’t even experience – and he knows this – but he’s willing to kill for it. i’m sure you’ve analyzed this, but please, that was some hokum.
2) it IS political. massively political. how can this NOT be about colonialism / imperialism / political control and the right to rebel? there’s definitely other things going on in the movie, for sure, and i would not qualify it as being michael moore-style propaganda, but it’s definitely and unequivocably political and about current political agendas / systems.
that’s my opinion, and i’m sticking to it.
Am I the only one who heard Shepherd’s comment as “it doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you believe in her”? I was sure that was what I heard, and it made a lot of sense in the context.
Even if the Shepherd had said that, he’s a flawed character (with hints of a dark past) just like the rest of them. He’s not Whedon’s mouthpiece and we should be very careful not to draw conclusions about what the filmmaker is saying from this one character, particularly when there’s such a blatant contrast with the Operative.
Jeffrey – in the review you ask whether Whedon is going to explore love as the basis for morality. It seems to me that that has already been a strong theme through much of his work (whether intended or not, it can be seen very clearly in many, many episodes of Buffy, Angel, and Fire Fly) and many of the decisions Mal makes in Serenity seem to be based on love (of his ship, his crew, River, independence).
James, I thought I heard the same thing, which does change the interpretation significantly. Nate and I both mouthed “What’d he say?” to each other after that scene. Yet another reason to head back to the theater!