If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of singer/songwriter Jon Macey, whose latest release, Intention, is out now. Visit Jon’s site for samples of his music — after reading his Desert Island picks, of course.
Here I am, sitting on a desert island, with MacBook, wireless router, and turntable (relics from a different desert island list), sending an email to POPDOSE. I have opted not to name the obvious pantheon of Dylan, Beatles, Miles,Velvets. Here are five of my all time favorite albums:
Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes, The Ronettes. I am a true lover of unabashed 60s/70s pop. I could have easily picked The Archies, Monkees or ABBA but, in my opinion, it largely emanates from the New York City songwriting teams and Mr. Phil Spector. This record has great tunes, singing, production (and drumming!). I know Phil had a few issues, but who wouldn’t smile listening to this music?
The Modern Lovers, The Modern Lovers. The greatest band ever to come from my home town. I knew these guys well and saw them perform many times. This album is actually a collection of demos (lo-fi out of necessity; not lo-fi as hip) but it stands out as the missing link between the late 60s (think VU) and late 70s (punk rock).
Here Come The Warm Jets, Brian Eno. (This should be coupled with his second album, Taking Tiger Mountain.) If you have never heard this, you MUST find it now. The music is shockingly ahead of its time and absolutely prescient as to the post-punk future.
Warren Zevon, Warren Zevon. Overshadowed somewhat at the time by his cohorts in the SoCal scene, Zevon looms larger as time passes. His singing of the line “I drank up all the money with these phonies in this Hollywood bar” is worth the entire careers of other singer-songwriters.
The Complete Hank Williams. Ok, I’m glibly cheating here as a way to get 15 discs out of 5, but this is the dawn of creation for the transition from ‘show biz’ song and dance men to the modern iconic music stars. Hank set the stage for the singer-songwriters in all genres to follow. This has it all.
Some pretty inspired picks, no? Now see what all those influences added up to: the video for “Trapped By My Own Creation,” from Jon’s latest album.
