The last album you'd like to listen to in your life

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You know you only have one hour to live. Which album would you listen to?

I am not quite sure if I'd take the nostalgic route and go for something I have listened to many times and know note by note like e.g. Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake or a record I still haven't fully grasped, something which still offers new sounds, harmonies, dynamics for me like Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden. Probably the latter, I think.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 12 March 2006 20:15 (twenty years ago)

Beastie Boys 'Check Your Head'.

― Leeroy, Sunday, 12 March 2006 20:16 (twenty years ago)

something really really really long.

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 12 March 2006 20:21 (twenty years ago)

or "your family is dumb" by anal cunt, either way.

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 12 March 2006 20:21 (twenty years ago)

Loveless, probably. I'll go the, I've heard this a shitload of times and I love it and it sums up a lot of what I love about music, route.

― Harrison Barr (Petar), Sunday, 12 March 2006 21:34 (twenty years ago)

Probably the newest remix from Diplo

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Sunday, 12 March 2006 22:02 (twenty years ago)

Since I Left You, probably

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:11 (twenty years ago)

I've always been afraid that the last song you hear in life will be endlessly replayed around you once you get to heaven or hell or nirvana or whatever you believe in. If that's the case, I'd probably pick something by Beethoven.

― NoTimeBeforeTime (Barry Bruner), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:18 (twenty years ago)

the history of our world part one

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:32 (twenty years ago)

alice coltrane "universal conciosuness"

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:34 (twenty years ago)

Trout Mask Replica.

I'd make one last attempt to understand what the fuss was all about.

― Jeff K (jeff k), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:52 (twenty years ago)

Automatic for the People.

Obv.

― Justin, Monday, 13 March 2006 00:55 (twenty years ago)

I don't think I'd want music. Give me a walk outside, if I've only got an hour.

― trees (treesessplode), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:01 (twenty years ago)

That Loop 7" with all the locked grooves.

― Nick Holmes (nother), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

EITHER This Nation's Saving Grace OR Missundaztood OR Leng Tch'e OR a hand-cranked and skippy Infamy OR Caruso OR the music from that black and white Robinson Crusoe that used to be on TV during the school holidays when I was a kid.

― I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:27 (twenty years ago)

Stairway to Heaven, obv.

― cnwb (cnwb), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:40 (twenty years ago)

Giant sand - chore of enchantment

repeat button would be employed for the first time ever ( i never "got" the repeat button, someone forward the memo)

― Major Alfonso (Major Alfonso), Monday, 13 March 2006 02:17 (twenty years ago)

I'd go with my all-time favorite album, Jefferson Starship's Red Octopus. Not only is it utterly near and dear to my heart, its closing track, "There Will Be Love," seems the ideal sentiment to go out on.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 13 March 2006 04:10 (twenty years ago)

Hejira. "Refuge of the Roads" would be a glorious song to go out on: haunting, reflective, highly personal.

― Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Monday, 13 March 2006 04:18 (twenty years ago)

trees OTM

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 13 March 2006 04:52 (twenty years ago)

Elliott smith - From a Basement on the Hill

Goin' out on a sobering moment

― Erock LAzron, Monday, 13 March 2006 06:42 (twenty years ago)

Purple Rain

― ghost dong (Sonny A.), Monday, 13 March 2006 07:03 (twenty years ago)

cnwb OTM. Finally, a good use for Stairway.

― musically (musically), Monday, 13 March 2006 07:07 (twenty years ago)

CHINESE DEMOCRACY BECAUSE THEN I WILL NEVER DIE AHAHAHAHA LOL

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!! (ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!!), Monday, 13 March 2006 08:20 (twenty years ago)

Hejira's a pretty good choice. Otherwise some home-made teenpop CD-R.

― Le Baaderonixx de Clignancourt (baaderonixx), Monday, 13 March 2006 08:56 (twenty years ago)

depends... if I knew it would be the last album, or if it was playing while I was dying, it would be a different choice. If I was unaware, I'd like the last album to be something new and really good that I was excited about.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Monday, 13 March 2006 09:10 (twenty years ago)

hejira seems to be a good choice but in my case it would really be just a futile look back at my past life. immediately before my death i want to look into the future not into the past. chore of enchantment is a better choice. it is a kind of requiem and it is not as familiar to me as hejira. still things to discover, esp. those bits of the donizetti opera which are here and there.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Monday, 13 March 2006 09:13 (twenty years ago)

No one said the Vengaboys greatest hits yet ?

― snowballing (snowballing), Monday, 13 March 2006 09:29 (twenty years ago)

the Vengaboys greatest hits

― youth problem, Monday, 13 March 2006 19:32 (twenty years ago)

i get wet

― pssst - badass revolutionary art! (plsmith), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:33 (twenty years ago)

Dunno, but if I was forced to listen to an entire Coldplay album I'd probably have to kill myself, does that count?

― stu (stu), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:52 (twenty years ago)

I missed that qualifier of 1 hour to live when I first read this. At first, I had one of those "China Democracy" responses--something that I'd never hear, so I'd never die. For me, that would be Zaireeka, b/c nobody I know is gonna go through the trouble of hooking up the requisite boxes to play it properly.

When I saw that regardless, I only had 1 hour, I thought about some favorites like A Love Supreme or In a Silent Way, but fuck it--knowing I was gonna die, that would depress the shit out of me.

So, I'll take the walk, preferably in a warm, sunny clime.

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:09 (twenty years ago)

stu OTM

― winter testing (winter testing), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:36 (twenty years ago)

I'd probably spend the first half hour letting the itunes pick at random--I'm dying, I don't have control of it anyway, let's see if whatever's sucking the life out of me has any explanation or last words to let me wallow in--and eventually realizing that fate has nothing to say to me, itunes is actually not eerily psychic but random-ass in an ordered way because out of tens of thousands of songs it's gone back to the same artist 3 damn times already--probably end up settling for something childhood nostalgic. Which for me is Talking Heads from my father.
I guess Talking Heads is actually not a bad pick to bow out on. Not entirely depressing, poses a few life questions for you to reflect on. "Once in a Lifetime," "Road to Nowhere," etc. Yeah, I think I'll go with a Talking Heads mix.

― mox twelve (Mox twleve), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:36 (twenty years ago)

the history of our world part one
-- ryan kuo (rku...), March 12th, 2006.

I came close to saying this one, really close. I just finished writing a long essay on it so it's very much on my mind.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:40 (twenty years ago)

If forced at gunpoint to listen to a record an hour before I die, I'd probably listen to Abbey Road. It's what ushered me into really loving music, so seems fitting to exit on the same note. plus, it just seems designed for this kind of thing

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:46 (twenty years ago)

Brian Eno's Apollo: Soundtracks and Atmospheres would be a suitable soundtrack for reflection. In fact, I believe I played it a couple of times for my grandmother when she was knocking on heaven's door (along with a lot of dreck from her collection: Lawrence Welk & polka party records), and she seemed to like it.

And of course "An Ending (Ascent)" fits like a glove.

― Darryl Roy, Monday, 13 March 2006 20:50 (twenty years ago)

"Echoes" - Pink Floyd.

― Cameron Octigan (Cameron Octigan), Monday, 13 March 2006 21:37 (twenty years ago)

Possibly XTC's Skylarking, because it has that life-cycle conceit. So at least before dying you'd get two pretty good songs about dying: "Dying," and then "Sacrifical Bonfire."

This is the original edition, because I don't want to have to hear "Dear God" again, especially right before dying. "Mermaid Smiles" would be far better.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 13 March 2006 21:48 (twenty years ago)

Monster Magnet, "Powertrip"

― shookout (shookout), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:00 (twenty years ago)

CYHSY, obvs

― Ernesto Wolfgangbang, Tuesday, 14 March 2006 01:01 (twenty years ago)

Depending on how I was dying;

Joy Division's Closer

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:34 (twenty years ago)

The Cure - Disintegration

As dleone said, "It's what ushered me into really loving music, so seems fitting to exit on the same note. plus, it just seems designed for this kind of thing "

― Le Baaderonixx de Benedict Canyon (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:49 (twenty years ago)

Alexander O'Neal, Hearsay.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 16:08 (twenty years ago)

What's wrong with you people? You have an hour to live. Does music matter to you that much?

I'd spend exactly one second of that time turning off my stereo, then the remaining 59:59 having sex.

(Y'know, I'm sure there's a good idea for a short-attention span version of 24 lurking about in this post)

― D.G. Jones (D.G. Jones), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 15:19 (twenty years ago)

If music were required, I would spend the last hour playing music. LOUDLY, so that WHEREVER I was going, they knew I was on my way.

If music is not required, however, I would spend the last hour with my wife being marital.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 15:36 (twenty years ago)

None of us would be listening to music. We'd all be crying like little babies because we are no longer going to exist.

― QuantumNoise (Justin Farrar), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:42 (twenty years ago)

actually i imagined this as the last wish granted to someone on the death row. it's either music or nothing. one could think of the alternative music or last meal though. sex is out of the question obviously.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 18:12 (twenty years ago)

I would try to complete the circle and listen to something from my year of birth (1970), but also something that I might've actually heard then...say Santana's Abraxas (my dad was a Santana fan, what can I say?) which also features pix of nude ladies on the cover.
http://www.shared-visions.com/music/reviews/abraxas-s.jpg

― p.j. (Henry), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 18:30 (twenty years ago)

I am actually dead already. What would I lissen to when I first was born?
black album by whoever.

― p.j. (Henry), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 18:44 (twenty years ago)

Dare by the Human League.

― Lester Bangs (Myonga Von Bontee), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 19:40 (twenty years ago)

I came close to saying this one, really close. I just finished writing a long essay on it so it's very much on my mind.

where i can find said essay?

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 20:17 (twenty years ago)

Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha

― daavid (daavid), Thursday, 16 March 2006 05:39 (twenty years ago)

The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid would make for a kind of epic ending to a life, and a peaceful one, too.

― Zach S, Thursday, 16 March 2006 09:08 (twenty years ago)

None of us would be listening to music. We'd all be crying like little babies because we are no longer going to exist.

...fellow Buddhists to thread...

Actually, I think Judee Sill's first album might put me into a nice frame of mind as well.

― Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Thursday, 16 March 2006 13:57 (twenty years ago)

The header here may be interpreted in more than one way, remember.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 16 March 2006 14:42 (twenty years ago)

Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha

On a second thought, maybe Sound of Water, and I'd like to die exactly in the middle of "How we used to live".

― daavid (daavid), Thursday, 16 March 2006 19:26 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

i made a case for talk talk's new grass a while ago. it's not exactly about the thread question, more about how music can save your life or something like that.

Talk Talk - New Grass
This is the song I'd play to someone just about to kill himself. No. Maybe that should say that's the song I would play to myself if I was about to leave this world on my own. The beauty of this song transcends the appeal death could have for someone who has lost all hope. It is the warmest, most caressing, most soothing song on Laughing Stock. It's a holy song, the lyrics use Christian terminology: sacrament, Christ, heaven, vow. Mark Hollis is English, if he had been from India he would sing about Vishnu or Krishna, the words and names don't matter. It's all about the music. What reaches our brain via the ears directly without the interference of the ratio. Call it truth, love or anything. I think I would call it trust.

― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 27 January 2014 23:05 (twelve years ago)

RIP

― just (Matt P), Monday, 27 January 2014 23:17 (twelve years ago)

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