#14. At Home With Owen - Owen (2006)
Fact about the album
The Pietro Crespi referenced in the title of track 2 is a character from the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Why it makes the list
Mike Kinsella -- aka Owen -- recorded (and perhaps still records) his music in the basement of his mother’s house. To say he has been an inspiration for me would be a gross understatement.
Though some of the songs on this album have enough overdubbing to rival Paul Simon’s finest, they all revolve around a simple guitar riff and honest lyrics. In the opening track, Owen tells a friend of his, “You’re a has been that never was”. In track two he asks his fiancé (now wife) “Could you love someone who does whatever he wants to do, whenever I want to? I’m only asking ‘cos I don’t wanna die alone.” In track 5 he lets his fiancé/wife in on a few home truths - “When I put my arms around you, I mean it. When I’m too drunk to stay up with you, I mean it. When I slam doors ‘cos I’m pissed at you, I mean it. And when I put on a suit and say ‘I do’, I mean it.”
As a singer-songwriter Owen is quite unique, in that his songs don’t sound like the product of one man’s imagination. That they don’t is a testament to Kinsella’s musical prowess, capable as he is on multiple instruments. But at the heart of it all is a man, a guitar, and a few stories to tell about friendship and love.
Memories it evokes
I saw Owen play live, and after ‘A Bird In Hand’ he successfully managed to make a funny joke about beating his wife. His wife was at the gig too. Ah, happy memories.
Favourite tracks
Bad News, A Bird in Hand, One of These Days
#13. O - Damien Rice (2002)
Fact about the album
Songs from O have featured on 679,453 episodes of television shows all across the world.
Why it makes the list
You know you’ve got a good album on your hands when you’re favourite track from it keeps changing. About seven tracks from O have been my favourite at one time or another.
As per usual, it was one particular song that reeled me in - 'The Blower’s Daughter'. My cousin was listening to it on our computer, and as he was doing so I took up my guitar and attempted to play along with it. The open chords I was hearing were -- quite literally -- music to my ears, and perhaps for the first time in my life I embraced a singer-songwriter. Big moment, that.
The album went on to get a lot of air time on my gigantic mp3 player. Though some songs have lost their initial appeal -- e.g. 'Amie' -- others have emerged as classics, none more so than 'Older Chests'.
I’ve owned Rice’s second album since it first came out. Two weeks ago I couldn’t have told you its name. O may be the only Damien Rice album I’ll ever listen to, but I for one am okay with that. Say what you like about the man who was once a farmer in France, this is a great record and I’ll stand by it, no matter how pretentious the album art may be.
Memories it evokes
It’s all about ‘The Blower’s Daughter’, really. I played this song at a talent show with two other people (one singing, the other on violin), and it sounded surprisingly good. When we got to the final “I can’t take my eyes off of you”’s, someone in the crowd rang the singer’s (then) fiancé and he started crooning the words into the phone. Tremendously cheesy, but it was done with tongue firmly in cheek, which is said singer’s wonderful disposition to almost everything in life. A classic moment.
Favourite tracks
The Blower’s Daughter, Older Chests, I Remember
Fact about the album
The Pietro Crespi referenced in the title of track 2 is a character from the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Why it makes the list
Mike Kinsella -- aka Owen -- recorded (and perhaps still records) his music in the basement of his mother’s house. To say he has been an inspiration for me would be a gross understatement.
Though some of the songs on this album have enough overdubbing to rival Paul Simon’s finest, they all revolve around a simple guitar riff and honest lyrics. In the opening track, Owen tells a friend of his, “You’re a has been that never was”. In track two he asks his fiancé (now wife) “Could you love someone who does whatever he wants to do, whenever I want to? I’m only asking ‘cos I don’t wanna die alone.” In track 5 he lets his fiancé/wife in on a few home truths - “When I put my arms around you, I mean it. When I’m too drunk to stay up with you, I mean it. When I slam doors ‘cos I’m pissed at you, I mean it. And when I put on a suit and say ‘I do’, I mean it.”
As a singer-songwriter Owen is quite unique, in that his songs don’t sound like the product of one man’s imagination. That they don’t is a testament to Kinsella’s musical prowess, capable as he is on multiple instruments. But at the heart of it all is a man, a guitar, and a few stories to tell about friendship and love.
Memories it evokes
I saw Owen play live, and after ‘A Bird In Hand’ he successfully managed to make a funny joke about beating his wife. His wife was at the gig too. Ah, happy memories.
Favourite tracks
Bad News, A Bird in Hand, One of These Days
#13. O - Damien Rice (2002)
Fact about the album
Songs from O have featured on 679,453 episodes of television shows all across the world.
Why it makes the list
You know you’ve got a good album on your hands when you’re favourite track from it keeps changing. About seven tracks from O have been my favourite at one time or another.
As per usual, it was one particular song that reeled me in - 'The Blower’s Daughter'. My cousin was listening to it on our computer, and as he was doing so I took up my guitar and attempted to play along with it. The open chords I was hearing were -- quite literally -- music to my ears, and perhaps for the first time in my life I embraced a singer-songwriter. Big moment, that.
The album went on to get a lot of air time on my gigantic mp3 player. Though some songs have lost their initial appeal -- e.g. 'Amie' -- others have emerged as classics, none more so than 'Older Chests'.
I’ve owned Rice’s second album since it first came out. Two weeks ago I couldn’t have told you its name. O may be the only Damien Rice album I’ll ever listen to, but I for one am okay with that. Say what you like about the man who was once a farmer in France, this is a great record and I’ll stand by it, no matter how pretentious the album art may be.
Memories it evokes
It’s all about ‘The Blower’s Daughter’, really. I played this song at a talent show with two other people (one singing, the other on violin), and it sounded surprisingly good. When we got to the final “I can’t take my eyes off of you”’s, someone in the crowd rang the singer’s (then) fiancé and he started crooning the words into the phone. Tremendously cheesy, but it was done with tongue firmly in cheek, which is said singer’s wonderful disposition to almost everything in life. A classic moment.
Favourite tracks
The Blower’s Daughter, Older Chests, I Remember
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