A Few of My Favorite Things

Three Albums That I Could Sit in My Room and Consider Suicide To

by Mark Phinney

Leonard Cohen The Best of Leonard Cohen (Columbia) – I don’t know how many times I have sat, staring out my window on a rainy morning, wondering if Leonard Cohen was talking to me, but then I realized it was my mother yelling at me to turn it down. But I can’t. He is the most thought-provoking man, a high priest of commentary. Every song, every melody, brings a tear to the eye. When I listen to the ghosts on this CD, I feel that NY wind at my back, because it is.

The Smiths The Queen is Dead (Sire) – I know, I know… typical, well yes, but I fuckin’ adore this album. In my small-minded opinion, this is one of the most intriguing albums ever written or produced. Ever. When you’re 16, and without a soul in the world to talk to, this album is your best friend. Morrissey is a confused boy’s best friend, and I think he likes it that way. I know I did.

Tom Waits Small Change (Asylum) – Tom can do it to you. He pours that whiskey down your throat. He’ll have you behind the wheel of a Caddie, driving drunk in New Orleans, not that this ever happened, but I think about it. On this Tom offering, the Reverend takes me out on the town with him, his town, Tom Town, to fall into a drunken stupor and tell the local “girls” all my troubles. I sway around the room to “Tom Traubert’s Blues,” and then, at 3 a.m., fall flat on my face. Thanks, Tom.