Lotus blossom, Glisten

Floating serenely
Lotus blossom glistening
On silent waters

Yeezus by Kanye West

I tried, I really did. This sounded interesting on paper - experimental electronica with input from Daft Punk should be just my thing and releasing it on an unlabelled cd with a clear case is a nice touch. However it was less than a minute before the first “bitch” and “hoe” which was an immediate nope from me.

Fuck that guy.

Cook Out, Deer

To cook a whole deer
We are going to need a
Bigger barbecue

Natty Dread by Bob Marley & The Wailers

The 70s in the UK were a pretty rubbish time on the whole but at least we had Top of the Pops with a huge variety of different music beamed into our living rooms once a week. We had glam, disco, country, punk, and countless one hit novelty wonders, but something that always stood out for me was reggae. There was no way that a geeky, middle-class white kid from the home counties would otherwise have connected with the music of Bob Marley and his songs of growing up in poverty in Trenchtown.

I might not have understood some of the lyrics, but I always got the sentiment and those heavy dub beats are a universal language that speaks to us all. This was a transitional album, with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer having left the band and the I–Threes (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths) now providing backing vocals to lively up the sound.

This is a gorgeous, timeless album and as good an introduction to reggae as you are likely to find.

Overcast Sky, Huddle

Dark clouds lowering
We huddle close together
Soft summer shower

Tonight's the Night by Neil Young

A constant theme on this list is the easy availability and ruinous effect of drugs (particularly heroin) on people involved in the music biz. Neil Young saw two friends die from overdoses in a short space of time - roadie Bruce Berry and guitarist Danny Whitten, the latter’s death happening on the night that Young had dropped him from his band Crazy Horse, compounding the grief and guilt.

As a result, this album is a raw howl of despair, with many rough edges but undeniable emotion. The opening and closing title tracks are a direct tribute to Bruce Berry, but other songs also directly reference drugs, especially “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown” which makes scoring drugs sound as easy and routine as going to the supermarket for your weekly shop.

Young himself wasn’t immune from temptation, although his drug of choice was booze, with the track “Borrowed Tune” being improvised around the music from “Lady Jane” by the Rolling Stones with the lyrics being a reflection on someone struggling and knowing that they’ve hit rock bottom. It wasn’t a huge surprise that even though the album was recorded in 1973 the record company sat on it until 1975, hoping for something a little more commercial.

Don’t do drugs, kids.

Lush pasture, Bare tree

Down by the river
Where the lush pasture grows sweet
Bare tree bears witness