Just about everybody has a desert island album, but can all of us name one album that changed our lives? Rock writer Eric Spitznagel says it’s so and set out to ask the question to a plethora of musicians. Most of the players he spoke with are post-1978 (Don McLean and Donny Osmond are among the exceptions) and most gave answers that are a bit more complicated than the question. Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White responded that “The Album” is really “A stack of 45s” and Mitski Miyawaki went for two, Bjork’s Vespertine and M.I.A.’s Arular. But while most of the musicians complied as requested, the stories they told involve hearing mixtapes or listening to the radio or thumbing through dad’s record collection. Perry Farrell was inspirational in naming Concert for Bangladesh for raising awareness that rock musicians could work together for something larger than a hit record.
