5 for 20: Rich Aucoin

When you’re an influential musician, people tend to ask you what you’ve been listening to lately. Here at 5 for 20, we’re just as keen to find out what records loom large in our favourite artists’ memory banks. So, we’re asking folks for their top five records of the last 20 years.

This week we hear from indie-electro-rock mastermind Rich Aucoin, who was supposed to play a hometown show in Halifax this weekend but is stuck on tour in England without a flight back that makes sense. He does have a show scheduled for Liverpool, N.S., on Nov. 11, though, and fans can expect him to pull out all the stops with songs from his latest LP, We’re All Dying to Live.

When asked to go 5 for 20, Aucoin went all out, doing research and reading lists by past participants (all of whom are listed below) before constructing his own. Such conscientious commitment is no surprise from the ambitious sonic explorer, but it’s nothing to take for granted either. Aucoin takes things seriously and, as his fans can attest, his passion is appreciated.

“Like Bry, I am totally overwhelmed by this sort of question and like Damian, I can't really answer for the greatest albums of the past 20 years but I can answer what were some of the early formative records for me and focus my five (I almost did 20) from around my early discovery days of the album medium,” he explains. “And like Alex, because we're roughly the same age, I was tempted to put OK Computer and The Soft Bulletin on my list too, but since I figure they're already covered, I'll swap 'em out for some other faves.”

Kid A by Radiohead (2000)

“I was gonna pick OK Computer because that's probably my favourite Radiohead record and was just a record at the right time and place for me when I first was getting into sitting down with a pair of headphones and my stereo and listening to records in their entirety but, since Alex already wrote about it, I thought I'd write about Kid A. Since OK Computer and the other records I'm going to mention were new releases just as I was discovering the album, I had no anticipation for any of them but simply stumbled upon their greatness, but, with Kid A, I and a huge number of other people were anticipating it like crazy as the followup.

“It was the last time that I ever remembered an album release being like the opening of a big movie like Harry Potter or Star Wars with a blockbuster-type lineup outside the record store (which would specially open at midnight to legally sell the record day-of as soon as possible). Those days are over now with albums leaking and/or people just purchasing the records online (no more lineups!), but it was super exciting to see in its glory at least once when a record's release had the excitement around it of a big event. Anyway, I remember getting it and rushing home to devour its contents. It still is one of the most innovative major pop records ever made — their Sgt. Pepper's.

“I love how Radiohead totally fit the Beatles’ accessibility arc, starting off with pop hits and then, with their immense popularity dominating the pop world, they led their audience like a pied piper into more expansive, less accessible music. Kid A was the first leap into this new world (where OK Computer was the link between it and their pop success). I remember seeing them on SNL at its release playing ‘National Anthem’ and how exciting and progressive it sounded.”

Odelay by Beck (1996)

“I think I saw Beck on SNL first and that's how I heard about him. ‘Where it's At’ was immediately infectious and I bought this record on my first run of album buying from a record shop in Calgary while visiting my sister. This became one of the first records (along with Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's and Navy Blues) that I learnt every lyric of. The production on this record is great, combining an alt-folk rocker with hip-hop inspired production of the Dust Brothers. Lots of interesting sounds throughout the record to keep your ears guessing on their origins, too.

“I especially liked the contrast and eclectic nature of the record, too, that you could have an opening song like ‘Devil's Haircut’ and end with ‘Ramshackle;’ a perfect low-fi campfire guitar song. ‘The New Pollution’ was probably the most exciting track for me though, and I love how you can see that vein of his pop writing further developed on Midnite Vultures. I always really liked that he credited the guy who screams at the beginning of ‘Lord Only Knows,’ too.”

Moon Safari by Air (1998)

“I've been calling this record my favourite record interchangeably with Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon since I first got it on CD in 1998 and have practically worn it out on most players such that it won't play past track four. I got it on vinyl too around that time (and have kept that in better condition). This was my headphone soundtrack to high school. So many amazing sounds and a record that could make any young budding musician into a gear-head, since the sounds they were falling in love with are so rare and coveted.

“I later discovered Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier as Air's influences and really love their records, too. Napster and downloading had just started too at this point and I remember a great program called Soulseek which let me, in Halifax, get access to all kinds of bootleg recordings from their live concerts; I think I have like six versions of ‘La Femme D'argent,’ including one really punky one from Berlin.”

Entroducing... by DJ Shadow (1996)

“I think my brother told me about this and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. I listened to this so much during road trips that practically every time I listen to it now I picture a sprawling countryside and its visual accompaniment. I think this really opened my musical brain to wanting a plethora of sounds to be constantly forming during a song.

"I started sampling and editing sounds by the end of high school too, and this record definitely showed me what hyper-sampling can achieve. It's been said that this record is the first completely sample-based record, and that it's created a new genre of music. In addition to being the first, it's great that it's so great to be the benchmark for the Girl Talks and Kids & Explosions of today.”

Discovery by Daft Punk (2001)

“I picked Discovery over Homework because, again, Homework was already around when I started getting records and Discovery, along with Kid A, was one of my first anticipations. I remember when I got it too, it was such a futuristic record to get, too, in its packaging, which included that short-lived CD-ROM CDs where you could put it in your computer and have access to all kinds of interesting extras, not to mention that the early run (which I bought) came with a plastic membership card to the Daft Club, which gave you a code to access fan-only Daft Punk remixes online.

“The record itself really expanded Daft Punk's sampling repertoire and the record was produced with a more FM sound, giving Daft Punk perhaps their biggest hit with ‘One More Time.’ There's a great record called Daft Funk: A Collection of Daft Punk Samples, which is really great for shedding light on how their type of music is made as you can hear what they started with before chopping and production. There's also a great how-to video on YouTube about how they made ‘One More Time’ too, showing the chopping process, which is really interesting.

“It's interesting, too, that the record got a bunch of bad/mediocre reviews upon release but has since been listed on so many ‘best records’ lists, not to mention its revival because of the Kanye West collaboration. I really loved the film version of the record too, which I've watched several times, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5olar 5ystem. I wish more records had an accompanying anime film! Lastly, I remember when first listening to this record at my friend Mark's place he said that, because everything is said the opposite in French than in English, the title is meant to have the alternate meaning of Very Disco as well.”

Note: Flaming Lips aren't on this list because, again, Alex already covered them!

See Rich Aucoin live in Liverpool, N.S., on Nov. 11.