My dad bought a CD player sometime in the '80s (when they were relatively new and a lot larger) and put it at the highest possible point in the living room so that my brother and I wouldn't destroy it. One day when my parents were out of the house, I ventured to the heights of the living room and used it. I even used headphones for fear that neighbors would hear the music, know I was using the CD player, and tell my parents. The CD I put in was Zeppelin's first album. John Bonham is a god.

These songs are what I was listening to at different periods of my life: Lemonheads in high school; Pearl Jam, Frank Black, and Afghan Whigs in college and beyond; AC/DC, The Stones, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, and Sabbath right after college and the classic soul of Otis Redding after that. The one original song I listed from my band Bona Roba, titled "Cunningham Park", is a blend of all these influences.