Kristen Genna's List
(ed. note Boyd) My friendship with Kristen Genna is one of those happy accidents that befalls you once in a great while. I was out browsing the stacks at Lou's Records on day when I overheard a bit of conversation between two employees. One woman was listening to the other as she described wanting a change in her current situation or the need for a new direction in school. Being rather obnoxious I butted into their talk and said, "If you're looking for a way to spend a few years and turn your head around, I'd suggest the Peace Corps." Well that bit of unasked for advice turned into a long conversation about Africa and school and music and life in general and over some time turned into a friendship I think very highly of. Kristen is smart, funny and talented person whose taste in music is second to none. She listens deeply to the things she listens to and I've noticed over time that her tastes tend toward the dark and beautiful or perhaps darkly beautiful. This aesthetic extends to her AMAZING photography. Although she is skilled at capturing people (in particular kids and babies) what I really admire are her more experimental shots. These tend to be high contrast black and white images of seaweed and various detritus washed up on the shore. She captures them in high and clear relief and in doing so renders them ambiguous, lovely and disturbing (as I said before darkly beautiful). Through these past few years I have found her and her fiance John to be kindhearted, adventurous and down-to-Earth people who I am proud to count as friends. With all of that being said, here is her list!

I'm sure I'm missing plenty of other favorites but these 29 stand out to me. I will probably be laying in bed tonight trying to get to sleep and a bunch of other titles will enter my mind.

Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly
Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
Cat Power - You are Free
Legendary Pink Dots - Poppy Variations
Liars - Drum's not Dead
Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Current 93 - Sleep Has His House
Acid Mother's Temple - Do Whatever You Want, Don't Do Whatever You Don't Want

Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part
Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Flaming Lips - Yoshima Battles the Pink Robots
Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse
Spiritualized - Amazing Grace
Holly Golightly - Singles Round-Up
Master Musician's of Bukkake - Totem One
Sleater Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
Tom Waits - Orphans
Pj Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Mars Volta - Amputechture
Angels of Light - We are Him
Antony & the Johnsons - I am a Bird Now
Can - Delay 1968
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
Earthless - Sonic Prayer
Broken Flowers Soundtrack