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Please tell us: How has music impacted you?

I’ll admit it. I’m a real sucker for Instagram. As soon as I start scrolling through artsy photos and funny videos, it’s hard to stop. First, I’m checking out supermodel Ashley Graham and her new baby, next I’m watching two guys build a primitive swimming pool out of mud and palm trees. Before I know it, a whole hour has gone by.

Recently, I noticed one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem, posting pictures of ten albums he loves — one per day for ten days. I’m a real narcissistic dude (duh, I’m a journalist), who likes posting stuff for those little Instagram hearts. So I decided to do the same. However, I also went back and listened to each one of the albums I posted.

The album that kicked off my 10 days of great music was “From Here to Eternity.” It’s a collection of live performances from the only band that matters. You know I’m talking about the Clash. This one might be cheating since it’s not really an album. It wasn’t even recorded at one show, and it was released in 1999, long after the Clash broke up in the ’80s.

The album features amazing versions of Clash classic’s such as “Career Opportunities,” “Armagideon Time” and my personal favorite, “(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais.”

To tell you the truth, I can’t sing along to most Clash songs. Joe Strummer has an intriguing, but at times, incomprehensible voice, and many of the songs relate to economic and militant struggles I’ve never experienced. I didn’t come from the hard upbringing most people who claim to be punks did. My parents never got divorced. I wasn’t bullied in school. I never abused drugs. Money was fine. But, even if I’m not from that world, the Clash is still the first band I fell in love with.

Why? Well, my dad liked them. That’s really all it was.

Another album that appeared on my list was Bon Iver’s “22, A Million.” My two best friends and I used to pick up a case of beer, put this cassette on (yeah, the album came out in 2016, but I bought it on tape) and then we’d record ourselves singing the songs. We’d try to hit Justin Vernon’s falsettos and recreate the autotune effects on “33 CREEKS.” They never came out well, but that didn’t matter. Those are moments in my life that are just irreplaceable.

Enough about me, though. I want you, Weekender readers.

I want to hear what you have to say. What is your favorite album? How has an album impacted you? Did an album get you through a rough break up? Did an album help you reconnect with an estranged sibling? TELL ME!!!

And I don’t mean write a quick comment on Facebook. If you’re interested in talking about an album, what it means to you and how it impacted your life, write 200 words and email it to gkelly@adirondackdailyenterprise.com, and we’ll print the best ones in the Weekender.

I look forward to hearing what music means to you.

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