Hope Lopez's "Supermarket Staples" for the year 2000:

The Y2K bomb has dropped. It's a typical Seattle day and I have cash in my wallet to buy CDs which I have this bad habit of buying before food. So, I'm musically starved and I'm out to fill my cupboards. Since I live in West Seattle, I walk over to the Junction to Easy Street [note: support local music stores! --ed.] and start to tackle my grocery list of the fresh tunes of 1999. However, I always rely on my staples. These are my eggs, butter and bread (well just the basics):

• Coltrane - All tracks from A Love Supreme.
• Jeff Buckley - "Lover, You Should've Come Over," from Grace.
• Prince - "Adore," from Sign O' The Times.
• Frank Sinatra - "I Got You Under My Skin," from Songs for Swinging Lovers.
• Ray Charles - "One Mint Julep," from Genius + Soul = Jazz.
• Stevie Wonder - "Please Don't Go," from Fullingness First Finale.
• Funkadelic - "Not Just Knee Deep," from Uncle Jam Wants You.
• Ella Fitzgerald - "Lullaby In Birdland," from Ella Fitzgerald: Priceless Jazz Collection.
• Joni Mitchell - "River," from Blue.
• Cocteau Twins - "Pearly Dew Drops," from Pink Opaque.
• Bjork - "It's Oh So Quiet," from Post.

• Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park. The ultimate electronic music recording.
• Devo - New Traditionalists. Beautiful geek-boy Kraftwerkian madness.
• Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings. The entire history of recorded blues came after this.
• The Stooges - The Stooges. It was 1969 and it was supposed to be all about peace and free love. Well Iggy had his own agenda, and it was all about destruction and other well spent intentions.
• Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. Mr. Davis could trumpet his way deep into your cerebral functions and change things for awhile.
• Ice Cube - Amerikkkas Most Wanted. Hip-hop took on a bloody new hue with this, Cube's first post-NWA album.
• Ween - god/ween/satan-the oneness. These two guys are from a different fuckin' planet man.
• Love & Rockets - Love & Rockets. This album took everything I ever loved about Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Love & Rockets and put it all in one delicious package.
• PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love. If you were on heroin and had an exorcism at the same time, this would be the soundtrack.
• Slayer - Reign In Blood. Slayer summed up in 28 minutes what metal could would would be...forever.
• Madonna - Like a Prayer. Madonna summed up what pop could and would be...forever.
• The Cars - The Cars. Power-punk-wave-pop with a geek touch that only The Cars could achieve.
• Kruder & Dorfmiester - Sessions. K&D are the true funk soul brothas.

• Farm Days - Nowhere Ain't Far From Here / Built To Spill - Keep It Like a Secret. Back in my junior year of high school I had a friend by the name of Blake Teuscher. Blake had moved from Boise, Idaho (just 5 hours north of the cultural desolation that is Logan, UT) to live with his grandparents and finish school. The one thing I remember most about Blake is a tape he had of his friend Doug's band, Farm Days, who lived back in Boise. Sounding like a punked up Replacements, the high school garage music of Farm Days--with songs like "PMS" and "Career Bound"--became the soundtrack for my last two years of high school. After graduation I fell out of touch with Blake, and sometime after that my copy of Farm Days was lost. For years afterward I would catch wisps of those songs running through my head and I would find myself longing for the music that had become its own piece of folklore in my life. Two years ago I was back in Logan and staying with another friend when the subject of Farm Days came up. My friend Brad remembered he had a copy of a copy of a copy of the tape stashed somewhere, and once again I found myself in possession of a vital piece of my musical history. The sound quality of the tape is awful, coming across like the sound of two people talking through two tin cans tied together with a piece of string. I'm not even sure if Nowhere Ain't Far From Here really is the title or just something that later was added on to it. And even though none of my current friends can bear to listen to it because of its poor sound quality, this is the single most treasured piece of music I own. It could be nothing but tape hiss and I could still live inside the memories it holds. And so when "the bomb" falls and my body--blasted by the explosion--becomes a shadow silhouetted against the wall of some building, you will find this tape etched there alongside me, clutched firmly in my fist.

It wasn't until well after Built To Spill was established that I made the connection between Doug Martsch and Farm Days. While Doug's music has changed with the years, the power of his writing has not. Perfect pop vignettes, Keep It Like a Secret glows with childhood wonderment.
• Pitchshifter - Infotainment? In their earlier days, Pitchshifter's music came across like a category 5 hurricane. Unrelentingly heavy, their music made Dante's Hell seem like a Sunday picnic. Later releases find them incorporating more drum & bass and breakbeat samples; speeding up their aural assault and trading in the music's leaden-footed heaviness for a merciless punk uppercut. Criminally overlooked, Infotainment? finds the 'Shifter straddling the line between these two musical approaches, incorporating all the best elements of each. With subtle hooks and a venomous lyrical bite, Infotainment? whispers in your ear all your fears and paranoias before its music mercilessly breaks you. Think Room 101 from 1984. A good dose of cynical wit and humor is required.

• Pink Floyd - The Final Cut / Juno - This is the Way It Goes... While some may argue for either the Syd Barrett- or David Gilmour-era Pink Floyd, no one can deny that the band made its biggest impact while Roger Waters was at the helm. And while I'm sure Dark Side of the Moon will be long remembered well beyond 2000 as the band's penultimate album, The Final Cut finds Waters completely in his lyrical element, and is his strongest statement--both lyrically and musically--against the horrors of war. Cut the fat and baggage of The Wall and distill it into its base essence, and this is what you'll have.

  eP's Marky Mark Teppo summed up Juno best during Bumbershoot '99: "...the caustic heartbreak of a man losing an argument with himself." If Dark Side of the Moon were released today, it would be titled This Is the Way It Goes and Goes and Goes, and the band would be called Juno, not Pink Floyd. You're not imagining those voices inside your head. And yes, they are getting louder.

• Hüsker Dü - Land Speed Record / Bob Mould - Bob Mould. 17 songs, 26 minutes, $800 to record. For me, Hüsker Dü's first release was the punk shot heard 'round the world. While Zen Arcade would define them as a band, Land Speed Record was like meeting a lifelong friend the first time. Bob Mould's 1996 self-titled release got heavily slagged for its stark, narcissistic themes. But for me it shines as his best release. Deeply introspective and starkly isolationist, it's the pain of every relationship you've lost and the salve of everything you ever wanted to say to that person, but could never verbalize.

• John Coltrane - A Love Supreme / Peter Gabriel - Passion. If anyone or anything could impart what it would feel like to touch the face of God, it would be these two releases. Words fail to convey the power that they hold.

• Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine. While there are plenty of bands that might be more deserving of this space for their uncompromising political and social statements, Rage Against the Machine were the first such band to gain widespread commercial success. Why is this important? They have not surrendered their ideologies. They understand all too well how much they influence and how much difference they can make as the result of major label exposure. Guitarist Tom Morello put it best: "You have two choices when you're a band with political ideals: You either put your head in the sand and you sell 45s out of the back of a truck and you're very proud of yourself for how pure you are, or you engage the world and you do your best to make strategies to effect real change. [...] A better question might be to all other bands on major labels: Why aren't you doing something with the tremendous amount of exposure you have to effect some sort of change?" Amen!

• John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band / Lou Reed - Magic and Loss. Brutally honest in their dark confessions, these two releases are powerful soul. "What's good? Life's good, but not fair at all."

• Nick Drake - Pink Moon / Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden / Dot Allison - Afterglow. When we're all on the come down after the big Y2K blowout, this is what we'll soothe ourselves to sleep with.

• Dead Kennedys - Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. Simply for the song, "Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round."

• Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime. "All my life, Jesus and tequila / I'm satisfied and I can't deny it."

• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads. 'Cause we'll need someone to tell stories around the campfire.

• The Who - Live at Leeds. No one can touch The Who, period. Quadrophenia was a close second to this, but Live at Leeds captures the band in all its brilliance.

• Sadhappy - Live: Before We Were Dead. While the rest of Seattle (and the world) was fixated on grunge, Evan Schiller (drums), Paul Hinklin (bass) and Skerik (sax) were creating music that could be just as heavy but infinitely more diverse. Powerfully moving and uniquely recognizable, Hinklin's bass playing should be guarded as a national treasure.

Who needs food? In my nap sack under my "bunker bed," there will be a re-chargeable minidisc player and the following ear-chow:

• Floater's Glyph, for starters. Where else can I find all the aggression and caress all wrapped up into one 70-minute LP? The songs cover internal relationships, which won't be very prevalent 15 feet underground and starving. It will help me create relationships with my other dominant personalities. Plus I can carry on those relationships one mouthful at a time within the suffocating, yet satisfying song structures that Floater throw together--not bad for three instruments and a fistful of provoking samples.

• For those times that I want to fall to sleep in less than 10 seconds, Dirt, by Alice in Chains. I've listened to the album at least 1000 times. Not even Layne Staley's opening AAHH!! In "Them Bones" gets my attention anymore. It's all just one big blur of background fuzz now. 12 seconds, tops.

• When I want to feel raw emotion without worrying about bothersome lyrics, Iceburn's dominantly instrumental Poetry of Fire will do the trick. It'll help me in those bland moments of wanting something other than beans for breakfast. Meat, potatoes, and gravy are all supplied on this strange little pizza.

Why am I already hungry? Other flavorful goodies:

• Portishead - Portishead.
• DJ Shadow - Endtroducing.
• Three Fish - Three Fish.
• Jollymon - Stoned Nation Radio.
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here.
• The Melvins - Stag.
• Tool - Undertow.

• Discharge - Never Again.
• Pitch Shifter - Desensitized.
• Sacrilege - Within the Prophecy/Behind the Realms of Madness.
• U.K. Subs - In Action.
• Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate.
• Joy Division - An Evening with...
• Killing Joke - Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!
• Black Flag - The First Four Years.
• Motörhead - Ace of Spades.
• Devo - New Traditionalist.

If I could I would bring box-sets like: Black Sabbath, The Ozzy Years; Joy Division, Heart and Soul; U.K. Subs, Fascist Regime; Motörhead, Ace of Spades; Devo, 3CD Box-set; Waxtrax, Metal Box; Ramones, Anthology. These would also give me stuff to read.

• The Clash - London Calling.
• The Clash - The Clash.
• Fear Factory - Demanufacture.
• The Damned - Best of The Damned.
• S.O.D. - Speak English or Die.
• Godgory - Resurrection.
• Nailbomb - Point Blank.
• The Eat - Scattered Wahoo Action. (Or at least until the third generation tape dies)
• Cathedral - The Ethereal Mirror.

I can't decide on just one more so I guess my next choice would be the other couple thousand discs I own. Or a really good Benny Hill compilation tape.

• Pink Floyd - The Final Cut. Obviously.
• Nefilim - Zoon. To drown out the sound of the bombing runs at 4am.
• Die Warzau - Engine. Brilliant industrial funk that rattles your teeth and shakes your vertebrae.
• David Sylvian - Dead Bees on a Cake. For the melancholia of "I Surrender." The rest is a bonus.
• Tom Waits - Bone Machine. So the machinery doesn't feel lonely.
• Material - Hallucination Engine. So that I don't feel lonely.
• Curve - Radio Sessions. For "Split into Fractions." Though if someone has a decent boot of the Come Clean tour and the live version of "Beyond Reach," we should talk.
• Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions. My first thought was On the Corner. But I know that disc too well. I figure I've got some time in the bunker. Might as well get caught up on the classics that I'm not familiar with. And with the recent re-release and extra tracks, this should keep me away from the hatch for awhile.
• PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love. I was going to build a CD-R of favorites culled from various other discs, but that plan fell apart when I had to choose between "Down By the Water," "Meet ze Monster," and "Long Snake Moan."

And then I went for the recent Bill Chill compilation citing the reason as being the need for a good party disc for when everyone comes over to my bunker and then I thought: You know what? I am going to be selfish. This is my bunker. I'm going to bring that CD-R.

• Kate Bush - "Wake the Witch," from Hounds of Love.
• Laika - "Breather," from Sounds of the Satellites.
• Duran Duran - "Come Undone," from The Wedding Album.
• Ivoux - "Sif," from Frozen.
• U2 - "With or Without You," from The Joshua Tree.
• Cocteau Twins - "Donimo," from Treasure.
• Ministry - "Just One Fix" (12 inch mix).
• Soundgarden - "Fell on Black Days," from Superunknown.
• Peter Gabriel - "Across the River."
• Pig - "No One Gets Out of Her Alive," from Wrecked.
• Shriekback - "Sticky Jazz," from Big Night Music.
• Golden Palominos - "Heaven," from Pure.
• Pigeonhed - "Grace," from Pigeonhed.
• Spyra - "Sferics," from Sferics.

• King Crimson - Discipline. Because it would be cheating to say "anything Crim or Crim-related," as much as I'd like to. Overall, I prefer the "current" lineup ("Blasphemer!" they shout) but this is definitely my fave King Crimson album.

• They Might Be Giants - Flood. For a number of years prior to full-fledged fandom, this was the only TMBG album I owned. While I'd hate to lose the rest of the collection, I can't even imagine not having this album in my life.

• Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. Yeah, I know it may seem like a trite choice, but whenever I'm in the mood for jazz, it's hard to overcome my craving for this in favor of, say, Coltrane or Mingus--sorry.

• Material - Hallucination Engine. New copies of this album bear a hype-filled sticker declaring it something like the "ultimate ambient jazz hip-hop world music" album...believe the hype. It grooves and relaxes, and even offers "Words of Advice" from William S. Burroughs. I could just as well claim to take "almost anything involving Bill Laswell," but this is the best starting point to know why I feel that way.

• Hedningarna - Trä. Another of those excellent Scandinavian bands I love that mix folk and modern--Hedningarna combines multi-talented Swede musicians with amazing Finn female vocals. Of their titles, this is the sentimental choice for me, since it includes "Tina Vieri" and other highlights from the only time I've seen them live--an occasion also marked as my first date with my sweetheart (who I have to assume will also be in the bunker).

• The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me. Okay, so I couldn't even drink legally before the 'Mats were no more--it wasn't my fault. The well-mixed blend of joy, bombast and sorrow (particularly the tender "Skyway") makes this my self-proclaimed "best fuckin' rock-n-roll album ever."

• Mozart - Requiem, K.626. Ever since my high school choir performed parts of Requiem, it has been my favorite classical piece. And yes, I do have 20 other titles to choose from, so this isn't a de facto classical selection.

• Peter Gabriel - Passion. I swore I'd never use the word "sublime" in a review, but I may need to here. World music that is subtle and sensual, with a pacing which turns the album into a story rather than a collection of cuts. Truly magical.

• Bob Mould - Workbook / Sugar - Copper Blue. Once again, I was slow on the uptake. I only listened to Hüsker Dü long after these two albums had completely captivated me, so to me they better encapsulate the soft and hard sides of Bob Mould.

Other albums I'd have a hard time living without: Ginger Baker, Middle Passage; Rush, 2112; Bonnie Raitt, The Bonnie Raitt Collection; Sadhappy, Live: Before We Were Dead; Arrogant Worms, Live Bait; Stevie Ray Vaughan, In Step and Texas Flood; Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick; Pink Floyd, Meddle; Paul Simon, Negotiations and Love Songs, 1971-1986; Boiled in Lead, Orb; Queensryche, Operation: Mindcrime; El Vez, Graciasland; Therapy?, Troublegum.

Ah, the annual exercise in futility. Another top ten list, only this time with a Y2K spin. Yeah, so shit happens, Y2K hits and I'm stuck in a bunker with nothing but a CD player and some discs. Initially I thought about cheating on this assignment by taking advantage of modern technology such as the CD burner. This would allow me to create compilation CDs for all my favorite genres: Rap, R&B, Jazz and '80s using a wider selection of artists. As you can imagine, the decision-making process would be a lot easier if I had 150 choices (10 CDs, 15 tracks each) as opposed to just 10. But hey, I'm okay with controversy so I'll play along. Besides, this list merely represents my opinion today. Ask me again tomorrow--who knows what makes the list.

But first a few words to those left behind this time around. KRS-One, Rakim, and LL Cool J: forgive me, please, for near-rap music blasphemy, but greatness is forever and your words and music will live on within me without a tangible reminder. To the '80s, an influential time in my music life: what can I say except, sorry. To Janet "Ms. Jackson If You're Nasty" and her brother Michael: I leave all my worn out dance shoes to you. To D'Angelo: consider your absence from the list payback for the numerous delays on your sophmore project Voodoo. Finally, to everyone not mentioned but in my present-day collection: relax you have my money, what more do you want?

The order in which my choices are listed means nothing (they are equally important to me):

• Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Amerikkka was put on notice, the revolution had another voice and it spoke for young African Americans, the face of hip-hop music was changed forever, a black CNN.

• Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy. Hallucinogenic, beautiful, a look inside rock music's soul.

• Parliament - Tear the Roof Off (1974-1980). He added more textures and hues of funk to the musical landscape than Ben & Jerry's has flavors! One man, so many timeless classics.

• Prince - The Hits 1&2 and the Hits/The B-Sides. I could have chosen a better sampling of his work to represent him but its not available on disc so this will have to do. The artist is prolific beyond words and too talented for one man.

• The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death. One of the greatest--if not the greatest--street poets of all time.

• The Roots - Things Fall Apart. One of hip-hop's finest musical moments, featuring one or it's most underrated MCs.

• Compilation - After Hours: Miles Away. A near perfect combination of Downtempo, Electronica, and Trip-hop all on one disc.

• Kid Capri - Soundtrack to the Streets. The perfect disc for that bunker party, hip-hop and R&B mixed, and scratched, and blended just like they do it at the real live night spots.

• Mary J. Blige - What's the 411. The only diva I'm feeling consistently, the pioneer of hip-hop soul.

• Seal - Seal. Self-titled, #1 album. The voice, the message, the power. It was a listening experience I will never forget.