Long time radio personnel Chris Cantore spent years working full time in traditional media. If there is anyone to entrust with a good music taste it would surely be a radio host. Cantore’s top five albums reflect his upbringing after being born during the 70s. From spinning his father’s records to curating his own taste during the 80s and 90s, his favorites tell the story of his growing love for music.
The Beatles – Abbey Road
A favorite Beatles album? “(I’m) probably gonna go with Abbey Road. Just that record. From “Come Together” to “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” to “Oh! Darling” – yeah, Abbey Road. My dad was a humongous Beatles and Doors fan, and when I was growing up, my parents were hippies. And in theory I was in the womb during Woodstock. My parents were there and were full on hippies from the east coast. So, I grew up on music, I wasn’t allowed to watch real TV, like how kids would park themselves watching cartoons. I didn’t have that liberty. I wasn’t allowed to watch them. So, I entertained myself with my dad’s record collection.” From a very young age, Cantore would turn to the Beatles as a form of therapy, “I would wake up before my parents, filled with all this stuff, and the way I would get it out was by putting on a record and rocking in our rocking chair in the living room for hours while my parents slept. I remember I loved the Beatles. All of my dad’s Beatles records I loved the most, and Abbey Road was always my favorite. That record takes me in so many different places.”
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I
“Led Zeppelin I was the first cassette that I got introduced to that was ***ing rock outside of the Beatles.” “Just hearing “Good Times, Bad Times” – I was like, what the **** is this? I’d never heard anything like it. That was kind of the same experience I had when I discovered music on my own. Basically, The Beatles and Zeppelin were hand me downs where Pink Floyd was my own discovery.”
Pink Floyd – The Wall
To Cantore, owning and listening to The Wall defined his discovery of music as he grew older. “I remember getting that record. That was the first cassette I ever purchased, it was Pink Floyd’s The Wall. It was a double cassette and I wore that thing down to fucking death. It was the first time I discovered a band on my own and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The Wall traversed music in both the scene and in Cantore’s headphones, “All the sound effects and crazy shit that was happening on that record, front to back, just was absolutely insane. I know every word on The Wall, and every chord. The needle could drop anywhere, and I could jump right in and know it. I fucking adored The Wall.” From The Wall, Cantore began his pathway into prog rock and alternative music listening to bands like Rush, Genesis, and Yes.
Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction
Cantore’s experience in the 80s began by pushing past his prog phase, following new wave and popular music at the time. Bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure, while iconic to him, only held his music taste until Guns N’ Roses hit the scene. “That’s when I pivoted to new wave. From new wave was when Appetite came out, by G&R, when I was in high school. That record ****ed my shit up. That was like ‘holy shit’. Before I moved to San Diego, I was in LA. So I was in LA when G&R was blowing up. But G&R Appetite– when that record came out it was like ‘holy ****. That why I always cite that one, they just changed the whole scene, and it was awesome, it was so cool, they were so ****ing cool. They were dangerous, just this dangerous rock band.”
Radiohead – OK Computer
OK Computer was the first to come to mind in Cantore’s top five list, “I’d probably start with Radiohead, OK Computer. Even though there were other records that resonate with me and for different reasons, if I were to think about just that one record, especially since I work and handle a lot of vinyl front to back, definitely OK Computer would be at the top.” Cantore’s appreciation for alternative music is represented with Radiohead. He attributes their popularity to Jane’s Addiction, a band which he considers set the stage for Radiohead’s mainstream success. “If I could have six, it would definitely be Jane’s Addiction, Nothing’s Shocking, and that paved the way to Radiohead. I believe that Jane’s more than Nirvana were that seminal alternative band that changed everything. “Jane’s Addiction had already started bridging the gap between Guns & Roses and alt as we know it. Alt got legs and then the world blessed us with Radiohead, the greatest band since The Beatles. There are tons of people that would disagree with me but in my world, that’s a definitive statement. No question about it.”
Epilogue
With his top five in his headphones, Chris is working on a return to radio, launching his own radio show called Two Turntables and a Microphone. He describes it as, “kicking it old school with modern tech.” The show will feature Cantore and a friend spinning vinyl and telling stories. Alongside his new debut, Cantore is currently a lecturer at San Diego State University and runs his own business, Yew Media. He’s a busy man who keeps himself occupied with creating content and sharing his experience while staying close to music.
