Ben Lee wished 2005 a good morning with his beautiful and transforming album, Awake Is the New Sleep. This collection of songs may be the most personal of his career, yet is not without the classic wit and humor that Ben fans love. We caught up with Ben on his March 2005 tour and he sent us this list of albums he thinks you should hear.
Find more artists' recommendations on our main Music You Should Hear page: http://www.amazon.com/mysh
Ben Lee's List of Music You Should Hear
Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe, Pavement This album was so far ahead of my head at 14 years old it made me time travel. Deeply sweetly disturbing chronicles of every young man far too smart for his own good.
Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan Dylan has kept me company very often. That makes him a good friend in my book. 'Blood on the Tracks' is his most comforting gesture of compassion.
The Harder They Come, Jimmy Cliff I know every note of this record. It's better than the best self-help book and makes me feel like I can do anything. I want to affect people the way this record affects me.
Door of Faith, Krishna Das An entry-point into the invisible world. No one has made chanting more accessible to the Western world. Beautiful.
Call Me, Al Green Sex and religion feel like the same thing to me most of the time. Al Green makes me feel OK about that.
Marvin the Album, Frente This is a great Australian album. Angie Hart is such a unique voice with so much to say. Earthy. Don't let her childlike charm distract you--she's a magician.
Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House, Crowded House Could also be called 'How to Write Pop Songs for Dummies'. The A-Z of our work and why we do it. Also you will never hear a man sing about a woman with as much reverence as you hear in Neil Finn's tunes.
Time (The Revelator), Gillian Welch People who have lived a lot like this record. I told Steve Earle that this record sounds for real to me. He agreed but also told me that Gillian Welch went to the Berklee School of Music. I don't care about that stuff. This record is for real.
Last Beautiful Day, New Buffalo My friend Sally (New Buffalo) is a Melbourne songwriter who is a romantic visionary determined to Pro-Tools her way to paradise. I cry when I hear this.
Pony Up!, Pony Up! This came out on my label, Ten Fingers Records, but I think Pony Up! are true punk-princess geniuses. Sometimes bands aren't just good, but also important... if I had a daughter I'd give this to her.
Soviet Kitsch, Regina Spektor I got that tingly feeling all over my body when I saw the video for "Us" from this album. It makes me swoon. Regina sounds like an original. I hope I get to meet her one day. I'm sure she'll destroy me with her wit. At least, I hope so.
Zykos, Zykos This Austin band are gonna be the business once they are all grown up. But for now, watch them practice world domination with their sweeping melodramatic rock. "Understanding Fire" makes me wanna play electric guitar and get very sweaty.
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