Top Ten Earth Day Albums

"Earth Day" as a term and yearly event is so pre-loaded with connotations, many of them patently untrue or unfair, that going about making a "Top Ten" list for Earth Daily albums is, perhaps, matched only by "saving the environment" for its breadth of potential choices.



There are literally tens of thousands of albums that could be said to relate to the Earth. In fact, to my knowledge, no album has actually been recorded in Outer Space, with the arguable exception of Ziggy Stardust/David Bowies high concept album Space Oddity, which is Earth Day-ish is in its own right for its of change and improvement. Really, every album ever recorded could be featured on this list.

But, lacking the rings of the other Planeteers to summon the powers of the blue-skinned, be-mulleted Captain Planet to make a thin argument for Earth Day long-list inclusion, I will go ahead and narrow it down ten albums whose messages coincide with the Day's purposes, prompt a cultivated appreciation of the Earth and its conservation/restoration or just simply struck me as somehow relevant.

I've done us all the favor of skipping the Band-Aid and Earth Day compilations, which are either a.) too obvious or b.) too ephemeral to bother with. Also not included in this list: albums from bands like, say, U2, who have enough champions and music typists already.

Without further ado:

10 . High Places - High Places

With only two members, High Places are environmentally-progressive in the most literal sense, greatly reducing the carbon footprint that most touring musical acts exact upon the environment. Add that to the lyrics of their first full-length album High Places,, which have one of the most refreshingly natural and environment-based vernaculars in modern pop music, and you just might have the poster band for Earth Day itself. From the album's first track, "The Storm," which could easily be the Earth Day anthem with lyrics like "The storm carved a ditch/which we filled with seeds and earth/and a tree grew/to spread its branches," to the album's last track "From Stardust to Sentience," which expresses the salient, Earth Day-related notion of long-term perspective and planning, High Places moves from the small, immediate acts and locations like a newly-planted tree to the Earth itself and beyond. What more could you want from Earth Day?

Check back tomorrow for more of the best Earth Day albums (like 7-9) and see if you have any lying around so you can brush them off and listen again. Because, although Earth Day is a good reminder, being green can happen every day, especially if you're in the mood for something from Frog Eyes or Forever Changes.

If you can't wait until tomorrow for your music fix, check out our movie and music review sites. Then get in on all the green action with our best green electronics and services site. Use Earth Day as a chance to really make some changes in your life that will help the whole world. Then, read these other blog posts:

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