#17

Thom Yorke
The Eraser
(XL)

I first bought this record during one of the most oppressive heat waves that I’ve ever encountered. The cold synths were perfect then, almost like aural air-conditioning. Fast forward a few months, driving home on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I flipped this on. Full moon, no one on the road but me, gently rolling hills -- it was the perfect sound. I’m easily swayed by circumstance, but every time I seem to flip The Eraser on, it adapts. You could chalk it up to the technologically cold and emotionally barren times we live in. I think its just clear – Yorke’s the one of the best songwriters my generation’s ever seen.

(Bonus: I think they talk about #20 in “Black Swan”. Right?)