5 Albums for Sleep

January 24th, 2010 • 3 comments Commentary, Op-Ed
Tags: ( ), Bon Iver, Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana, For Emma Forever Ago, insomnia, Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala, pet sounds, S.E. Rogie, Sigur Ros, Sleep, the beach boys

A friend of mine once said, “are you planning on sleeping tonight? Because when you do, have a nice sleep.” For many, however, it is not that simple. It has been estimated that about one in every eight Americans suffer from insomnia, and, while this statistic may alarm you, it perhaps does not have to be this way. My secret to getting a good night’s sleep is almost always throwing an album on to lull me into my REM cycle. While there are a number of albums that really do the trick, I am going to leave you, insomniacs of the world with five of my personal favorites presented in alphabetical order by the band’s name.

The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

Certainly among the best albums recorded ever, its a drifty arhythmic masterpiece of sweeping multipart vocals and heavily layered instrumentals. It is certainly an album you should take a listen to while you are awake and conscious, but for me those horn lines on low volume are like musical NyQuil.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

This low-fi masterpiece from 2007 has some heavy lyrics that may be off-putting to the average sleeper, but the drifty wistful nature of Bon Iver’s musicality easily deposits me into dreamland by the third or forth track of the album. Its earthy and elemental stripped down nature is something special. Read more »