Brett Callwood “My Favorite Album” is a weekly column in which we ask a musician exactly what the title suggests — to name their favorite album of all time. This week, it's Stephanie Luke of Atlanta garage-punk band The Coathangers.
What a question to ask!! What tha whaaaat?! But OK, if I had to choose one, it would definitely be Refused's The Shape of Punk to Come.
Right off the bat they start with the quote “They told me that the classics never go outta style but, they do, they do, somehow baby I never thought that we do too,” which is already insanely thought-provoking, but then the song builds up and blasts off into this amazing political tangent. And that’s exactly what the entire album encapsulates. Political, social, personal, stringent songs beautifully constructed in a way I had never heard before when I first listened to the album in 2000.
The introduction of mechanical and awkward electronic sounds fused into the most powerful of structural hardcore songs was brand-new to me. The song “New Noise” in particular is still to this day my go-to song for any occasion. This album was before its time and the album's name is not a clever nod but yet a true statement. This album was literally the shape of not just punk but music to come after it. It transcends time and space and is an album everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime because it’s truly a masterpiece.
The Coathangers play with Prettiest Eyes and Traps PS at 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, at Teragram Ballroom; then with The Paranoyds and Earl Grey at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, at Alex's Bar.
Credit: Burning Heart/Epitaph
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