I don’t know why it’s so interesting to do, but I like to consider my top5′s often in the context of the desert island. I love that the “desert island” is the cliché for the quintessential stuff that you would want with you if you were stranded in a pop-cultureless bubble.

One of the most perplexing of these top5 lists is the album. At any given time I have a few albums that are really high rotation, or even favourites of the year; but these don’t have the makings of really good Top5′s, they’re more flash-in-the-pan obsessions for the moment.

The last time I narrowed down my top5 was around 2003, I’m not so sure it will be the same today. I plan to retool it in January. In the coming weeks I am going to go into some detail about these albums more.

Here are my current top5 desert island albums… what are yours?

#1 Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon,

#2 The Beatles – Abbey Road,

#3 Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells,

#4 Johnny Cash – Live at Folsom Prison,

#5 Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed

Next week: The Moody Blues

Radiohead’s album OK Computer had been out for over a year before I heard it. It was 1998, and for most of my grade 12 year (and the previous three years) I had been listening to heavy metal, death metal and industrial music (notably high-rotation bands included NIN, Korn, Six Feet Under and Front Line Assembly).

The grunge movement had changed into alternative and didn’t interest me for the most part. I had heard Radiohead’s Creep and Just, so I wasn’t too excited about hearing OK Computer, I had expectations of another alternative band collection of blandness.

I did listen to it though. Then I listened to it again. I can now say that this album totally changed the way I listened to music. It is one of those rare perfect albums, even today it holds up as a highly listenable album… one that requires no reggae covers…

And now, my most influential song on the album, Paranoid Android

For nearly two years I’ve been a member of the International Mixtape Project. This is an online community whose members are assigned to make a mix for another of the global members and in return they can expect to receive a mix. In reality you can expect to receive your mix late, if at all. I have decided to take a break from this community for a while for a few reasons.

As a web designer and developer I have a few issues with the IMP webiste. I have raised these issues, but never was able to actually work on the project for timing issues. I find much of the content stagnates and as a members aren’t as active as other online communities. This could be because the site isn’t as interactive as it could be. Simple additions like comments on blog posts and frontpage articles and postable media are some examples of content that is almost standard in other web 2.0 apps. If I’m not mistaken the site is run single handedly by someone with a fulltime job, so it is understandable.

There also doesn’t seem to be a way to enforce mix sending, and it’s often very disappointing. I would guess that more than half of the mixes I have received won’t be played more than once. To be blunt it feels like most mixes are the result of after-thoughts or are scrambled together in haste. I have received a mix that I can almost guarentee is the result of typing a keyword in Limewire and simply downloading songs that have that word in the title. If you have The Beatles, The Power Puff Girls and Marilyn Manson together on a mix you know it’s going to be a rough-go to sit through.

It hasn’t been all bad. I’ve learned of some great music and met some great mixers including the IMP founder Ryan Mixtape. I am going to keep making monthly mixes. I intend to keep doing side-trades with some of the members I have met, and I plan to sign-up again in the future.

This isn’t goodbye, it’s a see you later.