{"id":3187,"date":"2025-06-27T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-robin-wilson-of-gin-blossoms\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T14:00:00","slug":"5-albums-i-cant-live-without-robin-wilson-of-gin-blossoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-robin-wilson-of-gin-blossoms\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Albums I Can\u2019t Live Without:\u00a0Robin Wilson of\u00a0Gin\u00a0Blossoms"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/New-GB-Photo-Credit_-David-Doc-Abbott-%40davidabbottphoto.jpg\" width=\"1290\" height=\"861\" alt='Gin Blossoms (Credit: David \"Doc\" Abbott'><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Name\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Hello! I\u2019m Robin Wilson, lead singer of\u00a0Gin\u00a0Blossoms.<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/06\/lorde-opens-glastonbury\/\">Lorde Opens Glastonbury With Surprise \u2018Virgin\u2019 Set<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/06\/mitch-rowland-new-album\/\">Mitch Rowland Is \u2018Ready\u2019 For His Second Album<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/06\/stephen-bishop-final-album\/\">Stephen Bishop Jams With Yacht Rock Royalty On Final LP<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Best known for\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Being a part-time singer of the Smithereens.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Current city\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I currently live in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island, but I hail from my hometown, Tempe, Arizona.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Really want to be in\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>If I could live anywhere else, it would either be back in Tempe or maybe Chicago\u2026 I like that town!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Excited about\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m excited about our upcoming\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ginblossoms.net\/tour\" target=\"_blank\">tour<\/a>\u00a0with Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler and the recordings that I am producing that is a collaboration with those groups. I\u2019ll be doing \u201cIndiana Wants Me\u201d with Blues Traveler and Chris Barron, and I\u2019m doing \u201cDangerous Type\u201d with Spin Doctors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My current music collection has a lot of\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>My favorite band lately is White Reaper. They are awesome, as good as anything I\u2019ve ever heard, and I also like Soccer Mommy and The Dare.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>And a little bit of\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019ve also been listening to some jazz and classical\u2014some classic jazz like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, that sort of thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Preferred format\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>These days I just stream everything. You know, I\u2019m old fashioned. I like vinyl and cassettes and all of that, but I don\u2019t employ those media anymore to listen to music.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-albums-i-can-t-live-without\"><strong><u>5 Albums I Can\u2019t Live Without:<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1\">1<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-candy-o-the-cars\"><strong><em>Candy-O<\/em>,\u00a0The Cars<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1292\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars-1290x1292.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars-1290x1292.png 1290w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars-340x341.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars-768x769.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars-498x499.png 498w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Candy-O-The-Cars.png 1306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The first time I heard \u201cLet\u2019s Go\u201d on the radio, every neuron in my brain was firing. This was a record I always listened to in its entirety. I never repeated my favorite song over and over. So I always had to be ready to turn it over to hear Side Two without any delay. After all these years, it\u2019s still one of my favorites, and I think my favorite song is \u201cCandy-O\u201d\u2026 the groove is just so great. Those guys are playing so great together and it\u2019s just one big beautiful noise.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2\">2<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-game-queen\"><strong><em>The Game<\/em>,\u00a0Queen<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1394\" height=\"1344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-Game-Queen-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-Game-Queen-1.png 1394w, https:\/\/www.spin.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-Game-Queen-1-340x328.png 340w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1394px) 100vw, 1394px\"><\/figure>\n<p>This came out when I was a freshman in high school. I was already a huge fan. They were my favorite band, and this record lived up to all the promises. The opening track is great. I love \u201cDragon Attack.\u201d It\u2019s some of Brian May\u2019s best guitar work. And\u00a0<em>then<\/em>\u00a0you hear \u201cAnother One Bites the Dust.\u201d But my favorite song is the 4th song, \u201cNeed Your Loving Tonight,\u201d it\u2019s just Queen rocking out. So many people think Queen is this huge elaborate thing and it\u2019s great to see them just toss out a hard rock song with no bullshit. And then, of course, it just keeps going. There\u2019s so much great stuff on this record, but \u201cSail Away Sweet Sister\u201d is one of Brian May\u2019s greatest songs, and then the whole album ends with \u201cSave Me,\u201d which is as good as anything Queen ever recorded, and the most powerful and Queen-like song on the record.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3\">3<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-murmur-r-e-m\"><strong><em>Murmur<\/em>,\u00a0R.E.M.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1272\" height=\"1212\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Murmur-REM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Murmur-REM.png 1272w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Murmur-REM-340x324.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Murmur-REM-768x732.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Murmur-REM-498x475.png 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1272px) 100vw, 1272px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The day after I graduated from high school in 1983, I went to see The Fixx and A Flock of Seagulls in Mesa, Arizona. Before the show, they were playing music over the PA and a song came on that just blew me away. I actually went up to the sound booth and asked, \u201cWhat is this song that\u2019s playing?\u201d And they told me, \u201cIt\u2019s Martha and the Muffins.\u201d So, I went back to my friends, I sat down, and then I heard the roadies from the mixing board yelling to me from like 50 feet away, and they said, \u201cHey, mate, this is R.E.M.\u201d So, I rode my motorcycle to Tower Records the next day. (Incidentally, the motorcycle I had was exactly the same model as the one that Prince drove in\u00a0<em>Purple Rain<\/em>.) R.E.M.\u00a0<em>Murmur\u00a0<\/em>was a transformative moment for me, and it showed me a completely new way to make rock \u2018n roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4\">4<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pleased-to-meet-me-the-replacements\"><strong><em>Pleased to Meet Me<\/em>,\u00a0The Replacements\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1240\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements--1290x1240.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements--1290x1240.png 1290w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements--340x327.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements--768x738.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements--498x479.png 498w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Pleased-to-Meet-Me-The-Replacements-.png 1294w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p>By the time this record came out, the Replacements were the favorite band of me and all my friends. The album\u2019s incredible. \u201cAlex Chilton\u201d was transformative, and we all became fans of Big Star immediately. \u201cNever Mind\u201d is one of my favorite tracks. The melody, the guitar riff are so great. \u201cValentine,\u201d I absolutely love it. It\u2019s a perfect rock \u2018n roll record. When we were signed, we were offered a number of producers to work with, and when we found out that John Hampton had recorded\u00a0<em>Pleased to Meet Me<\/em>\u00a0and Tommy Keen\u2019s\u00a0<em>Based on Happy Times<\/em>, we chose John Hampton and Ardent Studios to record our major-label debut. It\u2019s always been a point of pride that we were a part of the Ardent Studio\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5\">5<\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cheap-trick-at-budokan-cheap-trick\"><strong><em>Cheap Trick at Budokan,\u00a0<\/em>Cheap Trick<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1284\" height=\"1234\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Cheap-Trick-at-Budokan-Cheap-Trick.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-467158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Cheap-Trick-at-Budokan-Cheap-Trick.png 1284w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Cheap-Trick-at-Budokan-Cheap-Trick-340x327.png 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Cheap-Trick-at-Budokan-Cheap-Trick-768x738.png 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/06\/Cheap-Trick-at-Budokan-Cheap-Trick-498x479.png 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1284px) 100vw, 1284px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The first concert I ever saw was Cheap Trick open for KISS on the Love Gun Tour in 1977\u2014which was the same tour that they recorded this amazing live record. So many great songs. I think my favorite is actually \u201cLookout,\u201d which is not included on any other album. My favorite Cheap Trick record (not live) is probably\u00a0<em>In Color<\/em>. But a lot of that record, my favorite songs from that album, are featured on\u00a0<em>Cheap Trick at Budokan<\/em>, along with the highlights of \u201cHeaven Tonight,\u201d and of course, \u201cLookout.\u201d Period, they\u2019re the best.<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Name\u00a0\u00a0Hello! I\u2019m Robin Wilson, lead singer of\u00a0Gin\u00a0Blossoms. More from Spin: Lorde Opens Glastonbury With Surprise \u2018Virgin\u2019 Set Mitch Rowland Is \u2018Ready\u2019 For His Second Album Stephen Bishop Jams With Yacht&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[262,1198,31,2153,24,1810,46,2154,2155,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-5-albums-i-cant-live-without","category-cheap-trick","category-features","category-gin-blossoms","category-pushly","category-queen","category-rem","category-the-cars","category-the-replacements","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}