Oklahoma City powerhouse poet Melissa May performs at the 2014 Women of The World Poetry Slam in Austin, TX, an amazing ode to Ursula, Queen of the Sea.  (courtesy of Button Poetry)

Our ongoing love affair with lists and music continues with Poetry Editor Jason Bayani's Top 5.  So grab a desert island and an IPod, because this is how Jason brings the pain...

Note: Whenever anyone asks me this question I tell them this list will change every time you ask me the question. Well this is the time I’ve been asked and this is the list as it stands now.

The Show, the After Party, the Hotel–– Jodeci   Is this album as good as Forever My Lady or even Diary of a Mad Band? No. But this final album saw the group go all in on the freak nasty shit they been hovering around with tracks like Feenin’ and Alone. The very first lines of “Freek N’ You” are “Every time I close my eyes/ I wake up feeling so horny”. I remember when we thought Color Me Bad singing “I Want to Sex You Up” was scandalous. By this point 90’s R&B had went all in and these guys were right there, humping the air like champions. Also, “Get On Up” is my jam.

Bayani–– Blue Scholars   Even if this album title wasn’t the same as my last name I’d still choose it. On a visceral level Sabzi’s beats with Geologic’s lyrics manage to not only create music that is immediately pleasurable to listen to, but seeks to inform and becomes a living document of two people’s culture and history. After all, the word “Bayani” exists in both Tagalog and Farsi where it’s meanings are “hero” and “divine word”. Did I mention that’s also my last name. Just so we’re clear on that.

Siamese Dream–– Smashing Pumpkins Yes, Billy Corgan is kinda... well he’s very Billy Corgan. I stand by this, though. This album was great.

Mitch All Together–– Mitch Hedberg   I’m pretty sure top five albums does not exclude comedy. I love Mitch Hedberg’s comedy. Like Steven Wright, he challenged the way we receive language and information. He was a master of making the third line turn after the punchline. And he had the delivery to bring it on home. This album in particular covered some of his best bits at the moment he hit his stride. I love Strategic Grill Locations but this one gets the nod because I really could have done without the jazz bass throughout the whole thing.

My Ghetto Report Card–– E-40  My love of E-40 is something I make very clear. To me he can do no wrong. This is a man who has been in the game since the early 90’s and releases an album just about every year. He’s always around and always making hits, but this particular album came out during that brief moment when “hyphy” started going mainstream and E-40 came out like, “I’m still dropping heat!” And as a complete album it might be the best in his catalogue.

Poetry Editor GRAE ROSE is jumping into the Lists Of Songs Craze by offering up her Top 20 Albums that got her through the delicate formative years of 11-15 (as seen in skulltastic photo)!

"Haters gonna hate…"

1.      Hybrid Theory- Linkin Park (October 24th, 2000)

2.      Comfort Eagle- Cake (July 24th, 2001)

3.      Comalies- Lacuna Coil (October 29th, 2002)

4.      Fallen- Evanescence (March 4th, 2003)

5.      Meteora- Linkin Park (March 25th, 2003)

6.      Avenue Q- OBC (August 10th, 2003)

7.      Wicked- OBC (December 16th, 2003)

8.      Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge- My Chemical Romance (June 8th, 2004)

9.      In Love and Death- The Used (September 28th, 2004)

10.  It’s Time- Michael Buble (February 8th, 2005)

11.  From Under the Cork Tree- Fall Out Boy (May 3rd, 2005)

12.  RENT- Film Cast (August 2nd, 2005)

13.  A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out- Panic! At the Disco (September 27th, 2005)

14.  Foiled- Blue October (April 4th, 2006)

15.  Black Holes and Revelations- Muse (June 28th, 2006)

16.  Alright, Still- Lily Allen (July 14th, 2006)

17.  As Cruel as School Children- Gym Class Heroes (July 25th, 2006)

18.  Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!- Hellogoodbye (August 8th, 2006)

19.  The Open Door- Evanescence (September 25th, 2006)

20.  Spring Awakening- OBC (December 2006)

This month, contributor Hanif Abdurraqib wanted to know what our Top 5 albums of all time were.   Poetry Editor DALTON DAY sent out this, his Top 5 albums of ALL TIME RIGHT NOW!

St. Vincent - St. Vincent

I just saw St. Vincent two days ago (as of writing this) and I was blown away. Annie Clark doesn’t seem like a real person-or one person in any case. Either way, she is king. She is the digital, binary encoded, Vogue realness serving, king.

Rumours - Fleetwood Mac

I finally found this album on vinyl, and for less than five bucks! No album makes me feel more joy than this one. No album makes my heart take flight more than this one. This is the summer soundtrack, believe that.

Benji - Sun Kil Moon

To listen to this album all the way through you’ll probably need a listening buddy. Death is here and (spoiler) nobody makes it. This album hit me at the right time. From the first song tears bloomed in my eyes and by “I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love” I was flooded. Tread lightly.

Her - Arcade Fire & Owen Pallett

If you haven’t seen this film, remedy that. The music perfectly compliments the whole spectrum that love dresses in, and is able to stand alone without the movie beside it. After I listened to it a few times without crying, this is my go-to inspiration for love poems.

BEYONCÉ - Beyoncé

Duh.