About the author: Chris Lee, songwriter & vocalist of The Maravines, are an indie folk rock duo from Union City, New Jersey that formed in 2010. They are recognized for their lo-fi production, sullen harmonies, and reserved instrumental accompaniments, and draw comparison to the music of indie rock bands like the Shins and the Decemberists. In 2013, they joined Mint 400 Records and released the ten-track album The Maravines, followed by the albums Distlefink (2014) and Sloan (2016) . The band was a staple of the North Jersey scene often playing at curated shows by their label. Most recently Lee released the new collection “Orange” in 2023 and is working on upcoming material.
Top Ten Albums:
Of my parents music collection, the Beach Boys' Endless Summer was my favorite. In the Summer of 1990, we went to the Garden States Art Center to see them, as the Sun went down we sat on the lawn and listened. The following year, at my friends' birthday party at the Roller Rink in Asbury Park, When I Come Around played each time that the lights were turned off, and during a county fair, More than a Feeling played with every ride of the roller cars. When I got home, I borrowed the second album from my parents, Boston. We listened to G 1.063 where I heard Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots. In Febuary of 1992, I collected my birthday money, and bought my first album, Nevermind. Visiting a friends home with cable, we watched music videos in her room, and I saw Black Hole Sun, I Stay Away, and Creep. With my allowance money, I bought Superunknown, Ten, and Green Day's Dookie. I traded a Billy Joe Armstrong poster from a 1994 edition of Rip magazine for Alice in Chain's Dirt, and got Purple, and Bush's Sixteen Stone from a penny Compact Disc catalog in 1995. By 1998, I listened to Led Zeppelin's first album, also borrowed from my parents. The song Babe I'm Gonna Leave You began my interest in acoustical composition, when writing music.
The Beach Boys Endless Summer - Surfin' U. S. A.
Pearl Jam Ten - Jeremy
Green Day Dookie - When I Come Around
Alice in Chains Dirt - Down in a Hole
Boston - More than a Feeling
Stone Temple Pilots Purple - Big Empty
Nirvana Nevermind - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Bush Sixteen Stone - Machinehead
Soundgarden Superunknown - Black Hole Sun
Led Zeppelin - Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You