A year ago, our web editor Mike asked nine local musicians to "pick six." (It was almost literally that open ended.) The result of said request was an interesting window into the souls and Walkmans of local musicians. Check out those windows here, here, and here. And as a musician myself (Do It Yourself Daisy), I'm always intrigued by what others listen to. So I asked a bunch more to take part, and here's the first three to respond:

Ben Hinz
The Ronald Raygun, Aen,
Dwarfcraft Devices

Songs from my childhood that made me the musician I am today (and that I am still into) ...

Sine Wave by Mogwai from the album Rock Action (I had just started making music in earnest when I heard this, and it kind of made me want to quit it was so f***ing good. Listened to it at Borders and teared up.)

The Obvious Child by Paul Simon from the album Rhythm of the Saints (Paul proves that "more is more" when it comes to drummers, and less is more when it comes to chords and vocal melodies. This song pounded the importance and pleasure of loud churning rhythm into my soul.)

Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedence Clearwater Revival from the album Chronicle Vol. 1 (I've been hearing this song for my whole life. Even as a little turd I loved the dark, sexy guitars and insistent rhythm of this "evil blues" version of the Motown classic. Being a relentless 11 minutes certainly didn't hurt.)

Firestarter by The Prodigy from the album Fat of the Land (This one dropped me mid-stream into the (failed) electronic revolution. It's essentially an extremely minimalist punk rock song produced with very little guitar and no live drums. Taught me the Power of the Loop, and probably the first song that really tapped into the "righteous anger" side of my developing brain.)

Shine on You Crazy Diamond Pts. 1-5 by Pink Floyd from the album Wish You Were Here (I was 17 when I heard this for the first time! TRAGEDY! Taught me about space, and instigated the desire to transport the listener.)

Numb by U2 from the album Zooropa (WHAT THE HELL KIND OF MACHINES DO THEY MAKE THIS MUSIC WITH? This is the one, above all, that set me on my musical quest. First to find answers, then to start posing the questions. Most U2 fans probably hate this one. Screw 'em. If there were no Numb there would be no "Aen" and no Dwarfcraft.)

Eric Rykal
The Gentle Guest

Six of my favorite albums ...

Pearl Jam, Binaural (My first favorite band. This is probably their least popular record, but man is it good.)

Refused, The Shape of Punk To Come (This record is still groundbreaking today, and it came out in '98.)

The Bouncing Souls, Maniacal Laughter (I learned to play guitar from playing along with this record in middle school. Still one of my favorites.)

Harvey Danger, Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? (Filled with nothing but awesome pop hits. Every song could have been a single.)

Propaghandi, Potemkin City Limits (Perhaps the greatest punk band of all time.)

Dillinger Escape Plan, Miss Machine (This record is pretty much solely responsible for my love of all things heavy.)

Thom Fountain
Wisconsin Built

Six songs from 2011 ...

July by Youth Lagoon from The Year of Hibernation (Trevor Powers writes gorgeously simple songs as Youth Lagoon and put out one of my favorite records this year, The Year of Hibernation. The record is chock full of phenomenal writing and melodies that will stick with you for days.)

Decisions (Orchestral) by How To Dress Well from Just Once EP (I have never heard a song with so much emotion and beauty packed into such a short amount of time. Definitely my favorite song and album of the year. Get the tissues and buckle in.)

Skeletons by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. from It's A Corporate World (I'm not really sure what draws me to this song so much, but I heard it for the first time in November and it's already towards the top of my most listened track counter. Also, the drums are the perfect blend of simple, yet interesting.)

Eighty by Weed from With Drug/Eighty EP (I've always been a big fan of Will's music, but I actually hated this song when I first heard it. I gave it a bunch more tries and then finally I found myself singing it to myself all the time. Also, he's a local which just makes everything taste better.)

We Bros by WU LYF from Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (I really like this whole record because it's two things at once: On one hand, it's this really raw, gritty, epic record that borrows a lot from punk and talks about revolutions and throwing out authority, but then amidst all of that you realize it's actually pretty fun and dancy. This song shows that really well.)

The Morning by The Weeknd from House of Balloons (I really don't think there's any PC way of saying this: This track is just sexy. It sits up there with D'Angelo's Voodoo, minus the semi-nude music video. The first two minutes are just killer.)