More CDs for me!
Using some of the rest of my Borders gift cards:
Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
Jimmy Smith - The Sermon
John Coltrane - Blue Train
All three of these are Blue Note-label jazz albums. BMG doesn't carry as much Blue Note as they do Impulse!. They do have the Blue Train, but Borders was selling it for $9.99, so I figured I'd buy that and use the BMG free selection on something else (just like I did with the Queensrÿche, mentioned earlier).
Genesis - Nursery Cryme: Decided I needed a real copy of this. Don't know why.
Neurosis - Times of Grace: Described by AllMusic as "Tool for extremists". Not a terrible description, though they're not derivative of Tool. This is a SanFran prog-metal band (though not prog-metal in the DT-clone sense), that does the Tribes of Neurot side projects, etc.
Also, bought used:
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (3rd album): Supposedly his best. His 4th, (sometimes called Security) is really darn good.
Anyway, yesterday, I pulled out my copy of Deep Purple's Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple. Uhm, damn. They're good. Listening to this now, it's so obvious why classic prog-rock sounded so natural to me when I got into it. After cutting my teeth on Jon Lord's organ solos, it was just a natural step. Yet, Deep Purple are more than just a mere stepping stone. It's interesting to see how they melded prog-rock tendencies with rowdy, raunchy (in tone, not necessarily in content) rockers. "Speed King" is a perfect example of this. Ian Gillian's vocals come screaming in "GOOD GOLLY said little Miss Molly / when she was rockin' in the house of blue light / Tutti Fruity was OHHHHHHH so rooty" etc. etc. And then, later in the song, you get this Hammond solo that interplays along with Blackmore's guitar.
Now, for a complaint. This compilation disc sounds like ass. ASS, I say. I never noticed it before. It's strange at how much more sensitive my ears have gotten to sound quality. This CD is from like 1980, so I imagine the new 25th anniversary remasters are better. I'm getting the remasters of Machine Head and Made In Japan for sure, from BMG.
Friday, December 28
Wednesday, December 26
My CD collection has grown quite a bit. Between Christmas, some vacation pillaging, and just some purchases on my own, I have lots of new music to listen to.
Christmas gifts:
Beatles - Revolver: Pretty darn good. A few duff tracks ("Yellow Submarine" is blah, and "Good Day Sunshine" can go as well), but some great stuff as well.
Stravinsky - "Stravinsky" (3CD set, SFSO w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting): Haven't yet listened to this, but it was at the top of my Christmas CDs list. Spposedly a breathtaking recording of some great performances of three Stravinsky pieces. Grammy-award winning recording, and I've heard that it was actually deserving of awards (you never know with the Grammy's these days, but the non-commercial awards appear less tainted than the headlining ones).
Radiohead - Amnesiac: Have had a CD-R made from MP3s up to this point. Asked for a real copy to replace it with. Got one.
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy: A jazz album that I wanted that BMG doesn't have.
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Stuff I bought on vacation (all used CDs):
Yes - Magnification: Wasn't looking to buy this, but when I saw a copy in the used bin, I couldn't resist.
Mr. Bungle - California: I haven't even listened to Disco Volanté enough, but I have heard that this album is great, so I went ahead and got it.
Hawkwind - This Is Hawkwind Do Not Panic: My favorite album title of all time. Don't know how much I like Hawkwind yet, but it was cheap.
King Crimson - Thrak: A decent album that I've had as MP3s up until now, decided a real copy was worth having.
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10 cent CDs (yes, the record store I was at had a bin of used CDs that each cost 10 cents):
Stone Temple Pilots - Purple: I was glad to see this in the 10 cent bin. I had a copy a long time ago, but gave it to a friend. Glad to have one back, for so cheap. The hit songs are definitely the best material on here.
Econoline Crush - The Devil You Know: The music computer at the store listed them as "industrial pop" or "industrial metal". Any time I see "industrial", I am intrigued. For 10 cents, it seemed like something to grab.
Jewel - Spirit: Because, well, you never know when I'll have a girl over at my apartment that likes Jewel. Though I'm bummed there wasn't any Lisa Loeb there instead....
Second Coming - Second Coming: Well, the cover looked kinda cool. Listened to one song while on vacation, and was instantly reminded of Alice in Chains. Come home, look at AllMusic, and wouldn't ya know, the name "Alice in Chains" is mentioned everywhere in the band's info. :) Hey, an AiC ripoff isn't the worst thing in the world. Worth 10 cents.
Juliana Hatfield - Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure: Not sure why I grabbed this one. Seen her name tossed around here and there.
Jesus Lizard - Blue: Who can resist noise-rock? Not me! Unfortunately, this isn't one of JL's "classic" albums, but is still supposed to be good.
Tal Bachman - Tal Bachman: Yes, of Bachman Turner Overdrive fame! Well, actually, the son of Randy Bachman. This is basically a '70s-style pop album with Hammond B3 and Moog on it. For 10 cents, I'll take anything with a Hammond, even if it's just to hear how bad it is (this is supposed to be OK though). I'm not expecting greatness, so I won't be disappointed. :)
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Post-Christmas gift certificate purchases:
Autechre - Tri Repetae++: I'm getting into interesting electronic artists.
Future Sound of London - ISDN: See above. This one actually features a little Robert Fripp too! :)
Robert Rich - Trances/Drones: One of the pioneering ambient artists, and this is his classic two complementary albums (now sold together as a single 2CD set).
Penderecki - Orchestral Works: A good recording of some of the best work of this 20th century composer.
Post-Christmas money purchases:
Tool - Ænima: I needed a CD copy of this!
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime: I was planning on getting this as a BMG selection, but when I saw it for $9.99 at Best Buy, I decided to just buy it and use the BMG selection on something that I can't get so cheaply.
mu-Ziq - Royal Astronomy: See Autechre & FSOL above.
I still have over $80 left of Borders credit, so there will be more to come. Trying to decide if I should have them order some stuff for me (I want Orbital's In Sides! And maybe some Acid Mothers Temple).
Christmas gifts:
Beatles - Revolver: Pretty darn good. A few duff tracks ("Yellow Submarine" is blah, and "Good Day Sunshine" can go as well), but some great stuff as well.
Stravinsky - "Stravinsky" (3CD set, SFSO w/Michael Tilson Thomas conducting): Haven't yet listened to this, but it was at the top of my Christmas CDs list. Spposedly a breathtaking recording of some great performances of three Stravinsky pieces. Grammy-award winning recording, and I've heard that it was actually deserving of awards (you never know with the Grammy's these days, but the non-commercial awards appear less tainted than the headlining ones).
Radiohead - Amnesiac: Have had a CD-R made from MP3s up to this point. Asked for a real copy to replace it with. Got one.
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy: A jazz album that I wanted that BMG doesn't have.
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Stuff I bought on vacation (all used CDs):
Yes - Magnification: Wasn't looking to buy this, but when I saw a copy in the used bin, I couldn't resist.
Mr. Bungle - California: I haven't even listened to Disco Volanté enough, but I have heard that this album is great, so I went ahead and got it.
Hawkwind - This Is Hawkwind Do Not Panic: My favorite album title of all time. Don't know how much I like Hawkwind yet, but it was cheap.
King Crimson - Thrak: A decent album that I've had as MP3s up until now, decided a real copy was worth having.
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10 cent CDs (yes, the record store I was at had a bin of used CDs that each cost 10 cents):
Stone Temple Pilots - Purple: I was glad to see this in the 10 cent bin. I had a copy a long time ago, but gave it to a friend. Glad to have one back, for so cheap. The hit songs are definitely the best material on here.
Econoline Crush - The Devil You Know: The music computer at the store listed them as "industrial pop" or "industrial metal". Any time I see "industrial", I am intrigued. For 10 cents, it seemed like something to grab.
Jewel - Spirit: Because, well, you never know when I'll have a girl over at my apartment that likes Jewel. Though I'm bummed there wasn't any Lisa Loeb there instead....
Second Coming - Second Coming: Well, the cover looked kinda cool. Listened to one song while on vacation, and was instantly reminded of Alice in Chains. Come home, look at AllMusic, and wouldn't ya know, the name "Alice in Chains" is mentioned everywhere in the band's info. :) Hey, an AiC ripoff isn't the worst thing in the world. Worth 10 cents.
Juliana Hatfield - Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure: Not sure why I grabbed this one. Seen her name tossed around here and there.
Jesus Lizard - Blue: Who can resist noise-rock? Not me! Unfortunately, this isn't one of JL's "classic" albums, but is still supposed to be good.
Tal Bachman - Tal Bachman: Yes, of Bachman Turner Overdrive fame! Well, actually, the son of Randy Bachman. This is basically a '70s-style pop album with Hammond B3 and Moog on it. For 10 cents, I'll take anything with a Hammond, even if it's just to hear how bad it is (this is supposed to be OK though). I'm not expecting greatness, so I won't be disappointed. :)
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Post-Christmas gift certificate purchases:
Autechre - Tri Repetae++: I'm getting into interesting electronic artists.
Future Sound of London - ISDN: See above. This one actually features a little Robert Fripp too! :)
Robert Rich - Trances/Drones: One of the pioneering ambient artists, and this is his classic two complementary albums (now sold together as a single 2CD set).
Penderecki - Orchestral Works: A good recording of some of the best work of this 20th century composer.
Post-Christmas money purchases:
Tool - Ænima: I needed a CD copy of this!
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime: I was planning on getting this as a BMG selection, but when I saw it for $9.99 at Best Buy, I decided to just buy it and use the BMG selection on something that I can't get so cheaply.
mu-Ziq - Royal Astronomy: See Autechre & FSOL above.
I still have over $80 left of Borders credit, so there will be more to come. Trying to decide if I should have them order some stuff for me (I want Orbital's In Sides! And maybe some Acid Mothers Temple).
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