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.

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).

Stuff I've been listening to lately:

Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: DT's new album isn't officially out yet, but has been leaked to various newsgroups and places like AudioGalaxy. I've downloaded a copy and have listened to it a few times. A few songs, like "Misunderstood", have made an impact, but for the most part, it's been pretty yawn-inducing. It's a two-disc album, and the entire second disc is one 40 minute title track suite. So far, it's pretty boring. :(

Yes - Magnification: Here's another boring album. I don't much want to talk about it (let's put it this way - I've only made it to the end of the album once so far). I will say, though, that anyone that wants to hear what strings and horns in a prog-rock band can sound like when done WELL needs to hear Townscream's Nagyvárosi Ikonok.

Fates Warning - Disconnected: Surprisingly good. I liked A Pleasant Shade of Gray, of course. This one's different - a bit faster and louder. But it's still outstanding. Descriptions like "a less-dark Tool" would not be too far off the mark.

Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite: A naive, charming album. I actually like Charlie Dominici's "mini-Geddy" vocals. And while the whole band look like dorks in their pictures on the back of the CD, there's some cool tunes here. "Ytse Jam" is nice, of course, but "Status Seeker" kicks as well. Not a great album, but a decent one, and it's fun to listen to sometimes.

Halifax Pier - The Halifax Pier: Oy. I've been saying that Global Communication's 76:14 is the best CD I've bought this year, but maybe this one is. Violin, cello, and dual guitars create sweet, depressing soundscapes. Me likey.

Latest BMG grabs:

Art Blakey - A Night in Tunesia
Henryk Górecki - Symphony #3 (London Sinfonietta, Zinman conducting)
Fates Warning - Disconnected
Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica

Currently listening to the Fates Warning. I wanted the four of those pretty much in the order they're listed. But the Blakey and Górecki are known quantities to me, while the Fates Warning I don't know much about (I've been told that it's supposed to be as good as A Pleasant Shade of Gray, and I ordered it on the strength of that recommendation, so we'll see). It's a bit more up-tempo and overtly metal than APSoG so far, but it's nice (which is more than I can say for the new Dream Theater album, though that needs more listens too). We'll see how it measures up to APSoG in the end, but it seems like a good album, and so I shouldn't regret buying it (this was one of my BMG full-price purchases... so more freebies coming soon!).

If people actually read this site, and e-mailed me, I imagine that I would get an e-mail much like this:

"Hey, Legion! So whatever happened to that daily workout thing of yours? You quit that weeks ago, didn't ya? BTW, Mogwai rocks. Later!"

Well, Mr. Imaginary Writer, you could not be more wrong. I continue to work out on a daily basis. In fact, in the two months that I've been doing so (started on October 9th, and today is December 11th), I have lost an additional 30 pounds. Oh yeah, biznatch. Furthermore, I got my Christmas present - a Soloflex - a month early. So, in addition to the stationary bike, I weightlift now. I also take a short jog to cap off my workout.

Funny thing is, my parents have been observing this (I drive down to their place usually once a weekend, so they've seen me get thinner week-by-week), and so they turned their former computer room (which was vacated after I left, because the computer went into the freshly-open bedroom) into a home gym. So now they're going to copy the Legion Super Duper Exercise Plan.

What is "the Legion Super Duper Exercise Plan", you ask? Well, an ultra-brief recap for those of you tuning in late:

The Plan:
(1) WORK OUT.
(2) EVERY DAY.

That's all there is to it. The extra daily workload will force your body to make some serious adjustments. You'll burn calories, get firmer, and all that good stuff. It's not hard. I started with just a 20 minute stationary bike ride, every day, and went from there. The first 10 pounds came off faster than I could count! Eventually, it gets harder, as your body gets in better shape and requires more to get the same effect. Still, results happen FAST, and as long as you keep it up, they keep happening. And if you can make improvements in your diet, even just slight ones, it helps too. I don't know why I didn't do this years ago.

It should then come as no surprise that I'm dating a bit more now than I was before. Of course, that's partially due to just being in town longer and meeting more people, but I know for a fact that getting in better shape has helped.

So, while this semester has been a nightmare academically, it has been pretty good on other fronts.

I know one thing - I'll be walking the beach with my shirt off this summer! Six-pack or bust! (erm, waitaminute...)

"With a hired plane,
And no names mentioned.
Tonight's the night of the flight.
Before you know,
I'll be over the water
Like a swallow.
There's no risk.
I'll whisk them up in no moonlight.
And though pigs can fly,
They'll never find us
Posing as the night,
And I'm home before the morning."

-- Kate Bush, "Night of the Swallow"

I need to review The Dreaming for Progweed.net. It just might be one of the finest albums I own. This is what prog/pop can be when it's not self-consciously trying to be "prog".

Speaking of Progweed, two new (and not very flattering!) reviews of mine have been posted... one for the mediocre Edera, and one for the atrocious Lyle Holdahl. Don't miss the Holdahl one. :)

Heh. I heard Dream Theater's "Pull Me Under" on a classic rock radio station today, while I was working out (with my Discman finally dead, I'm having to rely on radio until I can replace it).

This world is spinning around me!

Don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but a few months ago, I instituted a personal policy in my music listening, where I acted on any musical impulse without question. What this means is, if I think I want to listen to something, I do so immediately. Now, listening to what you want to listen to may not seem like something all that notable, or even unusual. But what I'm talking about is on a more impulsive level. Like, if I get a song in my head, I will listen to it, regardless of what the song is. For example, Journey's "Separate Ways" and Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" have both burned their way into my skull in recent weeks. As a result, I downloaded them, and listened to them numerous times. If, for some reason, I feel like listening to a Whitney Houston song, I reach for my Pop MP3s CDR and toss it into my computer, no questions asked.

I had more to say, but it has long been forgotten, as I have (a) a Calculus test to study for, and (b) the LA Kings game is now on my TV.

On my way to my evening class, I was programming in some radio stations on my car stereo (since I rarely listen to the radio - way too many CDs for that - I didn't have everything programmed in). Well, while scanning to get to a certain station, I heard a classical piece playing. I stopped, and immediately programmed that station in to the stereo.

When I got to the university's parking lot, the piece was still playing. I had my Discman next to me, which I had planned on listening to in class (I had Slint's Spiderland and Red Stars Theory's Life in a Bubble Can Be Beautiful with me). Well, my Discman has an AM/FM tuner built in (why don't ALL Discmen have this? At least the new generation of CD/MP3 hybrid players are all incorporating it - about time!). So, I tuned into that station. However, unlike my car stereo, my Discman radio was picking up two, perhaps three different stations on that frequency (there was the classical piece, and a rap/rasta piece.... I also heard some jazz flute that wasn't part of the classical piece... I'm not sure if it was part of the rap-ish song or not). Anyway, as I walked to class (and a walk to class at a high-enrollment campus like Fresno State is a walk, indeed), the rap song would phase in and out. I'd get a few seconds of just the classical piece, and then a few with both playing. After a while of trying to tilt the Discman at various angles to pick up only the classical piece (with little success - it would make a difference, but not enough), it hit me to switch it from "DX" to "Local". That got rid of the rap song, but the classical signal was weakened (so instead of phasing in and out of the rap song, it phased in and out of a static haze). Still, it was better than before.

Anyway, I got to class, turned in my assignment, decided that I didn't want to sit in class (it's been a brutal past 10 days, with two hard mid-terms... I'm done for the week!), and so I headed back to my car. I was tired of not being able to hear the radio, so I put the Slint album in to listen to on the way back.

When I got back to the car, the radio station was no longer playing classical music. It was news. Turns out that it wasn't a classical station, but rather it was NPR. Darn. You know what I want? XM radio. For those that don't know, XM is the next "type" of radio, like AM and FM. It uses satellites to broadcast the radio streams. It is near CD quality (better than FM), and the programming contains far less commercials than AM/FM radio. However, it's not free... it's $10 a month, and requires equipment capable of receiving the signal. Apparently there's even a prog-rock station on the XM band, though it apparently focuses on '70s English prog (in the words of someone at RMP: "Yes, Genesis, Tull, blah blah blah..."). If XM gets cheaper, and if your "purchase" allows you to listen to it on all your devices (car, home, portable, etc), then perhaps I'll get it (I primarily want the classical and jazz programming... the prog one won't do much for me).

ARGH! Someone was selling Area's Crac! on rec.music.progressive, but another buyer got to it before I could. (insert vulgar explitives here!!).
I really don't want to pay $18 for a 38 minute album, but I may have to (heck, I should consider myself lucky - a few months ago, it wasn't available at all! I tried to buy it for $18 before but the dealer couldn't fill the order).

Scored some Japanese avant-rock goodness, in the form of Tipographica and Bondage Fruit's self-titled debut albums. $20 a pop. Crikey. I also have Koenjihyakkei's II reserved at Wayside for the same price. Damn those Japanese taxes... I'm tired of paying $20 for a CD, but no domestic label is going to release the material. It's not the vendor's faults, since they have to pay the high price to get the CD, and that has to be passed onto the consumer (especially when you're talking about low-margin specialty retailers like Wayside - God bless you, Steve Feigenbaum).

Anyway, I'm cruising the BMG catalog to load up on some more jazz albums, as well as classical. I'm strongly thinking of declaring January to be "Jazz Month", and listen to almost only jazz albums. At the very least, I will have a "Jazz Week", and perhaps a "Jazz Two Weeks". Thing is, I could spend days just on the Miles Davis Complete Bitches Brew Sessions and the John Coltrane Complete Village Vanguard Recordings boxes themselves.

I was at Borders a couple of days ago, and listened to a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade on one of the listening stations. In particular, the second movement (I forget the name) was great. I will be getting a CD of that piece from BMG (I've been cross-referencing the performances on the BMG CDs with comments at rec.music.classical.recordings, in order to separate the gems from the crappy ones... up until now, I've tried to get into classical by buying the cheapy CDs, but have failed to enjoy them - they tend to sound like they were recorded in broom closets). Especially when it comes to classical music, quality matters.

I may need to re-name this blog to "Adventures in Sonic Exploration".

What I'm pursuing now:

(1) Minimalists - Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass... the "big three" of minimalism, so to speak. I have very little exposure to the first and last of these, and have only begun my listening of Reich. I'm thinking that the best approach I can take to "classical" music is to start from the modern era and work backwards.

(2) Ambient House - Or "ambient electronic" or "ambient techno" if you prefer. Global Communication rocked my world, and now I need more. Currently listening to Electric Skychurch's Knowoness, which is nice but has vocals that I would remove from the album in a heartbeat.

In other news...

I was at a small '50s theme resteraunt this afternoon... just wanted a good chocolate shake. When I got there, the music playing on the PA system was the Angels' song "My Boyfriend's Back". Which, OK, is definitely a good time-piece tune, even though it wasn't actually released until 1963 (it seems to be a '50s music staple regardless of that fact). So, that one was fine. But the next song was the Village People's "YMCA". Wha? Now we're not even close. We're talkin' being off the mark by a full generation (25 years). "YMCA" wasn't released until 1978 - we're talkin' LATE '70s here.

Oh well. I can't say that I'm much of a fan for the early rock-and-roll of the 1950's, so I'm not exactly complaining. Still, if your resteraunt is ostensibly '50s, I would expect the music to be at least within a deviation of +/- 5 years. (Well, since they're not likely to be digging up any late '40s music, let's add the -5 to the front end, and just say to "keep it before 1970").

I listened to some Yanni today at Borders. It was actually kinda good at first. Then, I realized that the nice sounds weren't just an intro or an interlude, but rather that the entire thing sounds like that. Yanni seems to milk a basic sound to such an extent that the whole affair becomes muzak. Even in ambient/environmental stuff, the music needs to change, to deviate, to branch out... to breathe. Yanni seems to stick with "sounding pretty". Whatever. The same complaint can be raised of techno music. Some techno is nothing but a single driving beat, repeated ad nauseum. While most electronic music (at least, in my experience) is reliant on loops, there is a need to do something with the repetition.

One of these days, I will buy that Stravinsky 3CD set. The one that's conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. The one that won a Grammy award (and, at least in that area, the Grammies still hold at least some clout). The thing is advertised as 3CDs for the price of 2, but it's really not. Well, maybe in the "two separate CDs" sense, but it's more expensive than 2CD sets. In fact, it's more expensive than the 3CD Heavy ConstruKction set of King Crimson's. If it was actually the price of a regular 2CD set, I would own it by now. I'll probably throw it on a Christmas list.

It's been about half a month since I last wrote something here. Hmmph.

What's happened in the meantime? Well, I am diving head-first into the realm of electronic music. I picked up what is apparently an "ambient house" classic, Global Communication's 76:14. This sucker's great. It finds a middle ground between Steve Roach-style ambience and modern electronica (not unlike the middle ground post-rock (at least the "drone-rock" contingent) often establishes between ambient and rock). I do enjoy Steve Roach, but ambient with a stronger rhythmic presence tends to have a stronger effect on me.

It's starting to seem that space/ambient music has the potential to be even more near and dear to me than more "busy" styles of music like jazz or prog-rock. I guess it shouldn't be surprising, given that the space rock bits in Pink Floyd are my favorite moments from that band's canon of music.

This new direction will eventually push me to the borders of both techno and New Age. At some point, I expect to eventually encounter stuff in those realms that repulses me - thus establishing the borders of where my tastes in this field run. What remains to be seen is whether these borders exist on the outskirts of these genres, or whether they're well into the heart of the genres (or perhaps the borders don't exist at all - in which case, Present and YETI can expect to be joined by Prodigy and Yanni in my CD case soon).

Oh, and the new Mogwai EP is good. Not quite Rock Action good or EP+2 good, but it's Young Team good.

Last night, I went on a quest: find a used copy of a Loreena McKennitt album (preferably The Mask and Mirror, but any of her three final full-length releases would have been acceptable). Three record stores later, I came home with no McKennitt in hand. I did come close to buying the new Mogwai EP, but I wasn't ready to drop $8 on a 20 minute EP without hearing it - even though the band's most recent album, Rock Action, has recently become my favorite release of theirs.

Upon arriving at home, I ended up firing up BearShare (which has replaced Morpheus as the first music client I go to for fairly "popular" music, and is second only to AudioGalaxy for overall use) and downloaded the various individual tracks that comprise The Mask and Mirror. Listening to it right now... while I find myself wishing for a warmer, less "overt" mix (i.e. not having vocals or the main instrumental melody slap you in the face and overpower the rest of the music), I do like what I hear, and will continue trying to find any of her last three albums in the used bins (I sure found a lot of Brian McKnight when I was looking... sheesh).

Music moment for the day: Sitting in a chair at the Health Center at the university, Discman headphones on, waiting for the results of some blood work from the lab, listening to Tarentel's The Order of Things (specifically, "Ghosty Head", a Rickie Lee James cover) while reading the college newspaper's story about the rape awareness rally a couple of nights ago, and some of the stories retold there. The song in question is a quiet, piano and (very soft) female vocals piece. When listening to the song last night while driving, it seemed beautiful. When listening in the doctor's office while reading that newspaper story, it seemed chilling, frightening. The vocals, which had seemed so pretty before, seemed woundedly brooding this time. While it may not be Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun", it sure was close. It invoked the same mood and feeling, at least at that moment in time. What remains to be seen is if the song will go back to sounding "pretty", or if it will remain locked in the context of today's listen.

On a more upbeat note, I have continued my exercise routine to the letter. Not a single day's ride has been missed. As a result, I have lost 15 pounds since starting the exercise routine (which, when added to the 10 that I lost before starting, brings me to a total of 25 pounds lost since moving away from my hometown). I took an old bathroom scale from my parents' house, and have been tracking my weight daily. It sure is encouraging to see the number go down every few days.

Currently downloading the new Mogwai EP. Will give it a chance to earn an $8 purchase. If it can manage to be as good as EP+2 or the most recent full-length album Rock Action, then I will not hesitate to grab it.

Also discovered a new band from AudioGalaxy downloads, Halifax Pier. Yet another band on the Temporary Residence label. I'm going to have to start checking out artists specifically because they're on that label, because I keep finding cool new "post-rock" and other bands that are on TR.

Oh, forgot to mention... while shopping, I bought a nice detachable massaging shower head...

.......


.......


... stop looking at me like that!

Cleanliness is next to godliness!

Wow. I went to one of the outdoor shopping places in town tonight, and it was bustling with activity. There were snack booths set up outside of the stores, a sound system was set up with a DJ (playing classic rock mostly... I picked out a Beatles song and an Eagles song), couples eating dinner in the various resteraunts' outdoor areas... and it's a Tuesday! I guess I'm just not used to living in something that resembles a real town, having grown up in a crappy farm worker town and all. I think I'll have fun when I have someone to take to these places. With luck, it won't be too soon. If all else fails, I can always go back to Quizno's. ;)

I am starting to warm up to "dream pop" (or "ambient pop") a bit. Stereolab's Dots and Loops and The Sea and Cake's Oui reverberated off my apartment's walls today, in-between some Don Caballero. The Sea and Cake is just very... pleasant to listen to. While I can't see eye-to-eye with people that think it's a resounding masterpiece, it is (as AllMusic puts it) a "sophisticated pop album". John McEntire (of Tortoise fame) plays in this band, playing percussions and doing all the studio tricks and stuff. Woodwind instruments (clarinet, flute, sax) and a trombone augment the core guitar-and-keyboards sound. Pleasantly. :)

Observations from today's use of home chemicals and cleaners:

(1) Round-Up works fast. Them weeds turn yellow within an hour.

(2) Woolite carpet cleaner foam spray is magic. It did wonders for my car's floor mats, as well as the carpet by my front door (the trees around my apartment drop sticky berries during the summer, and so they would often end up on the bottom of people's shoes and create stains on the carpet). It now joins an elite pantheon of chemicals/cleaners that I call "magic" (previously, the title was held solely by Armor All).

(3) Krazy Glue (not really a cleaner or chemical, but it's my bloody blog, so it's my rules) has the amazing property of sticking to skin approximately 6 times better than it sticks to anything else. I couldn't believe how much trouble I have had glueing cleanly-broken pieces of plastic back together... can't get them to stick for the life of me, but boy, are my fingers stuck together firmly during the entire process!

(4) Related to number 2... three things every car owner needs: car polish, carpet cleaner, and Armor All. Along with a simple wash and vacuum, a dirty car can become a clean and fresh and shiny car with these three items. To really put it over the top, add Febreze to the equation.

(5) Body soap is divine. Drop your manly tough-guy act and get with the program.

You know how people will stand and pass out Bibles (or mini-Bibles) outside of colleges, grocery stores, etc.?

Well, I think it's high time that someone started handing out copies of Faust's The Wümme Years: 1970-1973 box sets.

Wonder if Recommended Records would be interested in donating some copies of the set for such an endeavor? I know Chris Cutler would have to smile at the idea... :)

I got paid today!

That's actually not a lyric... that's just something I cheered to myself earlier today. I have a chunk of disposable income (finally!) and can get some cool stuff for my apartment (and perhaps a Game Boy Advance... I find that I'm paying too much attention in lecture hall classes, and could use a diversion).

The first thing I did buy, however, was a copy of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (been living off of MP3s until now). It's a good thing I didn't stop at Tower Records... might have raided the indie racks for some Neurot label stuff. I'll probably order some CDs from Wayside in the days to come.

Interesting... I mentioned the fact that I've lost weight here at the blog. Well, I mentioned it to some family, expecting some of them to be kinda surprised. Well, everyone (when asked separately!) all said that they've noticed already. Gee, if I lost enough that it's been visible to everyone, how about someone saying "hey, you're dropping pounds!"? And here I thought I was probably gaining some pounds during all that time.

On a different, but perhaps not altogether unrelated note, I think the girl working at Quizno's (sub sandwitch store) was hitting on me this evening. Nothing overt, but a sort of "I want to cozy up to you as much as possible in the span of 2 minutes". The giveaway hints were the fact that she pretty much desperately said anything to keep a conversation going (at one point, stooping to ask "Where's Jacksonville?" upon observing my Jaguars T-shirt, and turning that into a conversation). It was past 8:30pm, her shift was almost over, and while someone would normally be just be gettin' the last customers out of there and preparing to leave, she did everything to keep me around as long as possible. Sorry, sweetheart, but there are other girls I have my eye on (one in particular). It was kinda nice, though... I sure didn't mind the attention.

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that we would meet again....

Why the Pink Floyd reference? Err, I dunno. The only Floyd albums I've listened to in the last few months have been Atom Heart Mother and Obscured By Clouds, neither of which contain the song that the above is taken from (that's from The Wall). This is just a random lyric that appeared in my head.

Listened to Tortoise's Standards, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso's Io Sono Nato Libero, Sigur Rós's Ágætis Byrjun, and Cul de Sac's Ecim. The Tortoise, Banco, and Sigur Rós are all known quantities to me. The Cul de Sac was a bit new. It's a CD I've had for a while, but have only listened to once. Second impressions? Good but very uneven. There are great moments of Krautrock-influenced stuff, but other parts are lame or annoying (couple songs with painful vocals). Their most recent album, Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall is much better - at least, that's my opinion, based on my one listen to it and my two listens to Ecim. Cul de Sac certainly deserves some more listens, that's for sure...