(Copied from my Facebook Notes, originally posted June 22, 2009)
I bought 16 cds at the used music shop by central market in Dallas. I only buy what I cannot find in Tyler.
Here they are:
1. Helmet - Monochrome : I’m loyal to Helmet. 90s d-tuned heaviness, Page Hamilton's concrete delivery, spin-offs include Orange 9mm, Handsome, and the drummer is now in Battles. Although the vocal production is a bit off on this album, the snare drums are as heavy as one would expect from Helmet. This was their last album, and the only one I didn't own yet.
2. Depeche Mode - Only When I Lose Myself (single) : This is the single that was tacked on to one of the hits collections. It sounds better by itself than when lumped in with the 'greatest hits'.
3. Pedro the Lion - Control : This is one of those albums I have passed up a few times. Now I don't see it available as much any more. This is basically Dave Bazan in singer/songwriter mode. I’ve heard he started as a Christian musician, but was eventually thrown out of the club for singing about topics that were too heavy (and he said a bad word on a record). So, Christian music stores pulled his cds from the shelves. Without double checking my sources, I think Bazan is also the guy behind the great glitch pop album by Headphones.
4. Cat Power - Jukebox : The beautiful and talented Chan Marshall as Cat Power and an album of mostly cover songs. One of the originals called 'Metal Heart' is floating around the top of my list of songs I love right now.
5. Radio 4 - Enemies Like This : I got into Radio 4 around the time I first heard Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem (who remixed one of their singles)... so I had to buy the album based on my love for the scene. Ian says they sound sort of like Tokyo Police Club mixed with some of the before-mentioned bands.
6. Mason Jennings - Boneclouds : This is the second album I have bought by Mason after hearing him on the "I'm Not There' soundtrack covering Bob Dylan... and he is a great mix of Dylan vocals with a bit of Jack Johnson, while still coming out original. I have to compare him to Hayden also.
7. Broadcast - Tender Buttons : I know who Broadcast is, but would have bought this album simply because it's on Warp records. I am very loyal to certain record companies, and will buy almost anything from Warp. This album turns out to be very well produced, mixing mellow with confrontational ambience, while being saturated with Trish's smooth voice.
8. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House : Another Warp records album. This is a case of something I’ve downloaded a few years ago, and never bought. And since their new album is great, I had to backtrack a bit and buy this one. Although there were already a few other non-electronic artists signed to Warp (Maximo Park, Born Ruffians), this album is a good mark for when the label expanded far beyond their basic formula.
9. The Evens - ST : Ian Mackaye! That should be enough... Minor Threat, Fugazi, Egg Hunt... Washington DC hardcore, Dischord records. This is Ian with Amy Farina. A great project that has produced at least two full length albums. In my world, I like to imagine that Amy is a muse for Ian. They work well together.
10. Tortoise - ST : An out of print (and possibly the first) album from Tortoise in 1994. Typical of John McKentire, it's smart, jazzy, ambient, and perfectly produced. This album sounds like it has more live instrumentation than some of the latter albums.
11. Tortoise - Standards : Honestly, 'Seneca' from this album is the first Tortoise song I heard... and I was sold. Fuzzy and noisy for the first half of the song, then beautiful and odd. Side note: I’m not sure if it's John Mckentire's project also, but Sea and Cake are closely related to Tortoise, sharing at least one member.
12. The Moog Cookbook - ST : Go back to 1996; let a couple of nerds with super-awesome, expensive, vintage moog instruments play hits of the day (by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Weezer, etc.). They make all of the songs sound like elevator music played by Daft Punk at the bar scene in Star Wars. This is cheesy at its best.
13. Jawbox - Savory + 3 : The single E.P. for the song 'Savory' which later was treated to a cover by the Deftones and Far. this is a great example of NOT grunge, NOT emo, NOT nu-metal, but somewhere great in between.
14. Elliott Smith - Division Day, No Name #6 (single) : A nice $2 find of a couple of songs by the late, great Elliott Smith.
15. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express : This is the rosetta stone of electronic music. It connects early experimental with what would be everything electronic that has happened since 1977. Four German guys with keyboards, that may not have been totally human.
16. Dinosaur Jr. - Fossils - Finally! I found this album on CD. I had this on cassette 15 years ago and loved it. The album is only a few songs, but has great versions of 'Show Me the Way' by Peter Frampton and 'Just Like Heaven' by the Cure, sang perfectly lazy by J Mascis and shredded by his genius guitar. I actually made an audible noise in the store when I found this.
...if you have any questions about the 16 CDs, let me know. If you read this whole thing, I admire your patience. I will gladly play any of these albums for you.
*as always, pardon my spelling, and know that grammatical errors are on purpose to give it a more conversational feel.
