Recent CD Purchases

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 8:10 pm

Well, Mr. W, I appreciate the clarification on "Substance". New Order has never been a big play here in the states, and my first exposure to them was "Technique". I loved the record, and was advised to pick up "Substance" next, which I did, not understanding it was a compilation. At that time, I was single and acquiring CD's faster than I could properly research them or read the liner notes. From "Substance" I went back to Technique and moved forward.

I appreciate the recordings that I referenced, and I appreciate them more in light of your clarification. Thanks for setting me straight.

Hell, to put it in perspective, at the beginning of World In Motion single (and most of the Remixes) the announcer states that some of the crowd are on the pitch, or something to that effect. I had no idea what a "pitch" had to do with a soccer match. Since my last trip to Bristol and Brighton, I was 'educated' and understand the opening commentary now. ANd I understand what a 'pitch' is, in the context provided.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:02 pm

Pleasure to be of some use. But did they explain to you where that quote is from? It's legendary - it's from the live commentary at the very end of the '66 World Cup final (England 4- West Germany 1), hence its appropriateness at the start of an official World Cup England anthem by NO. The guy that did it died recently. To give you an idea of its cultural status here, there is/was a comic sports quiz show on the BBC entitled 'They Think It's All Over'. Probably the most famous line of British sports commentary ever!

ice nine · Post by **ice nine** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:55 pm

1. The Definitive Chet Baker - Chet Baker............When I first heard him sing I thought I was listening to Billie Holiday (Is that a bad thing to say?)

2. The Turn of A Friendly Card - Alan Parsons Project ............A concept album about gambling!!

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:04 am

The two Scrittis for £9 all in from Amazon UK marketplace, others with the help of the local library (still paid for, but only 90p a go!).

Scritti Politti - Anomie and Bonhomie (Great LP from 1999, their first in 11 years, and no sign of anything new. I had it on tape, good to get a cheap replacement. Great mix of rappers, Green's pop sensibilities and some nice loud guitar. Vies with Songs To Remember as their best LP, though Cupid and Psyche had some great singles.)

Scritti Politti - Provision (Definitely the worst of their 4 LPs. Apart from the beautiful Oh Patti, the songwriting is poor. It's incredibly dated. Takes the whizz bang pop of Hypnotize and others from Cupid and Psyche to extremes. Had never heard it, but won't be playing it much apart from the above song. Must get the recent Early compilation, which will have some interesting stuff on.)

Paul Weller - Days of Speed (A friend raved about the recent Hammersmith Apollo gig, so I checked this out, but was disappointed to find it was solo acoustic. Some of it is great, particularly the opening Brand New Start, but much of it is a bit dull unless your a real fan, which I haven't been since The Jam. SLL, what do you reckon to this one?)

Dusty In Memphis (Another legendary LP I'd never heard apart from the hits. It is gorgeous and deserves its reputation. Some great songs and a fantastic voice.)

Best of REM (Just to have some of these songs on CD, though their current dullness kind of dampens their legacy. That said, Bad Day was a cracker.)

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 2:57 pm

Morrissey Live At Earls Court

Excellent live CD combining lots of Quarry with some old Smiths songs and a nice cover of Patti Smiths Redondo Beach from Horses. Great opening version of How Soon is Now and an epic You Know I Couldnt Last.

A nice companion to the new "Who Put The M in Manchester" DVD which has a great version of "The Headmaster Ritual" complete with Alain Whyte gimacing his way through Johnny Marrs chord structures - and a wonderful job he does of it too.

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:56 pm

Otis - Quite liked Days of Speed when it came out, although didn't get to any of the supporting gigs. Haven't played it in a while, will have to give it another spin. I also have a boot from the tour with entirely different songs also played on the tour but not on the offical release.

If you happen to see a box set called 'Fly On The Wall' going at a reasonable price it is worth getting. Has some good 'rarities' and some unreleased covers, I like it a lot.

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:57 pm

I just ordered:

Beck - Guero
The Decemberists - Picaresque
Pulp - The Gift Recordings
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Nouvelle Vague - s/t

But I won't get them until next week, no idea why. Dumb Amazon.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:16 am

Decemberists don't seem to be in the radar over here, not mine anyway! Great name. What are they like?

Bloc Party are being touted as 'this year's Franz Ferdinand'. Helicopter is quite catchy, but I haven't been that impressed with all the stuff I've heard, sounds more limited than FF. Wil bve interested to hear your verdict.

Yo La Tengo is another band I know nothing about, and that you have often mentioned, MBA, and their best of with a CD of extras sounds like it my be worth checking out. Is it a good selection?

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:12 am

Otis: I think you would really like the Decemberists! They're the most literate pop band around, I think. Some of their songs are sort of baroque and old-fashioned sounding--not really the music, per se, but the feel. Colin Meloy sings about wanting to be an actor, or camaraderie in the trenches during WWI, but in a serious way, nothing about it is cutesy. I haven't heard the new one yet, obviously, but I really loved "Her Majesty" and really loved them live.

Bloc Party was recommended to me a few months ago by a friend whose taste in music I respect, but I'm buying the CD without having actually heard any of the music on it. "More limited" than Franz Ferdinand doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, if I can still dance to it.

That Yo La Tengo best of looks like a good initiation, even though it doesn't have "Cherry Chapstick" on it, which is one of my faves. "Autumn Sweater," "Sugarcube" and "Tears Are in Your Eyes" are all on it, and I love those songs. Also "You Can Have it All." And their cover of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War." There are definitely worse ways to spend $20!

SweetPear · Post by **SweetPear** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:50 am

I like Yo La Tengo too. I have a bunch of misc. stuff of theirs.
I was also checking out the Decemberists......haven't bought yet. The same for Beck's Guero. I hear he's back to his old self. I didn't like his last disc too much.

Just purchased (on iTunes):

Head Automatica~Decadence
Matchbook Romance~Stories and Alibis
Brand New~Deja Entendu
The Killers~Mr. Brightside
My Chemical Romance~Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Alkaline Trio~Maybe I'll Catch Fire

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 12:25 pm

miss buenos aires wrote:Otis: I think you would really like the Decemberists! They're the most literate pop band around, I think. Some of their songs are sort of baroque and old-fashioned sounding--not really the music, per se, but the feel. Colin Meloy sings about wanting to be an actor, or camaraderie in the trenches during WWI, but in a serious way, nothing about it is cutesy. I haven't heard the new one yet, obviously, but I really loved "Her Majesty" and really loved them live.

"Her Majesty" was great, but "Picaresque" is even better. Not a weak song in the bunch. You have to expect with Colin Meloy that he's going to take you on a little Melville-style historical tour, filled with chimney sweeps, barrow boys, sailors and the like. It sounds like it would all sound corny and retro, but somehow it doesn't come off that way. He's a great pop songwriter.

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:17 pm

Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy.

I own several albums where Eno is credited as a producer, but this is my first Eno record. I hope I picked a good one

pip_52 · Post by **pip_52** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:29 pm

Let me know what you think of the Brian Eno, Blue ... Ive been wanting to check him out for awhile, but Im not sure where to start.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:44 pm

I used to have an Eno album from when he still made pop records. Pretty great. You can definitely hear his influence on early Talking Heads/XTC, etc.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:36 pm

Be careful with Eno.

I own his work with David Byrne called "My Life in The Bush of Ghosts". I think it as masterful, but not for everyone. Very rhythmic, primal.

I have an album called "Before and After Science" that is quite accessible, but not representative of his catalogue. A good, unremarkable record.

Finally, his work with Robert Fripp was, to me, beyond my realm of understanding. Restated, it snded as if they started the tape and decided to see how much noise they could make that would create the same viscral reaction inthe listener as fingernails on a chalkboard. The only album I purchased in this collection was called "No PussyFootin'" and I think it is horrible.

On the strength of his work with Byrne, and his influences, he is a significant contributor to rock music. Other than that, and what I have posted above, I know very little about him.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:48 pm

Mr. Average wrote:On the strength of his work with Byrne, and his influences, he is a significant contributor to rock music. Other than that, and what I have posted above, I know very little about him.

Great producer too. His work with "Low"-era Bowie, the albums he and Lanois did with U2, "My Dark Life", etc. (man, I'd love to see what he and EC could do with an entire album).

"Tiger Mountain" is very good, as is "Another Green World", which followed it. I also like the ambient albums I've heard, especially "On Land", but that's a completely different kind of listening experience.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:32 pm

As far as Eno goes - his first solo album "Here Come The Warm Jets" is a good place to start - it has "Babys on Fire" on it and is probably his most poppy album - and the first two Roxy Music albums with him in the band are classics too - but you cant really wrong with any of his first four solo albums and Bush of Ghosts.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:10 pm

Mr. Average wrote:
I have an album called "Before and After Science" that is quite accessible, but not representative of his catalogue. A good, unremarkable record.

I THINK this is one I had....At the time I thought it was, actually, pretty remarkable.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 4:05 am

I love Another Green World. It contains the most incredibly lovely Fripp solo on St Elmo's Fire, and also the fabulous music that was used on BBC2's Arena programme as the opening music (I think that was the title track). I also have Music For Films, which is good ambient stuff. Want to hear more of the classics, he was always very high in my consciousness due to the Bowie trilogy. I think his influence on Bowie's Outside is very tangible too. Apparently he's touring with Roxy Music again this year, which really surprised me. (I know someone who knows the bassist and they're off in June or something.) Will he turn up in a feather boa and stcked heels with loads of make-up on?

Chrille · Post by **Chrille** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:09 am

Wait a minute, Roxy Music are touring again? What, when, where!?

I'm a big fan of Eno, havn't listened to any of his work other than Jets, Tiger, Green, Science and Ghosts though. But he's been involved in the recording/production of so many great albums it's scary. Most of them's already been mentioned here though.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 2:53 pm

Only found this, but only tried one hit:

http://www.ents24.com/web/artist/27996/Roxy_Music.html

Only two UK dates listed, and no Eno ref, but the contact in question is a sound source as he toured with Ferry/Roxy (I think under the latter name, but could be wrong) last year.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:44 pm

Just purchased Moby "Hotel" and dammit, he just needs to get ambitious and aggressive again. This sounds, upon the first listen, like excellent material, but he sounds restrained, and it kills me. One the first CD (the main) he sounds like he wants to emulate segments of "Everything is Wrong" (killer Moby album, better imho then "Play" by a ton) but holds back.

It's too early to tell. Hell, it was a great bargin...2 CD's for 13.99$US. The second CD is ambient music, but it conveys the "Hotel" theme somehow, I just can't articulate how.

Moby takes pride in playing all of the instruments on both discs, save for some actual drums on the first CD. Maybe he needs a band that can tear off the top and pour in some semi-solid lava to heat up these songs.

In fairness, I have only played the two discs through once. I like it, but I just long for the old days when Moby let his hair down a little more often (figuratively speaking) and presented his songs with a little more "reckless abandon".

I'll update after a few more listens. One thing is for certain...this guy is a huge talent.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 10:05 pm

I saw Moby in a video show interview last year and he comes across as a real dickhead.

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 4:42 pm

Picked up The Very Best of Woody Guthrie for £3.99.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:46 pm

Purchased the Elvis Costello influences CD sold at Starbucks for 14.99$ in LA. Haven't listened to it yet.