New Order....

I was missing a copy of Lowlife, I don't know how this happened,but I picked up a cheap copy at Jive Time. One of absolute fave New Order albums, "Love Vigilantes" is a great opener for an album, which might be the best album they did overall, it's really balanced, between the rock side, and the dance stuff. I love Peter Hook's bass on this album so much, it's always been the thing that drew me to New Order, still is. Not to downplay Stephens' drumming or Bernards' guitar work, but it's always been about Peter Hook for me. I've been debating buying the new re-issues, with all the extra material on them, which will only add to my never ending quest to fulfill this discography. Sigh....

While I was at Jive Time, I decided to finally purchase "Get Ready", I'd always been hesitant to get it, I had heard that it's just okay. And to be honest, it is. Far below New Orders' best moments. I still like it a lot, it's been growing on me, I do like "Crystal" a lot, "Run Wild" too, it's really not as bad as I'm making it out to be, and certainly worth the used price I paid for it, and believe me, there are plenty in pretty much every used bin I've ever been, but really, it doesn't deserve that spot, it's been growing on me, I'm listening to it as I type this and I'm getting more and more into it.

2 albums equal 18 songs which makes the count at 15716....

Camera Obscura....

My favorite band right now, has to be Scotlands' Camera Obscura. There's just something about them that seems so timeless to me. So classic, like any of their recent albums could have been made in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's or beyond. They have a fair number of singles that I have managed to track down, these three all being from their album "Let's Get Out Of This Country", all of them fairly cheap on Amazon too. The first one "If Looks Could Kill", is my favorite song off that album, a huge Phil Spector sound. I love Tracyanne's voice, very sad, jaded, maudlin. The other songs on here, "Hands Up Baby" is a slow burner, creepy, hollow sounding song about a relationship gone bad. "Alaska" is fantastic too, more in line with the album than the previous song.

The next single "Let's Get Out Of This Country", is a theme I can agree with sometimes; the need to get away from it all. Such a simple and understated theme. Reminds me (lyrically) of Crimpshines' "Summertime", one of my favorites. This was actually the first song I had ever heard by Camera Obscura, and it holds a special place in my heart. I love the non album tracks, "Lemon Juice And Paper Cuts" sounds like old AM country, kind of. The tempo and guitar does anyway. I think the French Horn probably doesn't sound too "country", but if you heard it, you'd know what I mean. "Return To Send Her" is probably my favorite on here, a mid tempo organ driven tune, it has a real warm sunny sound to it that drifts along at it's own leisure, really, any of these songs could have been on the album, it all sounds wonderfully similar, but you can tell they kind of cut loose a bit more on the non LP tracks.

"Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" is maybe their biggest hit off this album, and the opening song off the album, but the real winners on this one are both b-sides; "Phil And Don" which is kind of a duet between Tracyanne and guitarist Kenny McKeever as a tribute to The Everly Brothers, it seems fitting that it's a little schmaltzy, the monkey grinder organ and the carnivalesque feel to it would be a complete joke if not in their hands, but Camera Obscura manage to make it sound just right. I love "Roman Holiday" the best on here, Tracyannes' voice reminds me of Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, the music is a little in the lounge vein, but not overpoweringly so.

Camera Obscura have got to be one of the best bands going at the moment. When they tour again, I am not going to be missing them, no matter what. I'm glad they shed their whole "sounds like Belle And Sebastian" tag, because they really don't. Camera Obscura have mined a sunny American pop sound while B&S went for a more "pop Lite" sound, miles away from each other. 3 CD singles equals 9 songs which makes the count at 15698...

The Juliana Hatfield Trio...

Hiya, my room flooded a couple weeks back, I have been unable to update this thing, but I am back. I have been acquiring a lot of CD singles lately, been just really into the whole format. In the 90's, if they hadn't featured a song off the album, many of these "singles" could have been E.P.'s Lots of bonus material on them, some good, some bad. Juliana Hatfield decided to call herself a trio, and record her album "Become What You Are", one of her least productive efforts, but still great nonetheless. One of the better songs off this album is the one for this single, "For The Birds", not the greatest lyrical content, but the song itself is very catchy and has a great melody. I've always liked it. I really love the "Non LP Track" (their description) "Hello, My Name Is Baby", should have been on the album. "Batwing" is a little bit throwaway, just a little instrumental song, it's not awful, but I would have liked to have seen a song that was more fully formed. It sounds like I'm whining about this single, I'm really not. I do love it, it's gotten lots of play from me, I just have high expectations for Miss Hatfield is all.

4 songs makes the song count at 15689....

Teenage Fanclub Singles...

Three CD singles (the best format ever) from Teenage Fanclubs' album "Songs From Northern Britain", which may be their best album ever, which is saying something. Apparently, each of these singles have a Part 1. and Part 2. Everyone I bought here off of Amazon, is Part one (the cheaper ones, of course). "Ain't That Enough" is my favorite Teenage Fanclub song ever, it's just perfect in every way, a mid tempo chiming, Byrds inspired song, the simplest theme, best riffs, best harmonizing, it's one of my favorite pop songs period. The other two songs on here, "Kickabout" and "Broken" are great too, definitely B-side material, but fantastic tracks regardless.


"I Don't Want Control Of You" is another damn near perfect song, it's hard to talk about how great the songs are from this album, a band at the height of their songwriting, everything just seems to have aligned up just right for these guys, the B-sides on here are a bit better, "The Count" is worthy of being included on the album I think, but I don't know, how many hits do you need on one album? "The Middle Of The Road", the last song on here, is only a little less spectacular than the rest of this single, but lesser bands have never written songs this good....

The last one I got in the mail (all for the same seller too, a trifecta win!), is their "Start Again" single, which obviously starts off the whole album, what an opener, they make it seem like it's so easy to do. Everything is simplified, the drumming, the guitar riffs are executed with a sparseness that I think a lot of musicians might have not been able to pull off. The B-Sides on this one are good, but way more throwaway than the other two singles, but even then, not so much, an acoustic version of "Ain't That Enough" from Top Of The Pops and a radio version of "Take The Long Way Around", again, nice to hear it, but not essential or anything...

I love the theme on all the covers of these singles, a pic from somewhere in in Britain, the band name on the top left corner, the song title underneath it, all in the same typeface, just a classic look.

3 singles equals 9 songs, which makes the count at 15685....

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart...

What a long band name. I didn't want to like this, I don't know why. I heard it being pumped through some crappy speakers of a coffee shop and immediately asked who it was to the barista, who told me. Damn. My own prejudices lost out, this is too good not to like. An American band taking lots of cues from all over the U.K,'s "alternative" scene, a real mixed bag of influences. Culling from influences as various as the Smiths, early Echo And The Bunnymen, the poppier Jesus And Mary Chain stuff and you kind of get an idea of what this sounds like. Really fuzzy guitars, snappy drums, not too over the top keyboards, it sounds great. I love the song "This Love Is Fucking Right!" and "Hey Paul" especially, just hits it on all the right notes for me. I actually paid full price for this it's so good, which is kind of a big deal for me. I'm pretty stoked to have an actual new band to look forward to seeing, instead of re buying all the older material I lost along the way in my life, not that I don't love that stuff too, but this makes me feel less old, you know? Shockingly good album by a band I am definitely keeping an eye on....

10 songs makes the count at 15676....

Chapterhouse....

How did I sleep on this? An acquaintance of mine who stops my work from time to time who shares a lot of the same musical tastes as I do, suggested Chapterhouse to me, as we were talking about shoegaze. I'd assured him that as soon as a used copy was in any used bin, that I'd pick it up. I finally spied this one, which not only includes their album "Whirlpool" but also has their early e.p.'s as well. It's got that hazy shoegazer sound that's at once clearly recognizable, but still undefinable; psych guitars, crashing drums, reverb vocals, you know the drill. I'm pretty into this, it's so prototypical of the genre, hits it all on the right spots without sounding derivative of the times that they were in that it works. Too bad they released this album right around "Nevermind" and "Ten". I guess this album was released without much fanfare or hype. What a pity. If you can find a used copy of this, it's really worth it, a great lost unsung gem from the shoegazer era that still burns as brightly as it did when it came out.

16 songs makes the count at 15566....

Dots And Loops...

I got this one finally in the mail today, the first Stereolab I ever owned, so it has a special place in my heart. Maybe Stereolabs' strangest album, it's got that "motorik" German sound that seemed like a smaller presence on earlier material, here, it's in full effect, maybe more than any other album they did. The Brazilian Pop sound is there too, but combined it's more cold and distant sounding. The recording sounds airy and thin, but it's very much not; it's actually really dense and layered. Listen to "Brakhage" and see what I mean. Or "The Flower Called Nowhere". One of their longest songs is on here too, "Refractions In The Plastic Pulse", it's a 17+ minute song, but I never feel like it's ever that long. It takes a couple listens to really get into it too, not as much of an album that has "hits" on it like it's predecessors "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" or "Mars Audiac Quintet", but once you listen to it more, it grows and grows on you. Love this record, not a great starter album, but a great black sheep album of the Stereolab discography. You can find one super cheap on either Amazon (where I got mine), or at any record store in the bargain bin. It's a pity that that's where they lie, such an amazing album....

10 songs makes the count at 15550....

Stereolab...

Finally got some more Stereolab albums, lots of 'em. This one came from Amazon for about .45 cents. I figured I'd start with my personal favorite one: "Mars Audiac Quintet". A lot of people say that their best was "Emperor Tomato Ketchup", but this one seems like it has the best flow, and is the most representative of their sound, it just really gelled together on this one. The drone they had been experimenting with on previous records comes together, and Latetia and Mary Hansens' voices flow together perfectly on this one,the keyboards don't seem so overdone, I dunno, it just works so well together. The recording starting with this album onward got better, pristine even, not as lo-fi sounding, which could have ruined tracks like "Three-Dee Melodie", "Wow And Flutter" and "Ping Pong". A great anytime listening record, rain, shine, hot cold, wet, dry, whenever it adapts to your moods and enhances the day, buy this album first before any other Stereolab album if you're ever curious about them, or want to revisit them, this is the one to listen to....

15 songs makes the count at 15540....

The Grifters...

I never really listened to the Grifters before, never came across my field of vision really. I have heard the name before, but that's about it really, I never even knew that they had a couple albums on Sub Pop. This one, apparently their last, is a great last statement for a band. It's like if you took all the elements of Pavement that I never liked (which is a lot, really overrated band, not bad, but not that great), you get The Grifters. A somewhat meandering pace to the songs, lazy guitar riffs, a nice clear voice, not all bombarded with studio tricks. This was mostly recorded at Easley Studios, which has recorded lots of great indy acts like the Spinanes, GBV, Cat Power, etc. Very few weak tracks on here, maybe "Centuries" is a little lackluster, but it's more than made up for on tracks like "Spaced Out" and "The Sweetest Thing", which are so good I get mad at myself for never having listened to these guys before. I really missed the boat here, this is a great album. I picked mine up at Easy Street for $5, and there were plenty of other albums by them in the used bin. Are they another casualty of being white hot for a minute, then fading away? I wonder, do they have a legacy at all? I want to ask my friends about them, but I have a feeling they are going to end up being one of those "best kept secret" bands who are revered in smaller circles. Shame if it were the case. Another great "In between Grunge And Now" Sub Pop release, I'm excited to hear more....

12 songs makes the song count at 15525....

Teenage Fanclub singles....

I've been waiting forever for these singles to come, well over two weeks! Two early Teenage Fanclub CD singles, perhaps the most obsolete from the get go format. I mean really, why waste all the space on a CD for just a few songs? But regardless, I love the format, it seemed like you always got at least 3 extra songs on a single, almost making it an e.p., which seemed more worth the money. Anyways, the first single is "What You Do To Me" off their incredible "Bandwagonesque" album, maybe the best song off that album, with the exception of "The Concept". Two versions on here, the "Album Version", and the "Satan Version". Ones' a bit longer than the other, with a different "grunge" ending, yuck. After that is a totally needless throwaway cover of Madonna's "Like A Virgin", not really sure why it's on here. "Life's A Gas" is a really great song, maybe the best one on here, although "Long Hair" comes in right behind it, a great single, totally worth it for the cuts that didn't make it to the album, as usual with singles, I wonder why the B-Sides weren't used for the album and several songs from the record could have been used for the single instead.....

"Mellow Doubt". Weird single choice, at least to me. This is off their perfect "Grand Prix" album, so many hits on that one, why not "Don't Look Back"? Or "About You"? or "Don't Look Back"? Don't get me wrong, "Mellow Doubt" is a great song, but hardly worthy of a single, at least in my mind. Weird. Either way, this single has less songs than the previous one, only one dragger, and even then, it's a pretty strong cover of Creedence Clearwater Revivals' "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?", it sounds good, natural, it works. The other two songs, "Getting Real" and "Some People Try (To Fuck With You)" are pretty top shelf songs, again, worthy of being on the album.

There are lots of Teenage Fanclub singles out there, most of them on Amazon for real cheap and for the taking, I've made a little list to cross off each one I acquire, two down....

Two singles equals 10 songs, which makes the count at 15513....