PJ...

How weird is PJ Harvey? I love all her albums, but this one "To Bring You My Love" was always missing from my collection. Not for lack of copies of this album either. It's everywhere. I just never got around to it. I've been a fan ever since I heard the album "Rid Of Me", but everyone I know has her stuff so I've never felt the desire to pick up copies until the demise of the CD. I think this album, her 3rd (4th if you count her "4 Track Demos" CD) is PJ at her the zenith of her acceptability for soccer moms and the like. Her videos actually got regular rotation on MTV, was featured on Rolling Stone and the like. And as quickly as that faded, she never made an album like this again. It's definitely still a weird one, "Meet Ze Monstra" is this stomping number, while immediately following it, "Working For The Man" is a quiet, intense burner. I've decided I need a lot more PJ Harvey in my life, the albums are all there in the bins, waiting for me to pick them up, and they're cheap too. I've got a few, (Dry, Rid Of Me, 4 Track Demos), but not all. It should be easy. No singles or B-Sides collections though unfortunately....

10 songs makes the count at 17972....

Tangerine Dream...

Tangerine Dream were/are(?) kind of joke nowadays, but when this, their major label debut came out, it was a heavy hitter internationally, but got almost no recognition in their own country of Germany. This album in particular, being considered a bit of a flop, while internationally getting lots of rave reviews. Tangerine Dream at this point, almost seemed like they were totally immersed in writing soundtracks, "Phaedra" could have been made for some insane Stanley Kubrick film. This was Tangerine Dream before they became the New Age stars they are now; messing around on Mellotrons, Moogs, running them through sequencers and filters, getting some pretty impressive results. Edgar Froese is the main force behind Tangerine Dream, always has been, but Christoher Franke and Peter Baumann lineup is pretty crucial and those guys were no slouches either. The first track "Phaedra" is around 18 minutes long, all tension filled ambient music, like some science experiment escaped the lab and is hunting you down, or a gang of futuristic hoods almost have you cornered in the utopian city you dwell in. It sounds corny till you hear it. I love this kind of stuff, Tangerine Dream fall under the Krautrock moniker, but they, along with contemporaries Klaus Schulze, Conrad Schnitzler, and the duo Cluster seemed to be the only folk doing this sort of thing. Only Tangerine Dream made it to the big time, it seemed like they had the aspirations to do more all along. Some of the later stuff they did, like the tracks off the "Risky Business" soundtrack are a bit reminiscent of this period, but after that, the 'Dream head off into New Age territory where I just can't follow. Not a single clunker on their first five albums or so though, this one and "Zeit" being two of my personal favorites. I found my copy at Jive Time, it's not too hard to pick these up, even at a bargain price....

4 (long) pieces makes the count at 17962....

No Age...

Urgh. The holiday is finally over for me. It's hard to do anything when you work in the grocery industry, you come home wiped out and drained. Now I can focus on what's important to me, cheap music...I think I need a late pass for No Age, I just assumed they were just another hipster band that I wouldn't get. So wrong here. I'm glad to say that too. I found this for .99 cents at Jive Times bargain basement, such a steal! This is No Age's first album for Sub Pop, I think their first album proper too, the previous one being a collection of the earlier singles and such. I am on the lookout for now though. It kind of makes sense that I would like No Age, they are kind of a interesting meeting of mid period Sonic Youth, some Ride and My Bloody Valentine but more lo-fi and scuzzy sounding. Just a two piece too, it's kid of amazing the sound they get on this album, really big for just two guys. I can't say I'm a superfan of No Age yet, but this album, "Nouns" is on definite heavy repeat. Especially the songs "Eraser" and "Teen Creeps", both might make it into a workout mix....

12 songs makes the count at 17958...

The Herd...

Lucky for me, Wipers CD's are easy (for the most part) to come by on Amazon. This isn't an "OG" pressing, but rather a cheaper repress that sounds just as good. The Wipers material isn't in any danger of print these days it seems, but it is a shame that the Wipers aren't as revered. This is their 8th LP and it's a sort of overlooked one in their discography (as a matter of fact, it seems like the only Wipers albums people pay attention to are "Youth Of America", "Is This Real?", and "Over The Edge"), but to their credit, Greg Sage and drummer Steve Plouf carry on with their mission to make nonstop near perfect albums with zeal. The opener "Psychic Vampire" lets you know this is a guitar players' album. Greg Sage is genius songwriter, as I had stated previously, his skills seem more confident, more fluid than his earlier material. While I don't like this as much as "The Circle", it's still a potent album from an very underrated band. I'm beginning to close in on the Wipers discography, I am about halfway there on the albums, need the singles next, but I am getting there.

12 songs makes the count at 17946...

Saturday Looks Good To Me....

Long name for another great pop band that never got their due. Sometimes labeled as a lo-fi version of Belle And Sebastian, which is unfair and pretty incorrect. Just more simple and awesome 60's styled songs of heartbreak and confusion done people who grew up with old power pop records, soul albums, and an obsession with Phil Spector styled production. I bought this at Easy Street quite a few months ago, after hearing "All Over Town" at someones' house, I can't remember whose, and was so into it I rushed out and bought it and shelved it away. Now all of a sudden, I found the album in a box I was rummaging through and decided to give it another listen, and re-fell in love it. I've bought some more of their albums since, but the charm of this album hasn't been beat by them. Singer Betty Marie Barnes cheery, innocent sounding voice is a perfect foil for Fred Thomas' world weary one. When they sing "The Girls' Distracted" it really comes together. Maybe one of the top ten greatest pop songs I've ever heard! Really, no joke. I really missed the boat with these guys, long broken up, even though I had the opportunity to see them at least a couple times. Bummer. I've been listening to a lot of this sort of "retro" sounding stuff, it's just appealing to me right now, if you dig a unpretentious sound, you'll love this. Not a bad cut on here.

12 songs makes the count at 17934...

The Positions....

Ever hear of these guys? A great DC band who could the US version of the Cardigans maybe. A bit "poppier" than the Cardigans, more upbeat sounding, but the feeling is there. Lots of horns on here too. Maybe a bit much, a subtler use of the brass section would have been more up my alley, but whatever, I'm just nitpicking. I can't remember where I first heard this, maybe on the radio, but I remember that Archie Moore of Velocity Girl had produced it. Given his track record on all things pop oriented, you know this will be good. It actually sounds so close to their "¡Simpatico!" you may forget that Velocity Girl is long broken up. Singer Nicole Stoops sounds uncannily like Sarah Shannon. It sounds like I'm trying to say I like The Positions because I miss Velocity Girl, which I do, but this is just great non ironic 60's flavoured pop music. If it's done well, it's always enjoyable. All the elements are just there to make up a great record, just like "¡Simpatico!" is all. Apparently, The Positions have another album out there, only as an MP3 download or as a 10" (a truly horrific format). On their webpage, they give you the option of downloading it for free even! Good music and ethical as hell? I'm down. I could listen to "Flowers And Trees" all day, what a great cut. If you like great breezy pop music, you should definitely spend the .58 cents on this at Amazon and buy it, you won't be disappointed....

12 songs makes the count at 17922...

The Wipers...

The last album by the legendary Wipers. America's Joy Division, at least I always thought so. Maybe not quite as tragic as Joy Division, but melancholic and introspective for sure. I found this for cheap on Amazon, and knew I had to pick it up. The Wipers are the great unsung punk/post punk/pre grunge band that never got their due like Husker Du or the Replacements did. But ask any musician and they'll say so many great things about them it'll make you sick of them. While "The Power In One" isn't my favorite Wipers album, but it was considered when it came out as a return to form for Greg Sage. He had been doing some pretty mellow stuff as The Wipers and his solo albums were pretty much lambasted as one step away from being Billy Joel or some other sad bastard genre. Even though I disagree (get his solo album "Sacrifice", it's just not the Wipers, but an amazing effort), "Power Of One" received a warm welcome by fans. Even the second half is pretty slow, and similar to his solo albums, everyone seems to forget that aspect. It's incredible that at this point, The Wipers were just two guys, Sage and drummer Steve Plouf. His guitar playing at this point was more fluid, less jagged, just sounds so confident. As a last statement by a band, it's a great one, going out with a bang instead of a whimper. All the songs on here are beyond fantastic, not one clunker in the bunch, but if you were to make a mix of Wipers songs for a friend, I would include "Rocket", "I'll Be Around" "Losers' Revenge" and especially "Take It Now". I'm on a mission now to buy all the Wipers albums, I've got most of them, but there's a few missing from my collection. "The Power Of One" isn't a starter album to delve into the Wipers, that would be "Over The Edge", but you could a lot worse than to pick it up....

14 songs makes the count at 17910...

Smoke Fairies...

I've been sitting on this one for a while. I don't know why I haven't listened to it as much as I have in the last month, but it's my favorite thing I bought this year that's new. Smoke Fairies are a British band who sound like they could have fit in with 60's folk groups like Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Linda Thompson, etc. But it's an interesting meeting of gentle British folk music and some swampy blues. Weird. But it works. There is no filler on this album, every track is stellar top shelf stuff. Plus, it comes with a bonus CD with alternate takes of tracks off the album and a couple non album extras. This is the US version of this album, which came out in 2011, so it definitely makes the top of my top 10 albums of the year. Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire's voices are almost the same, one is a little deeper, so when they harmonize, it's really haunting sounding. A great album for playing at night, the spooky, melancholic sounds have been my soundtrack many a night on the bus, or walking home from a show by myself. Highest recommendation that you purchase this right away. Like I said before, there are no filler songs on here, but "Dragon", "Storm Song", "Feeling Is Turning Blue", and "Human Concerns" warrant multiple listens.

Two CD's (packaged as one) equals 17 songs which makes the count at 17896....

Cocteau Twins....

Easy Street has a GRIP of Cocteau Twins CD singles, so much so that I might be able to finish off my collection in one fell swoop if I can just hold out till friday (payday). In the meantime, I picked up two that caught my eye, either because of the Vaughn Oliver cover(Echoes In A Shallow Bay), or the weird title (Aikea-Guinea). There were LOTS more left over, and at $4 a pop, I'm a little worried someone else might snatch them up. The Cocteau Twins were prolific, just a steady stream of creativity there for a long while. They never sat on their laurels in between albums, lots of EP's followed, most of it wasn't intended for the album it seems like, no album tracks appear on their EP's, which I think is really commendable. "Echoes In A Shallow Bay" is a good one, sort of themed around moths and butterflies found in the UK. Not that you'd be able to tell because of Elisabeth Fraser's buried voice. Only on later albums do you really get to make out what she's singing. "Echoes" is maybe my favorite Cocteau Twins EP, mostly because it contains the track "Eggs And Their Shells" which is one of my favorite Cocteau Twins songs ever.

"Aikea-Guinea" is an earlier EP, it was also a 7" single too if I recall. I like this one a lot too, the title of the EP is a Scottish term for "Seashell". Who knew? This one, although earlier than "Echoes", shares a lot of the same sound, plodding drums (programmed, unfortunately. I feel like these guys could have been so much better with a drummer), Elizabeth's voice buried slightly just to obscure what she's saying, which I feel is part of the appeal to the Cocteau Twins. Really a flawless effort. I find that I love the Cocteau Twins more and more as I get older. Am I mellowing out? Is it inevitable? I don't know. But as pleasing as these songs are, this is still pretty left field stuff. If you played it for your boss, or your parents, they might look at you funny. Both of these EP's are available on the "Lullabies to Violaine" boxed set, which is pretty expensive, or you can find it as a singles edition broken up into two CD's sold separately. Probably the way to go. I myself am looking to score the individual singles. That's how I roll....

2 CDEP's equals 8 songs which makes the count at 17879....

16...

The holidays are a busy time for me, working in retail, you just come home with no energy at all. That and the combo of nothing new or interesting to me in the bargain bins recently has stalled my quest. But at Everyday Music, I spied the first album by 16, "Curves That Kick", on Pusheads' Bacteria Sour label. I know it's just a CD, but I would have thought as prestigious a label as this one, with the excellent Pushead art on the cover would command a much higher price, but $5 is a bargain no matter how you look at it. 16 are nominally a metal band, but with some pretty clear ties to Hardcore as well. Kind of similar to what Helmet was doing at the time as well with their "Meantime" album. Lots of groove, crash cymbals, slightly distorted vocals, and buried bass (like all good metal bands do), which is more than fine with me, but the processed guitars are little distracting to me. Whatever though, "Curves That Kick" was ubiquitous when it came out, everyone I know had a copy, it was playing all the time, so I never bothered to track one down for myself. 16 were one of those "flagship" type bands for me, when you started to figure out that playing any type of aggressive music, be it punk, hardcore, grind, whatever was legitimate, and that you didn't have to bog yourself down with labels. Not that I consider 16 as extreme as other bands that sort of fit into that category, like Cavity, EyehateGod, Swarming Hordes, Don Caballero, etc, but still, a great album to throw on now and then. Worth tracking down. Copies of this (this edition, and subsequent ones) are pretty easy to come by, you shouldn't have any problems tracking this down.

12 songs makes the count at 17871...