Washington State is under a stay-at-home order till May 4, which means I’m not going to be shopping for music at a local record store till then — assuming the order doesn’t get extended.
Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, May 15
Prior to No Shape, I’ve been ambivalent about Perfume Genius. I would hear excerpts of previous albums and not feel much compulsion to listen to more. I picked up No Shape from the thrift store mostly because it had garnered a lot of acclaim. And I liked it enough to look forward to this next release.
Various Artists, I Still Play, May 22
Bob Hurwitz retired as president of Nonesuch in 2017, and for his send-off, a number of artists wrote piano works for him. The title piece, written by John Adams, was Hurwitz’s reply when someone asked him if he still plays piano.
Inventions, Continous Portrait, July 10
Matthew Cooper of Eluvium and Mark Smith of Explosions in the Sky reunite for their first new album since 2015.
Rescheduled
Rufus Wainwright, Unfollow the Rules, July 10
Sam Smith,TBD (formerly titled To Die For), Fall 2020
Vinyl
Everything But the Girl, Temperamental, May 8
I like this album enough to want this vinyl reissue, but I didn’t like it enough to get the deluxe edition a few years back.
MONO, Hymn to the Immortal Wind (Anniversary Edition), June 14
I’m not usually a sucker for fancy packaging, but the limited edition vinyl reissue looks gorgeous. Also, this album really is MONO’s best.
John Luther Adams, Become Desert (Seattle Symphony, Ludovic Morlot), June 14
I’m not sure a recording will capture the surprise when a men’s chorus emerges from the texture of the orchestra — behind you. Perhaps in surround sound?
Renée Fleming, Lieder, June 14
An album of Brahms, Schumann and Mahler. I’ll pass.
The B-52’s, Cosmic Thing (Expanded Edition), June 28
It took a while for me to warm up to the B-52’s rougher early work because my first exposure to the band was the slick and polished Cosmic Thing.
Torche, Admission, July 12
I have three of the band’s four albums, which gives me enough familiarity with their work to look forward this upcoming release.
The Flaming Lips, King’s Mouth, July 19
Oh, so this was an actual new album? When I spotted it on Record Store Day, I assumed it was another one of their oddball projects.
NUMBER GIRL, Kanden no Kioku, July 24
A new live album! Or rather, raiding the archive to capitalize on the reunion.
Vinyl
Midnight Oil, Armistice Day: Live at the Domain Sydney, June 14
Oh, man, was I ever glad to catch Midnight Oil live on The Great Circle tour.
Solange, When I Get Home, late June
Solage’s Blonde to the Endless that was A Seat at the Table. How’s that for a difficult analogy?
Everything But the Girl, Amplified Heart, July 5
I’m surprised this album hadn’t been reissued on vinyl before now. Could we get a repress of Walking Wounded too?
NUMBER GIRL, SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT, Aug. 7 NUMBER GIRL, SAPPUKEI, Aug. 7 NUMBER GIRL, NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC, Aug. 7
The Jet Set Records vinyl reissues in 2015 were pretty much sold out before they hit the stores, so jump on these pre-orders if you want to hear NUMBER GIRL in glorious analog.
I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.
I traveled to Austin for the record convention this past weekend. I didn’t find much of what I wanted, but I did find a lot of what I didn’t know I wanted. This list includes purchases at Waterloo Records and End of an Ear.
New releases
CD
Jamila Woods, Legacy! Legacy!
Kronos Quartet with Masha and Marjan Vadat, Placeless
Catalog
CD
a-ha, Hunting High and Low
Bill Frisell, Before We Were Born
Dwight Yoakam, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room
Grizzly Bear, Shields
Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison
Joy Division, Closer
Robert Palmer, Pride
Robert Palmer, Some People Can Do What They Like
Shovels & Rope, Swimmin’ Time
Tomita, The Planets
Witold Lutoslawski, Symphonies / Concertos / Vocal and Choral Works
Vinyl
Branford Marsalis Quartet, Crazy People Music
Everything But the Girl, Everything But the Girl
Franz Josef Haydn, Streichquartette, op. 20, 2 & 4 (Quarteto Esterhazy)
Giovanni Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass / Stabat Mater / Three Motets (Pro Cantione Antiqua, Bruno Turner)
Janet Jackson, Janet Jackson
Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison
Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park
Marilyn Manson, Antichrist Superstar
Megadeth, So Far … So Good … So What!
Olivier Messiaen, La Nativité du Seigneur (Jennifer Bate)
I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.
It was my birthday last week, so I spent it in London, getting more study scores than records. A few of these titles were bought with birthday cash beforehand.
New releases
CD
Dead Can Dance, Dionysus
Catalog
CD
Beat Furrer, Aria / Solo / Gaspra
Beat Furrer, Stimmen / Face De La Chaleur / Quartett / Dort Ist Das Me
Carlo Gesualdo, O Dolce Mio Tesoro
Everything But the Girl, Eden (Deluxe Edition)
Everything But the Girl, Love Not Money (Deluxe Edition)
Icicle Works, 5 Albums
Perfume, JPN
Robert Palmer, 5 Classic Albums
The Human League, Dare
Utada Hikaru, “Face My Fears”
Yaz, Three Pieces
Vinyl
10,000 Maniacs, Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings
A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.
The original list from 1994 didn’t even include an extended list. That’s how austere the selections from the year were.
Talitha Mackenzie, Solas
Freedy Johnston, This Perfect World
Wayne Horvitz/Pigpen, V as in Victim
Harry Connick, Jr., She
Guided By Voices, Bee Thousand
Everything But the Girl, Amplified Heart
Kronos Quartet, Night Prayers
Jayne Cortez and the Firespitters, Cheerful & Optimistic
John Zorn/Masada, Alef
Madonna, Bedtime Stories
Other favorites from the year:
Prince, The Black Album
Blur, Parklife
Pizzicato Five, Made in USA
Shudder to Think, Pony Express Record
Elliott Goldenthal, Interview with a Vampire
At the time of its limited release, I was actually very curious about The Black Album. Part of it was all the hype surrounding its initial aborted release, but I was still mostly ambivalent about Prince to pass on it. Its underdog status among Prince’s work makes me like it just a bit more.
A top 10 list I would have compiled in 1994 would have listed the Interview with a Vampire soundtrack. It’s actually a really good score. It’s too bad the movie sucked eggs. I watched twice — the first time to evaluate its faithfulness to the novel (somewhat), the second to evaluate it as a film (awful). The only thing that mars the soundtrack is the unfortunate cover of Sympathy for the Devil by Guns N’ Roses.
![[Everything But the Girl - Walking Wounded]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EverythingButTheGirlWalk226185KCTB_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Shiina Ringo - Newton no Ringo]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ShiinaRingoNewtonNoRingo-300x265.jpg)
![[Ty Herndon - Got It Covered]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TyHerndonGotItCovered-1024x1024.jpg)
![[NUMBER GIRL - Kanden no Kioku]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/NumberGirlKandenNoKioku-300x300.jpg)
![[Everything But the Girl - Amplified Heart]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/EverythingButTheGirlAmpl2111322OHD_f-300x300.jpg)
![[John Luther Adams - Become Desert]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/JohnLutherAdamsBecomeDesert-300x300.jpg)
![[Soundtrack - Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu Ka?]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Macross211459_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Icicle Works - Five Albums]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/TheIcicleWorks5Albums2208924_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Soundtrack - Interview with a Vampire]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/VariousArtistsSoundtracks12739_f-300x299.jpg)