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Purchase log, 2022-01-25

[Joshua Bell - Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2]

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.

Catalog

CD
  • Amanda Shires, Down Fell the Doves
  • Joshua Bell, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Cleveland Orchestra)
  • Soft Cell, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
  • Steve Winwood, Arc of a Diver
  • Van Halen, Van Halen
  • Yo-Yo Ma, Barber: Cello Concerto / Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra (David Zinman, Baltimore Symphony)
  • Various Artists, Living in Oblivion, Vol. 4
Vinyl
  • Black, Wonderful Life
  • FINNEAS, Optimist
  • Linda Ronstadt, Canciones de mi Padre
  • Soundtrack, The Crow

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Favorite Edition 2021 Catalog

[Riz Ahmed - The Long Goodbye]

It’s been five years since I discovered the media section of Lifelong Thrift Shop, and I’m at a point where I’m making fewer discoveries. These days, I pick things up because they pique my curiosity, and I anticipate I’ll be re-donating a lot of the albums I bought in the past year.

Still, the vast majority of my listening these days is catalog, as the Favorite Edition Year Final will make clear. In the past, I might have scoffed at someone as new and popular as Olivia Rodrigo. Now? I shrug and follow the mantra, “Let people like things.”

There’s a lot of music out on which I missed when I sought the dopamine hit of finding a new favorite band.

  • Riz Ahmed, The Long Goodbye: Rogue One is probably my favorite movie in the Star Wars extended universe, and Riz Ahmed is big part of why. I’m usually skeptical of Hollywood actors making music, but The Long Goodbye is amazing. It’s a breakup record, but with an entire country. The interludes don’t even feel that arch.
  • Linda Ronstadt, Mad Love: “Hurt So Bad” drew my attention this album, which I then discovered had some solid post-punk credentials on it. I still don’t think calling it her “new wave” album is entirely accurate, though.
  • The Fixx, Reach the Beach: I bought this album on the strength of “One Thing Leads to Another” alone, but I was surprised to find “Save By Zero” on there.
  • Kelela, Take Me Apart: I love that today’s R&B artists draw on influence outside the genre. This album feels more like Utada Hikaru.
  • Laurie Anderson, Big Science: I have two other Laurie Anderson albums that did not answer the question why she’s so lauded. Then this album popped up at the thrift store, and it became clear.
  • Alexander O’Neal, Hearsay: This album did well at the time, and it’s definitely a fine production by Jam and Lewis.
  • Test Pattern, This Is My Street: Man, I want an entire physical release of this Documentary Now! parody of Stop Making Sense.
  • Brothers Johnson, Light Up the Night: Sure, this album was made in the last throes of disco, but there is some mighty fine playing here. And “Stomp!” is timeless.
  • Electric Light Orchestra, Time: I’m definitely not the target market for the orchestral classic rock of ELO, but this album was essentially the band’s detour into new wave. And I’m all for that.
  • A Taste of Honey, Twice as Sweet: Yes, this album concludes with “Sukiyaki”, but the 9 tracks preceding it are no slouch.

Other favorites:

  • Big Pig, Bonk
  • fIREHOSE, If’n
  • Arditti Quartet, Arditti
  • Control Machete, Artillería Pesada, Presenta …
  • Prefab Sprout, Two Wheels Good (a.k.a Steve McQueen)

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Purchase log, 2021-09-14

[CZARFACE / MF DOOM - Super What?]

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.

New releases

CD
  • Czarface / MF Doom, Super What?
Vinyl
  • Art of Noise, Noise in the City: Live in Tokyo 1986

Catalog

CD
  • Alison Moyet, Singles
  • Can, Tago Mago
  • Cracker, Kerosene Hat
  • Funkadelic, Funkadelic
  • Grizzly Bear, Friend EP
  • John Coltrane, Crescent
  • John Coltrane, Impressions
  • Keith Jarrett, Solo Concerts: Bremen / Lausanne
  • Kraftwerk, Computer World
  • Linda Ronstadt, Greatest Hits
  • Living Colour, Live at CBGB’s
  • Nas, Illmatic
  • Robbie Williams, Life Thru a Lens
  • Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
  • Sugababes, One Touch
  • Whiskeytown, Strangers Almanac
  • Soundtrack, Heavy Metal
Vinyl
  • Gaudeamus String Quartet, Crumb: Black Angels / Raxach: String Quartet No. 2 / De Leeuw: String Quartet No. 2

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Favorite Edition 2021 Year Half

[Utada Hikaru - One Last Kiss EP]

On May 10, 2021, I received the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. I had an appointment to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but on the day I was to drive 20 miles to get it, distribution of the vaccine was paused.

After weeks of wondering when I’d be eligible to get a vaccine, followed by another few weeks of battling for an appointment, I had little mental energy left to do anything but work and practice for my music lessons.

Record Store Day Drops happened, and I was actually dreading it. A large music shop in my neighborhood closed permanently, and I haven’t eulogized it yet.

After a year and change of a pandemic that is nowhere near close to ending, I haven’t put much energy into listening to music of the current year. I visit the thrift shops every week to discover the past, but the present has no allure for me.

TL;DR: I don’t have much to offer for this half-year list.

The one release to which I’ve listened with any consistency contains remixes of a song released more than a decade ago. I’ve been distracting myself with so much YouTube and violin practice that I have a backlog of unopened vinyl, including titles I bought on Record Store Day.

I hope the second half of the year is kinder than the last year and a half.

Here are my favorites of 2021, what few I could find.

  • Utada Hikaru, One Last Kiss EP: I haven’t cottoned to an Utada song this hard since “Be My Last”, and all the incarnations of “Beautiful World” on this EP makes a strong argument that it too is one of her strongest songs.
  • Anton Reicha, Reicha Rediscovered (Ivan Ilić): Reicha is pretty obsessive about interrogating the theme of L’Art de varier (The Art of Variation) to the point it’s almost maddening. But maybe that’s the point.
  • Yo Majesty, Return of the Matriarch: Earlier this year, I had a hankering to hear “Club Action” by Yo Majesty, though I had sold my copy of Futuristically Speaking … Never Be Afraid when cash got tight. So it was a bit of serendipity to learn the duo reunited to release Return of the Matriarch.
  • Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, Thanks for Coming: I actually don’t think this album is as good as it could have been. The trio’s self-titled debut EP is actually stronger, but it has enough attitude that I can’t completely dismiss it.

The older I get, the more I find music from the past I hadn’t yet discovered more interesting than the new.

  • Riz Ahmed, The Long Goodbye: Wow, a breakup record with an entire country. Amazing.
  • Laurie Anderson, Big Science: Oh, so that’s why Laurie Anderson is a BFD.
  • Kelela, Take Me Apart: I find indie R&B way more interesting than indie rock these days.
  • The Fixx, Reach the Beach: File under: an album I would have owned a long time ago if only I learned who sang those songs at the time I first heard them.
  • Linda Ronstadt, Mad Love: I’ve read the success of Mad Love allowed Ronstadt to record more adventurous albums, which makes me wonder what would have happened if she had done another new wave album.

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Purchase log, 2021-04-27

[Jacob Collier - In My Room]

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.

Catalog

CD
  • Dmitri Shostakovich, 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (Vladimir Ashkenazy)
  • Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 10 (Helsinki Philharmonic, James De Priest)
  • Jacob Collier, In My Room
  • Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, What’s New
  • Maurice Ravel, Bolero / Rhapsodie Espagnole / La Valse / Alborada del gracioso (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit)
  • The Pretenders, The Singles
  • Tiffany Haddish, She Ready

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Purchase log, 2021-02-23

[Test Pattern - This Is My Street]

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.

New releases

CD
  • Cocco, Kuchinashi

Catalog

CD
  • Franz Schubert, Winterreise (Dietrich Frischer-Dieskau, Alfred Brendel)
  • Maxi Priest, Bonafide
  • Soundtrack, The Crow
Vinyl
  • Test Pattern, “This Is My Street / Art + Student = Poor / Everybody’s Moving Around”

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Purchase log picks, January 2021

[Linda Ronstadt - Mad Love]

Linda Ronstadt, Mad Love

I had no idea this album was considered Ronstadt’s new wave album. Yes, three Elvis Costello songs are on this album, and “Hurt So Bad” has a scorching guitar solo more characteristic of the late Andy Gill. But it doesn’t sound like some new Romantic looking for a TV sound.

Carpenters, The Singles 1969-1973

There was a time when digging the Carpenters was an ironical act. The 90s are distant enough that I think we can sincerely dig the Carpenters now.

The Chemical Brothers, Dig Your Own Hole

I was skeptical of the whole attempt to make electronic dance the heir apparent of grunge. But that doesn’t detract from the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers releasing some durable albums from that late-90s era.

bloodthirsty butchers, Mikansei

bloodthirsty butchers have a talent from making long songs that don’t feel as long as they are.

The Fixx, Reach the Beach

I knew the Fixx were responsible for “One Thing Leads to Another”, but I had no idea they were also behind “Saved By Zero”. To be honest, the songs sound like they’re from different bands.

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Favorite Edition Rewind: 1987

[Sonic Youth - Sister]

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.

I go on and on about how much I love 1987 that I should just shut up and let the list speak for itself. Unsurprisingly, the Favorite 10 hasn’t changed, saved one correction.

  1. U2, The Joshua Tree
  2. Sting, … Nothing Like the Sun
  3. 10,000 Maniacs, In My Tribe
  4. Sinéad O’Connor, The Lion and the Cobra
  5. Bulgarian State TV & Radio Women’s Choir, Le Mystère de Voix Bulgares
  6. John Adams, The Chairman Dances
  7. Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom of the Opera
  8. Wendy & Lisa, Wendy & Lisa
  9. Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction
  10. R.E.M., Document

Other favorites from the year:

  • Kronos Quartet, White Man Sleeps
  • Depeche Mode, Music for the Masses
  • Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris, Trio
  • The Art of Noise, In No Sense? Nonsense!
  • Swing Out Sister, It’s Better to Travel
  • Hiroshima, Go
  • The Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come
  • Eurythmics, Savage
  • INXS, Kick
  • Sonic Youth, Sister
  • The Dukes of the Stratosphear, Psonic Psunspot
  • Dead Can Dance, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
  • Icehouse, Man of Colours
  • In Tua Nua, Vaudeville
  • Johnny Hates Jazz, Turn Back the Clock

I originally listed the cast recording of Into the Woods in the Favorite 10, but I discovered it was actually released in 1988.

The extended list is shorter than the one for 1988, but I’ve actually added fewer titles from 1987 since the original list was compiled. I think I also like these albums more intensely because I had discovered them at the time, and they’ve made a lasting impression.

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Looking ahead: April-May 2016 (and September, too)

[Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris = Complete Trio Collection]

Why should I be surprised the vinyl bug that bit me hard in 2013 has expanded its scope to include reissues never released on vinyl? It’s because I’ve already back-filled my pre-owned collection, and I still can’t get enough. Record Store Day doesn’t make it any easier.

Guided By Voices, Please Be Honest, April 22

Back again? Oh, it’s another configuration.

Dolly Parton / Emmylou Harris / Linda Ronstadt, Complete Trio Collection, Sept. 9

Finally! This reissue was rumored to be available back in October 2015, on the same day as Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 4. Now it’s turned into a bigger deal, with simultaneous vinyl releases.

Vinyl

Lin-Manuel Miranada, Hamilton, April 15

This musical is more than two-hours long. I don’t think it’s all going to fit on two LPs.

Sonic Youth, Murray Street, April 22

I remember this album getting overplayed on the Waterloo Records in-store stereo system. I think it’s why I sold it for cash after a few years.

Rufus Wainwright, Poses, May 6

I didn’t like Rufus Wainwright at first. His nasal voice is an acquired taste, but the writing on Poses won me over, and I’ve been a fan ever since. This album appears on vinyl for the first time.

Moby, Play, May 13

I haven’t listened to this album in more than 15 years. I didn’t really need to because it wasn’t licensed to holy hell at the time.

Dolly Parton / Emmylou Harris / Linda Ronstadt, Trio II, Sept. 9

At the time this album was released, it seemed the trio couldn’t really give it a heavy promotional push. I remember one TV appearance where Linda Ronstadt lost it, and then everyone was back to boy bands and pop idols.

Record Store Day

Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball

Why limit this album to Record Store Day? Really, it should just be in print on vinyl. Period.

Clint Mansell / Kronos Quartet, Requiem for a Dream

I saw Requiem for a Dream with some friends during its theatrical release. I left the theater recognizing it was a good film. I just didn’t like it. I don’t own the soundtrack, and while I collect Kronos on vinyl when I can, I’m pretty ambivalent about this release.

Death Cab for Cutie, “Tractor Rape Chain / Black Sun”

I was nicely surprised by Death Cab for Cutie’s cover of “Bad Reputation” by Freedy Johnston. “Tractor Rape Chain” is also one my favorite Guided By Voices songs.

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, I Guess We’re a Fucking Surf Band After All

I have no doubts I won’t get my hands on this release, but I’m only interested in Savvy Show Stoppers. I hope at some point Yep Roc splits this box set into individual reissues.

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Looking ahead: November 2015

[Enya - Dark Sky Island]

No sooner did I bemoan the lack of November releases that I found myself adding a whole bunch of November releases to my wish list.

Enya, Dark Sky Island, Nov. 20

Enya usually takes about 3 to 5 years to turn around new albums, so the 7-year gap between 2008’s And Winter Came and Dark Sky Island is her longest stretch. The announcement was pretty sudden, and I certainly wouldn’t have learned about it had I not visited her official site on a total whim.

Björk, Vulnicura Strings, Nov. 27

Vulnicura has a pretty secure spot on the year-end Favorite Edition list, but it’ll be interesting to see whether Vulnicura Strings dislodges its predecessor from that spot.

Vinyl

Inventions, Blanket Waves, Nov. 13

Inventions is certainly turning out to be a prolific project for Matthew Cooper and Mark Smith. This 10-inch vinyl EP is the second release from the pair this year.

Nirvana, Nirvana, Nov. 13

The 2002 self-titled compilation gets reissued on Blu-Ray audio and vinyl.

Delays

Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris, Complete Trio Collection

Early reports indicated this compilation would be released on Oct. 16, but then it fell off the release schedule with no indication of a new date.

Frank Ocean, Boys Don’t Cry

Frank Ocean hinted at a July release for his second album, and then, he fell off the face of the planet. He canceled some scheduled appearances, and July has long passed.

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