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Purchase log, 2023-02-06

[Orgy - Candtass]

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
  • 100 Gecs, 10,000 Gecs
  • Danish String Quartet, Prism I
  • Portishead, Portishead
  • Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 1, Classical / Symphony No. 3, The Fiery Angel (Riccardo Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra)
  • The Notwist, The Devil, You + Me
Vinyl
  • Amaarae, Fountain Baby
  • King Geedorah, Take Me to Your Leader

Reissues

Vinyl
  • Orgy, Candyass
  • Orgy, Vapor Transmission

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A wish list of vinyl reissues, part the second

[Nick Lachey - What's Left of Me]

I wrote an entry similar to this one back in 2017 (almost to the day!) Five years later, vinyl sales account for 7 percent of total music revenue, according to Variety. The last stat I heard was 2 percent, and that was around the time I wrote that previous entry.

At this point, I’m surprised when I don’t find a title on vinyl, but that doesn’t mean titles haven’t fallen through the reissue cracks. So here’s a sequel — albums I would love to see reissued on vinyl.

Café Tacvba, Cuatros Caminos
Café Tacvba,

Vinyl pressings of Café Tacvba albums exist, but they’re usually limited and quick to run out of print. To my knowledge, neither nor Cuatros Caminos have ever been issued on vinyl, but I wouldn’t mind repressings of albums that had been issued on vinyl. Cuatros Camino was reissued March 2023. has been reissued outside the US, most recently in 2023.

Tracy Chapman, New Beginning

New Beginning had “Give Me One Reason”, Chapman’s biggest hit since “Fast Car”, so it’s curious to see the album never getting a vinyl reissue. I’ve seen RSD titles reissued for far less.

Orgy, Candyass

Orgy’s cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday” rivals the original, but the entire Candyass album was actually really good. Reissued Feb. 2024.

Kanye West, Yeezus

A lot of unofficial pressings exist, so an official release would be nice. Kanye annoys me, but this album is pretty unhinged.

Nick Lachey, What’s Left of Me

I have a soft spot for Nick Lachey and this album. I was definitely not the target market for his reality TV show, but the angst resulting from the end of his marriage led to some pretty honest art. I don’t expect What’s Left of Me to get the vinyl treatment. I would probably be the only person interested in getting it.

Pansy Division, Absurd Pop Song Romance

It’s not hard to sense a hunger for commercial success on this album, and I think it deserves to be revisited.

Stephen Sondheim, Assassins (Original Cast Recording)

By the time Stephen Sondheim opened Assassins off-Broadway, cast recordings migrated entirely to CD, so the original cast recording of this show never saw a vinyl release.

Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro

Sparro got a Grammy nomination for “Black and Gold”. Surely, that’s enough to warrant a vinyl pressing? Don’t call you Shirley?

STRAIGHTENER, LOST WORLD’S ANTHOLOGY
ART-SCHOOL, LOVE/HATE

Among fans of SUPERCAR, NUMBER GIRL, Quruli and Shiina Ringo, these albums by ART-SCHOOL and STRAIGHTENER could be considered classics of early 2000s Japanese indie rock. But that’s a pretty narrow audience to justify a vinyl pressing. UPDATE: LOVE/HATE was reissued Nov. 2023.

SUPER JUNKY MONKEY, A.I.E.T.O.H

This EP was actually issued on vinyl, so let’s have a repressing!

Harry Connick, Jr., She

I am mostly ambivalent to the work of Harry Connick, Jr., but his two albums of New Orleans rock — She and Star Turtle — are the only two albums of his I own. Given how uncharacteristic these albums are with the rest of his discography, I don’t imagine they have much goodwill among his fans. So a vinyl reissue? Unlikely. But She was released on vinyl in the Netherlands …

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Purchase log, 2022-04-19

[Tim McGraw - Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors]

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
  • All, Percolater
  • Claude Debussy, Suite Bergamasque / Pour le Piano / Estampes / Images (Zoltán Kocis)
  • Daft Punk, TRON: Legacy
  • Franz Josef Haydn, String Quartets, Op. 77, Nos. 1-2 (Kodály Quartet)
  • Georges Bizet, Carmen
  • Laurie Anderson, Live at Town Hall, New York City, September 19-20, 2001
  • Orgy, Vapor Transmission
  • Percy Grainger, Dished Up for Piano, Vol. 1 (Martin Jones)
  • Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Vladimir Krainev; Dmitri Kitaenko, Radio Sinfonie Orkester Frankfurt)
  • Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Rapture
  • ‘Til Tuesday, Voices Carry
  • Tim McGraw, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors

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Favorite Edition Rewind: 1998

[Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea]

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.

As much as I loved the ’80s, I can’t say the ’90s holds as much sentiment. I feel more affinity for the Aughts than I do the ’90s. That said, 1998 has proven to be rich with favorites, and I would consider it the pinnacle year in the decade. This list has gone through extensive revision from the original.

  1. Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
  2. Madonna, Ray of Light
  3. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  4. Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
  5. Fastball, All the Pain Money Can Buy
  6. Patty Griffin, Flaming Red
  7. SUPERCAR, Three Out Change
  8. Various Artists, For the Masses: A Tribute to Depeche Mode
  9. Bruce Robison, Wrapped
  10. Cocco, Kumuiuta

Other favorites from the year:

  • Shakira, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?
  • Wendy and Lisa, Girl Bros.
  • Midnight Oil, Redneck Wonderland
  • 8 1/2 Souvenirs, Happy Feet
  • UA, Ametora
  • Kronos Quartet, Alfred Schnittke: The Complete String Quartets
  • the brilliant green, the brilliant green
  • Bang on a Can All-Stars, Music for Airports
  • Craig Armstrong, The Space Between Us
  • Julieta Venegas, Aquí
  • Aterciopelados, Caribe Atómico
  • Macha, Macha
  • Idlewild, Hope Is Important
  • Pansy Division, Absurd Pop Song Romance
  • Orgy, Candyass

A number of titles that held positions in the Favorite 10 switched places with ones in the extended list.

I didn’t give Fastball much credit 10 years ago because the album had been all over Austin at the time of its release. I got caught up in that hype, then dismissed it as such later. I was wrong. All the Pain Money Can Buy needs to be in the Favorite 10.

For the Masses actually turned me into a Depeche Mode fan. Some of the covers on the tribute album rival the originals. In the case of “Shake the Disease” and “Everything Counts”, they straight up improve them.

Madonna dominated the top position of this list for 10 years before Neutral Milk Hotel nudged her down a notch. SUPERCAR makes another revisionist ranking, pushing 8 1/2 Souvenirs off.

Idlewild makes an appearance with a debut album that’s at times bratty and tuneful. It’s a mess compared to its follow-up, 1000 Broken Windows. But it’s a riveting mess.

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