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Purchase log picks, fourth quarter 2021

[Styx - Kilroy Was Here]

ABBA, Voyage

At the onset of the 1980s, ABBA quietly disappeared. They broke up, but from what I remember, they never publicized it. No big announcement. No farewell tour. Just the inevitability of tastes moving on without them. It took a decade before audiences realized how much they missed the quartet, by which time, they shut door on a possible reunion. Until it actually happened, and the world lost its collective shit, myself included.

Electric Light Orchestra, Time

Following the movie musical excess of Xanadu, Electric Light Orchestra downsized the orchestral part of their sound to include more synthesizers. As such, Time dabbles a toe into new wave but does not fully dive in. I can’t confess to being the target market of ELO’s pre-Xanadu work, but this tentative detour appeals to me.

Styx, Kilroy Was Here

Similar to ELO, Styx also went into a more keyboard-oriented sound with Kilroy Was Here, and like Time, it doesn’t completely abandon the band’s core sound. So it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a new wave detour, even if the synthesizer effects give it that early 80s sheen. But as established by Time, I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.

Falco, Falco 3

The American vinyl pressing of Falco 3 replaced the two big hits of the album — “Rock Me Amadeus” and “Vienna Calling” — with unimpressive remixes. As a cost-conscious teen of the late ’80s, I could not abide by this bait-and-switch and sold my copy to a used music shop months after the purchase. I would not think of the album 39 years till a tinge of nostalgia and a reasonably-priced used copy brought the title back into my collection. The remainder of the album wasn’t bad, but I still wanted those single edits. Thankfully, an anniversary CD reissue of the album included the mixes of my youth.

Helmet, Live and Rare

I am by no means an officiando on the works of Helmet, but I have a sense I would have preferred the Big Day Out set over the CBGB’s set back in my youth of the early ’90s. Today? I much prefer the CBGB set.

Tokyo Jihen, Sougou

This two-disc retrospective of Tokyo Jihen isn’t limited just to singles, otherwise it could have easily fit onto once disc. Once the material enters the post-Sports era, I have to admit I lost interest. So the first disc is probably going to get more spins than the second if you have the same reaction.

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Purchase log, 2021-11-16

[Electric Light Orchestra - Time]

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
  • Claude Debussy, Piano Works (Alexis Weissenberg)
  • Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way
  • Electric Light Orchestra, Time
  • Frédéric Chopin, Nocturnes (Daniel Barenboim)
  • Frédéric Chopin, Polonaises (Shura Cherkassky)
  • Hesperion XX, Vingt Ans
  • John Coltrane, The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings
  • Miles Davis, Bitches Brew
  • Samuel Barber, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Overture to A School of Scandal / Adagio for Strings (Neeme Järvi, Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 / Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini (Vladimir Feltsen, Zubin Mehta, Israel Philharmonic)
  • Styx, Kilroy Was Here

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Purchase log, 2021-10-19

[Res - How I Do]

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
  • Craig Armstrong, Nocturnes: Music for Two Pianos

Catalog

CD
  • Art of Noise, The Ambient Collection
  • Brothers Johnson, Light Up the Night
  • Fishbone, Fishbone 101: Nuttasaurusmeg Fossil Fuelin’ the Fonkay
  • Hirosue Ryoko, Arigato!
  • John Zorn / Yamataka Eye, John Zorn Birthday Celebration, Vol. 10
  • Muse, Showbiz
  • Muse, The Resistance
  • Spandau Ballet, True
  • Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans
  • The B-52’s, Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation
  • Tyler the Creator, Cherry Bomb
  • Tyler the Creator, Wölf
  • ZARD, BEST ~Request Memorial~
Vinyl
  • Electric Light Orchestra, Time
  • Eurythmics, Touch Dance
  • Marvin Gaye, Here, My Dear
  • Res, How I Do
  • Styx, Kilroy Was Here
  • Soundtrack, Patty Hearst

Reissues

CD
  • Sugababes, One Touch (Deluxe Edition)
Vinyl
  • Sinéad O’Connor, So Far … The Best of Sinéad O’Connor
  • Sugababes, One Touch

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Purchase log, 2019-02-05

[Styx - Paradise Theatre]

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
  • Alfred Schnittke, Concerto for Choir / Two Short Pieces for Organ
  • Beck, Odelay
  • David Foster, The Symphony Sessions
  • Jean Sibelius, The Complete String Quartets (The Sibelius Academy Quartet)
  • John Coltrane, The Major Works of John Coltrane
  • Living Colour, Biscuits
  • Olivier Messiaen, Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, Nos. 1-6 (Anton Batagov)
  • Olivier Messiaen, Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, Nos. 7-14 (Anton Batagov)
  • The Who, Who’s Next
  • Tom Goss, Wait
Vinyl
  • Easterhouse, Contenders
  • Rick Springfield, Living in Oz
  • Styx, Paradise Theatre

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Purchase log, 2019-01-01

[Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's]

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
  • Danish String Quartet, Wood Works
  • DJ Krush, Meiso
  • Guadalcanal Diary, 2×4
  • Laurie Anderson, Mister Heartbreak
  • Laurie Anderson, Strange Angels
  • Lou Reed, New York
  • Perfume Genius, No Shape
  • Sinéad O’Connor, Am I Not Your Girl?
  • Styx, Paradise Theatre
  • Van Halen, 1984
Vinyl
  • Aphex Twin, Richard D. James Album
  • Yaz, Upstaris at Eric’s
  • Yaz, You and Me Both

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