I picked up the Camper Van Beethoven, as well, mark. I also grabbed the long-awaited new American Music Club record Love Songs for Patriots. An odd coincidence: two fairly political new records by long-defunct alternative godfathers, both released on the same day...

Saturday Looks Good to Me Every Night

Another solid recommendation from our own Buck "Sweetie" McGuck.

Now Playing: NPR's Morning Edition

I just got Mirah's C'mon Miracle. Really good stuff.

My next purchase will most likely be the new Ted Leo.

Recent pickups:

Mission of Burma: A Gun to the Head: A Selection from the Ace of Hearts era
Bellvue: To Be Somebody (Jesse Malin's post-D*Generation/pre-solo band)
Ocean Colour Scene: Anthology (a three disc collection of Weller-influenced Brit poppers, including all of the A-sides and B-sides of the bands singles, and a bonus disc)

Secret Machines, Now Here is Nowhere
The Prodigy, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
Cake, Pressure Chief
Korn, Greatest Hits
Marilyn Manson, Lest We Forget, The Best of

The real standout is the Secret Machines. Playing it creates a cool vibe, and I cannot stop listening to it. If you are attracted to Interpol, The Cure, Mogwai, I think you will like this band too.

I finally broke down and bought the new Prodigy. While it's not as fun as The Fat of the Land or Music for the Jilted Generation, I do not think it's as bad as the "critics" say, and I don't regret buying it. My only gripe is with the vocals featured on some of the songs. Juliette Lewis? She can act, but I don't think she can sing - sorry.

i have boughten numerous cds recently...but one that i will note is

subtle-a new white...this album is the shite!

Anyone who is a fan of doseone willlove it...but it is not the normal anticon-esque sound...more of postrock/electronic/hiphop sound...it is really good though...

dizzee rascal-showtime...what a dissapointment trying to find a more commercial sound maybe...one of the reasons i loved his past album was from its shear raw sound...that is really non-existent on this album...production is too clean...

thats it

This week:

Ted Leo and Pharmacists: Shake the Sheets
Elliot Smith: From a Basement on the Hill

I look forward to both of these, and fully expect both to make my year-end Top Ten list...

EDIT: I forgot my "dollar bin" find:

Kent: Vapen and Ammunition. I found this one in a bargain bin...a 2002 Swedish-language release by Sweden's Kent, who do Radiohead-esque stuff. They put out a couple of records in English, but it's kinda fun to hear them sing in Swedish. I have a couple of their Swedish records, including a cool collection of B-sides B-Sidor that has some excellent tracks on it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: philosopherEric,

quote:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
This week:

Ted Leo and Pharmacists: _Shake the Sheets_
Elliot Smith: _From a Basement on the Hill_

I look forward to both of these, and fully expect both to make my year-end Top Ten list...

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my purchases exactly! haven't really listened yet, but first three songs of ted leo is hot hot hot.

edit: ted leo is awesome, maybe not quite up to par with hearts of oak, but that album has had a year and a half to sink in. quite pleased with it however, definite top 10 contender.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: not eric,

Considering what was released this week, what other two albums was I supposed to get? I've listened to each twice, and they're both good, but don't take any of these comments as Solomonic, yet.

Elliott Smith is mostly wonderful, although I have the nagging suspicion that most of it was unfinished, but "a fond farewell" is both beautifully-finished and sadly-prophetic. Most of the first half is great, but even though Smith's vocals are his usual transcendent self, I still have the feeling that he would have pumped up some of the arrangements of his strummed, back-end beauties, if he had had the chance.

Ted Leo sounds really good, but it doesn't seem to mount the admittedly oxygen-free heights of "Hearts of Oak." I will check back later after both sink in. I think that anything less than 8/10 for either would be ridiculous.

If it's any consolation, mark, Ted Leo's latest is sinking in kind of slowly for me as well. I don't dislike it by any stretch of the imagination, but it hasn't grabbed me by the scruff of the neck the way the Hearts of Oak or Tyranny of Distance did.

My sole acquisition of the week is the new Tom Waits at long last. I've only spun it once, but my first impression is that it's the kind of texturally rich outing I love from him.

Now Playing: Astros and Cards tied at two in the bottom of the third with nobody out and Rolen and Pujols at first and second respectively

Elliott Smith, From a Basement on the Hill
This is the CD that I have been waiting for! My hopes and my expectations were extremely high. I actually took the day off of work so that I could get this CD and listen to it all day! I’ve never done that before, and I would be embarrassed to tell any of my colleagues why I didn’t go to school today. I just can’t believe how much Elliott Smith’s music and death have affected me.

This CD does NOT disappoint. In fact, I believe this is the Elliott Smith CD that I will most cherish. No other song writer can move me emotionally in the way that Elliott Smith can. His melodies are simple, yet so sophisticated, and his personal lyrics remind me of the confessional poets of the 1950s. Listening to this CD is like a bonding experience. I think he is this generation’s best songwriter, and I’m so sad that this is his last CD. It pains me that I never got to see him live, and it breaks my heart that there won’t be any more music.

Though it’s still too early to say for sure, my favorite songs on the record are “Pretty (Ugly Before),” “A Fond Farewell,” “Coast to Coast, and “Little One.”

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
If it's any consolation, mark, Ted Leo's latest is sinking in kind of slowly for me as well. I don't dislike it by any stretch of the imagination, but it hasn't grabbed me by the scruff of the neck the way the _Hearts of Oak_ or _Tyranny of Distance_ did.

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I've really liked Shake the Sheets on first listen, but nothing on it grabs me "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" did. I still haven't picked up Tyranny of Distance yet...none of my local haunts ever stocks it, for some reason.

The Elliott Smith record is going to be a grower, I think, but it feels a little unfinished (which was to be expected, given what happened). But I've always found his records better after repeated listens. While I agree with Karen, that it's sad that he won't be making any new music, I hope his legacy isn't tarnished by becoming the next Tupac or Jeff Buckley...with an assembly-line of "new" material churned out post-mortem. The fact that there have been at least three "new" Buckley releases in the last year seems to be a way of cashing in on his legacy (which, in my estimation, was one good record and a cult of personality) at the expense of the fans. But, then again, nobody's forcing anyone to buy anything, so I guess it's a "let the market decide" sort of thing.

I went on my lunch break and bought Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus" and, on "Sweetie" and LT's recommendations, Saturday Looks Good to Me "Every Night".

I will admit that I never realized that Nick Cave could pass (a little bit) for Tom Jones. I don't really want to get too-flippantly name-dropping because I might have to pull a knife on myself(!) The lyrics to Cave's newest are worth a nine, but I haven't heard all the songs yet. I'll post at the Nick Cave joint when I can be less flippant.

To continue my dangerous escapade in (not really) trying to knife myself, Saturday Looks Good to Me sounds amazingly like a cool 60s band that got put in a time machine and went forward enough to be the best-darned Belle and Sebastian "cover band." To me, that's a good thing, but do you guys have ALL the B&S albums, like I do? They're all more-than-pretty-A-OK!

EDIT- Goody, Goody! My mail came so late yesterday that I forgot to check after it got dark, but this morning I found my import copy of The Soundtrack of Our Lives "Origin Vol. 1" in the box. I've been really busy today but have had a chance to listen to a bit, and it sure sounds good, and mostly all upbeat. I'm glad I get off work early today so I can spin this thing all afternoon (along with my other new CDs, of course.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Jay Bennett: The Beloved Enemy
Razorlight: Up All Night
Neal Casal: Leaving Traces: Songs 1994-2004
Dogs Die in Hot Cars: Please Describe Yourself

Wolf Eyes - Burned Mind

The first time I listened to this really loud in the car, I started laughing maniacally. As I laughed, I said to myself "This is the most sadistic thing ever! This album is fucking great!"

Also, I would like to add that the Subtle album mentioned a ways back is quite fantastic, even for a Dose One project.

Brand spankin' new from Amazon.com:
The Faint - Wet From Birth
Juno Reactor - Labyrinth

Brand spankin' used from eBay:
The Music - Welcome to the North

Now all that's left to do is wait for them to arrive. I'm sure they'll all be scrumptious, or I'll be in a bad mood.

kwak-

i got the faint album last week...very underwelming if u aske me...i loved their prior work...but this is pukee rock vomit.


And i am not sure if i mentioned the subtle album originally...but it is a great album.

I statesd before that the new beans album is prety good...at best it is a 6/10...the more i listened to it...the more i lost interest and i love beans...i hope his next one he recruits some decent producers and take some time to write.

Thanks for the warning, but I'll take my chances - I'm surprisingly easy to please. Heck, all a song needs to be entertaining in my book is a big, fat, juicy bass line (hence my purchase of Juno Reactor's latest album).

And while I appreciate the recommendations, I don't think I'll be acting on them--I've never heard of either act, and allmusic is giving me several artists named Subtle and even more named Beans. To be honest, I've yet to "discover" a new artist through this message board--mostly because the folks on here rarely listen to the stuff I do--which mostly rock with electronic influences, or vice versa. I listen to plenty of indie/"alternative" stuff--you sorta have to when you're a college radio DJ--but I rarely get excited about it.

Oh well. Different strokes and all that nonsense.

kwakerjak

P.S. I wonder, was anyone else on this board eagerly anticipating the new Juno Reactor album? Or am I the only one who even knows who Juno Reactor is?

quote:

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P.S. I wonder, was anyone else on this board eagerly anticipating the new Juno Reactor album? Or am I the only one who even knows who Juno Reactor is?

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I know of these guys..but am not excited about it.
Not to be too blunt but all music guide is terrible...it sucks...at least the new version.I never liked their reviews...but...anyways...you are a college radio dj and u have not heard of subtle or beans.Beans from anti-pop consortium?That is wierd both albums get alot of play on the local college radio station here.Beans is a mixture of electronics and aggresive beats...while he raps.
And subtle is kind of like a post rock album with strong influences in hiphop...seeing as a few of the members are from the anticon crew ie.dose one and odd nosdam
anyways...i ahve noticed that this board contains alot of either older men or much younger men...not too many in their 20's to early 30's...so the intrests are pret varied.

I know allmusic has its drawbacks as a source for reviews, but it's generally useful as a simple discography for an artist you've never heard of.

The reason I haven't heard them is probably because our station just got started fairly recently, so we're just starting to get in contact with record labels. Also, I have a specialty show, and thus, I don't necessarily have to play songs that fit the "college rock" format. Plus, on top of being the only college station with a decent radius (15-30 miles, I think) we're the only modern rock station in the area, so we tend to skew ever so slightly toward the mainstream (in the sense that Radiohead is mainstream).

But anyway, maybe it would be easier for me to identify these artists if you gave me some specific songs to look into.

kwakerjak