BOUGHT STUFF
Well, it would seem that I'm back on the "buy as much shit as possible" train. Well, thankfully, most of this stuff was bought using credit slips and gift cards I had at various shops so I didn't actually spend too much of my own money.
The Coral Something Inside Me CD Single/7" Single
The second single from The Invisible Invasion. I honestly don't think that TII is as strong an album as the previous 3 Coral albums. It's basically more of the same. Unfortunately, I think this is a pretty weak single. I was hoping maybe the b-sides would be good but they weren't. Oh well.
Oasis The Importance of Being Idle CD Single/DVD Single
Not so much my favorite song off Don't Believe The Truth but I guess they were going to have to release a Noel-singing-lead song as a single. The b-sides are pretty good though. Not sure who wrote them. Probably Noel. I haven't been terribly impressed with any of the songs that Andy Bell or Gem have written.
The Stooges The Stooges 2-CD Reissue
The Stooges Funhouse 2-CD Reissue
Essential rock and roll albums. I'm glad they reissued these because I really needed to own these. I've had Funhouse on vinyl for a while but never listened to it too much because I kept forgetting I had it. Both of these albums are great "proto-punk" records. The second CD with the "bonus" tracks are basically alternate versions of the album tracks. In the case of Funhouse, it beats having to buy the "Funhouse Sessions" boxset for a ridiculous $400 from Amoeba. They at least filtered out the unneeded filler from the box.
Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon CD/SACD Hybrid
Another album that (I guess) was needed to be owned. Plus, I lacked anything to buy with my Best Buy credit. The disc is a hybrid that is playable on all CD players as well SACD (super audio CD) players for a 5.1 surround sound version of the album. I don't actually own an SACD player but I figured it would be good to get this disc just in case I get a high resolution sound system in the future.
I've actually always like a few songs on this album despite it's overrated-ness. On The Run is a nice early electronica tune. Us and Them is sort of a indie post-rock ditty. Sure, some of the other songs are prog-rock wank but it's still a pretty decent album. And no, I'm not going to do the whole Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon in-sync playback thing.
AC/DC Back In Black Dualdisc w/bonus DVD
Another album that I felt I should own. Rock and roll before it became cheesy hair metal. Plus getting this had a lot of incentive because of the bonus stuff that came with it. The DVD side of the Dualdisc featured a "making-of" documentary as well as interviews with the band. It also features a "enhanced resolution" version of the entire album. Then the bonus DVD features music videos of key songs off the album.
Sure, Angus Young pretty much ripped off Chuck Berry guitar riffs early on but one has to admit that AC/DC are a pretty rocking band. And while it's a shame that Celine Dion covered You Shook Me All Night Long, but it's still a great song. As are the title track, Hells Bells and Shoot To Thrill.
Bob Mould Body of Song 2-CD Deluxe Edition
I had passed on the last Bob Mould album, Modulate, because I heard it was more of a dancey electronic album. I'm sure, lyrically it was a great album but I just couldn't handle the idea of Mould doing electronica. This album, however, got pretty raving reviews since it was supposed to be a "return to form." In other words, it was a rock record. I've always liked how Mould would be really personal with his lyrics. And the angsty teenager in me always liked to look into his lyrics and try to fit my life into them. Moreso knowing that he is gay. So I like to think that many (if not, all) were written from a total gay standpoint.
The deluxe packaging of this album is pretty stunning as well. It comes in a faux-leather box with an embossed gold cross that contains the regular album, the exclusive second disc with 9 bonus tracks and a ton of pictures and a lyric sheet. The CDs and pics are wrapped around in what looks like a strip of chamois cloth. Nice.
Experimental Audio Research/The Plasmodian World of Cataloupe and Bolles Squad for Pan-Optikan/Everywhere Hush Tube 10" Picture Disc
I wasn't planning on buying this split single because it was $20 and only had 2 songs. But of course, since I collect almost anything by EAR, I had to buy it. Sonic Boom continues to come up with these really mellow and relaxing soundscapes that really never get old or samey. I haven't listened to the other song though. Bolles is Don Bolles (ex-drummer of the Germs) and he's a total weirdo so it has to be an interesting tune though...
The Jam The Complete Jam 2-DVD Set
I'd been wanting to get this album ever since I got "Snap" on CD. In the past, I'd always slagged The Jam. I'm not really sure why. Probably because of all the lame mods I came across. But now I can safely say that Paul Weller is one of the better British songwriters. This DVD has a ton of classic TV appearances from The Jam as well as all their music videos. It's about 4 hours or so and at $20 I wasn't going to turn it down.
Shed Seven Classic Shed Seven DVD
The Sheddoes were, in my opinion, one of the great lost Britpop bands. For some reason, they always got slagged in the British music papers. But I really loved their first two albums. I stumbled upon this DVD at Tower Records (of all places). It has pretty much all the videos from their first 3 albums which is pretty much all the Shed Seven anybody needs. I'd never seen a Sheddoes video before so to have this DVD is pretty convenient. They pretty much went downhill when their guitarist left and their line up changed. But their early singles are classic Britpop tunes.
Oasis Live By The Sea DVD
I needed to finally get this video on DVD. I previously owned it on VHS. It's the only official home video release of Oasis during their tour for the first album. All the classic early Oasis tunes are on it, Live Forever, Fade Away, Slide Away, etc. I'm still a pretty big Oasis fan, but it's a shame they kind of lost their edge later on down the line. This video is proof that they were a pretty hard rocking band.
Body Song DVD
Another DVD I'd been going back and forth on. I have yet to watch it but I figured since it won a ton of awards at film festivals, it has to be a pretty interesting movie. Hopefully...