MONDO BUY
Here's about 4 weeks and $400 worth of online purchases. More half assed "reviews" of stuff that I haven't actually listened to/watched. Hmm, I feel like a real music journalist!
This first lot I actually got before the surgery but never got a chance to post about them.
Hope of the States Left DUALDISC
"Reviewed" the music here. The DVD side has a 20+ film of the band recording the album. Haven't watch it yet.
This Will Destroy You Young Mountain CD
TWDY is a "post-rock" band from Texas. Apparently there are a lot of instrumental bands coming out of Texas. Everybody wants to be Explosions in the Sky. Anyway, brandude mentioned these guys to me so I checked it out. They have become my favorite instrumental band at the moment. I like their mix of live and electronic drums. I'm sure somebody has done it before but it still sounds very good. My favorite song at the moment is The World is Our___ You can hear it on their My Space.
Maximo Park Found on Film DVD/CD
Concert and promo videos DVD plus a radio sessions CD. The BBC sessions disc is pretty good. Naturally, the album tracks sound more raw than their LP counterparts. I still haven't watched DVD just yet.
This is America, Charlie Brown 2-DVD Set
I still haven't found the time to watch this (despite all the free time I've had the last 3 weeks). There are 8 cartoons over 2 DVDs. They all focus on some aspect of American history. Not exactly something that's terribly appealing. But I couldn't pass this up since it was only $12.
And here's all the online orders that came in after surgery...
OHM DVD
I have the original 3-CD box set of this. I actually bought it when I was taking the "21st Century Music" class at college. It helped when I was writing reports for the class. Anyway, I bought the DVD because it seemed like a nice companion to the CDs. I haven't watched most of it just yet although the Clara Rockmore footage is really cool. Even Rents was impressed with her theremin playing skills.
Moog DVD
I really thought this one would be interesting but it was a little boring. I fell asleep towards the end. I was hoping there would be more performances instead of a bunch of interviews. I'll have to revisit this again at a later date.
Minutemen We Jam Econo: The Story of... 2-DVD Set
This was a great doc. Both the interview and performance footage was good. I definitely give to give the Minutemen's music another chance. I owned one of the "Post Mersh" CDs back in high school but I couldn't get into it. I'm gonna have to get Double Nickels on a Dime on vinyl soon.
I wish there had been some interviews with Greg Ginn from Black Flag (although he probably declined to be interviewed) and other guys from the Descendents (besides Milo). I kinda hope that this triggers other filmmakers to produce more documentaries on other L.A. punk bands. Someone seriously needs to do a documentary version of "We've Got the Neutron Bomb." I can't wait until "American Hardcore" gets either an LA screening or is released on DVD.
Various Artists Q Covered: The Eighties CD
I bought this solely because of the "exclusive" cover version of Bowie's Let's Dance by The Futureheads. It's definitely not the best version. It sounds like they just cobbled together a half-assed vocal arrangement that they felt was enough of a departure from the original and then hit record. It's crappy compared to their other cover versions. Oh well. This is what it's like to be a completist.
Thom Yorke The Eraser CD
I downloaded this when it leaked a few months back. I've kinda gone off Radiohead and didn't expect much from this. Kid A was the last Radiohead album I really liked. They've gotten too blippity for my tastes. The Eraser is a little bit reminiscent of Kid A so I bought it. It was only a tenner at Best Buy anyway.
James Dean Bradfield That's No Way to Tell a Lie Promo CD Single/CD1/CD2/Autographed 7" Single
The first solo single from the lead singer from the Manic Street Preachers. It's very reminiscent of Everything Must Go-era Manics. Nice and poppy. The lead track actually sounds like Joy Division at their poppiest with the keyboard melody. I haven't yet "absorbed" the b-sides just yet. I've given them one listen and they are just as good as anything on the full length (which I've already downloaded).
As with everything Manics related, I "need" to have every format available including the 1-track promo CD single, which I had to "win" on eBay. I ordered the commercial CD singles and the 7" as a bundle and as a result, I was sent a 7" which was signed by JDB himself. Whoo!
Bullet for My Valentine Tears Don't Fall CD1/CD2/Red Vinyl 7" Single
Great choice for the fourth single off their album. One of my favorite songs from the album. I like singing along to this one when I'm driving. The only bad thing is that they ruined it and edited the album version. The b-sides include their covers of Metallica's Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and Pantera's Domination as well as a couple of live tracks (4 Words, Suffocating..., and Tears Don't Fall). The live tracks are cool because even though I saw Bullet last year, they hadn't played these songs.
Franz Ferdinand Eleanor Put Your Boots On 2 x 7" Single/CD Single
This is the fourth single off You Could Have It Better.... It's a new full band version. I wasn't too keen on the original version but this new version is good. I have yet to transfer the vinyl b-sides onto my computer.
Fightstar They Liked You Better When You Were Dead CD
Fightstar They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (Palahniuk's Laughter) 7" Single
Fightstar Paint Your Target White Vinyl 7" Single
Here starts my Fightstar collection. Palahniuk's Laughter was their very first release from 2005 and was limited to 1000 copies. Luckily, the shop that I order from in the UK still had some copies in stock. Paint Your Target was the first Fightstar song that I had heard. I didn't like it initially because it was your typical emo-type song. Of course, I liked it after a few listens. They Like You Better... is the US version of Fightstar's debut e.p. It includes the original six tracks plus the three tracks from the Paint Your Target CD single. Fightstar are a nice heavy hard rock band. Nothing original really but they have some cool shouty singalong songs. I've already downloaded their full length, Grand Unification, and, as expected, I liked it. It's been ordered and should show up any day now.
Mogwai Travel is Dangerous e.p. CD e.p./12" Single
This is a nice e.p. featuring my second favorite song off Mr. Beast. The remixes of Auto Rock and Friend of the Night are pretty decent although I don't know if they necessarily warrant multiple listenings. They're both on the minimal side. The live versions of Like Herod and We're No Here are also pretty good, especially the former. It's a better version than the radio session version on Government Commissions. The cover, featuring a dog dressed up in a Yoda costume, is hilarious.
Sigur Ros Saeglopur CD/DVD e.p./12" Single
There wasn't as much excitement in getting this because I already got the Japanese version back in April. The bonus is that the DVD has all three music videos (Glosoli, Hoppipolla, Saeglopur) from the Takk... album. It's a nice compliment to both the Takk... album and Hoppipolla single.
Graham Coxon I Can't Look at Your Skin/What's He Got? Double Pak 7" Single
This was my sole purchases from my Amoeba hit this week. I Can't Look... is another one of my favorite songs of Love Travels at Illegal Speeds. It's a nice punky little ditty. One of the b-sides is a cover of The Libertines' Time for Heroes. It's a pretty decent cover. He pretty much stays true to the original.
Dirty Pretty Things Deadwood Numbered 7" Single
Second single from the DPT first album. Not really a good choice, in my opinion. The b-side is a cover of a Paddingtons song...but I haven't listened to it yet.
Razorlight In The Morning 7" Single
The first single off the "difficult" second album. I listened to it a few times but hasn't fully caught my ear yet. I am interested in how the new album is going to sound.
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly I Spy/Call Me Ishmael 7" Single w/ bonus 3" CD single
Folk is the new emo. This guy (Sam Duckworth) has connections with Hundred Reasons so I bought his single. Musicially, the singing reminds me to China Drum. It's a nice mellow single.
The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Darklands Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Automatic Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Honey's Dead Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Stoned and Dethroned Dualdisc
This is yet another confirmation that I'm getting old. When the bands that you like(d) start reissuing their albums that you bought the first time around, you know you're getting old. It started when The Wonder Stuff reissued all their albums, followed by Ride, then Slowdive, and now the Mary Chain.
Feeling old aside, these reissues are good because they improved on the sound from their original CDs. I know it's funny saying that for an album like Psychocandy but Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot manage to make it sound less tinny and just a little bit more full. Same goes for the other albums. The DVD side of the Dualdisc feature hi-rez stereo versions of the albums but since I'm not much of an audiophile, I haven't taken the time to listen to them. However, as a bonus, each album includes 3 music videos. It's good to finally have them on DVD. The only drawback is that the videos for the non-album singles (Some Candy Talking, Sidewalking, I Hate Rock n Roll) aren't included. Overall, I'm glad these got reissued.
This first lot I actually got before the surgery but never got a chance to post about them.
Hope of the States Left DUALDISC
"Reviewed" the music here. The DVD side has a 20+ film of the band recording the album. Haven't watch it yet.
This Will Destroy You Young Mountain CD
TWDY is a "post-rock" band from Texas. Apparently there are a lot of instrumental bands coming out of Texas. Everybody wants to be Explosions in the Sky. Anyway, brandude mentioned these guys to me so I checked it out. They have become my favorite instrumental band at the moment. I like their mix of live and electronic drums. I'm sure somebody has done it before but it still sounds very good. My favorite song at the moment is The World is Our___ You can hear it on their My Space.
Maximo Park Found on Film DVD/CD
Concert and promo videos DVD plus a radio sessions CD. The BBC sessions disc is pretty good. Naturally, the album tracks sound more raw than their LP counterparts. I still haven't watched DVD just yet.
This is America, Charlie Brown 2-DVD Set
I still haven't found the time to watch this (despite all the free time I've had the last 3 weeks). There are 8 cartoons over 2 DVDs. They all focus on some aspect of American history. Not exactly something that's terribly appealing. But I couldn't pass this up since it was only $12.
And here's all the online orders that came in after surgery...
OHM DVD
I have the original 3-CD box set of this. I actually bought it when I was taking the "21st Century Music" class at college. It helped when I was writing reports for the class. Anyway, I bought the DVD because it seemed like a nice companion to the CDs. I haven't watched most of it just yet although the Clara Rockmore footage is really cool. Even Rents was impressed with her theremin playing skills.
Moog DVD
I really thought this one would be interesting but it was a little boring. I fell asleep towards the end. I was hoping there would be more performances instead of a bunch of interviews. I'll have to revisit this again at a later date.
Minutemen We Jam Econo: The Story of... 2-DVD Set
This was a great doc. Both the interview and performance footage was good. I definitely give to give the Minutemen's music another chance. I owned one of the "Post Mersh" CDs back in high school but I couldn't get into it. I'm gonna have to get Double Nickels on a Dime on vinyl soon.
I wish there had been some interviews with Greg Ginn from Black Flag (although he probably declined to be interviewed) and other guys from the Descendents (besides Milo). I kinda hope that this triggers other filmmakers to produce more documentaries on other L.A. punk bands. Someone seriously needs to do a documentary version of "We've Got the Neutron Bomb." I can't wait until "American Hardcore" gets either an LA screening or is released on DVD.
Various Artists Q Covered: The Eighties CD
I bought this solely because of the "exclusive" cover version of Bowie's Let's Dance by The Futureheads. It's definitely not the best version. It sounds like they just cobbled together a half-assed vocal arrangement that they felt was enough of a departure from the original and then hit record. It's crappy compared to their other cover versions. Oh well. This is what it's like to be a completist.
Thom Yorke The Eraser CD
I downloaded this when it leaked a few months back. I've kinda gone off Radiohead and didn't expect much from this. Kid A was the last Radiohead album I really liked. They've gotten too blippity for my tastes. The Eraser is a little bit reminiscent of Kid A so I bought it. It was only a tenner at Best Buy anyway.
James Dean Bradfield That's No Way to Tell a Lie Promo CD Single/CD1/CD2/Autographed 7" Single
The first solo single from the lead singer from the Manic Street Preachers. It's very reminiscent of Everything Must Go-era Manics. Nice and poppy. The lead track actually sounds like Joy Division at their poppiest with the keyboard melody. I haven't yet "absorbed" the b-sides just yet. I've given them one listen and they are just as good as anything on the full length (which I've already downloaded).
As with everything Manics related, I "need" to have every format available including the 1-track promo CD single, which I had to "win" on eBay. I ordered the commercial CD singles and the 7" as a bundle and as a result, I was sent a 7" which was signed by JDB himself. Whoo!
Bullet for My Valentine Tears Don't Fall CD1/CD2/Red Vinyl 7" Single
Great choice for the fourth single off their album. One of my favorite songs from the album. I like singing along to this one when I'm driving. The only bad thing is that they ruined it and edited the album version. The b-sides include their covers of Metallica's Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and Pantera's Domination as well as a couple of live tracks (4 Words, Suffocating..., and Tears Don't Fall). The live tracks are cool because even though I saw Bullet last year, they hadn't played these songs.
Franz Ferdinand Eleanor Put Your Boots On 2 x 7" Single/CD Single
This is the fourth single off You Could Have It Better.... It's a new full band version. I wasn't too keen on the original version but this new version is good. I have yet to transfer the vinyl b-sides onto my computer.
Fightstar They Liked You Better When You Were Dead CD
Fightstar They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (Palahniuk's Laughter) 7" Single
Fightstar Paint Your Target White Vinyl 7" Single
Here starts my Fightstar collection. Palahniuk's Laughter was their very first release from 2005 and was limited to 1000 copies. Luckily, the shop that I order from in the UK still had some copies in stock. Paint Your Target was the first Fightstar song that I had heard. I didn't like it initially because it was your typical emo-type song. Of course, I liked it after a few listens. They Like You Better... is the US version of Fightstar's debut e.p. It includes the original six tracks plus the three tracks from the Paint Your Target CD single. Fightstar are a nice heavy hard rock band. Nothing original really but they have some cool shouty singalong songs. I've already downloaded their full length, Grand Unification, and, as expected, I liked it. It's been ordered and should show up any day now.
Mogwai Travel is Dangerous e.p. CD e.p./12" Single
This is a nice e.p. featuring my second favorite song off Mr. Beast. The remixes of Auto Rock and Friend of the Night are pretty decent although I don't know if they necessarily warrant multiple listenings. They're both on the minimal side. The live versions of Like Herod and We're No Here are also pretty good, especially the former. It's a better version than the radio session version on Government Commissions. The cover, featuring a dog dressed up in a Yoda costume, is hilarious.
Sigur Ros Saeglopur CD/DVD e.p./12" Single
There wasn't as much excitement in getting this because I already got the Japanese version back in April. The bonus is that the DVD has all three music videos (Glosoli, Hoppipolla, Saeglopur) from the Takk... album. It's a nice compliment to both the Takk... album and Hoppipolla single.
Graham Coxon I Can't Look at Your Skin/What's He Got? Double Pak 7" Single
This was my sole purchases from my Amoeba hit this week. I Can't Look... is another one of my favorite songs of Love Travels at Illegal Speeds. It's a nice punky little ditty. One of the b-sides is a cover of The Libertines' Time for Heroes. It's a pretty decent cover. He pretty much stays true to the original.
Dirty Pretty Things Deadwood Numbered 7" Single
Second single from the DPT first album. Not really a good choice, in my opinion. The b-side is a cover of a Paddingtons song...but I haven't listened to it yet.
Razorlight In The Morning 7" Single
The first single off the "difficult" second album. I listened to it a few times but hasn't fully caught my ear yet. I am interested in how the new album is going to sound.
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly I Spy/Call Me Ishmael 7" Single w/ bonus 3" CD single
Folk is the new emo. This guy (Sam Duckworth) has connections with Hundred Reasons so I bought his single. Musicially, the singing reminds me to China Drum. It's a nice mellow single.
The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Darklands Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Automatic Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Honey's Dead Dualdisc
The Jesus and Mary Chain Stoned and Dethroned Dualdisc
This is yet another confirmation that I'm getting old. When the bands that you like(d) start reissuing their albums that you bought the first time around, you know you're getting old. It started when The Wonder Stuff reissued all their albums, followed by Ride, then Slowdive, and now the Mary Chain.
Feeling old aside, these reissues are good because they improved on the sound from their original CDs. I know it's funny saying that for an album like Psychocandy but Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot manage to make it sound less tinny and just a little bit more full. Same goes for the other albums. The DVD side of the Dualdisc feature hi-rez stereo versions of the albums but since I'm not much of an audiophile, I haven't taken the time to listen to them. However, as a bonus, each album includes 3 music videos. It's good to finally have them on DVD. The only drawback is that the videos for the non-album singles (Some Candy Talking, Sidewalking, I Hate Rock n Roll) aren't included. Overall, I'm glad these got reissued.