Counting CDs in my sleep
People don't really count sheep to fall asleep, despite what the mattress commercials will have you believe. If your mind is as busy as mine, you're likely preoccupied with whatever random thoughts usually clutter your mind. For me—especially lately—those thoughts have revolved around what album(s) I will purchase this month. Per my new agreement with myself, my "Year Without Music", I can purchase only 12 records this year, or one per month. I do have a loophole, which M thinks is ridiculous, that allows me to purchase additional records if I sell current records first. I'm not very keen on selling records, so I felt like this loophole would probably not be exercised to a great degree. (And so far, in my Howdy Stranger series, I've failed to find anything to trade in.) But, I did have a few records that have been sitting on the shelf for months, awaiting their eventual auction. And this month, I decided to find them new homes.
For the most part, my recent eBay auctions have been a bust, as three records failed to sell despite two attempts, and the five that did sell only netted me $35 total. But, that's $35 that I can spend on welcome additions to the collection. And that means that I can purchase three albums in addition to my allotted one for this month. So, now you can see why my mind was racing last night as I tried to fall asleep with visions of Tyrannosaurus Rex dancing in my head.
Three of my new additions have been decided, and they are as follows:
1) T. Rex's Prophets, Seers, and Sages,
2) The Misunderstood's Before the Dream Faded, and
3) Magnolia Electric Co.'s The Dark Don't Hide It, which I had forgotten about but is an absolute must so that I can once again behold the glory of the almighty savior of old school rock and roll, Jason Molina. (For song samples, go here and click on the MP3s link.) It's a live album, which is usually a turn-off for me; but having witnessed Molina and Co. in the flesh late last year, I can safely say I'm ready for a second-coming.
The fourth selection is up for grabs at this point. In consideration is the debut album by Black Mountain, which Pitchfork raved about yesterday. As we all know, though, Pitchfork can't always be trusted to be the arbiter of exquisite taste. Like any publication, they sometimes assign reviews to whomever is the biggest fan of that particular artist or genre. (And that, friends, can lead to a kegger on top of a mountain of hype.)
So, sticking with my adjusted priorities, instead of leaping at the opportunity to purchase Black Mountain sight-unseen, I'm doing some legwork first. Pitchfork claims that I'll love their album if I was also enthralled by recent ventures from My Morning Jacket and Comets on Fire. (And yes, I was!) But, I'd like to hear what others say first, because the two songs I listened to on the label's site didn't blow me away on first listen. (All this said, it's probably worth owning, as Jon over at Unfinished Novellas raved to me about the group, too, and I usually agree with his taste in music.)
But, I could also choose to store this extra record-purchasing token away for next month, as I already know that there's another new record coming out that I'm gonna get by Dead Meadow. The song sample provided on Matador's site shows the band traversing down a different thrill-seeking path, so I'm quite excited to hear the record, Feathers, in its entirety.
To spend or not to spend, that is the question...
N/P—Dead Meadow, "At Her Open Door"
For the most part, my recent eBay auctions have been a bust, as three records failed to sell despite two attempts, and the five that did sell only netted me $35 total. But, that's $35 that I can spend on welcome additions to the collection. And that means that I can purchase three albums in addition to my allotted one for this month. So, now you can see why my mind was racing last night as I tried to fall asleep with visions of Tyrannosaurus Rex dancing in my head.
Three of my new additions have been decided, and they are as follows:
1) T. Rex's Prophets, Seers, and Sages,
2) The Misunderstood's Before the Dream Faded, and
3) Magnolia Electric Co.'s The Dark Don't Hide It, which I had forgotten about but is an absolute must so that I can once again behold the glory of the almighty savior of old school rock and roll, Jason Molina. (For song samples, go here and click on the MP3s link.) It's a live album, which is usually a turn-off for me; but having witnessed Molina and Co. in the flesh late last year, I can safely say I'm ready for a second-coming.
The fourth selection is up for grabs at this point. In consideration is the debut album by Black Mountain, which Pitchfork raved about yesterday. As we all know, though, Pitchfork can't always be trusted to be the arbiter of exquisite taste. Like any publication, they sometimes assign reviews to whomever is the biggest fan of that particular artist or genre. (And that, friends, can lead to a kegger on top of a mountain of hype.)
So, sticking with my adjusted priorities, instead of leaping at the opportunity to purchase Black Mountain sight-unseen, I'm doing some legwork first. Pitchfork claims that I'll love their album if I was also enthralled by recent ventures from My Morning Jacket and Comets on Fire. (And yes, I was!) But, I'd like to hear what others say first, because the two songs I listened to on the label's site didn't blow me away on first listen. (All this said, it's probably worth owning, as Jon over at Unfinished Novellas raved to me about the group, too, and I usually agree with his taste in music.)
But, I could also choose to store this extra record-purchasing token away for next month, as I already know that there's another new record coming out that I'm gonna get by Dead Meadow. The song sample provided on Matador's site shows the band traversing down a different thrill-seeking path, so I'm quite excited to hear the record, Feathers, in its entirety.
To spend or not to spend, that is the question...
N/P—Dead Meadow, "At Her Open Door"
Enjoyed the Dead Meadow tune. Sounds promising for the follow-up to Shivering King.
And....you HAVE to have a loophole if you're planning on sticking with this crazy scheme all year...I think yours is not ridiculous at all, but rather is more likely to keep you honest.
By 
Jonathan Wright, at 6:57 PM
6:57 PMEnjoyed the Dead Meadow tune. Sounds promising for the follow-up to Shivering King.
And....you HAVE to have a loophole if you're planning on sticking with this crazy scheme all year...I think yours is not ridiculous at all, but rather is more likely to keep you honest.