Recent Poorchoices/Purchases

Also: Prefuse 73! Four Tet!! And the 400% Dynamite compilation, Beta Band, SFA.

And, in the finally category: best of Shangri-Las, Dexys' "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels."

worst recent purchases: Thankfully none, although the most recent Mull Historical Society single is sort of underwhelming.

I also bought a the Boss's Tunnel of Love (a fiver) and Scott Joplin on CD for a mere £1.99. I'm pretty excited about these too.

Blimey, and I thought pop records could never excite me again. Maybe I'd better not play them, just in case.

And a propos nothing: I am going to see DJ Assault tonight :) Hope he plays "Ass 'n Titties" or i'll complain to the manager.

Bad: a three-sided Joe Jackson mid-80s album that shows Joe messing around in the vicinity of world music while still pathetically sounding like a spunky young white kid circa 1979. I have no excuse for this one, except the gimmick of 3 sides.

Bad: a Jimmy Ruffin greatest hits, despite the presence of "I'll Say Forever My Love' (a song that Dexys fans will doubtless recognise). Jimmy may have been a brother of a Temptation, but he sure got the middling to mediocre Motown stuff during the 60s.

Bad: a Captain Sensible double. I don't know what possessed me, and I don't have the strength of will to withdraw it from its sleeve.

Good: Dr Feelgood - Stupidity. Although I wouldn't advies paying more than £2 for this, this live album rocks very hard indeed. lean, mean and with an extra added dosage of Wilko Johnson.

Great: Various - Soul Archive. It's got a beautiful cover, and three Betty Everett songs on. Tip for anyone seeking out 60s soul: if you go for any compilation with Ms Everett on, you ain't going to be too disappointed. This one also has the Impressions' sublime 'Say That You Love Me' on, and some far obscurer stuff - the Willows, anyone? - so I was in soul heaven.

The remainder was bought on CD in HMV...

Middling: Specials - Stereo-Typical. Now don't get me wrong. I'd been looking for this 3CD compilation for some time now, and the price was reduced to 18 quid, but frankly it's unneccessary. The first two albums are what you need, and the singles, and if you have those - even just the first album at a pinch - then you certainly don't need this (there was a reason why 12-inch extended versions were put on the B-side). If you're really looking to bolster your Specials collection, then buy the BBC Sessions instead. I did. And I'm happy.

Killer: Judy Garland, live at Carnegie Hall. Oh yes. Talk about your drama...

Killer: the Undertones singles box set, marked down to 11 quid for a reason that totally escapes me. Obviously I already have them all - er, three times, including all the original picture sleeves - already, but this set is so sweet! I love CDs that just come in a cardboard slip case: begone you nasty jewelled thing.

Likewise killer are the Magazine and Subway Sect compilations I also picked up for a song. The Magazine one is called "Maybe it's right to be nervous now' and is super-fine, especially their version of Boredom. Take it from one who distrusted them back in the day for being art school ponces.

Middling: Neu 2. Good album, overpriced. (But don't buy the third one, eh?)

Now if only I could play some of those damn rags on my piano.

Ace stuff Manitoba "Stop Breaking My Heart". amazing love it. Cannibal Ox "The Cold Vien" Innovative hip hop which is very melodic. I haven't bought it yet but I will as soon as I can get hold of a copy -------Four Tet. I've only got MP3's of his stuff but I want to give the man money anyway.

Neu! 2 is mischievous. That's why I like it. You can't imagine Spiritualised (say) being so naughty.

Today I bought a CD by Chavela Vargas, LE CANTA A MEXICO, which I'm listening to right now. It's live, which wasn't mentioned anywhere on the super-ugly packaging. But I love her voice.

I also illegaly copied onto a CD a bunch of stuff by Jimme Dale Gilmore for my wife. I can't stand him.

I'll go put it on again - wasn't expecting to find such an ardent supporter.

I really do need to get this someday. Soon, soon.

Re: Neu! -- I'm a fan of all three albums and find the varying moods and experiments on each subtly captivating. I still remember when I first heard them back in 1994 or so and realized, "Ah, *that's* what Stereolab was doing!"

PS Jerry: I used to be able to play those rags, 15 years ago. But I certainly can't play them now.

Whatever. I certainly won't be playing sides 1 or 3 again, and fortunately there isn't a side 4. But thanks for turning me onto 'Together'. I'll shove it on a compilation tape shortly.

Piano Magic - Low Birth Weight... will possibly become my most listened to album this year.

V/A - Body & Soul 3... b/c the second one was excellent and this has Aztec Mystic's "Jaguar" on it, which = classic. Still haven't listened to it properly, though.

Aaliyah - Aaliyah... my ardour has cooled slightly (there are definitely a few slightly weaker tracks) but otherwise this is hella good and nicely consistent for an R&B album.

Throwing Muses - University... inspired by the recent discussions here. And lo, it is charming.

The only bad stuff has been review freebies that I feel petty complaining about, but nonetheless: Musiq Soulchild and Real Ibiza 4 are not worthy of your time and money.

About Joe Jackson - OK, OK, I admit defeat, or disagreement. But I am surprised, esp. by that 'showtune' claim. I like showtunes too, but I've never thought of this record this way. (It was recorded live, wasn't it? He's one for the gimmicks.)

Look at the tracklist. 'Wild West' is rock-pop; 'Home Town' is a sort of jangle; 'Right & Wrong' is kind of funk-pop. 'Big World' is (as you said earlier) a kind of World pastiche.

'Shanghai Sky' fits your Show bill - but I really like it! He sings a great melody in a bad falsetto, as I recall. 'Forty Years' - hm - that's a big ballad too. 'Survival', that kind of concept-title sounds ominous from Jackson (cf. 'Discipline' on the Blaze of Glory LP, 1989). Side 3 is the worst, in fact.

Oh, well. The 3-side gimmick is notable, if nothing else.

Started on Berlin: Alma Cogan sings 'Cheek To Cheek'. Best version of 'Cheek To Cheek', anyone? Frank?

1) new unwound. sheer sickness 2) MoM Idiology fantastic as well 3) squarepusher - bleh. was expecting much more from the single i heard. 4) summer hymns - booyah. great summer cd 5) the shins - booyah. great summer cd.

To partially answer the question: I probably shouldn't have bought that Redman LP.

Today's haul from Amoeba Hollywood:

LPs:
Grateful Dead — Two From the Vault
Weldon Irvine — Cosmic Vortex

CDs:
Miles Davis — Bootleg Series 3 & 4 (Fillmore and Newport sets)
Lou Reed — Berlin
Brian Wilson — SMiLE
Glenn Mercer — Incidental Hum

my bloody valentine - isn't anything reissue

Ooooohhh, I picked that up on my previous trip to Amoeba on Haight this summer.

Today's haul, again from Amoeba in Hollywood:

LPs:
Stereolab — Not Music
Abdullah Ibrahim — The Children of Africa
Earth, Wind & Fire — Open Our Eyes

CDs:
Fiona Apple — Tidal
My Bloody Valentine — Ecstasy and Wine
Kode9 — Nothing
O.Rang — Fields and Waves
Steve Tibbetts — A Man About A Horse
Beck — Loser
Siouxsie and the Banshees — Through the Looking Glass
Siouxsie and the Banshees — A Kiss in the Dreamhouse
Siouxsie and the Banshees — Kaleidoscope
Siouxsie and the Banshees — Join Hands

Yep.

Kind of weird that purchases/poorchoices isn't a pun with greater cultural currency, tbh... It's like the exact kind of corny required of a widespread evergreen dadjoek

Loser EP is kewl

did you get the official Ecstasy and Wine release or the bootleg? the official CD is rare and OOP, and even the bootleg is pretty sought-after, judging by the discogs listings. I've never seen either one in stores.

xpost: Yeah! I was stoked for all the extras. It was only $2! They also had the promo-only CD single for 'Dreams' for only $40. Haha.

I hope the Ecstasy and Wine I got is official because I paid $30 for it! Is there a way to tell that you know of?

according to the discogs entry, the bootleg has 'no matrix text other than the catalogue number. The center of the disc is painted black, and isn't clear. The text is blurry and the colors lighter.' hopefully you got the real Lazy release.

I still have trust issues because I bought the Glider and Tremolo EPs in 2011 (thinking that they'd never be reissued) and then the EP collection came out about a year later and rendered my purchase obsolete. to be fair, they were only maybe $5 apiece.

Well, I remember seeing Ecstasy and Wine at Amoeba in Berkeley about ten years ago and they wanted $40 for it and I've never seen it since so I jumped on this one. For what it's worth, it sounds fine. The center of this one is painted black, but the text isn't blurry (or not what I would call blurry). Enh, I'm happy.

Today's haul, Amoeba in Hollywood. . .

LPs:
Steve Tibbetts — Safe Journey
The Comsat Angels — Chasing Shadows

CDs:
David Bowie — Scary Monsters
David Bowie — Lodger
John Fahey — Requia
John Fahey — The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
Julia Holter — Loud City Song

Another haul from Amoeba in Hollywood, all CDs. . .

David Bowie — The Man Who Sold the World
David Bowie — Hunky Dory
David Bowie — Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie — Heathen
David Bowie — The Next Day
David Bowie — ★
Beck — Devil's Haircut
Jandek — Modern Dances
Eberhard Weber — Encore
Radiohead — Ok Computer Deluxe Edition
Radiohead — Kid A Deluxe Edition

My box from Dusty Groove showed up today as well!

Jon Hassell — Earthquake Island vinyl
Abdullah Ibrahim — Reflections CD
Abdullah Ibrahim — African Space Program

Skids - The Virgin Years box
Barry Andrews - Haunted Box Of Switches Vol. 1&2
Aztec Camera - Knife (expanded)
David Sylvian - Damage (his mix)
Cairo Gang - Goes Missing
David Bowie - Zeit box
Drive-By Truckers - It's Great To Be Alive 3CD
Television - Television
Posies - Dream All Day (Best Of)
Wussy - Attica!
V/A - Mojo's Instant Garage
V/A - The Roots Of Power Pop

hey Austin, glad you are still around. funny thing is i just sold Hail to the Thief and The Bends deluxe collector editions for insane money. still have OK Computer up but upped the price on Amazon. i bought them from BMG Music when they were going under but they are the official release. i sold them because i own every CD single anyways and didn't really need all of them collected on one disc if i could make some cash.

i miss buying CD at Amoeba.

Yeah, believe it or not, there were some tracks on the OK Computer deluxe edition that were new to me, even after all these years. They were fairly expensive ($40 for OK Computer and $30 for Kid A). The live stuff on Kid A is totally killer, so hooray. Good poorchoices.

Last several weeks of acquisitions:

LPs:
The Lines — Hull Down
Andrew Bird — Are You Serious (with bonus 7")
Glenn Jones — Fleeting
Julia Holter — Tragedy

CDs:
KING — We Are KING
James Blake — The Colour in Anything
Bill Evans — Some Other Time
Julia Holter — Ekstasis
David Byrne — The Catherine Wheel
David Byrne + Brian Eno — My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (remastered + expanded)
Talking Heads — Stop Making Sense (remastered + expanded)
Stephen Stills — Manassas

Kvelertak - Nattesferd 2LP
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time LP (nice used copy for cheap)
Vektor - Terminal Redux 2LP
King Gizzard & cet. - Nonagon Infinity LP (fancy "Emu Egg" colored vinyl)
Halo of Flies - Music for Insect Minds 2LP reissue
Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony LP
Horse Lords - Interventions LP
Bombino - Azel LP
Boredoms - Super Go!!!!! [Shine In * Shine On] 12"
Boredoms - Super Roots 7 12"
Boredoms - Soul Discharge LP
Ulver - Bergtatt LP reissue
Ulver - Kveldssanger LP reissue
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal LP reissue

plus replacement copies of several beloved old deerhoof & stereolab albums

More. Always more.

LPs:
William Tyler — Modern Country
Ben Watt — Fever Dream

CDs:
Talking Heads — The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (remastered + expanded)
Roger Waters — The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking
Roger Waters — Radio K.A.O.S.
Roger Waters — Amused to Death
David Gilmour — self-titled
David Gilmour — About Face
David Gilmour — On An Island
David Gilmour — Rattle That Lock
Pink Floyd — The Endless River
Grimes — Halfaxa
Vampire Weekend — self-titled
Vampire Weekend — Contra
Vampire Weekend — Modern Vampires of the City
Lianne La Havas — Is Your Love Big Enough?
Lianne La Havas — Blood
Neil Young — Live at the Cellar Door
Paul McCartney — McCartney (remastered + expanded)
Paul McCartney — Ram (remastered + expanded)

At least the ones that came out at the time seem to have reappeared over the last couple of years after being OOP for several years.

Was in downtown LA this morning for a meeting, so I made a trip over to Amoeba to do some more trading. Here's what I came away with (all CDs):

Bobby Hutcherson — Live at Montreux
Abdullah Ibrahim — Good News From Africa
Alice Coltrane — Translinear Light
Fugazi — 13 Songs
Fugazi — Repeater + 3 Songs
Fugazi — Steady Diet of Nothing
Fugazi — In on the Kill Taker
Fugazi — Red Medicine
Fugazi — End Hits
Fugazi — The Argument

Bought the 2005 2CD reissues of the Stooges' s/t debut and Fun House, just 'cause I didn't have physical copies in the house (though I do have the Complete Fun House Sessions box).

I found the following used records last week and am very happy with them

Ultravox! : s/t
Locust: Morning Light
Pere Ubu: Dub Housing
Tuxedomoon: Half Mute
Danielle Dax: Jesus Egg That Wept

Those Stooges 2CD deals are pretty great.

I also recently got Dub Housing and I like it!

i have kind of a hard time with it (and most pere ubu) to be honest, but I got a deal on it and I'm trying to enjoy it more.

I was wondering what cds that promised to be great ended up stinking up your earholes.

Pumarosa - The Witch
Joan Shelley - s/t

The covers of the Stooges cds seem to have been remastered as well as the audio, quite notably with Funhouse. I think it's even more noticeable on the vinyl version since it's larger would love a poster of that same remastered image.
Is remastered the right word for an image?
Anyway you could feel yourself sinking into the image the quality is that good.
I grew up with a pretty bad reproduction on a single non-gatefold sleeve on my vinyl version and the old cd was as bad

The covers of the Stooges cds seem to have been remastered as well as the audio, quite notably with Funhouse. I think it's even more noticeable on the vinyl version since it's larger would love a poster of that same remastered image.

funny you should say, but a friend of mine emailed me yesterday saying exactly the same thing re the stooges covers.
along with the cover for Led Zep II which he says 'looks like its sun bleached in comparison to the colours on the original.'

i have kind of a hard time with it (and most pere ubu) to be honest, but I got a deal on it and I'm trying to enjoy it more.

I found Dub Housing to be more conventional, and therefore more accessible, than the one after it (New Picnic Time).

But yeah, in general, I've had a hard time getting into Pere Ubu. But, I've come around lately.

Pere Ubu for me has always been about The Modern Dance. That was really a small step for David Thomas but a big step for mankind. Unsettling and attractive at the same time. After that nothing ever really brought back that weird feeling of estrangement. Does that word even exist in English?

Hit a used record store on father's day and picked up:

The Egyptian Lover - Egypt, Egypt 12"
Monk Higgins - What Fah / Ceatrix Did It 7"
JJ Barnes - Baby Please Come Back Home / Chains of Love 7"
The Velvettes - These Things Will Keep Me Loving You / Since You've Been Loving Me 7"

i just picked up a Barbra live cassette and a cassette of native american flute recordings at an outdoor flea market in Woodstock. super cool, both of them

bought a 3-CD lot of In C CDs on ebay from some guy in Wisconsin:

In C (Terry Riley, 1968)
In C (Shanghai Film Orchestra, 1989)
In C (25th Anniversary Concert, 1990)

the Chinese version is fun, although it has sort of a rushed vibe - "this aleatoric stuff is making me nervous -- can we please just get this over with?" and the 25th anniversary version isn't nearly as out-there as I'd hoped it would be, given the personnel involved. maybe I should try the Acid Mothers Temple version, or maybe I should just download 50 versions at random on slsk

L'Infonie, a weird French Canadian prog group, did a version too.

cool, I'll have to check that one out!

Austin & grawlix, I've been finding things to check out through your posts--on the basis of things I've had 30, 40, even 45 years that you are checking out now that you list as successes. So thanks for that, I'll take a chance on things NOT in my collection that you've picked up. Now, I don't think I would've picked up Fugazi & Abdullah Ibrahim or Alice Coltrane on the same trip, but if I recall, the last (only) time I've been to Amoeba & Rasputin in Berkeley, I came away with equally disparate choices.

I have the unique perspective of having bought many of these (on this entire thread) in LP, cassette, and CD--haha, I never got sucked into mini-disc format!!!!

The last several years, I've been in paring down mode, selling off cds as I digitize. Maybe some of my recycles will end up in your hands (though I'm in Michigan, so...)

Cool! Glad to hear it.

Sadly, I did get into minidiscs in the early 2000s.

Indeed, nice to hear.

Just got a copy of Sunn O)))'s Oracle in the mail - bought it on Discogs for $25. It's not easy to come by on CD; the 2-disc version (the one I got) was only 2000 copies, made specifically for an Australian tour in 2007 or so. It's great, though; the main disc is two long tracks that sound like their tribute to Einstürzende Neubauten (James Plotkin plays jackhammer!), and the bonus disc is a 48-minute montage of live clips. It's one of their least-known releases, but one of my favorites.

a buck a pop:

Slipknot Iowa
Gravenhurst Flashlight Season
Cannibal Ox Cold Vein
The Format Dog Problems
Beach House Teen Dream
My Morning Jacket Circuital

From today's visit to Amoeba. . .

CDs:
Stereolab — Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (this was missing the DVD —which I don't really care about anyway— so it was only $5!)
Wire — Pink Flag
Wire — Chairs Missing
Wire — 154
Abdullah Ibrahim — Anatomy of a South African Village
Siouxsie and the Banshees — The John Peel Sessions
Gil Scott-Heron + Jamie xx — We're New Here

LPs:
Modern English — Take Me to the Trees
The Raincoats — The Raincoats
Cluster — Cluster II

I’ve pre-ordered the new King Crimson 3CD/1Blu-Ray live thing. I saw the tour; it was good.

I liked the tour too. But why on earth didn't they play "21st Century Schizoid Man" in Berlin?

Got back in the game yesterday. . .

CDs:
Bert Jansch — Rosemary Lane
Abdullah Ibrahim — No Fear, No Die (S'en Fout La Mort) OST
Abdullah Ibrahim — Cape Town Flowers
McCoy Tyner — Time for Tyner
Terry Callier — First Light
Jon Lucien — Rashida
Gary Burton — Alone At Last

LPs:
Jon Lucien — Song for My Lady
Jon Lucien — Romantico
Bobby Hutcherson — Un Poco Loco
Abdullah Ibrahim — Black Lightning
Weldon Irvine — The Sisters

Jon Lucien's super dope. I remember in the early 2000s, places like Turntable Lab and Dusty Groove were really gushing over some reissues of his. I vaguely recall finding a copy of Song for My Lady at a Salvation Army around the time and checking it out. I remember it being nothing like it actually is. I was way more into early Cure and Radiohead at the time.

Today's haul. . .

LPs:
Ralph Towner / John Abercrombie — Five Years Later
Jan Garbarek Group — Wayfarer
Cal Tjader — Puttin` it Together

CDs:
Gary McFarland / Steve Kuhn — The October Suite
Chick Corea — Return to Forever
Chick Corea — Light as a Feather
Abdullah Ibrahim — African Magic
The Meters — A Message from the Meters
Sonny Rollins — The Bridge
The Free Design — Kites are Fun
The Free Design — You Could Be Born Again