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i bought a bunch of records on friday.
a little ‘my songs for the new record
aren’t done so i might as well enjoy other
people’s songs’ kinda shopping trip.

here be the goods:

de la soul- 3 feet high and rising.

this record is out of print.
i’ve been looking for it for awhile.
i assume it’s out of print ’cause the band
didn’t get clearance for all the samples
they used on it.
and there are TONS of samples.
and getting sued is expensive
and not fun.
so the label just pulled the record.
anyone know if this is true?
well, no matter the story…
this record is the shit.

the temper trap- conditions.

i saw them play on ‘live from abbey road,’
which is a kick-ass show on sundance channel.
bands get to go record live sessions AT abbey
road, and soak up the magical beatles vibe.
the band is australian, so… that rules.
the kid’s voice is ethereal and rad,
it’s sort of bronski beat…
if bronksi beat were a band i liked.
and they sound VERY ‘first wave’ type 80’s,
which i’m a sucker for.

black rebel motorcycle club- howl.

i worship their record ‘baby 81.’
it kills me.
my friend travis, who is a fan and
played in a band with them before they
became BRMC, told me that i had to
hear ’howl.’
so, see… i listen to my friends.

dr. dog- fate.

the new dr. dog record just came out.
it is crushing my mind.
i don’t know what i had against them for
so long… but, i am now a changed man.
this record is the beginning of me
spelunking their back catalog.

court yard hounds- court yard hounds.

i love me some dixie chicks.
so, in lieu of a new record from them,
i’m giving this a shot.
it is emily & martie’s side project.
i haven’t listened yet, but the artwork
inside the record is rad.

rage against the machine- rage against the machine.

i have NEVER owned this record.
i don’t know why.
maybe i had it on cassette?
i have their demo tape.
but don’t have this.
weird.
anyway, it’s real, real great.
my favorite one, actually
and it was time to own it on CD…
just in time for CDs to become fossils.

drivin n’ cryin- great american bubble factory.

i love drivin n’ cryin.
i think kevn kinney is one of the most under valued
lyricists of the last 25 years.

the tallest man on earth- the wild hunt.

my friend paul is a nerd for music like me.
when he recommends a record, i buy it.
sometimes it’s great, sometimes it isn’t.
but i always buy it.
paul loves this record.
i saw this kid (the tallest man) do one of
vincent moon’s take away shows…
and liked it alright.
i’m looking forward to checking out the record.

jay-z- the blueprint.

i’m late to the jay-z train.
but it is a real nice train.

INXS- live baby live (DVD)

live INXS at the height of their powers.

the jimi hendrix experience- are you experienced. (VINYL)

had to have it.

the english beat- special beat service.

’save it for later’ is SUCH a great song.
and we were watching footage of them at the US festival
on VH1 the other night…
and they were just total bad asses.
dave wakeling, rankin’ roger…
they were dressed up all rude boy, sweating
and skanking their way through the pretty 80s.
(side note)
vampire weekend wouldn’t really exist if it wasn’t for
the english beat.. and haircut 100.
so, you can love them or hate them for that.

the psychedelic furs- mirror moves.

richard butler could deliver you your death sentence
and it would be sexy… what a voice!
…and his LYRICS. ugh. perfect.
THE GHOST IN YOU!!!!

this might seem a little controversial.
controversial in the sense that everyone ALWAYS puts
this band somewhere in the top 2 of any ‘greatest’ list ever…

ok. ready?
number 8 on my top 10 list of greatest artists ever is….

THE BEATLES.

see, the weird thing about the beatles for me is this:
i respect them. completely.
i see them as the total bad ass revolutionaries they were….
BUT
i don’t really like them all that much.
i never have.
i’m not sure the exact reason…
their music has just never really resonated with me.
or in me. (dirty!)
it’s never lit me on fire.
and i try. every year or so, i try.

i love watching “let it be.”
i like listening to ‘revolver.’ and ‘rubber soul.’ and ‘abbey road.’
paul mccartney’s guitar solo in ‘taxman’ sounds like a car
skidding into the rails of a freeway off ramp at 70 mph…
and i LOVE it.
their melodies are unmatched.
they came up with chord changes that will ALWAYS be theirs.
no matter who uses them,
there will always be ‘beatles changes.’

i think the sound of their records is PERFECTION.
i would argue, the best sounding rock recordings ever made
are the ones in the beatles catalog.
the band was fearless.
and effortlessly good.
they played like the instruments were extensions of their bodies.
with unbelievable, absolute, stumbling grace.

and then there is the production.  i mean:
-the string quartets on ‘eleanor rigby?!’
-the middle and the end sections of ‘a day in the life?!’
-the tape loops in ‘tomorrow never knows?!’
these are pioneering achievements in music,
often duplicated, never matched.

and there has never been a better band who had the ability to
just shit out great pop song after great pop song.

the beatles charted the landscape.
they drew up the maps.
they spelunked in the caves and came out
with diamond after diamond.
it is beyond amazing what they accomplished in SIX (!!) years.
i respect them. and i get why everyone loses their shit over them…
i just don’t really find them all that inspiring to listen to.
analytically, i get it.
emotionally, i don’t.

john lennon’s voice has always moved me.
his voice.
but that’s it.

that said.
of all the great bands in the 60’s who changed the landscape of music
AND culture, the beatles did it in the most diverse and substantial way.
defying genres.
defying decades.
defying and defining fashion.
and changing the course of our art forever.