Salutations™!!

Well, the Carolina Cobras lost the championship game with only 11 seconds left on the clock. Phooey on that. But, other than that, and a screwy day chasing dreams, we did get some great records and some great listening in. Underdog Records was jumping and I love to see that. Here’s the haul:

©Beggar’s Banquet

• Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold — I have liked most things I have heard from this riot grrrl group and what I heard whilst making the Underdog Records advert for The Less Desirables, I liked, as well. Jonathan did say that this was unlike anything they have ever recorded and it was produced by St. Vincent (Anne Clark) and is a little more electronic and modern, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it still had the “balls” that they are known for, just not as aggressive, I guess. We really enjoyed listening to this. New.
• José González – In Our Nature — I’ve said before that The BCPF is a huge fan of José’s and when she has the opportunity to get stuff that she doesn’t already have, she jumps at it. He’s a great talent with a great voice. Oddly enough, he’s Argentinian but born in Sweden. But, that’s neither here nor there, I guess. Great album. New.
• Rolling Stones – More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) — We had this already but it was only in “Good” condition and the cover was in “Poor” condition. I really don’t know why I counted it at all. Anywhat! We got a better copy. This one is VG+.
• Yes – Relayer — I love collecting Yes albums. I mostly like listening to Yes albums. I don’t know how I’ll feel about this one. With my prog-rock, I am hit or miss. The first side of this album is a 22-minute song called “The Gates of Delirium” which is Jon Anderson’s take on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Side two is just two songs. So, I’ll let you know how I feel. I am very glad to have it, though. VG+.
• Iron And Wine and Ben Bridwell – Sing Into My Mouth — The look on The BCPF’s face when I showed her this was priceless. It was a combination of her head rolling almost off the side, her eyes bulging out and her chin dropping to the floor. It’s actually a covers album by two of her favorite artists, Sam Beam and Ben Bridwell (well, he is with Band of Horses). Her eyes rolled back in her head in ecstasy when she heard it. She didn’t even know this existed. A win for me! VG++.
• ldo Parisot – Zoltán Kodály, Johann Sebastian Bach – Kodaly Sonata For Cello Alone / Bach Suite #5 For Cello Alone — What we’re listening to as I write this. I love the cello and I love solo cello and I like this but it’s not my favorite. I think I am spoiled by so Yo-Yo Ma. VG+.
• Icicle Works – Icicle Works — This may be my favorite pickup in a long, long time. I knew the ‘hit’ from the album, “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)” and nothing else. In the UK the song was actually titled “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream).” What is the practice of using parentheses anyway? Why? Just name the song. Parentheticals aren’t necessary! Anywhat, I digress! While I can’t say it’s my least favorite song on the album, I definitely can’t say it’s my favorite. While I can list off names of songs, that would be cheating. I just enjoyed listening to the whole album. From the initial leader space on side one to the last runout on side two, it is a fantastic album and it brought elation and joy. VG++.
• Exile – Mixed Emotions — Before moving to the world of cringe-worthy country music, Exile had minor success as a rock band. They were formed in Kentucky. Everyone has heard the song “Kiss You All Over” and it’s on this album. It came back to prominence in the late 90s thanks to Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore. VG++.
• Glass Tiger – The Thin Red Line —They only had three albums and I figure this is the only one that really matters. The tunes “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” and “Someday” are on this. Again with a parenthetical title… The BCPF saw them open for Journey (her first concert). VG+.
• ABC – The Lexicon Of Love — A very important album in the lexicon of early- to mid-80s Britpop. This has the singles “Tears Are Not Enough”, “Poison Arrow”, “The Look of Love” and “All of My Heart.” Some of their biggest hits. I dismissed them as “that band who does ‘As Smokey Sings,'” and now I even like that song. They are a great pop band and I love listening to them. It was a $1 bin find but it was in great shape. VG+, I’d say.
• Der Bielefelder Kinderchor – Das Weihnachtskonzert Des Bielefelder Kinderchores — Another $1 bin find and The BCPF loves grabbing German stuff that she finds. We actually got two German records but the other one isn’t in Discogs, which isn’t unusual. It was in really crummy shape, too. I’ll try to put it in later. Those are really hard because I don’t speak German and don’t know what half of this stuff even means, so… This isn’t in great shape either, so I’m only going with G/F.

Jonathan has been putting out a lot of great used vinyl and it’s always fun to go in. I love it when I see friends from outside of the store show up when I’m there. My pal Brad from TBD Referral Group came in to trade some stuff for credit. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear what the TLD/UR special of the week is. Use Discogs to keep track of your collection, how much it is potentially worth and the cool shuffle feature.

Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!

—
“You can see it in my eyes, I can feel it in your touch. You don’t have to say a thing just let me show how much I love you; I need you, yeah. I wanna kiss you all over. And over again. I wanna kiss you all over. Till the night closes in.” – “Kiss You All Over” (Chinn/Chapman)