Well, the Electric Fetus, the best record store in the Twin Cities, had their annual Valentine's Day sale last weekend. I picked up a few things, so I thought I might as well make the list a blog post. I got almost everything used, so I saved quite a bit of money.
Bruce Springsteen, "Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ" Since I have the original vinyl, but lack a record player, I thought I should get the CD and actually listen to this music. I just finished listening to "The Essential Bruce Springsteen" and I'm more impressed with the Boss than I was at first. I'm also just impressed by the physical energy he brings to performing. His Super Bowl halftime show was amazing!
Elvis Costello, "Brutal Youth" I found the Rhino 2-disc re-issue used for $8.99, so I bought it. I really like "All This Useless Beauty," from around the same time period, so I figured I'd give this one a shot. It also came highly recommended from EC expert Holly, so that nudged me towards the purchase.
Billy Joel, "Storm Front" Okay, so Billy Joel isn't very "hip." But, I've been listening to "The Essential Billy Joel," and I've forgotten how much I like his songs. He's really a great pop songwriter. And my Dad had "Storm Front" on cassette, so I have fond memories of listening to it in the car. And I'm an American history nerd, so 8-year-old me loved "We Didn't Start the Fire." And it was only $2.99.
James Taylor, "Gorilla" Okay, so James Taylor isn't very "hip" either. But he's a damn fine singer/songwriter. He's one of those artists where every album is pretty similar to every other album, but they're all pretty good. I love the song "Mexico," from this album, so I'm interested to hear the rest of the album.
James Taylor, "October Road," Yes, another JT CD. This one is really good, and even though it came out in 2002, it's his most recent album of new songs he's written. The first time I got interested in James Taylor was around 2002 when he was profiled on "60 Minutes." I knew nothing about his background, so I was surprised to learn he had battled depression and drug abuse. It gave me a lot more respect for him. I was like, "Oh, you suffered for your art."
James Taylor, "New Moon Shine," And one more from Sweet Baby James. It was only $3.99, and this CD is out of print, so I snatched it up.
Robyn Hitchcock, "Queen Elvis" This was the highlight of my shopping trip! One of the only Robyn CD's I don't have, because it's out of print! I was very excited to find this used for $6.99. It even has a promotional sticker on it, bewilderingly calling Robyn, "#1 Post-Modern artist." What exactly does that mean? Whatever it means, I'm sure that Robyn lives up to it.
2 comments:
What a haul, Mark! I'm glad that Billy Joel and James Taylor made the cut -- screw the hipsters, those guys have done some great music in their times and attention must be paid. And I can't wait to hear how you like Brutal Youth; it's becoming one of my favorite EC albums. ("Just About Glad" and "Favourite Hour" are simply devastating, each in their own way.)
I know you will love the Robyn Hitchcock, too. BTW have you heard the new album Goodnight Oslo yet?
Yes, I think Billy and James deserve some respect, they're both great songwriters. I'm excited for Brutal Youth, I just started listening to When I Was Cruel today, and I'm blown away by it already. I'm only halfway through it, but "45" "Spooky Girlfriend," "Tear Off Your Own Head," and "When I Was Cruel No. 2" are just amazing. Elvis really does have a way with words, doesn't he? He's kind of like the John Updike of rock, prolific, consistently amazing, and he can write a song about anything, kind of like how Updike could write about anything.
I've listened to all of "Queen Elvis" already, it's pretty darn good, I really like "Veins of the Queen." I might have to write a post about that song. And I have heard Goodnight Oslo, and I wrote a review of it last week, if you scroll farther down the page you'll find it. It's a terrific album. And Robyn is coming to the Twin Cities in April! My tickets just arrived in the mail today! Woo-hoo! Have you heard Goodnight Olso yet? If so, what do you think?
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