recent CDs

[desh]

I seem to have gone on a bit of a music buying binge recently. CDs obtained in the past 3 months:

• Phil Ochs - There But For Fortune
  
• Great Big Sea - Rant And Roar
  
• We're About 9 - Paperdust::Stardust
  
• Bear Is Driving - The Adventures Of Bear Is Driving
  
• Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
  
• Marcy Playground - Marcy Playground (not my fault, myq got it for me)
  
• The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love
  
• The Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
  
• Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (order hasn't come in yet)
  
• Shemekia Copeland - Never Going Back (order hasn't come in yet)

Comments

[krisispm.livejournal.com]

I thought perhaps we'd have some minor overlap given the volume of my recent purhcases (and collection).

Alas, aside from my long-ago bought JLP-acoustic (unremarkable; no harmony), nothing in common.

[desh]

The best of the bunch is The Decemberists (if you like them; this album is very Decemberistsish). Great Big Sea has a few great songs on there if you're not familiar with them. I've heard Bear Is Driving is good, but it's a genre I don't understand (instrumental prog-ish something-or-other), so I can't comment on it much except to say that my friend in the band is very talented. And Phil Ochs is Phil Ochs — an icon who you may or may not actually care about. Don't really have an opinion on the last 3 yet.

Got any recommendations?

[krisispm.livejournal.com]

From most recent backwards to slightly before the wedding.

Indigo Girls - Poseidon. Stronger songwriting than the last one, but not as hooky. Digging the duo acoustic disc.

Catfish Haven - Devastator. Haven't listened yet.

Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It. Perfectly vintage, but maybe a little slight because of that.

PJ Harvey / John Parish - A Man A Woman Walked By. Expectedly confrontational.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz. From the YYY's, utter crap. By some other band, perhaps halfway decent.

Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrel - Complete Duets. Worth every cent.

P!nk - Funhouse. Way more dark and contemplative than I thought it would be, but not as strong as her last.

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue. A lost 70s record, with all the associated flaws.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone. Delightful.

Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted. Schizophrenic, with some strong songs but consistently terrible lyrics. Pales by comparison to My December, but people have their heads stuck up their asses.

Melinda Doolittle - Coming Back to You. Best modern soul record that isn't intentionally trying to be groundbreaking and/or a throwback that I've heard in years. I like that it's now but it's also connected to its lineage.

The Honorary Title - Scream and Light Up the Sky. Haven't heard anything I haven't liked yet.

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas. Disappointingly below average.

U2 - No Line On the Horizon. Definitely love some of it, but even when they break new ground they bore me.

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare. As average as their debut, but more imaginative.

REM - Accelerate. I have to just accept that this isn't the band I like.

The Sleepwells - Somewhere Over the Radar. Still can't believe this is a local band. Awesome, if a little mid-tempo.

Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux. Fun and power-poppy. Better than Infinity, maybe, but with less standouts.

Nikka Costs - Pebble to a Pearl. No opinion yet.

Pretenders - Break Up the Concrete. Continues their streak of strong discs that fit their catalog without regurgitating old stuff.

[krisispm.livejournal.com]

Um, clearly they aren't all recommended, but I thought the context of what I've been discarding might help.

And, no, I do not like the Decemberists, so if the album is ultra-them I will ultra-not-like-it. Gina and I were just talking about our meh-ness towards them.

[kyra.livejournal.com]

Woo, Great Big Sea love!