Turns out I can stand songs with jams in them if they are six minutes or less : )

"Got nuffin to lose but darkness and shadows, got nuffin to lose but bitterness and patterns..."

the best money I've ever spent on myself...

A few weeks ago, I was in Schoolkids Records in Raleigh, flipping through their vinyl. I've gotten into the practice of looking through vinyl, even though I didn't have a record player, because I knew at some point I would get one, when I could afford it. I've made it a point to collect the vinyl from albums that have changed my perspective on things, or are people like Sleater-Kinney or Elliott. I've bought records as souvenirs from road trips. I've gotten vinyl as birthday presents, and yes, I've been the sad 20-something hipster that bought it so I could frame the album art. What, the frames keep the dust off!

We can blame it all on Jay, really, who bought me my first "real" record, Jeff Buckley's "Grace," limited edition, with a single of "Strawberry Street" pressed onto translucent blue vinyl. Whenever I found a friend with a record player, I would beg them to let me bring my small collection over to listen for the afternoon. So, as I was standing in that record store, and I was looking at a copy of "Sainthood," with a free digital copy, I realized that the time had come. Time to buy a turntable, and damn the cost.

So when I got back to Roanoke the next day, I met Ashley at Best Buy to see what they had. I wasn't too surprised, because I have priced turntables in the past... and I can't afford to put down at least 100 for a turntable, and then an amp, and speakers, not to mention find the space for all of that! I wanted to spend Christmas money, but it's not like I had 300 dollars to blow. Disappointed, we went to Target. We went to the electronics section, and lo and behold, there was a traveling turntable with attached speakers for 70 bucks. It's not going to win any awards for sound quality, but it allows me to listen to what I've been collecting so long, and stop being the wannabe hipster that puts it on my walls.

Now, in all honesty, I haven't listened to vinyl full time since I was listening to my mother play Anne Murray and the Bee Gees when I was a little girl. (Also, Best of Friends, The Smurfs, thanks to my godfather) So here are some observations of the vinyl experience from a fresh perspective:

1. Vinyl gives the user a more intimate experience. Listening to Elliott made me feel like he was sitting next to me. Since I'll never have the ability to see him in concert, it gave me the next best thing.

2. Vinyl commands your full attention. We all know I have attention problems. With vinyl, I can cut down the number of things I'm doing at the same time, and actually give the music most, if not all, of my full attention. It's harder to skip around, so I don't. I listen to albums as a whole, from beginning to end. It's an experience that I didn't realize I was losing, given that I grew up in the age of the CD and the digital music file.

3. Vinyl has album art. Yes. CD's have album art too. But with a record, I can sit and stare at a large version of the picture on the cover, read the lyrics, see who did the mastering... and since I'm getting an immersion experience, I'll probably remember it better, too.

I covered the outside of the suitcase (it *is* a travel turntable) with the decals I've collected from labels and record stores I've visited. It looks like I've had a turntable all along. And I like it that way.

Where I Finally Post about Sainthood...

I finally figured out why I liked Tegan and Sara's new album so quickly. Because, for the first time since Sleater-Kinney broke up in 2006, I'm finally hearing music that *sounds* like Sleater-Kinney.

It's obvious the effect that Sleater-Kinney's music has had on my life. After all, it's where the title and the url for this blog comes from, among other things. Their music came into my life in a period when I was floundering, and listening to Corin Tucker scream helped me put my life back into order. When they went on permanent hiatus, there was a void for their kind of music that I'd not found a replacement for...until this Tegan and Sara album.

Granted, they are not the same, by any means. Corin and Carrie were not twins, and Tegan and Sara are. The music isn't as heavy on the guitar god shenanigans that S-K got into with The Woods, but it's not as acoustic as T&S were previously. Somehow, the music finds the melodic middle ground that S-K occupied so well.

Example: "Ocean"


This song is what led me to make the comparison between T&S and S-K. They use the dual vocal technique in this song that S-K was so famous for. Because they are more willing to have songs where there are separate themes coming together in the same song, they are maturing in their songwriting and falling into the groove that made me like S-K so much.

Sleater-Kinney example: "Burn, Don't Freeze"


Sleater-Kinney comparisons aside, I like this album on its own merit, despite the fact that it does make me think of Sleater-Kinney. It's just good to hear from the girls who are busy doing their own thing, making their own lives free of drama, and being awesome. For instance, in the song "Someday" they capture the yearning and struggle that pretty much encapsulates the late 20's, and is probably the best song on the album.

In short, two years ago when I could have seen them for free at Amoeba Music, do I wish I had? Yes.

well we had a good streak going there

But then Christmas happened. Actually, it's 9 days till Christmas and I've done none of my cards or my shopping and... uhm. yeah. I doubt any serious blogging will happen until after Christmas insanity.

I have a few posts planned out though. I doubt my late and somewhat trite musical observations will set the world on fire, but I am rusty at writing and the few projects I have percolating in the back of my head need me to be the best writer I can be.

So, beloved writing exercise and waste of time, I will be back in a few weeks. Maybe.

so I was going to post a real entry but...

The cold has frozen my brain.

The most AH-MAZING thing ever... I may get out of this winter yet...

I could really care less that this was in a car commercial...

Anything that makes me dance around my kitchen is good for me.

2009 Rediscovery: Wilco

Before this year, I had been introduced to Wilco from several different sources. The first song that I'd listened to was "Hummingbird" from "A Ghost is Born," thanks to one of Jay's year compilation CD's. Last year, when I was still working at Virginia Tech, my work husband and partner in crime, Matt, brought in "Sky Blue Sky." I liked it.

Another friend, Ron, someone who I traded iPods with at work on a fairly regular basis, had "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" on his shuffle. I bought the CD within a few days of listening to it, and I kept it in my car for a few months. After Jay Bennett died, Jay and I were talking about Wilco's earlier sound, which I obviously didn't know that much about since I sort of went about their discography backwards. He sent me "Summerteeth," and I listened to that for a good section of the summer.

Wilco is not the kind of band that I can like every single song. I've never been a big fan of noise just for the sake of noise, and that's what most of "A Ghost is Born" is, with a few notable exceptions like "The Late Greats," "Hummingbird," or "Theologians." I like every single song on "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," even if lyrically Jeff is all over the map. Given a chance to reorder the songs on the four albums I've listened to with the most detail, they can either be classified as "Bubblegum Happy (even if only ironically)" OR "Pass Me the Bottle and the Straight Razor, We've Got Some Work to Do." "Kill me, Please Kill Me" could also work, as well. They can sound a bit too jam band-y at times, or a bit too much like John Lennon's leftovers,...

However, when things were at their worst this summer, I could listen to "nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(Again)" and it would make me smile. I love the sexy growl in his voice in "I'm a Wheel." I still haven't listened to the album they put out this year, but I probably will.

So, call me a fan.