Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Recommended "New" Music -- In No Particular Order

People come up to me all of the time, and they all ask me the very same thing. They approach me at the studio; they buttonhole me at the office; they sidle up next to me at the haberdasher's; they seek me out at the club; they corner me at the garage; they even hail me on the open street; and they all ask the same thing, these days: They say, "Spencer, what should I now be buying? What is good, currently? Spence," they say, "to what NEW music should I be listening, now?" Then, for a brief moment they pause, as they work up further courage, and they continue, "Spence, to what are YOU listening, if I may be so bold as to inquire?"

Well, on some days my memory for all the current titles is better than on others; so, some of these poor souls hear about the glories of only five or six new selections; whereas, on the following day, I might regale my listener with the magnificence of a full dozen of the finest recent efforts in the musical world. However, it occurs to me now, that I might save myself some time, and provide my friends and dear readers with a more complete listing, if I were simply to include in this post the various titles of those CDs which have captured (or are about to capture) a coveted spot, for the present moment, in my CD changer.

Further, to save everyone involved even more time, it seems fairly appropriate to simply include an image of the cover of each CD, without going into any long explanations as to why it is good. This will save those who already own (or have already heard) an individual title, the drudgery of plowing through my analysis of its virtues. If an image is unfamiliar to you, or if you cannot read the title, merely click on the image, and the appropriate title should be revealed at the top of your screen.

Unless I have erred, all of these CDs are of recent enough issue to be considered, "new," since the beginning of this current year. Obviously, a few of the titles will appear to be much older: In such cases, it is generally the, "Remastered, Expanded, British Import Version," which I am recommending; and I've only chosen such new versions where the additional material basically makes the title an entirely "new" and significantly more valuable item than its old incarnation had been!
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--Spencer


3 Comments:

At Tuesday, August 30, 2005 11:39:00 AM, Blogger Just Kate said...

RE: "Spence, to what are YOU listening, if I may be so bold as to inquire?"

Seriously. I think I must live in the planet of poor grammar. I don't think I've ever heard anyone phrase a question like that when speaking (you know, at the haberdashery, for example). How trippy.

From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.

--Sir Winston Churchill

What an terrific assortment of music! It will be fun exploring the ones with which I am not already familiar. Thanks for the 23 suggestions... it ought to keep me busy until Christmas!

 
At Friday, September 02, 2005 1:35:00 PM, Blogger Just Kate said...

Okay, more than 23... what is it? 34? I've already started my music quest. I managed to get a copy of "Get Behind Me Satan" and am LOVING it.... and I also found a copy of Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods." I haven't listened to that one yet, but I will soon. Thanks for the tips.

 
At Wednesday, September 07, 2005 10:47:00 AM, Blogger Just Kate said...

Spencer, I love "The Woods." This goes to show you that listening to the Amazon.com 20 second snippets isn't enough. As that is how I first listened to this group and was not impressed. My opinion is different with the full album. I am not sure I love every song equally but I am still at the exploration stage with this album. The cover is so cool that it promises good things inside, but I've discovered that's not always enough. In this case, I am very pleased.

I also listened to all the snippets on Martha Wainright's new album and then to several of the full length songs. I have listened to her brother Rufus in the past but beyond the "Hallelujah" song featured in Shrek, I didn't love him. With Martha, I may need to listen to the full album a few times but my first impression is that she really bums me out.

 

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