Author Archives: Jon Chaisson

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About Jon Chaisson

Author, blogger, music collector, cat wrangler. May contain trace amounts of sugar and caffeine. Books available at Smashwords!

Collecting: The Black Hole of the Dollar Bins

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This past weekend A. and I headed over to the Haight to stop at Amoeba Records.  Her motive for going there has been to search for older Doctor Who serials and other BBC television series, while mine (as always) has been to scour the bins for music.

This time out I was looking for albums by Sinéad O’Connor and Saint Etienne to bulk up my collection, and I knew I’d find both in the dusty dollar bins hidden way in the back western quadrant of the giant store.  I wasn’t let down, either–I found three of O’Connor’s albums I needed (a fourth was found used in her regular bin for $7), and I found a lot more Saint Etienne than expected (plus grabbed two further albums for $4 each in their regular bin).  Further browsing in the store brought up a few more ‘why do I not have this yet?’ albums.  All told, I must have spent about $30 on 14 cds, which is not bad at all.

I have two days off surrounding my birthday in a few weeks.  There’s a good chance I may head there for a second round.

I’m a sucker for dollar bins, I’ll be the first to admit it.  I don’t mind if the jewel case is scuffed up or slightly cracked, or if the cd is a bit worn–as long as it sounds good.  It’s about the music for me.  I’m well-versed in digging for gold in these bins, and I have no problem with spending a good two or three hours getting dirty and dusty doing it.  Back in my nearly-broke days in early 90s Boston, I was a regular at Nuggets, Planet, In Your Ear and Looney Tunes, and back then my finds were all cassettes and albums.  I could buy a dozen full length albums for less than twenty dollars.  And in the late 90s and early 00s, I’d continue to make monthly runs to Boston to find sweet deals.  My record collection was age-worn and scratchy, but it was also damned huge and well-rounded.

Here’s the trick:  the dollar bins are often full of albums that are at least ten to twenty years old, so if you’re in need of that classic album from 1993 that you never got around to buying, chances are it’s in there, the original versions given away now that their former owner ripped them to their computer or bought the remastered-with-extra-tracks editions.  This was the same when I used to do the Boston runs:  in the early 90s, I could easily build up my 70s classic rock collection; in the late 90s it was the 80s pop; in the 00s it was all the Britpop I was too broke to buy first time out.

At this point I’m realizing things have come full circle, as I’m now finding all the albums from my tenure at HMV in the late 90s.  I see titles I once owned either as promo copies or bought at a discount, but I also see many that I’d completely forgotten existed.  On multiple occasions I’ve pulled out a cd and stared at it for a second, that memory connection suddenly refreshed and clear.  And they’d get dropped into my basket.

Yeah, I’m well aware that dollar bin diving is pretty much a lost art now, considering the current state of music downloading, streaming and sharing, but think of it this way–that copy of Boston that you used to have on vinyl and never got around to picking up on cd?  You could either download it from Amazon or iTunes for the midline price it usually goes for (as of this writing it’s one of Amazon’s monthly $5 titles)…or you could buy the dollar bin copy for $1.99.  If you’re a compulsive music collector like I am, this was, is, and shall always be one of your favorite sections in the store.

[Okay, I’ll add this as well: I’m not out to cheat the musician, far from it.  I know they don’t get diddly from used sales, obviously.  My point here is Buying On a Budget, whether you’re a completist and buy in bulk like me, or have limited cash flow.  By all means, if you have the funds to pay the bands, please do so, and they will thank you.  And they’ll be able to stay together and record more neat stuff for your waiting ears.]

So this April, when you’re heading to whatever shop for Record Store Day, spend a little more time than that ten minutes grabbing your RSD Collectible goodies and that hour waiting in line to pay for them.  Spend more time in the regular bins, reacquainting yourself with your favorite bands and others you’ve never quite gotten around to listening to.  And spend a good three or four hours in those dusty dollar bins (and provide your own Wet-Naps).  You’ll be surprised what you might find.

2015: In Which You’ll Be Seeing More of Me Here

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Hey all!  Didn’t expect to see three entries in two days from me, did you?  Well, I can’t promise that’ll be the norm from here on in, but this year I’m planning on being more consistent with my blogging.  Starting today, you should be seeing an entry from me by each Thursday of the month, talking about my favorite subject: music.

I’ll be hitting on things such as new and current releases and reissues, as well as hitting on older albums and bands I’d like to talk about.  I’d also like to expand on the genres too, as a change of pace.  I don’t have too many concrete plans for this other than reviews, so I’m as curious as you are to see where this leads.

Also, in other news…

I’m proud to announce that I have not one but two self-published projects I’m planning on releasing into the world sometime this year as well!  I’m thinking epub at this point, although print could be involved, depending on which self-publishing company I end up working with to produce and release it.  These are two projects I’ve been working on over the last few years; one is complete and the other is about three-quarters of the way done.

The first will be a book version of Blogging the Beatles, the series I started here a while back, in which I listened and talked about the Beatles’ discography in chronological release order.  I had so much fun writing it, and learned so much musically as I studied the songs, that I felt it would be perfect for an ebook.  I’ll be revising it and adding new items as I do so, and hope to have this one out at least by midyear.

The second will be Walk in Silence itself.  This one’s the biggie.  I’m about three quarters of the way done on the more personal side of the story, with revision number two to add in more about the music.  This one may roll into 2016 if other issues pop up, but the aim is to get it out into the wild by autumn 2015.

Of course, releasing books about popular music could be tricky considering the rights involved, but since I’m not directly quoting the music but only commenting on it, I think I should be okay.  These are both books focusing on my love of music, in particular about a band and a genre that inspired me and shaped who I am.

See y’all on the flip side, kids!

Jonc’s Best of 2014 Lists

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This has been quite the interesting year musically. As mentioned in the previous post, I chose to branch out with where I got my music. I listened to Santa Clara University’s radio station KSCU for a good while, but I also listened to Boston’s Radio BDC, the various stations on our Sirius XM setup, and even used the good ol’ car radio to listen to KFOG, Live 105 and other terrestrial stations. I also kept up on the new releases being pushed by the various music blogs and magazines, and checked out the occasional streamed preview as well. It turned out to be quite an eclectic year in the process, with all kinds of genres seeping into my playlist over the course of the year.

JONC’S TOP MUSIC OF 2014

Old Bands, Awesome Releases: Still Going Strong After All These Years
—U2, Songs of Innocence. This album received mounds of grief when it came out because of its original iTunes release. The most vocal hated it purely out of spite, having been “forced” to add it to their collection without their say-so. Regardless…I still say this is one hell of a tight album. The songwriting is solid, the production is crisp and lively, and the band sounds reinvigorated here.
—Big Wreck, Ghosts. A band from my HMV years, having released an album in 1998 and 2001, they vanished for over a decade before returning with 2012’s Albatross. A lot of bands with that much of a stretch between releases don’t often have a follow up soon after, but these guys pulled it off with an even crunchier, heavier album. Well worth picking up.
—Failure, “Come Crashing” and “The Focus” singles. HOLY CRAP FAILURE GOT BACK TOGETHER?? SWEET! Love this band, and I was so happy to hear Ken, Kellii and Greg returned with not one but two solid new singles (both available on their Bandcamp site), a tour, and a possible new album in the works. I’m totally looking forward to hearing what they have in store.
—The Verve Pipe, Overboard. These guys have been under the radar the last few years, taking alternate routes in music. Singer Brian Vander Ark led an interesting solo career, balancing album releases with self-managed house concerts, and gathering the band back together a few years back for a few children’s albums. This album was a very welcome return to their more alternative rock sound.

Old Albums, Awesome Reissues and Remasters
—The Beatles, The US Albums box set. Yeah, I know…don’t I already own everything this band released in triplicate already? Well, when the band officially releases the CD versions of their US discography, especially on my birthday, I can’t help but jump at it. [And besides, I pretty much paid for it all via multiple B&N gift cards and a 20% off coupon I happened to have on hand.] The music source is the 2009 remasters, but the packaging was exquisite, including the original butcher sleeve for Yesterday and Today. It was like starting my collection all over again, thirty-plus years later!
—George Harrison, The Apple Years 1968-75 box set. Same could be said here, but it was well worth it for some new remasterings, great liner notes and packaging, and some of his best solo tracks.
—Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair Reissue/Remaster. Oh man, I LOVED this album back when it came out in 1985, so much so that it’s one of the few tapes I had that wore out. It’s great to hear this album again with such great sound, especially since the remaster was done by Steven Wilson, who seems to have turned into a remaster god as of late. Totally worth picking up, even just for the original album!
—Pink Floyd, The Endless Sea. Say what you will about this album, given that it’s leftover jam material from sessions for 1994’s The Division Bell, it’s a lovely ambient collection nonetheless, full of signature later Floyd soundscapes. David Gilmour’s somber “Louder Than Words” is a nice ending chapter to the band’s epic history.

Best Opening Tracks
—Beck, “Cycle”/”Morning”. When I listened to the streaming preview of his Morning Phase album on the NPR website, I knew right away that I would absolutely LOVE this album, even before I heard any other tracks. The string-laden “Cycle” and the drowsy “Morning” manage to capture the sound of an early rising sun and turn it into aural poetry, evoking the feeling that a new day and a fresh start had just begun.
—Interpol, “All the Rage Back Home”. This track does double duty–first, it opens up El Pintor suggesting a newer, more melodic sound from the band. It’s almost summery, dreamy in a Beach Boys sort of way, something they captured perfectly in the video.
—TV On the Radio, “Quartz”. Like Beck’s “Cycle”, it’s more of an overture than a song proper, and it sets the mood for the rest of the album, which ends up being poppier, catchier and more emotional than previous releases.

Best Closing Tracks
—Alt-J, “Lovely Day”. A bonus track at the end of the album, it’s a lovely song that’s a perfect coda to the band’s moodier, darker second album.
—The Black Keys, “Gotta Get Away”. Sure, it’s a throwaway song that shouldn’t be taken that seriously at all. My favorite description of this song by a music blog suggested it sounds like one of those goofy music montages in the middle of a Scooby Doo or an Archies cartoon. It’s pure fun, just like the rest of the album.
—U2 feat. Lykke Li, “The Troubles”. U2 has often ended their albums on a somber note–“Wake Up Dead Man”, “Exit”, and “40” come to mind–and this track follows the lead to quiet yet chilling effect.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2014
[No particular order, top favorite in bold]

Alt-J, This is All Yours
AnaDaenia, Digital Scars
Beck, Morning Phase
Big Wreck, Ghosts
Deathmøle, Permanence
Elbow, The Take Off and Landing of Everything
The History of Apple Pie, Feel Something
The Horrors, Luminous
Interpol, El Pintor
Johnny Marr, Playland
Kaiser Chiefs, Education, Education, Education & War
Lamb, Backspace Unwind
Mono, The Last Dawn/Rays of Darkness
OK Go, Hungry Ghosts
Phantogram, Voices
Phish, Fuego
Sloan, Commonwealth
TV On the Radio, Seeds
U2, Songs of Innocence
Warpaint, Warpaint

BEST SONGS OF 2014
[No particular order, top favorite in bold]

Alt-J, “Left Hand Free”
Beck, “Blue Moon”
Big Data, “Dangerous”
Black Rivers, “Voyager 1”
Elbow, “New York Morning”
Failure, “Come Crashing”
Future Islands, “Seasons (Waiting On You)”
The Horrors, “I Feel You”
Interpol, “All the Rage Back Home”
Jungle, “Busy Earnin’”
My Goodness, “Cold Feet Killer”
Night Terrors of 1927, “When You Were Mine”
OK Go, “The Writing’s On the Wall”
Phantogram, “Black Out Days”
Robert DeLong, “Long Way Down”
Spoon, “Do You”
Temples, “Shelter Song”
tUnE-yArDs, “Water Fountain”
TV On the Radio, “Careful You”
U2, “Raised By Wolves”

The Singles 2014

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Hi there, and welcome to another edition of Jonc’s year-end compilation! I chose to follow up with the same rules as last year, creating a digital mix by way of using the confines of ninety minute cassettes, just like in the old days. I’ve been throwing this together over the course of the last few days, and I quite like how this one came out.

This year’s tunage was an interesting mix of college radio and commercial alternative radio–songs heard on KSCU as well as Radio BDC, Live 105 and KFOG. I’ve tried to expand my listening tastes to various other platforms to pick up all sorts of different bands. There are two bands on this set (My Goodness and Catfish & the Bottlemen) that I found via free mp3s on NoiseTrade that are getting local and national airplay. There’s a track (from Jeff Williams) from a web series whose soundtrack I bought on a whim. And there’s a few brand spankin’ new tracks (Black Rivers and Noel Gallagher) that I couldn’t pass up. A very eclectic mix this year.

Click and enjoy! The links will open up a new tab so you won’t lose this page.

Jonc’s Best of 2014 List coming really soon!

Tape 1, Side A
1. U2, “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)”
2. tUnE-yArDs, “Water Fountain”
3. Big Data, “Dangerous”
4. Interpol, “All the Rage Back Home”
5. TV On the Radio, “Careful You”
6. Future Islands, “Seasons (Waiting On You)”
7. Alt-J, “Left Hand Free”
8. Night Terrors of 1927, “When You Were Mine”
9. Spoon, “Do You”
10. Beck, “Blue Moon”
11. My Goodness, “Cold Feet Killer”

Tape 1, Side B
1. OK Go, “The Writing’s On the Wall”
2. Phantogram, “Fall in Love”
3. The Kooks, “Bad Habit”
4. Failure, “Come Crashing”
5. Bleachers, “Rollercoaster”
6. Warpaint, “Love Is to Die”
7. Joywave, “Somebody New”
8. Johnny Marr, “Easy Money”
9. Robert DeLong, “Long Way Down”
10. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, “In the Heat of the Moment”
11. The Horrors, “I See You”

Tape 2, Side A
1. Dog Party, “The World Is Not a Game”
2. Foo Fighters, “Something from Nothing”
3. +/-, “Rewrite the Story”
4. Phantogram, “Black Out Days”
5. Elbow, “New York Morning”
6. U2, “Raised By Wolves”
7. Jeff Williams, “This Will Be the Day”
8. Embrace, “I Run”
9. Fenech-Soler, “Last Forever”
10. TV On the Radio, “Happy Idiot”
11. Beck, “Unforgiven”

Tape 2, Side B
1. Temples, “Shelter Song”
2. Banks, “Beggin’ for Thread”
3. The Drums, “Kiss Me Again”
4. Kaiser Chiefs, “Coming Home”
5. The History of Apple Pie, “Keep Wondering”
6. Robyn Hitchcock, “The Ghost in You”
7. Pixies, “Indie Cindy”
8. The Decemberists, “Make You Better”
9. First Aid Kit, “My Silver Lining”
10. The Black Keys, “Gotta Get Away”
11. Alt-J, “Lovely Day”

Tape 3, Side A
1. Big Wreck, “A Place to Call Home”
2. Broken Bells, “Holding On for Life”
3. OK Go, “I Won’t Let You Down”
4. The Verve Pipe, “Crash Landing”
5. Weezer, “Back to the Shack”
6. Catfish & the Bottlemen, “Kathleen”
7. Kasabian, “eez-eh”
8. Jungle, “Busy Earnin'”
9. Damon Albarn, “Everyday Robots”
10. Bombay Bicycle Club, “It’s Alright Now”
11. Black Rivers, “Voyager 1”

Tape 3, Side B
1. Joywave, “Tongues”
2. 2:54, “Orion”
3. The Notwist, “Kong”
4. K Flay, “Make Me Fade”
5. Delta Spirit, “From Now On”
6. Sloan, “You’ve Got a Lot On Your Mind”
7. Lamb, “We Fall in Love”
8. The Orwells, “Who Needs You”
9. Bob Mould, “I Don’t Know You Anymore”
10. Mogwai, “Teenage Exorcists”
11. TV On the Radio, “Trouble”

Christmastime Is Here Again

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…which means it’s time for me to share some of my favorite Christmas tunage!  I’ll admit I’m a big softie when it comes to yuletide soundtracks.  It rarely ever bothers me to hear this kind of music, even if it is repetitive and I hear the same songs in every store I walk into.  I may question the oddness of the production, like that weird version of “Winter Wonderland” I heard at JC Penney a few weeks ago that sounded like someone took the vocal line of a Johnny Mathis track and stuck it on top of a generic Casio keyboard riff, but most of the time I just let it play and enjoy it for the short time it’s aired.  Here’s some of my favorite Christmas tracks for your listening/viewing pleasure!

Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Linus and Lucy” – Come on, who doesn’t hear this and start doing one of the Peanuts dances?  Still puts a smile on my face after all these years!

The Beatles, “Pantomime (Everywhere It’s Christmas)” – The Beatles’ 1966 seasonal fan club disc is probably my favorite theirs, considering how ridiculous and goofy it is.  It was one of the few where they chose to record slapstick silliness instead of the usual bland ‘hi there, thanks for a great year’ reading.

Simon & Garfunkel, “Silent Night/7 O’clock News” – …and that very same year we had one of the most chilling renditions I’ve ever heard of a traditional carol.  The peaceful hymnal delivery of the duo is offset by some of the most harrowing news that came out of that decade.

Henry Rollins, “The Night Before Christmas” – Chilling in an altogether different way, Hank delivers one of the weirdest versions of the classic poem for an excellent 1991 compilation called, fittingly, A Lump of Coal.

Chris Cornell & Eleven, “Ave Maria” – The Soundgarden/Audioslave singer knocks it out of the park with an excellent version of this choral piece, found on Volume 3 of A Very Special Christmas.

Low, “Just Like Christmas” – I love how lo-fi this song is, as it really adds to the feel of a small band driving in a cold van heading from one show to the next.  Life in a touring band could definitely suck, but caught moments like this are what make it worthwhile.

Dropkick Murphys, “The Season’s Upon Us” – Heh.  I don’t think my family was nearly as bad as this guy’s, but the overall collective family spirit I definitely get.  And this is such a distinctively Masshole setting, too.

Harvey Danger, “Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)” – This one goes out to all the retail workers and the others who work the holiday schedule.  I knew this well at the record store, the candle warehouse, the movie theater, the book store, and elsewhere.  I’m not in retail, but working for a bank, I still have to sit around just in case.

*Raises a glass of eggnog*
Happy Holidays, y’all!  Hope Santa gives you all sorts of neat stuff, and I hope your 2015 turns out to be one hell of an excellent year!

Why TV On the Radio’s “Careful You” Is My Favorite Song of the Moment

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I listen to a hell of a lot of music.  A metric crapton of tunage.  Even I’m amazed that I can remember half of what’s in my own collection, let alone remember the various songs I hear on the car radio or whatever station I happen to be streaming.  Lately I’ve been listening to RadioBDC (the online station created from the ashes of Metro Boston’s WFNX and owned by Boston.com) to get my head around more of the popular alternative rock again.

And every now and then, a track pops out at me that makes me take notice.  This happened in 2002 with Interpol’s “PDA”, in 1994 with Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, in 1988 with The Church’s “Under the Milky Way”, last year with Dutch Uncles’ “Fester”.  I can’t always say what it is that catches my ear–it could be the mix, the mood it creates, or even the dynamics of the song.  The song could be fast, slow, ambient, or loud, doesn’t matter.  It may not even click with me the first time…it may just happen to hit me at the right moment when I’m doing something else, or happen to be in a specific mood.

Such is the case with TV On the Radio, whose Seeds just dropped a few weeks ago.  I’ve been a fan of them since 2004 when they released their murky, weird debut Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. Not exactly a huge fan, as their earlier albums, while fantastic, are sometimes a bit hard to listen to, especially during writing sessions.  Seeds, on the other hand, is a much lighter affair, with poppier and catchier songs and a very crisp production.  And I absolutely love it.  [And it passed the test last night of being a great writing session soundtrack.]

So what is it about “Careful You” that I love so much?

On the surface, it’s no different than any other semi-electronic rock track out there by someone like, say, Bear in Heaven.  There’s echoey reverb, there’s a wobbly synth riff underlying the entire song, and the lyrics, while creative, are also economic in use.  It’s a love song, a plea made at the moment the relationship could go either way: don’t know/should we stay/should we go/should we pack it up and turn it around?  And he states his case right off the bat: Oui, je t’aime, oui, je t’aime/à demain à la prochaine. [Roughly, “Yes, I love you, tomorrow and the next (day).”]  The chord progression is simple but effective: a muted Eb/Db/Cm/B/Eb on the verses, and a ringing Eb/Bb/Db/Eb on the chorus.

It occurred to me after maybe the third or fourth listen: this is is a Beatles song, isn’t it?

Those chords are straight out of the Please Please Me songbook–that Cm-B-Eb passage in the verse is very much something Paul or John would have enjoyed back in ’63.  Tunde Adebimpe’s delivery of the lyrics are fantastic too, alternating loud and soft.  Verses, quiet: line 1 is given on beat, line 2 is double-time, line 3 is off the beat but never wavering far, and line 4 brings it back to the beginning, on beat.  Chorus, loud:  line 1 is high and on beat, line 2 descends triple-time (and phrased to drop the last beat), line 3 is triple time but ascending, with line 4 carrying the entire theme: I will care for you/oh, careful you.  John and Paul would have been amused by that wordplay.

Sonically there’s a lot of interesting bits going on in there as well.  Very low bass notes only show up on the chorus.  David Andrew Sitek shows up with his chiming guitar during the chorus, hitting only four high notes — Eb, F, F, Eb — but with the tone (deep reverb) and direction (ascending when the chords descend, and vice versa), it adds more energy to the section of the song.  Kyp Malone adds background harmony vocals throughout as well, but very sparingly, singing on octave in lines 1 and 2 of the lyrics, and only venturing into true harmony on lines 3 and 4.  His high-register delivery is often delicate, underscoring the lyrics as well.  There’s an odd sound drop too, right under the line things will never be the same, where we lose all music for those last few words.  If that’s intentional, it definitely works to drive the point home.  Finally, the coda holds the only change in melody: a repeating Gb/F/Eb line repeating with a sampled Tunde singing “no no no”.  It doesn’t so much fade or stop cold but falls apart, leaving us in the air–we have no idea if this relationship will be on the mend or not.

“Careful You” a wonderfully written, brilliantly produced track, and even if I’m not paying attention to all the bits and bobs that make up the track, it’s still an absolutely lovely song.

Coming Soon: End of Year Review and Compilation

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Well hi there!  Sorry to keep you waiting.  Things have been busy here in Spare Oom with various projects, but I can see clarity at the end of this crazy tunnel, so we shall expect to see an update here soon!

Considering it’s now December, this of course means you’ll be seeing all sorts of End of Year Best-Of lists from all the music blogs and sites, and this one will be no different.  We’ve seen some really great albums in 2014, and I’ll be going over a few within the next few weeks.  I’ll also be creating my end-of-year compilation, which I will also share with you once it’s finished.

Thanks for waiting!  See you soon!

Songs from the Big Chair

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Tears for Fears’ sophomore album Songs from the Big Chair was released in February of 1985, when I was just finishing eighth grade and heading to high school. It was released right about the same time as the debut of classic rock supergroup The Firm, the Visionquest and Breakfast Club soundtracks, John Fogerty’s Centerfield and Phil Collins’ No Jacket Required, during a high point in mid-80s pop and rock chart radio. [Granted, the college crowd was offered Hüsker Dü’s New Day Rising, Sonic Youth’s Bad Moon Rising, Killing Joke’s Night Time, and The Smiths’ Meat Is Murder at the same time, so they weren’t left out of all the awesomeness!] This album fast became one of my all-time favorite albums of the 80s.

Various reissues and remasters later, this week the band offered a newly minted, multi-disc version of its classic album, and it’s a sweet one. I downloaded the super deluxe version from Amazon ($38 for digital only, much more if you want the full physical version).

I’d been familiar with the band via the “Change”, “Pale Shelter” and “Mad World” singles on MTV and radio a few years previous; they weren’t huge hits, but they were memorable enough (and they fit into the new wave sound MTV was pushing around that time) and a second album was anticipated. In the US, the first single was a bouncy, summery “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, and the single was a huge hit. It was soon followed by two more hit singles: the epic “Shout” and the lovely “Head Over Heels”. But what about the rest of the album? It goes from bluesy (“I Believe”, a UK single) to spooky (album closer “Listen”) to twitchy (“Broken” and “Mothers Talk”), and there’s also an absolutely wonderful lengthy jazz track called “The Working Hour” (featuring a fantastic sax solo from Will Gregory, who years later would become half of Goldfrapp). It’s a solid album from start to finish.

On a more personal note, this album has a tie to the beginnings of my writing fiction. By 1985 I was taking much inspiration from the music I listened to at the time, creating Miami Vice-style scenes for my Infamous War Novel, and Songs from the Big Chair was one of the earliest, longest and heaviest in rotation at that time. I borrowed the energy of many of its songs and instilled them into the book. The two twelve-inch remixes of “Shout” became framing scenes for the beginning and the end of the novel. Around the same time I also wrote a short story based around “The Working Hour.” Both the book and the short story have long been trunked, but my love for music and letting music inspire my writing came from this time, and from this album.

The newest deluxe edition, to commemorate its thirtieth anniversary, is more complete than the 2006 special edition remaster, containing numerous b-sides, remixes, BBC recordings, and demos. A cheaper and shorter edition is also available with just the album, singles and remixes, but it’s well worth checking out.

All Saints’ Day

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This was a completely random buy at Nuggets Records in Kenmore Square, early in my freshman year at Emerson. I knew the track “Greater Reward” from its video on 120 Minutes around that time, and wanted to try the band out. They’re quite hard to pin down, as they’re too lo-fi for IDM, too nerdy for darkwave, and just too weird for general electronica. Their sound definitely changes from album to album, as they tend to be more experimental than melodic or danceable.

However, Rotund for Success is most likely their poppiest and catchiest album, and well worth checking out. It also includes the singles “Greater Reward” and “Big Car”. You can listen and buy it (for $5!) here at their Bandcamp page.

Fly-By: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going

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Oof–Sorry for the huge gap in updating, folks! It’s been one hell of a crazy month and a half, as I’ve been quite busy with all sorts of things:

–As you know, Q4 tends to be all sorts of wacky in whatever job you’re in, and my job is no different. There’s only so many hours in a day, and unfortunately WiS had been squeezed out of the equation.
–I’ve been focusing primarily on my newest fiction project Two Thousand;
–I took part in Inktober and got nearly to the end before it too got squeezed out, but not before it re-awoke my long-dormant love for drawing. I now own some pretty nifty art pens that I shall be using more often.
–I’ve also been squeaking in some extra personal journaling that’s putting a lot of thoughts and ideas into order.

So! What does all this mean? Where am I going from here? What’s the plan, Stan?

Okay, let’s see what we have:

1. Some semblance of scheduling for posting. At present I’ve scheduled the weekends for WiS and WtBT updates, as I seem to have more time then.
2. A wider range of things to post about. I’ll still be talking music here as always, but I think I’d like to, shall we say, expand my palate. Talk about different genres other than my beloved college radio or stuff wot I listened to while writing.
3. Maybe utilizing the internal editor a bit more. Certainly I try not to write epic posts about whatever I’m in the mood to write about, though that doesn’t always happen. I tend to write very beefy articles by default. I’d like to try shorter passages as well. [This would also give me reason to write more articles during the week, as I wouldn’t be spending nearly as much time on them.]

I also have a few other ideas floating around…maybe another Blogging the [band] series? New Release reviews? Bargain Bin Finds? About Collecting Music? Request Line (suggest I write about a band/song/etc.)? We shall see.

There’s also the fact that I only got about halfway with my Britpop Meme posts before I got sidetracked. I promise I shall continue that as well.

Thank you for your patience! We shall (hopefully) have another update this weekend!