Digital only EP. Printed and shelved in a slim case.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
S / S / S - Beak & Claw: 4 stars
Digital only EP. Printed out one for a slim case and put on shelves.
Serengeti - Noticeably Negro: 7.5 (high B+)
Good enough, and love the artist enough, that I printed out a download and shelved it. As it was on CD originally, I would normally search for a copy if someone were charging less than a small fortune. On the other hand, this could not be more lo-fi/unproduced, so I think I'll skip looking for a physical. [Found one for a reasonable price in Feb. 2022]
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick: 3.5 stars
Normally, I would collect a B+ like this that has such a rabid following and is considered crucial by so many, but I'm going to lean slightly the other way because it's so offensive.
Rachid Taha - Bonjour: 4 stars
Probably my favorite album by him. A very strong A minus. This is the kind of album that makes me think I should do quarter-star increments. At least for 3.75 and 4.25.
Friday, September 28, 2018
Noname - Room 25: 3.5 stars
Might be an A minus, but it's digital only, so I'm not spending any more time trying to make that distinction. Don't print my own at either level for an artist who is not one of my favorites.
Anti-Nowhere League - Anti-Nowhere League: 3.5 stars
Really a double-single, with the two listed in the image, plus Streets of London and So What. Impossible to find physicals, and so I won't.
Le Tigre - From the Desk of Mr. Lady: 3.5 stars
Good to stream, but physicals are way overpriced for an EP.
Amy Rigby - LIttle Fugitives: 3.5 stars
Never been a big fan of this artist (or either of her husbands actually). The only album of hers I'm really behind is her first, Diary of a Mod Housewife. I'll also keep this because it's okay, and both Christgau and Hull gave it a full A.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Redman - Doc's Da Name 2000 [honorable mention]
Mystikal - Unpredictable: 3 stars
Making an exception on my grading system and giving this 3 stars, because my history with it is complicated, and I think I originally graded this at B plus when I bought and kept it in the pre-digital era, even though there was something that turned me off about this rapper (besides his unbelievably irritating delivery). Probably because some critics I respect liked it at the A minus level, and I tend to collect B+ rap albums. But now that he's registered as a sex offender, I realized what I didn't like about him. Plus, it is endless. Sell pile.
Bikini Kill - The Singles: 4 stars
Digital only at this point (used prices for a 17 minute EP on CD are laughable). I see they are re-releasing this on 12-inch vinyl. They should also release it on CD in a slipcase and sell it for $7, but they won't. Anyway, digital files printed out and put on the shelf in a slim case. [And, they did release it in a slipcase.]
Bizarros/Rubber City Rebels - From Akron: 3.5 stars
Even at B plus I would buy this in physical, if it were selling for less than $30. As it is, it is so deeply out of print that I was able to find digital files to download. I will keep those as it is OOP, but I won't print it out and put it on the shelf -- just shy of that level. Reissue this! [Bizarros side is A minus, RCR side is B, so averages out to B plus.]
Saturday, September 22, 2018
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything: 7 (B+)
Upped from honorable mention after uncountable listens over the decades. And also after giving into what everyone else thinks.
John Kruth & La Società del Musici: Forever Ago: 3.5 stars
CDs something like $30 shipped from Italy [update: now $21 shipped from US, still too much]. Not for B plus. I think with him, I'll stick with his two solo albums on Smiling Fez that center on Croatia, my ancestral homeland (one of them anyway).
The Saints - Eternally Yours [honorable mention]
:-) [Not as good as I’m Stranded, which I only give a B+ but own it because it was so loved]
Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts – Milano: 3.5 stars
Not paying import full-CD prices for a very short album at B plus level. [Four listens]
Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas: 8 (A-)
Upgraded from honorable mention in 2022. Not sure how I got it that wrong the first time.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Tropical Fu*k Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace: 3.5 stars
Not paying import prices for this at B plus.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
King Crimson - Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984: 3.5 stars
# [live] [I saw this on some list of greatest live albums of all time and so decided to give it a good three listens.]
Mother Earth - Satisfied: 3.5 stars
Don't collect this kind of old blues/folk on vinyl at B plus. I'm sticking with Make a Joyful Noise and Presents Tracy Nelson Country, each of which I would give an A minus and so would collect it.
L7 - L7: 3.5 stars
Love this band, and would definitely buy it on CD if it were available used for reasonable prices. Just saw that the band is about to reissue it on vinyl, but not on CD. So stupid.
R.E.M. - Chronic Town: 8.5 (high A-)
Never released on CD. They should do that, in a little slipcase, and sell it for $7. As it is, I have it on cassette, but no means to play it. I thought of rebuying it on vinyl, but I wouldn't want the re-issue (I never buy re-issued vinyl), and the original releases are ridiculously over-priced. So since I already bought it, I took the rare step of downloading a FLAC version, and burning it to CD, putting it on the shelves in a slim case. If they ever do what I said above, I will buy it. [Update: They did it in 2022. Purchased.]
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Beauty Pill - Describes Things as They Are: 3.5 stars
Not too inclined to shelve this, but they're from DC, and Christgau gave it a full A, and so I'll keep it. Plus the physical is a work of art.
Librarians - Present Passed [honorable mention]
[Don't remember why I bought this originally -- can't find any reviews or real mentions of it anywhere (maybe because it's on a DC label) -- and while I like it when I play it, I can't remember any of the songs when they play again]
Jason and the Scorchers - Both Sides of the Line: 3.5 stars
Contains both Fervor and Lost and Found. Not really my bag -- too rockabilly-ish. People call them original alt-country, but they're too boingy for that. Anyway, I've listened to this many more than 3 times trying to get into it, and while admire it, it's not going on the shelves.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Laurie Anderson - Big Science: 4 stars
Not getting because it's only available as an expensive import or first generation CD transfer, but also because all the best (and longer songs) are on Talk Normal.
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen: 7 (B+)
David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name [honorable mention]
:-) [Essentially a Grateful Dead album. At least 4 listens]
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
The Only Ones - Original Album Classics: 4 stars
Contains all three of their studio albums (The Only Ones, Even Serpents Shine, and Baby's Got a Gun), each of which I would give an A minus.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Maroon - The Funky Record: 3.5 stars
Not a huge fan of this album. I'm glad to own it on vinyl, and I will check out at least once the bonus tracks on the recent re-release, which appears to be digital-only, but I probably wouldn't have sought after the vinyl if I had been able to hear it first.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Ashford & Simpson: Is it Still Good to Ya: 3.5 stars
This could definitely be an A minus. But this is what I'm grading it, and it's unavailable anyway so not going on the shelves as an R&B album at this grade, and this level of availability. Really brings you back to the Seventies though.
Etoile de Dakar - Volume 1: Absa Gueye: 4 stars
This 1993 CD compilation (which I think I once owned and sold back in a moment of stupidity) adds two tracks to the original release Absa Gueye from 1979 or 1980. Those two tracks are "Thiely" and "El Hombre Misterioso Soy." The original release had a cover like this:
I have a downloaded file of this, which is a Muzikifan Africa Top 50 entry. Used copies cost a fortune, even for the Popular African Music re-releases. I would buy a vinyl copy if it popped up for a reasonable price. I determined not to buy the 1993 CD re-release/compilation above, given that the re-release also sells for a small fortune. I have the track Thiely elsewhere, and so only am missing El Hombre Misterioso Soy from the 1993 CD. Also, only three of the eight tracks here ("N'guiro Na," "Baye Wali," and "Tu Veras" are not on the comps. For that reason, I will not put on shelves.
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