What kind of weapons have they got??
Somehow, on nights like last night, I always end up at Tower Records. I was supposed to go to a grad. student talk last night, but the reason I couldn't go was delayed. I found this out after I left the department. Anyway, A. and I had some decent mexican food (too much cilantro in the corn salsa this time, if you'd like my humble opinion of the cuisine). And, of course, Tower is just around the corner. I wasn't planning on spending any money, just listening to a few of the records to see what the young and hip are listening to these days. But, of course, I ended up spending, like, $25 on CDs.
I was actually looking for David Byrne's "Look into the Eyeball", but noticed that Tower wanted 19 bucks for it. Thanks, but no thanks. I ended up getting his "Feelings", which was a measly $15. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, what's the difference of four dollars when I could have gotten the record I really want? Well, hindsight is twenty-twenty my friends. So stuff it.
Next, I replaced at a ridiculously cheap price of $8 one fantastic record that was also stolen with UO's "Saturation". I'm speaking, of course, of The Flaming Lips' masterwork "The Soft Bulletin". Wow. What a fantastic record. From start to finish. So freaking good. So freaking good. As Klaus once told me, it's incredibly lush. From the first cheesy MIDI pitch-bend notes of "Race for the Prize" to the slow mournful howl of the square wave synth in "Sleeping on the Roof". Absolutely sublime.
Now, it goes without saying that this record is far superior to the followup, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (I'm leaving out that one record where you have to use four different CD players to hear the thing). I like "Yoshimi", but "The Soft Bulletin" is really beyond anything that appears later. Perhaps I'm akin to hyperbole, but I really think this record is close to "OK Computer." It's perhaps not the best record I own, but it's very very close. I forgot how good it was until I bought it again after having it stolen. No wonder I haven't been listening to much music lately, all my good records were ripped off!
For some reason listening to TSB always reminds me of my first summer in Boston when I had a temp job working for Irrational Games in south Boston. (I think it was off the Broadway station on the red line, if I'm not mistaken.) Because they were a computer game company they, of course, didn't start work until 10:30, so I was able to sleep late. There was also a really good cheesburger place on the corner where I sat and ate lunch several times. And because I was basically there to just answer the phone, I was able to play games and listen to this record all day long. The job only lasted two weeks, but for some reason I won't ever forget it - it was the first place I really listened in depth to TSB. And I made some pretty good money there, too, if I recall.
I was actually looking for David Byrne's "Look into the Eyeball", but noticed that Tower wanted 19 bucks for it. Thanks, but no thanks. I ended up getting his "Feelings", which was a measly $15. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, what's the difference of four dollars when I could have gotten the record I really want? Well, hindsight is twenty-twenty my friends. So stuff it.
Next, I replaced at a ridiculously cheap price of $8 one fantastic record that was also stolen with UO's "Saturation". I'm speaking, of course, of The Flaming Lips' masterwork "The Soft Bulletin". Wow. What a fantastic record. From start to finish. So freaking good. So freaking good. As Klaus once told me, it's incredibly lush. From the first cheesy MIDI pitch-bend notes of "Race for the Prize" to the slow mournful howl of the square wave synth in "Sleeping on the Roof". Absolutely sublime.
Now, it goes without saying that this record is far superior to the followup, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (I'm leaving out that one record where you have to use four different CD players to hear the thing). I like "Yoshimi", but "The Soft Bulletin" is really beyond anything that appears later. Perhaps I'm akin to hyperbole, but I really think this record is close to "OK Computer." It's perhaps not the best record I own, but it's very very close. I forgot how good it was until I bought it again after having it stolen. No wonder I haven't been listening to much music lately, all my good records were ripped off!
For some reason listening to TSB always reminds me of my first summer in Boston when I had a temp job working for Irrational Games in south Boston. (I think it was off the Broadway station on the red line, if I'm not mistaken.) Because they were a computer game company they, of course, didn't start work until 10:30, so I was able to sleep late. There was also a really good cheesburger place on the corner where I sat and ate lunch several times. And because I was basically there to just answer the phone, I was able to play games and listen to this record all day long. The job only lasted two weeks, but for some reason I won't ever forget it - it was the first place I really listened in depth to TSB. And I made some pretty good money there, too, if I recall.
posted by dd0031 at 9:07 AM
2 Comments:
Yeah, it's great. You can thank me for the recommendation. You're welcome in advance.
Yoshimi is good too, but you're right...not as good. Too much of a revisitation of TSB's effortless brevity. BUT, some of those songs I'll never forget, like "It's Summertime" and "Morning of the Magicians".
You should check out their very interesting "Hit To Death In The Future Head"...it's got some great catchy tunes like "Frogs" and "Halloween on the Barbary Coast"
-shehbbb
right on shelby. Hit to Death in the Future Head is the album that got me into the lips to start with. Its a weird, fun, rockin album for the most part. The Soft Bulletin is really nothing like their older stuff, but i like both the new and old lips a lot.
Dale, if you love the soft bulletin, you might be interested in some recent Mercury Rev albums. similar to the lips, they were a weird psych-rock band that kind of mellowed with age (as the band narrowed down to a few core members). Deserters Songs and All is Dream are both pretty "lush" and moody. I love them both. I recently picked up an import copy of their new album and its pretty good too, although it seems happier. Not sure where i'd rate it yet...
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