Latest Music Purchases.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 11:31 pm

I haven't listened to a Beck album since that one that came with the stickers and had 'Cell Phone's Dead' on it. That was alright, but he still hasn't come close to beating 'Ode De Lay' yet.

I've bought quite a few records lately...some from the supermarket. which is a rubbish place to buy music.

Little Mix ' Salute' (2013)

Excellent second outing from Little Mix, worth it for the title track alone which is great. A big, powerful, soulful blast of a record. It avoids dribbling off into insufferable balladry (a fault of the vast majority of pop music). Great fun and a great pop record.

Taylor Swift 'Red' (2012)

Bought because I enjoyed 1989 so much, this more guitar driven album is actually much better, if a little over-long at 15 tracks (!). Its sometimes nice to get into things after the fact, as it means weaker albums don't disappoint so much if you listen to things in the wrong order. Not that 1989 is a weak album by any stretch, but there's just something richer and more strident about the songs on here. I'm sure some musical snob would point out that electronica cannot replicate the soul you get from classical instruments...

Pulled Apart By Horses 'Blood' (2014)

After the ferocious outpourings of their first two albums, with their daft song titles, this third album from PABH sees them take their foot off the accelerator. As a result, they sound surprisingly trad (shrieky vocals notwithstanding) and not unlike the mighty Turbowolf. Its not a terribly immediate album either. Lacking the shock and urgency of their first two albums, this more restrained affair takes a good couple of listens to get into. Be interesting to see where they go next.

Damon Albarn 'Everyday Robots ' (2014)

Neat little down tempo solo album from Albarn. Has that cosy oddball lo-fi indie feel that's right at home on BBC6 music. Probably has the likes of Jo Wiley proclaiming this to be amazing and so outrageously exciting that listening to it, you wonder what the fuss is about. There's some 'world music' flourishes to make you feel like you're listening to something important, which seems like a desperate need for approval that Albarn, in my book at least, doesn't need.

Lily Allen 'Sheezus' (2014)

Lily Allen! Yeah, I don't care she said she was quitting music forever to run a dress shop (or something) and that she's had the usual 'build them up, knock them down' finger pointing off the back of this not doing as well as her last 2 albums. This is a solid piece of work. Its definitely her strongest work to date, with every song nailing its target and suited to Allen's sweet sounding voice. Its only let down by that wretched cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' from one of John Lewis' perishing Christmas advertising campaigns. This needless 'extra' derails all the sharpness and absurdity Allen points out about her contemporaries in one fell swoop as she shows she's not above taking the money and running either. Balls.

King 810 'confessions of a murderer' (2014)

Bleak as f**k tales of homicide and people doing disgusting things to survive, broken up with some intense and slightly scary spoken word pieces. Best metal album (and perhaps best album) of 2014.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:15 pm

As an addition to the above Britney Bitch thoughts, it had been bugging me that there was at least one hit not on there (I had a mental image of a video with a nice leather skirt for some reason), and it's finally come to me (the name of the song that is). It's missing Born to Make You Happy! I like that one.

And Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know as well. How essential is this?

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:32 pm

Singles collections always have omissions. Especially for artists with a lengthy career, that will tip over the 76 minutes official CDs run to, but wont be enough to fill a second disc. Oddly, digital versions should mitigate this, but they seem to stick to the same run time as the physical format. Probably to avoid consumer outrage and grumblings from folk like me whom hate being encouraged to new formats by the back door by large corporations.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 2:58 pm

Skyquake87 wrote:Singles collections always have omissions. Especially for artists with a lengthy career, that will tip over the 76 minutes official CDs run to, but wont be enough to fill a second disc. Oddly, digital versions should mitigate this, but they seem to stick to the same run time as the physical format. Probably to avoid consumer outrage and grumblings from folk like me whom hate being encouraged to new formats by the back door by large corporations.

This is a download of a double CD set though, with the first disc basically going to the same place as her original greatest hits (Toxic) which, IIRC, did have those songs on.

Mind, based on what the Popular blog has been saying, she managed at least one UK Number 1 with a single that wasn't released in the States, and if this is based on her American discography that might be why.

EDIT: Ah yes, Born was a UK number 1 but didn't seem to have been released in America. Sort it out Americans!

And damn corporations, inventing a means of fitting all of an artists greatest hits onto an album easily. The bastards.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:56 pm

I know! How very dare they!

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:45 am

Though the nice thing about having all my albums on my computer, is I can just buy and then add any songs missing from a compilation myself (as I have done by putting Skyfall on the "Every Bond Song Up Until The Last Film" album and will be doing again for the SPECTRE theme Adele is no doubt going through her rhyming dictionary for that resulted in inspired lyrics like "At the Skyfall, I took a telephone call, it was from Johnny Ball*"). In the old days you either had to rebuy an compilation album once it had reached a critical mass of new material or ask That Mate Everyone Has to do you a copy.
Digital ftw!

*I may have made those lyrics up on the grounds the actual ones are, if anything, even worse. Somewhere Simon Le Bon is laughing.

Heinrad · Post by **Heinrad** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:26 am

Not sure if this really fits here, but I just got a Bose Wave SoundTouch music system. I can listen to all kinds of international music stations and the BBC.

But most importantly, I can listen to The Goon Show.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:09 am

While She Sleeps 'Brainwashed' (2015)

Triumphant second album from the Sheffield metalers, following their superb debut in 2011. Good to see they managed to come back fighting, after health issues with their lead singer nearly put paid to their career. Whilst not quite as ferocious as their debut (there's more actual proper singing on this one), this still packs a hefty wallop, with some cracking tracks in the shape of 'New World Torture', 'Kangaezu ni', 'Trophies Of Violence' and the title track. Does sound a little bit like Architects in places, though.

The Prodigy 'The Day Is My Enemy' (2015)

After looking like it was all over for ver Prodge following the childish tabloid bating of single 'Baby's Got A Temper' (about date rape! hilarious! and edgy!) and 2004's underwhelming 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned', they bounced back in spectacular fashion with 2009's 'Invaders Must Die', which capitalised on dance music's then-growing obsession with harsh rave sounds to remind the kids how that stuff should properly be done. So it is then, that that neo-rave blitzkrieg of breakbeats and sirens present on 'IMD' is largely kept to on this follow up.

It's a good, solid album with some good tunes on (save for the awful mockney gurning and bellowing of Sleaford Mods team up 'Ibiza'), but its low on originality and perhaps signals something I've long suspected about dance music : it used up all its good ideas long ago. So its sounds sharp and urgent, with the obligatory nods to yoof culture and some brief passing commentary on the state of things, but there's more than a bit of a whiff of some old men trying to be 'down with kids', especially on the toe-curling 'Rebel Radio' with its tired anti-establishment polemic. The six year gap between records will probably mean this goes largely unnoticed, and to be honest, even the re-heated ideas on show here are still more vibrant and lively than anything the moribund dance scene has parped out in the last few years (and yes, that includes Daft Punk and their lounge styled funk drivel).

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri May 01, 2015 4:49 pm

Picked up the awesome tape mix from offa The Guardians of the Galaxy after seeing the film (several dozen enterprising souls on Amazon downloads have put out their own "Awesome Mix Inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy" releases to try and cash in).

It's nice 70's funk, and I had no idea the song I know as "Do You Like Pina Coladas?" actually has the much more pretentious title of "Escape".

Though it has to put "The Pina Colada Song" afterwards in brackets in a resigned "No one calls our song by its proper name!" way.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Wed May 06, 2015 7:10 pm

Mindless Self Indulgence 'You'll Rebel To Anything (As Long As Its Not Challenging)' (2007)

Finally tracked down perpetual earworm 'Shut Me Up' which is by this bunch of sub-Marilyn Manson rabble-rousers. Disappointingly, there's nothing as awesome as 'Shut Me Up' on here, the rest of the album is full of mock-offensive parent baiting electro punk shout-a-longs the kind of which Shampoo used to do. Only not as good.

Awesome!! 20 Massive Hits - Various Artists (1991)

Fab compilation of early '90s pop - I had Awesome 2 for ages, and was aware this existed, but never got around to picking it up. 12p from tax dodgers amazon will do it. I love pop music from this era - it sounds so summery and cheery! So, we've got a bit of KLF, Vanilla Ice ('Ice Ice Baby' is a tune - and don't you deny it!), Soho, Dream Warriors, Jesus Jones, A Tribe Called Quest and er, Yazoo delivering some top quality electric sunshine. Brilliant.

Ryan F · Post by **Ryan F** » Wed May 06, 2015 8:44 pm

Awesome!!! Was my first ever CD. That and the greatest hits of Tears for Fears, purchased on the same day, from Woolies. For years CD players were something only posh people had, and then suddenly around the turn of the 90s they became affordable.

My auntie was rich and had Brothers in Arms on CD on day-of-release, always crowing about how much better Bryan Adams and Billy Joel sounded in digital. There was me with my cassettes of Kylie and The London Boys, full of tape hiss and whatever.

And then suddenly BOOM, Auntie Posh was posh no longer, I was on the digital bandwagon too, with my Simpsons Sing The Blues and Raw Like Sushi. Now when she espoused the virtues of a remastered Springsteen, I could now counter with, yeah but have you heard the latest by Erasure?

Erasure are still cool.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Thu May 07, 2015 8:17 am

My mum still occasionally mentions how we were the first in our family to get a CD player. Never upgraded any of their vinyl to CD though, which I found interesting (or sensible).

I can't remember what the first CD was I bought. I remember the first 7" single I owned was Adam & The Ants 'Prince Charming', which my mum bought for me (and I still have, with my name written on the front from when I took it to a disco to be played once!). The first album I bought was by the Wonderstuff - on cassette.

...I've just remembered. First CD I bought was the single 'March Of The Pigs' by Nine Inch Nails. Thats 1994! Wow. That's later than I thought.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sun May 10, 2015 12:17 am

My very first CD purchase was Sisters of Mercy "Some Girls Wander by Mistake". I didn't even have a CD player, but it wasn't available on cassette, and I assumed at some point I might get a player. (Turns out I was right.)

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat May 16, 2015 9:38 am

Some exciting stuffs from the bottom of the amazon marketplace...

Awesome 2 - 20 Devastatin' Hits (Various Artists) (1991)

Bought to replace an album I thought I still had, but turns out I don't. Another solid jumble of early '90s pop with hits from one hit wonder Zoe ('Sunshine On A Rainy Day' - as featured in a Commodore Amiga advert in 1992 which was desperately trying to shore up the desktop PC as a sexy games machine in the face of the rise of Sega and Nintendo in the UK, fact fans), Erasure's finest single ('I Love To Hate You') as well as Lenny Kravitz and PM Dawn. Also includes the first signs of Rave culture impacting the charts with The Shamen and Utah Saints. Brilliant.

Cud - 'Asquarius' (1992)

Along with Senseless Things, Cud were much beloved of Tank Girl's Hewlett & Martin, their work in Deadline peppered with these two bands lyrics and logos and lead to me getting into both bands. Cud are the less immediate band, but have some great wit (C'mon, whats not to like about a band with a string of EPs with names like 'Donkey With A Fez On' ?) and in Carl Puttnam, a cracking vocalist. Sadly, this major label debut on A&M (remember them?) is let down by some thin and reedy production that sucks all the life out of Cud's songs. Its like listening to some C86 indie band played through a mobile phone speaker. Boooo.

Dream Warriors 'And Now The Legacy Begins' (1991)

Heavily indebted to De La Soul, this is nevertheless a decent slab of sunny hip-hop tentpoled by the magnificent singles 'My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style' and 'Wash Your Face In My Sink'. Like a lot of hip hop albums, there's an awful lot of time wasted on pointless interludes and songs that drift off into nothing after two minutes. After about 30 minutes of Daisy Age sunshine, suddenly we take a wrong turn into a bad neighbourhood and things get serious for the last run of tunes. A very odd album that seems to want to show that the Dream Warriors have grit and are proper, whilst simultaneously appealing to a pop crowd. A bit like a sequence I remember from some awful romantic comedy about turning 40 where the mum and her kids are dancing to Nikki Minaj's 'Roman's Revenge' (with its 'Rar Rar/ Like a Dungeon Dragon' refrain) and I'm thinking, any minute now, Eminem is going to drop into that song doing his usual cheerful violence against women rapping.

Human League - 'Dare' (1981)

Bloody hell, you forget what a great band Human League once were. A marked departure from their earlier claustrophobic and oppressive sounding (and more serious) 'Reproduction' and 'Travelogue' - a change necessitated in part by Martin Ware and Ian Craig Marsh leaving to form Heaven 17 - this is one of the finest synth-pop albums ever. Tbh, the huge pop fart of 'Don't You Want Me' does kind of kill the album, which is actually kind of bleak and sinister sounding - especially on the fantastic 'Seconds' - despite sounding pretty jolly so its good that's kept to the end. There's better singles for my money in 'Sound Of The Crowd' and (my favourite) 'Love Action'.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat May 16, 2015 9:46 am

Speaking of compilation albums, I got the download of the Smash Hits 80's album that Skyquake waxed lyrical about upthread. It is, the bomb.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat May 16, 2015 10:33 am

Good man, for it is indeed a good listen

Especially for the £5 or less you can find it for.

Yazoo - 'Upstairs At Eric's' (1982)

Kitchen sink electro pop from the frighteningly prolific Vince Clarke (also late of Depeche Mode at this time before moving on to form Erasure with Andy Bell in 1985, following an ill-fated dabbling as The Assembly) , matched by Alison Moyet's fantastic boombing voice and mournful stylings. Its a shame a lot electro from this era is drowned out by the make up of New Romanticism, as this is actually bloody good stuff. There's a fantastic nightclub throb to the entirety of this record, which makes it no surprise that this duo were a big influence on the development of House music. There's not a dull moment on this record and its highly deserving of all the critical acclaim it garnered on release and over subsequent years.

Magazine - 'Real Life' (1978)

I love Magazine, they're kind of creepy, slightly disturbing and have a set of albums that have really stood the test of time, thanks to some fantastically beefy production which is uncommon for this era. This debut is fantastic, I recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in the post-punk New Wave era. As well as the magnificent single 'Shot By Both Sides' (which I unimaginatively have playing in my head when reading Death's Head # 7) there's some awesome slinky menace in the likes of 'My Tulpa', 'Recoil' and 'The Great Beautician'. Its the combination of Devoto's oddball artschool sickliness matched with the great John McGeoch's gituar playing and Barry Adamason's rumbling bass that really drive the band, although I do like the sharp sounding drums of Martin Jackson which are really crisp and precise. Bob Dickinson's keyboards - like those of Pulp's Candida Doyle - add some neat atmospherics, although they're pushed a little too far in the background here.

ABC - 'The Lexicon Of Love' (1982)

Fabulous brassy gituar pop from Martin Fry and the boys. They did so well with this album that they struggled to beat it, matching it only with 1987's 'Alphabet City'. It's a really great pop record from start to finish and one of the best examples of early '80s pop music you'll find (or any pop music, for that matter). This 1996 reissue extends the albums run time by adding on six extra tracks which are all disappointing remixes that outstay their welcome.

Eurythmics - 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)' (1983)

Eurythmics really latched onto the slightly sinister sounds of electronic music and nowhere it that more evident than on this album. Whilst their songs are largely jolly toe-tapping pop confections, I do like the undercurrent of menace present in their sound. Its probably not what they were aiming for, but something I've always noticed and enjoyed about their stuff. And here, that is in abundance.

Guns N'Roses - 'Appetite For Destruction' (1987)

Having owned this on cassette for what feels like forever, I thought it was high time to pick up a CD copy. One of the most lauded rock albums of all time, I find it interesting how their songs are structured. Even the big hits really don't have the sound and feel of obvious single material, being quite dense and sprawling epics. Whilst there's power and immediacy in the songs, they're not as punchy as you perhaps expect and there's more of a sort of driving vibe to the songs. They start, pick up, and then kind of cruise along. Probably where someone got the idea for all those awful drive-time rock collections from.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Sun May 17, 2015 12:52 pm

Skyquake87 wrote:... Erasure's finest single ('I Love To Hate You')

Whoa now, them's fighting' words, Slick!

For my money, Sometimes is where its at. Fantastic synthy intro with the the singer going "Woooo0aaaaaarrooowhooooaaa", and the drums. That song is the best and really should have been what Optimus Prime leapt into the air to while gunning down the Decepticon fodder in the movie.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun May 17, 2015 4:52 pm

...that would be the gayest thing ever! And I have just tried playing that along with that clip - and its BRILLIANT!!!!!

I just love the cavenous echo and huge thump that 'I Love To Hate You' has - it sounds like its being belted out at a festival or something. Fantastic.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun May 17, 2015 6:13 pm

I won't risk naming my favourite Erasure song as it'll likely turn out to be The Pet Shop Boys.

Post by **Sades** » Sun May 17, 2015 10:11 pm

Always. That is 100% solely due to Robot Unicorn Attack.