I have often thought that it would be fun (for me, at least, if not for anyone else) to keep track, day-by-day, of the music that comes into my home. The glorious days of massive mailings from the big record companies are over, alas. There was a time that I could count on dozens of new LPs (way back when..) and later, CDs, arriving each week. Taking a vacation, I would come home to what looked like Christmas - stacks of boxes filled with free sounds.
Those days are gone. Through budget cuts at the labels and my own retreat to less frequent reviews, there isn't the quantity today of that delightful swag era. But now I tend to receive packages that are individually addressed to me, from smaller labels and publicists I know personally, which means I tend to get more music that is aimed directly at my interests and not just blanket mailings of everything being released that week. (Ah, but that was sometimes where the sweet surprises lay...)
And then there's all the music I buy. We'll save the discussions of downloading and borrowed-to-burn CDs for another time, but I still spend a large portion of all my available (and not-so) income on music. Just ask my accountant. Thank god it's deductable.
So, between what I actively choose and what comes, unbidden, over the transom, I've decided to track the CDs I acquire each day as part of this blog. As soon as I get a handle on the system, I'll give this data its own section. But for now...
TODAY's MUSIC. 1-2-05
It's a Sunday, remember, so there's no deliveries. But a visit to Barnes & Noble to indulge in 50% off (and 10% more with Member Card!) calendars brings me to the magazine rack, where I can also indulge my addiction to Magazines That Come With CDs. Uncut is my favorite, a British publication with very smart writing, an exhaustive review section, and a themed CD each month. This December, they pulled the snarky move of releasing two different CD editions - Best of 2004, new releases and Best of 2004, reissues - which requires buying the same magazine twice. Last week, I bought the one with new releases, but I've yet to commit to the other. Sometimes even addictions must bow to practicality. (There's always the possible delight of finding that missing CD in the Various Artists bin at the used CD store; the thrill of the hunt and all that.)
Tonight's purchases:
1. The Wire, with free 40-track double CD
This British publication deals in modern music of the obscure and experimental sort. As much as I try to stay abreast of what's happening in the various fields of music, there are only three artists out of these 40 that I recognize - art/punksters The Fall, indie/y'alternative Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Gary Lucas, former Jeff Buckley collaborator. I'm playing the first disc as I type, and it's full of intriguing dance beats and instrumental bleeps. For less than $8, I've got more than 2 hours of intriguing new music and a magazine that might explain some of it to me. That's money well spent.
2. Harp, with 22-track sampler of music from the Bloodshot Records label
I know someone who works at this Maryland-based bi-monthly (that's the every-other-month bi-monthly, not the every-other week one; someone feel free to explain the word to me) and so I always buy it with the intention of checking what's being covered and pitching future stories. Until I actually get around to being that productive, I can listen to my fave boys Old 97s, catch up to an old Ryan Adams track, hear what Graham Parker's doing these days, and otherwise get wise to the label that authoress Sarah Vowell called her favorite when I asked her about her musical tastes at a book reading/signing last year.
The magazine champions the kind of literate singer/songwriters I prefer, too, so its 40 Best CDs of 2004 will make a nice crib sheet as I work on my own list (due tomorrow) for the Village Voice. And all this for under $5!
3. MOJO, with 15-track compilation of early rock hits
Another British publication, MOJO is much like Uncut, but it doesn't do the free CD thing every single month. (What the schedule is and why, I don't know.) Lately, they've been doing conceptual discs of musical styles - roots of hip-hop, reggae, etc. - and this one has a great collection of tracks that relate to the foundations of rock - Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't," Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," "Muddy Waters' "Got My Mojo Working," Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup's "My Baby Left Me" and more. Yes, I have some of them on other CDs, but the selection here, bundled with a well-written magazine again at the $8.oo mark is more time and cost-efficient than a trip to the i-tunes store. And the CD looks so nice, nestled next to its other MOJO kin.
Channel your Obsessive Compulsive Disorder toward harmless habits, I say.
Tomorrow we'll see what the first post delivery of the New Year will bring, and my listing of the Top Ten Albums and Singles of 2004 must be finished. Deadlines make things happen.
cheers
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