After a busy day touring the city, mostly in the college district, we had a great meal at a Portuguese restaurant and then walked right past an HMV store. Well, we didn't walk past it until after we'd gone in and helped the local economy a bit. To wit:
DARK WAS THE NIGHT - Various Artists (4 AD)
A two-disc set (I like how they’re marked “This Disc” and “That Disc”) from the people who do the Red Hot AIDS benefit CDs. This one is jam-packed with new tracks by people I really like - David Byrne with Dirty Projectors, Feist with Ben Gibbard, The Decemberists, Spoon, Arcade Fire..and there are plenty of other artists I may not know as well, but am curious to learn about. I had already pulled a few of the tracks from the emusic site, but wanted the whole thing and, while I could have found it in the US, this will make a great driving music for the looooooong ride home on Sunday. Beautiful letterpress printing, too, although it can be tricky getting the also-classy lyric/art booklet out of the center section of the digipack. I just know I’m gonna rip that sucker someday. ($18 CA = $14.50 US)
TRAGICALLY HIP - Live Between Us (Universal)
As the saying goes, this band is huge in Canada, and can barely get arrested in the US. The group is about to release a new CD and has a big promotional push underway up here, with an entire endcap devoted to them, including a few albums at the unbelievable price of $5 ($4 US). I compared the ones at that point, loved the one with the control board cover, but liked the song titles better here - “Grace, Too” (for obvious reasons), “Nautical Disaster,” and “New Orleans is Sinking” (a song I’ve heard and liked before, in my limited exposure to their catalog). The price sticker obscured the fact that this is a live album, which may make me regret putting the other one back, but it’s a small price to pay to hear these local heroes.
The ANNUAL SPRING 2003 - Various Artists (Ministry of Sound)
Another two-disc set, this one just $4 ($3.20 US) culled by the dance beat label. I barely registered who was on it, blinded by the price (not a Springsteen song). The first track is “Boys of Summer,” as presented by DJ Sammy with a pop princess style vocal. Could be cheesy all the way through, but there’s also Moby, Laylo & Bushwacka, Royksopp and Moloko among the three dozen names I don’t recognize.
The SCRIPT - self-titled (Epic/Phonogenic)
I had a handful of discs that were under $10 and asked one of the store dudes to rate them for me. He wasn’t crazy for the Constantines or Company of Thieves and walked me over to another part of the store to tout the debut CD of the Arkells, whom he swore were the next big band from Canada, having recently conquered SXSW. It’s not that I didn’t believe him, but the disc was $15, and I had to watch the budget. I told him, “I could get these two [other] CDs for the price of that one,” and he said sagely, “You get what you pay for.” I still declined, but I have checked their myspace page and will keep an eye and ear out for them.
During that discussion, however, he saw this Script CD in my hand and said they were pretty good, and another customer, clutching the new Pet Ship Boys, expressed his interest in them as well. THIS IS WHY WE NEED RECORD STORES, PEOPLE! Education. Community. Sales.
In the few songs I’ve heard while typing, I find The Script to be quite to my liking - melodic, thoughtful, pretty but not without edge. A bit Police-like in spots, Coldplay in others, some Maroon 5 vibe, too. I think I will find it a good use of my $9(=$7.25). The sticker says “Includes “We Cry,” “Before the Worst” and “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved,” for what it’s worth. The display said that this trio is from Dublin, so that’s as good an excuse as any to toss in my picture of the Irish pub I saw during our morning walk.
As any Pogues fan will tell you, the band took its name from the Irish slang for “Kiss My Ass,” which is an odd name for a pub...!
WAR CHILD PRESENTS HEROES - Various Artists (Musicor)
Another benefit CD, this one I believe is being distributed in the States by Starbucks, though I haven’t seen it in the shops yet. 16 artists, many from my personal A-list (Beck, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, Rufus Wainwright) covering songs by classic elders (Dylan, U2, Blondie, Brian Wilson, respectively), all for the good of kids affected by international armed conflicts. More great car listening and only $10 ($8).
And so the (now) International O/CD YTD Tally: 102
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