Pete's Log: Music Madness
Entry #1083, (Music)(posted when I was 23 years old.)
So I found myself with some extra cash. Between another cse 232 paycheck, birthday money from parents and grandparents, etc ... I decided that I'd be responsible with most the money. But I spent a decent chunk on entertainment: I bought SLC Punk on DVD and I purchased six new CDs that should help expand my collection in a variety of directions.
Dance Hall Crashers - Purr If it is possible to fall in love with a girl based simply on her voice, then I have done so. In fact, I've done so twice. The Dance Hall Crashers feature two female vocalists whose voices simply blow me away, they're extraordinary. The Dance Hall Crashers grew out of the ashes of Operation Ivy. Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman were founding members but left within weeks of forming the band and went on to form Rancid. But Berkeley-based DHC continued on. Their music is an energetic, yet sort of mellow variety of ska-punk. The reason I chose Purr as my first DHC album to buy was the song Cricket, which is the only song on this album I thought I had heard before buying it (turns out there's another track I'd also heard before). Cricket is a simple acoustic song that I find simply beautiful, the vocals amaze me. So overall I'm very happy with Purr ... more DHC will eventually have to be purchased.
Sugar Ray - 14:59 Before I begin discussion of this CD, we're gonna rewind back to the beginning of summer and take a look at how Pete became a Sugar Ray fan. I bought a used copy of Floored by Sugar Ray while I was in California. Before then, I was only familiar with the pop hits Sugar Ray had had. I liked those songs enough, and since there were several cheap copies of Floored, I bought one, figuring my CD collection couldn't be hurt by the addition of a little Pop. As it turns out, the CD kicked ass. There were two tracks on the CD that were of the pop variety I was expecting, namely Fly and a remix of Fly. The rest of the CD was very energetic hard rock, but with an entertaining experimental twist. I can see why there were so many used copies of Floored for sale: anyone who had been hoping for a CD full of pop music similar to Fly would have been disappointed. But turns out I wasn't, I was thrilled. So I've now purchased my second Sugar Ray CD. My first impression of the CD was good. Though there is a greater pop element in this CD, it still features a good mix of heavy music. Sugar Ray seems to have diversified even more for this CD. There's several mellow pop songs that I like, there's a couple heavy tracks similar to the music of their first CD, there's one track that's very punk, and there's a hip hop track which features a guest appearance by KRS-ONE. There's also an excellent cover of Steve Miller's abracadabra. I've decided I really like Mark McGrath's voice. I also really appreciate the Sugar Ray sense of humor. The album's name makes fun of the fact that everyone thought they were a one hit wonder after their previous album. Thus 14:59 ... their fifteen minutes of fame are coming to an end.
Minor Threat - Complete Discography Minor Threat is a straight edge punk band from the early eighties. In fact, as far as I know, Minor Threat coined the term Straight Edge. The CD is a compilation of all their released music. It's angry, it's youth, it's energetic, it's punk rock. I'm quite happy with it, though I'd heard all of the music on the CD before buying it.
Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket The latest release from Blink. I really like the song Rock Show which is getting a lot of airplay these days. Beyond that, the album has a similar feel to their earlier Enema of the State. I like it, but I think I like Enema better. And I can appreciate that the album still features the Blink 182 sense of humor.
Dixie Chicks - Fly I figured it's about time I add to my country collection again, so I decided I'd go with some very mainstream country. Before buying this CD, I thought I knew (and liked) three songs on it. It turns out there was a fourth song on this album that I knew (and liked), but didn't know was by the Chicks. Overall this is a fun album. The music is good, and I dig the Chicks' voices.
New Order - The Best of New Order Once upon a time, I liked New Order. Then came a period of time when I couldn't stand hearing them. Now I'm back to loving them. I was introduced to New Order by Goose (so/jr year roommate) who was quite into them. I liked them for a while, but he overplayed them to the point that I was sick of them. Then I didn't hear them for a long while until I was at Paul's house earlier this summer and heard some New Order there. I realized that I like them again, so I bought the CD. Listening to it, when each song begins I think ... "I know this song ... I really like this song!" So I'm glad I bought this CD. I'll just have to be careful not to play it too often.