Hits In The Car

I picked up the following 9 CDs at the library Thursday last week (I love that reservation system!):

Natural History by I am Kloot is a pleasant surprise. I'm not at all familiar with the band, but since I remember the name being mentioned somewhere I decided to give the album a chance. Don't regret that at all, because it's a great album with a nice acoustic feel.





!!! is probably one of the greatest/coolest band names I've ever seen. Sadly you cannot say that the music on Louden Up Now is the greatest I've ever heard. Maybe I'd like if it was 2 o'clock in the night and I was at some club completely drunk with a desire for dancing (and listening to intelligent lyrics like Shit Scheisse Merde). Then maybe - otherwise no!




These days I'm not a fan of compilations, best of's etc. albums, but when you want to get a quick introduction to an unknown band they still very much serve a purpose. I've been aware of the existence of Spiritualized for years, but until now I've never bothered listening to them. So The Complete Works, Volume 1 album seemed to be an obvious place to start. Their music is not an immediate winner, because at times it gets very monotonous (several songs are 7-8 minutes long, just going on and on). And listening to various mixes of the same song three times in a row can be a little overwhelming (if you're positive) or downright boring (if you're not so positive)! But there are moments of pure beauty on the album, which immediately make you want to use the repeat function. So there is no doubt in my mind that this is music with great potential and it's a sure bet that I'm going to further explore this album as well as other releases.

I believe I've written before that I'm no fan of The Rolling Stones! But for every song I hear by the band it becomes more and more obvious to me why they are considered a legendary rock band. The album Let It Bleed does nothing to change this. Whether it's grand opener Gimme Shelter, tongue-in-cheek Country Honk, the pulsing title track or the epic finale You Can't Always Get Want You Want, there is no doubt in my mind (after just one listen) that this is a truly amazing album! Am I a Stones fan now? Not yet, but I'm definitely on my way!


The German Bonus Tracks edition of Odessey & Oracle contains an amazing 28 songs, but that is not one too many. It's packed with absolutely fantastic songs that make it very hard to understand why The Zombies aren't mentioned in the same breathe as The Beach Boys or other far more famous bands from the late 60's. Too many great songs to list (though I think Time of the Season and I'll Call You Mine are standout tracks), but I sure recommend that you try to listen to this awesome album!


My ongoing project of visiting the library picking up albums I should know (but don't) is getting more and more interesting. Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention is the type of album I'd never (NEVER!) listen to. It is filled with overlong renditions of traditional folk songs, which normally would make me stay miles and miles away. But just 5 songs into the album I’m kinda thrilled to have learned about it, because this is really interesting and very beautiful!



Johnny Cash is another artist I wouldn't normally listen to. If you browse through my CD-collection you won't find that many country albums, but I've read a lot of positive about these recordings (At Folsom Prison And San Quentin), so I thought it would be well worth my time and effort to give this album a shot!
It will take a while before country becomes my favorite genre, but this isn't even close to being as bad as I feared it would be. Actually it's quite entertaining and the fact that he performs in front of the prisoners makes it rather fascinating as well!

I'm really trying my very best getting into Nick Drake, but so far I think it is a bit difficult. Pink Moon is short (less than 29 minutes), sounds pretty and fragile, but this kind of music looses a lot when being played on a computer. So to be able to judge it properly, I guess I will have to listen to it with my headphones on, whenever I can find a moment to spare.




Exile on Main Street is just another great album by The Rolling Stones. Cannot really think of anything else to say. It probably won't last long before I declare myself a fan!






Guess it's time to visit the library again?