An addiction to some is a hobby to others

An addiction to some is a hobby to others

There was already a trip to the East Bay planned for the day. Things had to be accomplished and that’s where they get done. But since I’m there anyway I might as well fit in a little trip to Amoeba, right? In the end I didn’t end up buying as many albums as I’ve typically been known to on these trips. Here’s the list (keeping in mind that I haven’t listened to any of these yet):

• The Beautiful South: Painting it Red
  Somewhere along the line I heard some The Beautiful South and liked it. I don’t even remember what it sounds like, just that it appealed to me at the time. So when I found this album for $2.99 I thought, “Hey, what the heck?”
• Everything But The Girl: Amplified Heart and Temperamental
  About a year ago I bought this band’s acoustic album and really enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know their other stuff at all but for $5.00 I was willing to take the chance that it doesn’t suck.
• Rush: Hold Your Fire
  Because I must’ve been nostalgic for high school or something.
• Various Artists: I Stayed Up All Night Listening to Records: a collection of field recordings
  Yup, I have no clue what this is. Diddly squat. I couldn’t even see the liner notes before buying it. That didn’t seem to stop me (or slow me down, really). There are twenty five tracks on this CD and judging from the band and track names it kind of ranges all over the place. There’s likely to be something worth listening to on here, right? And hey, how else is a gal gonna find new things to listen to?
• Material with William S. Burroughs: The Road to the Western Lands
  Again, I haven’t the foggiest what this is. But William S. Burroughs I know (or know of). And Bill Laswell produced and arranged two of the seven tracks on the album. That was enough to make me want to give it a try.
• Traffic: The Best of Traffic: The 20th Century Masters Millennium Collection
  Before I left the office I asked a couple of coworkers to suggest some albums for me. This is the one suggested by Russell. I know some of Traffic’s stuff and have always been interested in getting familiar with more so I was glad that he suggested it.
• Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind &amp Fire, Vol I
  Suggested by another coworker, Steve. When he first mentioned it I made the mistake of admitting that in my mind EW&F is associated with disco. The real mistake about that was saying it where my CEO could hear me. I was summarily (but jokingly) fired for my musical idiocy. After a faux pas like that I had to buy the thing. Of all my purchases this is the only one that I’ve had the chance to listen to any of (and only a small amount at that) and I’m ready to admit how wrong I was with that whole “disco” thing. I mean, these guys have kick ass horns. How bad could that be? Not very, I tell you.
• Little Feat: Hoy-Hoy!
  Recently I purchased and have been enjoying their Waiting for Columbus so I wanted to continue the fun. I asked one of the knowledgable Amoeba staff members for a recommendation of something like Little Feat. Turns out he’s a huge Little Feat fan so all he could think of was that band. “I mean…there’s just nothing like them…” OK, not so helpful as far as branching out is concerned. But he suggested this album and I figured, “Why not?”

It’ll be fun working my way through these in the next few days. There’s likely to be at least one gem in the bunch (and probably more than that) and few if any of them are bound to suck.