So for several weeks this Tanya Tucker record was in the country bin. Now there's no way I would have been caught buying a country album. I mean, I had a reputation to keep up! Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd were the closest I was getting to country. But, gees...that Tanya Tucker was hot! Well, I never did buy that record back then - but I did pick it up a couple of years ago. Too bad I passed it up back then because it's a load of fun. Kinda reminds me of Shania Twain before she went totally pop.
Tarkus - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Ok, back to that high school girlfriend who tortured me with extended listening sessions of Shaun Cassidy, Lief Garrett, and the Grease soundtrack. There was this big credenza down in the basement that served as stereo rack and album storage unit. Behind some sliding doors were all of Laurie and her older brother Rob's records. The great thing about her brother (aside from keeping his mouth shut about what went on in the basement) was that he had better taste in music. One day I took a tour of the entire collection and pulled out the most bizarre-looking record. The cover illustration had this...thing on it that looked like a cross between a tank and an armadillo. Hmmm....now I'm interested. So I put the thing on the record player, totally bumming out my girlfriend...but what the heck, I liked it. Still do. Sure, it's overblown. So what? A few years later punk came along to blow away the puffery of art-rock...but at that moment I was more than content to revel in it.
(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Fascinating and strange selections Mark - another fine post!
2 - BRICKLAYER
I'm not crazy for anything else that The Crash Test Dummies have released but their album "God Shuffled His Feet" resonates deeply with me. I listened alot to this album when my father was very ill, and I found alot of comfort in it. that dude gets derided alot for his voice and the mmmmmm song, but yo, those are some great lyrics on that album. I was also friends with/dating a whirling dirvish of a girl who flashed through my life leaving an indelible mark on my psyche, and this record brings me back to that time.
Also, the trilogy of the Replacements "Pleased to meet me", Husker Du's "Candy Apple Gray", and Slayer's "Reign in Blood" (!). They were in a constant loop, and when I listen to those albums now, I can still remember how the new cassettes smelled when I opened them (not as good as fresh vinyl, but still pretty nice), and the color of the late afternoon summer/fall shade in my room. And coming home looped off of my gourd and cranking them on my headphones into the wee hours.
3 - BRICKLAYER
And oh yeah, that Tanya Tucker cover is pretty hot.
4 - Eric Olsen
Bricklayer waxes nostalgic - nice to see. I like those you mentioned as well, though I can live without Slayer.
5 - The Theory
mmm. emmylou harris. mmm. buddy miller.
6 - Tom Johnson
Isn't this what music collecting is all about? I look at my collection, which seems to always hover right around 1500 CDs, and there are still only a handful that I really consider "important" in the same way you illustrate above. How is it possible that out of all the countless thousands of CDs I've heard in the past 15 years only a certain number are really, truly, spectacularly special to me? I'm going to have to think about this. I may have to post my own version of Mark's post in a couple days . . .
And Tarkus! I love the Tarkus suite. How can you not love a story about an armadillo tank?
7 - andy
I'm the same way w/ vinyl(although I don't have near 1500 yet), only a few are special to me and I prize.
The main cause of this is the $1 bins at record shows. I'll buy albums I woudln't usually buy for a buck, listen to them once or twice, and file them away.
8 - BRICKLAYER
One more thing about Slayer and the smell of new cassettes: I used to associate that smell with “EVIL”, because I mostly bought vinyl, and when I opened “Reign in Blood”, with the spooky artwork and lyrics, it actually scared me, and I associated the scent with my fear. Of course, I now listen to bands that make the fellas in Slayer look (and sound!) like fully badged Eagle Scouts, but it took a little while to get over that little quirk (still working on most of the other ones), and I came to love the smell of a fresh out of wrapper cassette as surely as I loved the scent of a women (or puppy). The aroma of cd’s just doesn’t do anything for me, though. A Christina Aguilera scratch & sniff would be all that!
9 - BRICKLAYER
You know what? I was just smelling a brand new cd (Karl Hendricks Trio-"The Jerks Win Again"-highly recommended!) and I figured out, it's the smell of the booklets that I really like. This journey has been highly revelatory.
10 - Eric Olsen
New Al Pacino film: "Scent of a Booklet"
11 - Craig Lyndall
At this point in my life, I can only think of a few albums that have lasted over time.
1. Mineral - End Serenading - this album is one of the finest I own. It is my winter album. The winds start to get a little colder toward the end of fall and I am forced to break it out.
2. Temple of the Dog - It is funny to me that this album has remained even though many Pearl Jam and Soundgarden albums have not.
3. Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops - This is one of the few remaining albums from my metal days. It is melodic in spots and Dax Riggs has one of the most eccentric ranges from singing to crooning to screaming.
I don't feel like getting into extreme circumstances that have put these in my heart forever, but they should remain forever. I need to work on this and think of more.
12 - Mark Saleski
you're right tom, this really is what collecting is all about...at least to me.
I do have others that have special meaning...but i didn't want to run on for too long.
it was kinda of fun to see just what popped into my head.
it'd definitely be fun to hear other folks' stories like this.