I took some CDs to work today to play overhead and *hopefully* get some sales from it. It’s worked before. But I was looking at the selections I picked and thought of the stories behind why I got them and where. And I thought it was interesting. So I randomly grabbed a few more to round it out and decided I’d share a little.
George Harrison All Things Must Pass – One of my favorite albums of all time. This was purchased in the winter time at a little chain music store in Indiana. I remember it was during my full-fledged OBSESSED phase in the Beatles, and being the George Girl I am, this was a necessity for my then tiny and novitious collection. I do have a distinct memory of popping it into my Discman and being floored by “I’d Have You Anytime” as I read the liner notes and realized the song had been co-written with Bob Dylan. (Incidentally, this is an album I do not currently own on vinyl and would love to. If you find a decent copy for under $25, please let me know.)
Imogen Heap i Megaphone - The first solo album of the other half of Frou Frou. Of friend of mine played bass with her for a tour two years ago, and I was able to see him with Imogen in Chicago. It was a fabulous show – she even had sore throat and you never would have known it! – and sometime during her set she sang “Come Here Boy,” an absolutely beautiful and perfect song of lovesickness. At the time it seemed to perfectly encompass the feelings I had for a certain someone. The next day I ran to the Virgin Megastore on Michigan Avenue and purchased the album. The rest of the album was no disappointment. That song remains in my Top 20.
The White Stripes White Blood Cells – Their break-through album (though Elephant and De Stijl are, in my opinion, equally as good). I decided to get this one on a school trip to New York City at their Virgin Megastore. Back then I always had to get new music when I traveled. The only prompting I had to get it was that the White Stripes were EVERYWHERE – all the music magazines were red, white, and black and declaring the new resurgence of blues-based garage rock. “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” became a song I would play on my guitar at lunchtime to impress the theater kids, and the album was added to my soundtrack of high school.
Jump, Little Children Magazine - The one I picked off my shelf is actually my second copy, the EZ Chief pressing and not the original Atlantic Records pressing. It’s a wonderfully fun album, and being the huge J,LC fan I am I just had to add the indie label pressing to my collection. This one was purchased at a Jay Clifford show in Charlotte last year (I was working merch with Taylor). The only difference in the two is the liner notes, with the new version adding a few more names and readjusting the order. Yes, I am a dork.
The Pierces Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge – I think I read a short review of this album in either Paste or Magnet and based off the cover decided I would like it. Schoolkids Records in Athens, GA (one of my fave places) didn’t have it so I had it special ordered and it took nearly two weeks. My first impression was that the band was made up of one of the girls from Ladytron and the lead singer of Black Box Recorder. Then I found out it was actually two sisters from Alabama. Oops. Here it is a year and a half since then, and now the Chain Name Bookstore I work at currently has five copies of it in their browser racks and a promo copy they play in-store. It makes me laugh.
