I recently returned from a six-month backpacking trip for which I didn't
pack any kind of Walkman; my 800+ CDs went into my parents' loft and the
only this-listy music I heard for the whole time were 3 semi-random
CDs/tapes[1] bought for respite from Utah and New Zealand radio stations[2].
Naturally the reunion with my CDs was an emotional one, but apart from my
personal canon of "classics"[3] it's been interesting to note the titles
which I owned before I went away but have impressed me so much since that
they're now part of the canon:
* "Neurokinetic" (Toytronic compilation) -- no filler tracks and many
beautiful standouts, including Mr Projectile
* "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" (Kid Koala) -- funny, musical, technically
awesome, eclectic (but too short)
* "Vector" (Hexstatic) -- almost every cliche in trip-hop sampladelica
(ninja films, video games, porn, voicemail messages[4]) but done so well
it doesn't matter.
It may be that I didn't really listen to these too much before (that's
certainly the case with the Kid Koala: I remember taking it to work &
bringing it back unheard because I thought that since it didn't autoplay on
my PC it wouldn't play at all -- duh).
Anyway, I am enriched.
It was fun catching up with all the stuff I'd missed buying -- but that's
another story.
[1] "Play" (Moby), "Vertigo" (Groove Armada), "The Dirtchamber Sessions"
(Prodigy) -- we also had "Reload" (Tom Jones), "Music To Watch Girls
By", and more mainstream stuff: the twin effects of compromise &
shopping at WalMart
[2] In Utah when we got any radio stations at all they were either
Christian, country, or both. In NZ the hire car had a Japanese? radio
which could only pick up 1 NZ channel, "Classic Hits" (wrong on both
counts)
[3] Coldcut/Chemical Brothers/Aphex/Ae/Arovane/BoC/Fatboy Slim/FSOL/...
[4] I haven't spotted anything from "Bladerunner" or "2001"
-- Richard
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org