Ever been caught totally off guard by an album?

[Davey]

You know how it goes, you buy an album based on a recommendation or a review or maybe hearing some song samples online or at a listening station or even just because the cover looked cool, then get it home and it doesn't do much for you. Kind of wish you had your money back. So maybe you play it once or twice, and then retire it to the shelf thinking you'll give it another try later. And then you forget about it....until about a year later you pulll it out for one reason or another - maybe someone is saying how good it is or you read they have a new album or something like that. And you listen to it with a fresh ear and can't believe how you could've originally dismissed it because now you love it from the first listen. And can't get enough of it. And run out to buy the new one that people are raving about and you love it as well. Weird, huh? Guess sometimes we just aren't in the right state of mind for certain types of music. Ever happen to you?

So I'm drinking some coffee and listening to some music this morning while my roomate is getting herself ready to go to the mall. And getting myself ready to go running. And first I was playing some Yo La Tengo, which was nice, but when they amped it up for the brilliant cover of "Little Honda", I knew it was time to put on something that rocked a little harder. And that lead to Polly Jean and to the silly recollections that follow....

I think the one that most caught me off guard in the modern age is the first PJ Harvey album, Dry. I remember reading some very positive comments about it back when it came out sometime in '92 I guess, and picked it up shortly after and was completely underwhelmed. Probably didn't even listen to it twice before sticking it on the shelf and promptly forgetting about it. So fast forward about a year or so and I'm reading more rave reviews about her new album and thinking to myself, what gives? Did I miss something? So I find my barely played copy of Dry and put it on and get completely blown away by how good it is. And I play it over and over and try to figure out what was wrong with me a year ago. And I run out and buy the new one, Rid of Me, and find myself listening incessantly to it as well, trying to decide which one I like best. And I can't. But that was many years and many albums ago and I still love her, but that first album Dry is my favorite and probably always will be, no matter what she does. And what a great live sound it has too, with tons of unrestricted dynamics. One of the quietest CDs of the modern era, but still has the peaks set to max. Guess they weren't sophisticated enough on that first one to know that you're supposed to use tons of compression on modern rock music ;)

[skippy]

I used to post on this board a year or more ago. I didn't contribute much, but I got turned on to a lot of new stuff by you guys. I still listen to Some Songs from Darius and DBI's Best of 2000 from time to time. Anyway, I've been trying to reconstruct my old wish list nd build it up with new music too. One disc I got excited about but never bought was American Water by the Silver Jews. I listened to the samples on Amazon the other day and I couldn't believe I ever dug it. It sounds like a bunch of other stuff out there and I'm tired of that droning vocal style. But when that albums was new I thought it was the greatest! It's the reverse of what you're talking about, I know, but the surprise is the same.

[Stone]

. . . DBI . . .

What did you have to give in return? An arm or a leg? Boy, was that guy a snake!

Guess I should watch what I say. You never know who might be lurking.

BTW, welcome back, skippy.

[Davey]

Boy, was that guy a snake!
Yeah, I was about to say the same thing. Loved his dry wit and impeccable taste in the finer side of indie rock, but wrong em boyo, I could do without some of the personal tales he always left lying around the site here like rabbit turds. Enough is enough, dude! Gotta go with DBI on American Water, though. That one is a flat f</>uck classic of the 90s. Dave Berman is a modern day Dylan without the 60s baggage (just made that up so don't embarass me by asking me what it means ;)).

[skippy]

I never had a problem with DBI. Maybe he turned reptile after I left. It's great to be back anyhow, even though I'm mostly a lurker. I've been in a real musical rut, and this place is the cure. Hey, is Yech still around?

BTW, I didn't mean to trash American Water. I don't hate it or anything. It just doesn't do it for me like it used to. I had to listen to Low Level Owl (V-1) a couple times before I came around. Maybe that's all I need to do with American Water. I'll never like the vocals though. Somebody needs to wake that guy up before they stick him in the studio.

[Dusty Chalk]

I still think that guy was a shill. Too hung up on reviews. Album could be the greatest album in the world, but if it didn't review well, he didn't want to have any part of it.

He did turn me on to some cool tunes, though.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I had the same thing happen with Rid of Me, my first coule of listens did nothing for me, "too raw, no subtlety" I thought, so I put it away. But I couldn't escape the hype so after a time I tried again and POW! Now I get it. Still my favorite P.J. effort, even more so that her more subtle albums like Stories From The City, and To Bring You My Love. Curiously, I've never heard Dry, guess it's time to fix that.

[Mr MidFi]

OK, Skippy, joke's over. Davey = dbi. Didn't want you to think we'd all become biatchy and back-biting in your absence. Welcome back!

[skippy]

OK, Skippy, joke's over. Davey = dbi. Didn't want you to think we'd all become biatchy and back-biting in your absence. Welcome back!

Man, I was thinking the whole time, DBI was practically the engine that drove this board. He made tons of comps and everyone seemed to like him. What the heck happened?

You got me! :o

[dbi]

Man, I was thinking the whole time, DBI was practically the engine that drove this board. He made tons of comps and everyone seemed to like him. What the heck happened?
Trust no one around here, ol' buddy. Bunch of poseurs nowadays. Sure I still lurk, but most of these yahoos think Pavement is that stuff in their driveway. If you want the real deal, the real slim deal, for the million of you just like me, who cuss like me, who just don't give a f</>uck like me, who dress like me, walk, talk and act like me, and just might be the next best thing but not quite me!

OK, so maybe I'm not that real. Welcome back, skippy! And don't worry, they all still love me behind my back :)

[dean_martin]

Trust no one around here, ol' buddy. Bunch of poseurs nowadays. Sure I still lurk, but most of these yahoos think Pavement is that stuff in their driveway. If you want the real deal, the real slim deal, for the million of you just like me, who cuss like me, who just don't give a f</>uck like me, who dress like me, walk, talk and act like me, and just might be the next best thing but not quite me!

OK, so maybe I'm not that real. Welcome back, skippy! And don't worry, they all still love me behind my back :)

Dang, I didn't know Davey=dbi! I stopped visiting the board for a while also. I guess I missed the name change.

This weekend my 15 year old stumbled upon the American Indie comp you made me 2 or 3 years ago. He said, "Dad, you have to burn me a copy of this!" Then he asked, "Who's dbi?"

[J*E*Cole]

Wow, the original posters' description is so accurate , it should be a syndrome or something like that. Like " Hasty Decision Syndrome" or HDS. Anyhoo, when I finished reading the post, Mark Knopfler's "Sailing To Philadelphia" came to mind. The first couple runs, I remember thinking well there is at least a couple good ones on this, but then it sat in my changer for over a year, until I scrolled across it a few months ago, I couldn't stop playing it, then I bought his recently released "Shangri-La", and it is even better.