Dropping in..

[mad rhetorik]

Spent my winter break working and shoveling all this friggin' snow. Oh, and filling gaps in my collection. Here are the albums I've bought and digging in on o'er the past month:

The Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds Of Fire
This is the coolest fusion I've ever listened to. If Hendrix were still alive, John McLaughlin would be giving him sleepless nights.

Miles Davis: In A Silent Way
Had it in vinyl format, just bought it on CD. Brilliant cool jazz/early fusion. (BTW Jay, if you still want to hear it, we'll try to work somethin' out)

Ornette Coleman: The Shape Of Jazz To Come
My dad (who is a jazz buff) hates Coleman, but I have no regrets about this album. It's beautiful.

Opeth: Morningrise
Ah. Where have you been all my life? IMO, I think this is way better than either Blackwater Park or Still Life.

King Crimson: Vroom Vroom
Awesome live album from the THRAK era.

Meshuggah: Nothing
Yikes. This is heavy, complex, uber-challenging technical metal. Would make a calculus major sh-t his pants.

Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique
Groundbreaking hip-hop. Definitely a favorite.

King's X: Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
It's absolutely criminal that this unique trio gets ignored by the mainstream music press.

Mr. Bungle: California
Insane genre-jumping mayhem. Think Faith No More's Angel Dust on crack.

Death: Human
Awesome death/thrash metal record. Now to get The Sound Of Perseverence!

Cave-In: Antenna
Hmmm. Still not entirely sure I like this yet. Way more mainstream-sounding than Jupiter. I'm warming up to it, though.

The Cure: Disintegration
Beautifully depressing shoegazer-pop. I love the title track.

The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat
I used to absolutely hate this record (my dad has it on vinyl). Fortunately, it's grown on me and I think it's definitely a worthy V.U. album alongside VU & Nico and The Velvet Underground.

Other albums:

John Coltrane: Blue Train (had it on vinyl)
Bad Brains: I Against I
Snapcase: Designs For Automotion
REM: Fables Of The Reconstruction
Joy Division: Substance
John Spencer Blues Explosion: Orange
Echo & The Bunnymen: Ocean Rain
Public Enemy: It Takes A Nation....