Shopping Trip

I had the good fortune of visiting the Bay Area recently, as I have frequently for several years. I went back to my very favorite haunt, the Amoeba store on Haight St. I'm not sure when I'll get back, so I gave myself permission to buy whatever struck my fancy. I stayed in the vinyl sections of the store, because to add CDs would make the visit take all day.

It turned out to be an interesting and varied motherlode of fine tunes. I've already discussed the Live Mott The Hoople, but I also picked up three 12-inch EPs by XTC, The Mayor Of Simpleton, Five Senses (both including swell tracks not on any LP), and Love On A Farmboy's Wages, which includes live versions of Burning With Optimism''s Flame and English Roundabout that are marvelous.

I grabbed an older M. Ward record, End Of Amnesia 2001, a reissue of Superchunck's 1994 outing Foolish, Matthew Sweet's most recent, Modern Art 2011, and Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women 2009, which also features the lovely voice of Christy McWilson throughout.

And then there's the Proclaimer's classic Sunshine On Leith 1988, which I already owned on CD, but the vinyl  was pristine, and I really love this record. I suppose 2001's Persevere is still my personal favorite, but Sunshine On Leith is darn close.

I've made my way through all these new records once (I did spend more time with the Mott), and hopefully I'll have more to say about some of them down the road. It's all been good, but I haven't been keeping track. Lazy listening, I do love that.

By the way, that list of Popular Posts over there on the right lists the more frequently hit posts during the last thirty days. Frank Zappa's Chunga's Revenge has gotten more traffic than almost anything I've ever posted. Go figure.