Dag 1162: If in doubt, be dancing

As predicted last time I have continued my CD buying spree and have been getting a bit more up to date on the current music scene. In the 70s and 80s I was pretty much up to date with what was going on, but things went a bit out of kilter in the 90s and carried on until fairly recently. The whole thing started during a visit to Scotland when I bought a Capercaillie CD. I liked it so much that I bought all their other albums and started going to see them at every opportunity. I soon started to listen only to Scottish music, but that felt too mainstream so I narrowed it down to only Scottish Gaelic music, then I started learning Scottish Gaelic and narrowing down my music purchases to ever more obscure Gaelic artists. It got to the point that if it wasn't recorded on the smallest most remote Scottish island during a force 9 gail then it was just too mainstream for me.

Fortunately, just when I was on the brink of adding a Mac to the start of my surname and refusing to speak English anymore I started working in Sweden. This enabled me to get into Swedish music and start learning Swedish instead. Fortunately though, instead of ending up only listening to music that was recorded under a midnight sun in the far north of Sweden, I discovered some really great new music that I just would not have discovered if I hadn't been working there (such as Kent, Eva Dahlgren, and even Roxette, who I hadn't been that keen on when they first became known in the UK).

So back to my latest music purchases:

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I miss Everyone ****

I went to see a band called My Latest Novel in Edinburgh last year (or the year before) and was very impressed. I discovered they were on the Cocteau Twins' Bella Union label. I ended up signing up on the Bella Union website and have had quite a few trips onto it to check out their band roster. There are plenty of interesting bands on there and this is the first one I have bought (apart from My Latest Novel). Like Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails I was presented with a cheaper normal version of the CD or a limited edition double CD at a higher price. Unlike Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails I bought the double CD version, and am pleased I did. The first CD contains the album tracks and the second contions remixes. Normally I think remixes are rubbish, but in this case I don't. The album is made up of 6 instrumental pieces and there are another 6 on the remix CD. The music is very atmospheric and melancholic which makes it fit nicely into the sort of stuff that I have come to realise that I like and the remix tracks sound sufficiently different to make them worthwhile listening so all in all this is a great CD. So far the final track stands out as being a particular highlight with its sparse and beautiful tinkly opening that gradually builds up to a full on climactic end. This is great music to listen to while working.

My Latest Novel in Edinburgh

Other Bella Union artists to look out for are Midlake, Devics, The Howling Bells and, of course, My Latest Novel.

Slowdive - Just for a Day ****

After doing some more browsing on wikipedia I found an entry about a type of music called Shoe Gazing. I wasn't familiar with this term, but it seemed that quite a few bands I really like fit into this genre so I guess I must be a shoe gazer too. So if you see me looking down at my shoes in future now you know why. The article listed many other shoe gazing bands that I hadn't heard before. I thought I would probably like them so I wrote about 12 of the band names onto a post-it note and headed off for Virgin Records in Leeds. After some frantic floor walking I discovered that they didn't have a single band on my list so I went across to HMV hoping they might be better kitted out for us shoe gazers. All I can say is that HMV in Leeds is a veritable haven for shoe gazers. They had multiple CDs from most of the bands on the list so, bearing in mind that I hadn't heard any of them, it was difficult deciding which CDs to buy. The bands at the top of my list (as they seemed to have the most said about them on Wikipedia) were Chapterhouse and Slowdive. There were a couple of CDs by each band and I ended up choosing a slowdive one as they had a girl singer so I thought I may just like them better. This is a double CD containing their first album along with their early singles and Eps. I only found this out after I'd bought it so I was a bit concerned that I may have been better off getting a later album, but as soon as I heard the first track I was transported back to that time period. The music sounds heavily influenced by the Cocteau Twins and as it was in the same style I liked it straight away. I must confess that I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but that is purely down the fact that a) I have bought so much music lately and b) I just keep on going back to the Cocteau Twins time and time again (I am currently listening to Victorialand, again, as I write this). They were once my all time favourite band of all time and they may well just be about to become so again. If only they would finish their unfinished album and reform for a tour - I would probably try and get to every date.

Puressense - Planet Helpless *

Once I had picked my Slowdive CD I decided I'd get one more from my list. I nearly bought a Catherine Wheel cd as the cover looked good and Tim Friese Green (who worked on the later, and greater, Talk Talk albums) was involved, but if I got that it would have meant I was spending more than I wanted to I ended up getting Planet Helpless by Puressense as it was on the list and it was only a fiver. As soon as I started playing it I realised that this was a mistake. Whereas slowdive definitely fitted in with bands like Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil Puressense did not seem to fit the shoe gazing genre one bit. I would have fitted them squarely in with the Madchester bands who I have no interest in whatsoever. I listened to 2 tracks and took it off. This is the first CD I have bought in a very long time that I have regretted. If anyone wants to buy it off me please leave a comment to that effect.