Uncle Roger's Notebooks of Daily Life


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Can you ever have enough?

I addressed this question in relation to Vivaldi's Four Seasons last year and while it may be possible to have enough versions of that particular work, I don't think it's possible to have too much music in general. And so I continue to acquire additional albums from new and familiar artists.

Here's what I've gotten my hands on recently:

Live in New Orleans -- The Blind Boys of Alabama *
More DVD than CD, this is still great. The only problem is that the entire concert is not included on CD. (Note to producers: Want to know what extras would really make a concert DVD sell? Include MP3 or CDA versions of all the songs from the concert on the DVD.)
Guitar Slinger -- Brian Setzer Orchestra
Brian Setzer and his big band are great fun; I'm hoping this album lives up to their standards.
Prolonging The Magic -- Cake
From the band that brought us Short Skirt, Long Jacket, Commissioning A Symphony In C, and Opera Singer. Hopefully more such goodness.
Enchantment -- Charlotte Church
A heavenly voice at a rock bottom price.
Destiny's Child -- Destiny's Child
Survivor -- Destiny's Child
The Writing's On The Wall -- Destiny's Child
It seems someone was dumping their complete collection of Destiny's Child albums. Their loss is my gain. And I was just commenting that if I got an En Vogue album, I really ought to have Destiny's Child too.
Kaira -- Toumani Diabaté *
Boulevard de l'Indépendance -- Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra *
Somewhere, I stumbled across this amazing Kora player, but I had to add him to my wishlist. And then, what do you know but he shows up during the holidays.
Mulan -- Disney Soundtracks
Someone was talking about this album and I realized had seen it at the thrift shop previously. I went back and not only was it still there, it was on sale.
Yes I Am -- Melissa Etheridge
While I'm more into her politics than her music, I couldn't pass up this album when it showed up at the thrift shop.
Desireless -- Eagle Eye Cherry
The one song I knew -- Save Tonight -- was worth the price of a used CD.
Skin -- Peter Himmelman
I knew the name, but nought else. Still, since it was on sale, I decided to take a chance.
The Bridge -- Hiroshima
I would not have expected to find an album from the classic jpop group in San Carlos, but there it was.
Left Of The Middle -- Natalie Imbruglia
This is one of those slightly out there, good for late night kind of artists; I like that sort of thing. (When you don't do drugs, you need something like this.)
The Complete Recordings -- Robert Johnson *
The legendary Robert Johnson. What more can I say? What more need I say?
Songs in A Minor -- Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys has made quite a name for herself as a singer-songwriter and pianist. This is the album that got her started.
Lenka -- Lenka *
I came across Lenka while reviewing the Hotel Cafe label's collection of holiday songs featuring a variety of female singer-songwriters and was impressed enough to put her album on my wishlist. Actually, I inadvertently added it to my shopping cart and it stowed away when I ordered something else.
Sings with Balalaika Orchestra -- Nikolai Massenkoff
Nikolai lives in my neighborhood, so when I saw his album in a thrift shop, I had to get it.
Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan -- Sarah McLachlan *
I would have included Ice Cream when making a list of her best, but, nonetheless, this is a great compilation of great songs.
The Story of the Ghost -- Phish
More Phish. See the notes on the last couple of their albums that I purchased.
CrazySexyCool -- TLC
I had a CD with a couple of songs, including Waterfalls, but I didn't have the full album. Now I do.
Storm -- Vanessa Mae
I totally dig Vanessa-Mae -- and not just because she's hot, either. She's one heck of a fiddle player. If you haven't heard her music or seen her play, check her out. It's worth it.

* These albums were new purchases/gifts; All others were thrift shop finds.



Journal Description

My life is, to me, ripe with frequent challenges, occasional successes, spontaneous laughter, adequate tears, and enough *life* to last me a lifetime. To you, however, it surely seems most pedestrian. And therefore, I recycle the name I used previously and call this my Notebooks of Daily Life. Daily, because it's everyday in nature, ordinary. These conglomeration of events that are my life are of interest to me because I live it, perhaps mildly so to those who are touched by it, and could only be of perverse, morbid curiosity to anyone else. Yet, I offer them here nonetheless. Make of them what you will, and perhaps you can learn from my mistakes.

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