Fresh Grabs

Turbo said:
and I'm pleased with the Kiwanuka - considering the bad pressing reviews on this one, mine is quite good, probably because this is a more recent re-press.
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Oh, this is great news! I traded in my previous copy because it sounded awful.

(The first and one of only a very small handful of records I've done that with)
 
avecigrec said:
Oh, this is great news! I traded in my previous copy because it sounded awful.

(The first and one of only a very small handful of records I've done that with)
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I've been hesitating getting this album on vinyl for years and finally just decided to go for it since there was a new pressing. I was still expecting awful, but surprisingly this is very good. Really like the album, so it's nice to have a playable vinyl copy.

EDIT: It's pressed at Takt so I would expect some bad copies in the run.
 
I know this pressing has bad reviews, but it was cheap so I figured I'd check it out and return it if it was crap. But Target being Target they shipped it in a a box that was too small for it to lay flat and too big for it to not shake around. Then the box got crushed on both sides by UPS so the jacket is bent up good. Plus side is that Target just returned my money and it's letting me keep it. It's not pretty, but it's free. Good enough!
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Santigold - Came across "L.E.S. Artistes" years ago in a mashup and had it knocking around my head ever since. Happened to listen to the rest of the album on a whim earlier this year, really liking it, so appreciated VMP reissuing it. Maybe it won't hold up over time, I feel like I'm the only one around here who got it, but for now it's the kind of light fun I've been looking for, and it's gotten more varied the more I've listened to it.
Portishead - Dummy - Never thought I'd have a pet genre but trip hop's gotten pretty close. Bizarrely I seem to walk back and forth between loving this album and her vocals not quite hitting? But I still suspect this is going to get played a lot, and it sounds excellent.
Stereloab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup - All Stereolab's good Stereolab I guess, and the pressing's excellent if cut a bit hot. And I have a bit of no-fill on "Metronomic Underground..." That said, you would not believe how hard "The Noise of Carpet" hit a month or so ago. I feel like I need "This world will give you anything, so long as you will want to" tattooed on my forehead.

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Rejoined VMP for 3 months - didn't really want to because I only wanted Bone Thugs but they do have quite a few things that I wanted anyways so it wasn't a bad decision. Bone Thugs was my 1st month, Sigur Ros was a bonus record they gave for rejoining. I raided Madlib, Air, and Busta Rhymes from that 20% off sale they had. Khruangbin - Live at Villain is a bootleg but a pretty decent one that i've been looking for. They seem restocked or something recently so i grabbed it when it popped up for a decent price.
 
zomgbear said:
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Rejoined VMP for 3 months - didn't really want to because I only wanted Bone Thugs but they do have quite a few things that I wanted anyways so it wasn't a bad decision. Bone Thugs was my 1st month, Sigur Ros was a bonus record they gave for rejoining. I raided Madlib, Air, and Busta Rhymes from that 20% off sale they had. Khruangbin - Live at Villain is a bootleg but a pretty decent one that i've been looking for. They seem restocked or something recently so i grabbed it when it popped up for a decent price.
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This is an excellent haul!
 
Turbo said:
A bunch of stuff from the last three weeks....

First off, the rest of that order from Juno that was split into a couple packages. Harvey Sutherland "Boy" (2022, Japanese pressing), Depeche Mode "Sounds Of The Universe", ELO "Time" and Michael Kiwanuka "Love & Hate". Every pressing on here is excellent. Especially happy about the Harvey Sutherland. Love this record but couldn't find a good pressing. I returned the standard pressings I've had because of scribble scratches. But then Juno had a copy of the Japanese and it's fabulous. Excellent electronic funk record if you're not familiar, with a collab with Dam-Funk and a sound that reminds me of Todd Terje at times. I'm continuing my dive into DM, now with deeper cuts. The ELO 2016 reissue is excellent and I'm pleased with the Kiwanuka - considering the bad pressing reviews on this one, mine is quite good, probably because this is a more recent re-press.

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Now for a couple original Canadian pressings. Bought this for the Living Colour but the real gem is the cheap throw-in. That Billy Idol is just about audiophile quality. But, the Living Colour pressing is very disappointing. Flat and lifeless sound. Not to mention the massive mis-grading by the seller (a MN- record filled with scuffs and plays back with tons of pops throughout, yeah right).

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I also got these used Sabbaths, from the Rhino Chris Bellman 2011 pressing run, which are supposed to be all-analogue . They're both really nice with tip-on jackets like the originals. Interestingly, I also have an original Canadian pressing of Vol 4 to compare to. The 2011 CB is really similar - maybe a bit more open on the high end but this is a YMMV situation, I think I prefer the softness of the original Canadian for this record. Plus, these 2011's are pressed at Rainbo, so there's that. This Vol. 4 is noisier than the original pressing and, as weird as it may sound for a Sabbath record, you want quiet for Vol. 4 because there are lots of dynamics and quiet parts. The SBS 2011 is flawless and for sure my final copy of this record.

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Next up are the Morphine reissues. I haven't played these yet, but the needle drops seem very promissing.

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And lastly, a bunch of recent stuff obtained individually. The Mountain Goats is based on @Hemotep playing it in the vinyl challenge thread. The Gabriels is the 2xLP 33rpm limited version, which I posted in the "really nice sounding pressings thread". There's also the latest Nation of Language (just received this morning, not played) and the latest Alan Palomo (Neon Indian), which is tons of fun and a very good pressing.

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Update - The "Nation Of Language" is not a good pressing in my experience. The mastering and cut are pretty good, but I've gone through two copies riddled with non-fill on side 2 and that dreaded brzzzt sound. It's all going back and I'm going to stick with digital for that album.
 
September Acquisitions

Avantgarde selections

Ernest Hood - Back to the Woodlands
Pauline Oliveros - The Wanderer
V/A - Virtual Dreams: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, 1993-1997

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During Music Millennium's annual sidewalk sale, the Ernest Hood companion piece for cheaper than anywhere else. It was also the lone purchase for that sale. I probably would've found more if I went earlier than on the third day out of the four the sale was held for.
I've noticed that Oliveros's music on LP runs fairly high on price. But it was cheapest at Mississippi out of all avenues, like usual.
Found a new favorite record last month (Passenger Seat Records; def in my top5 of PDX already) and also a MFM compilation I had searching to add for years. MFM does great work here again.


Current Year selections

Alabaster dePlume - Come With Fierce Grace
CHAI - CHAI (signed)
maya ongaku - Approach to Anima
Jonny Nash - Point of Entry

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Bought the new Alabaster dePlume at Mississippi. A needed return to form.
Bought the signed CHAI from their show last week, not really having planned on buying until I saw that merch copies were presigned. Had an even better time than last year! Got to speak to Mana (マナ) and Yuna (ユナ) at the merch desk for a few minutes in Japanese, too.
Found one of my favorites of the year at MP. Beautiful ambient folk music from Japan.
Found also the newest from Gaussian Curve member Jonny Nash at PSR which, I kid you not, could land in my top10 by year's end. It is certainly my favorite pure ambient/new age record of the year as of now.


Miscellaneous selections

Anri (杏里)-  COOOL
Isabelle Antenna - En Cavale
Kraftwerk - Computer World
Pharoah Sanders -  Karma

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Got one of the Anri reissues, but waited too long on Timely! and now massively regret it.
Numero did a great job with this Isabelle Antenna reissue. Some bonus cuts and great photography, too.
Solid reissue from Kling Klang on the Kraftwerk mainstay.
Found the Karma AS reissue used for $29. It's passable, I don't think this record sounds impressive given the QRP/RKS hype and all that.


Swans - Filth (signed)
Swans - To Be Kind (signed)
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Susumu Yokota - Space Teddy Collection

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Saw Swans two weeks ago. Unrelenting and revelatory. I didn't know Gira would pop out after the show finished to sign merch, so I left my initial copy of To Be Kind at home. I did purchase both a duplicate and Filth to get signed afterwards. Not sure how much longer Gira will keep on.
Unimpressed by the Waits reissue. Doesn't help that the label was affixed off center, rendering the last track on each side unplayable.
This reissue from Susumu Yokota (横田進) finds him in a techno/acid trance lane. Should be optimal for DJing!


PIF claims

Bedouine - Waysides
Herbie Hancock - Sextant
Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue Acoustic

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From @SMeekWoodworks, @yukbon, and @Jan respectively. Outside of Sextant not arriving as I had hoped (damage to record), satisfied with the PIF items here.
 
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