  As a part-time employee of urlLink Borders, I get 33 percent off all books and CDs, in addition to 20 percent off DVDs and 15 percent off magazines (full-time employees only get 25 percent off books and CDs, but they get a $30 gift certificate every month, the bastards). However, twice a year -- usually in July and November -- we get a "40 percent off" weekend, where books and CDs are, you guessed it, 40 percent off (DVDs and magazines stay the same). This past weekend was one of those very weekends, and as if the 1,200+ discs I already own aren't enough, I'm now eight discs richer.
In addition to the 40 percent discount, all Boston Borders employees received either a $45 gift certificate (for part-timers) or a $50 one (for full-timers), as thanks for last month's particularly good sales. I'm happy to say that I went nicely underbudget on my saturday spree, only spending about $56 of my own money (not counting the $45 gift certificate).
Whenever I'm able to go on sprees like this (which isn't often, unfortunately), I try to be as eclectic as possible in my purchasing choices, and I think I accomplished that this weekend. Here's what I got: urlLink Marshall Crenshaw: Marshall Crenshaw This 1982 self-titled debut album from one of rock's most underappreciated singer/songwriters is something I've been inexplicably avoiding for some time now, and a nicely remastered version (complete with bonus tracks) courtesy of Rhino Records fits nicely in my CD collection.
The 80s are alive and well with some cheesy, somewhat dated production techniques (why in the world were we all so obsessed with "big drums" back then? ), but the songs are what matter here. Any album that contains "Someday, Someway," "Cynical Girl" and excellent covers of "Rave On" and "Solder of Love" needs to be recognized. Power-pop at its best. urlLink Uncle Tupelo: No Depression My recent reading of the Wilco biography, "Learning How To Die," has got me more interested in Jeff Tweedy's salad days with this twangy midwestern band of misfits.
"No Depression" is the band's debut, and is a lot louder and rowdier than I expected. Which is good. The opening "Graveyard Shift" contains some of the most infectious guitar riffs I've heard in a long time. urlLink Peter Gabriel: Security I've been a PG fan since the early eighties, after being introduced to his music by my former step-uncle. His first four albums are all masterpieces, in my opinion, and his later forays into world music sorta left me cold. "Security" is album number four (the first three were all simply titled "Peter Gabriel," oddly enough) and while it does show a slight shift into exotic rhythms, with songs like "Rhythm of the Heat" and "San Jacinto," Gabriel's neo-prog madman persona is still alive and well.
Gabriel's entire catalog was the subject of a nice reissue program about two years ago, and this is the last of the first four albums that I've finally upgraded from vinyl. urlLink Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency! I've decided to go back to my junior high school roots and revisit jazz fusion. My first taste of this particular type of music took place during an early drum lesson when one of my teachers broke out "Spectrum" by Billy Cobham and I promptly found out that 4/4 time signatures are not an absolute.
Williams is a drummer I've heard a lot about, but never really heard anything from. This landmark fusion album consists of drums, organ and guitar and borrows heavily from Miles Davis' concept of turning jazz on its ear. Recommended for people who like their music loud and distorted but still swinging. urlLink Chick Corea: Now He Sings, Now He Sobs Corea has explored many different areas of jazz and jazz-fusion, but this 1968 album -- his first real "solo" album -- is bare-bones jazz improv at its finest. Some of the best jazz piano you'll ever hear. urlLink Bach: St. Matthew Passion Okay, here's where I start to get snooty.
I'm not an expert on this piece, but I've heard that McCreesh's version is one of the best around. My experience with Bach's choral works doesn't extend much beyond "Mass in B-Minor" (unless you include the Hilliard Ensemble's gorgeous urlLink "Morimur," which you should buy immediately), but "St. Matthew Passion" is a good place to resume my curiousity. urlLink Wilbert Hazelzet: Bach Hazelzet takes Bach's cello suites and plays them on the flute, along with some flute sonatas, making for a truly relaxing, beautiful disc.
I took a three-hour nap Saturday afternoon after listening to this. urlLink Vivaldi: Concerti per Archi Vivaldi is sort of my classical guilty pleasure. I like a lot of modern, dissonant classical works, in addition to some of the old "greats" like Bach and Beethoven, and Vivaldi's music tends to all sound the same, but if you're in the mood for some relatively harmless classical music, Vivaldi always fits the bill. This particular recording received a highly favorable review in the latest issue of Gramaphone magazine, and they always seem to know what they're talking about. 
