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REM "E-Bow the Letter" (promo)
Sadly, I don't have New Adventures in HiFi, but I've always loved this song. And Thom Yorke with REM on this song at the Tibetan Freedom Concert made it that much better for me.
REM "Eponymous"
I got money. I really like the older staples like Fall on Me, One I Love, End of the World. Great stuff, before they started to try too hard to be different.
REM "Monster"
Pretty good, but I like their earlier stuff better... when I get money I'm gonna get Epymonous.
REM "Reckoning"
I was told it was their best album ever, and from what I've heard (it's hard to know all 15 albums or so!), I'd have to agree. I have 7 Chinese Bros. in my head quite a bit...
Radio 4 "Gotham!" (EU import)
Guitar rock with a gritty, dirty side. The first cd I've seen to have rounded corners on the jewel case, too, as anh interesting side note...
Radiohead "Airbag / How Am I Driving? EP"
I bought this at a midnight sale the night it came out, and all the giddiness was justified. It's the missing pieces to OK Computer, a perfect compliment to the masterpiece on the computer age. Very good tracks, I wholeheartedly recommend.
Radiohead "Amnesiac"
Unfortunately, this album was a bit schitzophrenic, and Pyramid Song was the highest it ever got. "Kid A" was a valiant experiment, but "Amnesiac" is pretty much the same damn thing over again. I mean, it's pleasant, even fun at points ('I Could Be Wrong'), but it's no "The Bends". Nt even close.
Radiohead "Itch EP" (Japanese import)
A friend of mine brought this back from Japan, and it made me love the Pablo Honey songs all over again. same songs, different delivery.
Radiohead "Kid A" (ltd ed)
I was as excited for this as the rest of the world. It's definitely an arthouse release, and quite possibly a dinner party cd. My favourite on here is 'The National Anthem', closely followed by 'How to Disappear Completely'. My, how Radiohead have grown.
Radiohead "My Iron Lung" (Australian-only 8 track EP)
All of the best b-sides together on one disc (well, excluding Maquiladora, Killer Cars, and How can You Be Sure?). The Trickster should've been on an album. I end up drumming that rhythm everywhere I go, especially on the steering wheel, which makes for careless driving. Blame ray-ja-head, officer.
Radiohead "OK Computer"
First heard on an overseas flight, 9 months later, I finally buy it. Bloody wonderful stuff.
Radiohead "Pablo Honey"
I was going to buy OK Computer when my roommate decided she was going to get it. So instead of having two of the same cd, I got this to finish off the set. And boy am I happy. Start shouting.
Radiohead "Pyramid Song" cd2 (UK import)
So fun to allow myself to listen to this Radiohead song before the album release. I don't like to taint myself with mp3s before Radiohead releases, but I figured this was acceptable. And 'Kinetic' isn't a half-bad b-side, either.
Radiohead "The Bends"
Fake Plastic Trees has grace. Just has an incredible video. Bones has heart. Street Spirit (Fade Out) has all three. "I used to fly like Peter Pan."
Radiohead "b-sides" (homemade)
Instead of me spending an absolute fortune trying to collect all their import singles and tour eps, I made me a quick and dirty b-sides compilation. HM
Rammstein "Mutter 4-Song Sampler" (promo)
I haven't decided whether I like them yet, but the promo was free, and I've got nothing against German industrial music since it's actually original and NOT nu-metal. So I grabbed it, and it's not too bad.
Rapper's Delight (UK promo)
2 cds of all the really good old-school rap songs. You know, before they got crazed with the bling-bling jawn. Such a gem, and perfect for pretending you have cred at parties.
Raveonettes "Whip It On" (US)
Sune and Sharin are two of the most beautiful people I've seen on stage. It's their natural habitat, and yet I can't help but wonder why they haven't done anything more original. This mini-album shows promise, but yet to listen to their latest album you wonder why they haven't progressed. They may be getting more attention these days, but if the music goes nowhere, they're not likely to much longer, either. Such a waste of a pretty face.
Red Hot + Bothered (promo)
the best choons on here are Folk Implosion and Future Bible Heros. I think its sale benefitted AIDS or something, but I got it free.
Reef "Place Your Hands" (promo)
Liked this song for quite some time, and I had the opportunity to pick it up for free. And that meant I got to replace the mp3 I've had for an eternity.
Regal Records & Kentra Tour (UK promo)
Got this tour cd in the post, and it has songs from Brothers in Sound and the Beta Band DJs.
Reindeer Section "Son of Evil Reindeer" (UK Import)
The indie supergroup returns! But somehow having members of Mogwai, Idlewild, and Snw Patrol don't even out the twee-ness of it all. I want it to be so much better than it is...
Relaxed Muscle "A Heavy Night With..." (UK promo)
Or, as everyone else is thinking, "File under odd Pulp goth side project". And just like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, I like the idea of Relaxed Muscle more than the actual product. Whether they'll last as long as BJM *cough* is debatable.
Remy Zero "The Golden Hum"
I'd waited for this for ages after hearing their new stuff on tour, and I was impressed by this solid album. Of course the radio hit is 'Save Me', but I enjoy 'Out/In' and 'Smile' so much more. If only people would go buy the album and hear the best bits!
Remy Zero "Villa Elaine" (EU import)
Saw them open for Travis twice, and bought the album in between. Very good, solid, American indie.
Richard X "His X-Factor Vol No One" (UK import)
Though "His X Factor Vol. No. One" is only his debut, Richard X is already a seasoned veteran of expert singles. He created last summer's Sugababes hit "Freak Like Me" (which I voted my #1 single in the 2002 poll and still sounds as amazing as it did the first time you heard it), and this winter lent his helping hand to Liberty X for their "Being Nobody" single. This in mind, I knew there wasn't much chance of my not completely adoring the album, and you know what? I love it when I'm right. What I didn't expect, though, was for him to top the previous singles with the new album tracks. Tiga's "You (Better Let Me Love You x4) Tonight" jumps at the chance to mock every dance cliché overrepresented in the last few years - the audacious drum box, the spoken chorus, and best yet - a tongue-in-Timberlake's-cheek "Drums!" shout. On the other end of Mister X's varied spectrum lies "Into You", which revives the old Mazzy Star indie staple "Fade Into You" with an updated drum loop, and the best lyrical offering from Jarvis Cocker since "This Is Hardcore". It simultaneously changes the tone of the album from one of carefree dirty dance to a highbrow modern classic, and its placement as the penultimate track ensures you listen the whole way to the end every single time. Remarkably, "His X-Factor..." ups the ante for every electronic album hereafter, and thumbs its nose at the staunchest bootleg critic in the process. So there you have the sound of my summer, and perhaps soon, to yours. I've listened to other albums in the past few months, and undoubtedly there will be more to grace my stereo before September draws to a close, but these four have defined my summer 2003 in a way far removed from the usual summer fare. Anyone can adopt a steel drum and sing a beach tune, but it takes a bit more from the Class Of 2003 to make a truly Great Summer Album.
Rock Of Travolta "Uluru" (UK import)
The name says "Rock" but the sound says "complexity". It's a sound you mull over, like a fine Tool album, listen to again and again, like a catchy pop record, and ultimately grant premium shelfspace for, like those rare limited edition 7"s you lusted after. The finer things in life come together here.
Rough Trade "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before..." (UK promo)
In honor of the label's 25th birthday, they arranged for new Rough Trade signings to cover some classic RT tunes. So you get fantastic people like The Hidden Cameras, Belle & Sebastian, Jeffrey Lewis and Adam Green covering the likes of Galaxie 500, Mazzy Star, The Fall, and Scritti Politti. Hell, the *only* thing wrong with this compilation is that The Strokes appear twice.
Royksopp "Melody A.M."
I was turned on to this after its high position of PlayLouder's 2001 poll, and it just sounded so fresh to me when I heard it. It's as if Mike and Rich were playing James Bond in a Nordic school play. But even that doesn't do it justice. And 'Poor Leno' and 'Royksopp's Night Out' have been stuck in my head. Which is no mean feat for an instrumental track (the latter).