New Album Acquisition Thread #17A-JSX3.5

[died_trying]

that boris rainbow cover is real purty.

[davy]

PIG DESTROYER phantom limb

[novaheat]

that boris rainbow cover is real purty.

Yeah. It's printed on really nice quality paper, too. Nice packaging, overall.

[edison]

Sweet! I ordered this about a month ago, and there it was in my mailbox today:


Loren Connors - Night Through: Singles And Collected Works 1976-2004

Probably in the mailbox before the end of the week, because it's just not cool not to own a hard copy of one of your two or three favorite records of the year:


The National - Boxer

Finally, I also pre-ordered the hell out of this:


The New Pornographers - Challengers (Executive Edition)

Apart from, y'know, receiving the record on release date, you can hear the record as soon as you've preordered + you get a shitload of extras (outtakes, live stuff, video, etc.) over the summer months. This is a pretty great deal.
The album itself is excellent. I was initially surprised that although I'm quite the Carl Newman fanboy, my favorites on Challengers are two of the Bejar songs, but I then realized that's also the case on The Electric Version ("Testament To Youth In Verse", "Ballad Of A Comeback Kid"). Best summer band ever.

[Good Intentions]

PIG DESTROYER phantom limb

[alex]

Finally, I also pre-ordered the hell out of this:

The New Pornographers - Challengers (Executive Edition)

Apart from, y'know, receiving the record on release date, you can hear the record as soon as you've preordered

That's... weird. Or perhaps it makes sense, and I'm weird. Either way, if I (pre-)order an album before having heard it, it's because I want to hear it for the first time with the actual physical copy in hand, so I wouldn't want to listen to mp3s first if I've already paid for it. If I want to listen to an album before having the actual physical copy, it's because I want to make sure in advance that it's worth spending money on, so I wouldn't do this anymore once I've already made up my mind about paying for it.

Anyway, congratulations on the Loren Connors box set purchase.

Me, I attempted to order Chi Vampires by Birchville Cat Model from Aquarius last night. I expect an e-mail telling me "sorry, we're out of stock" any minute now, as that's how all of my attempts at ordering from Aquarius seem to end.

[thedeadChris]

hmm, Chi Vampires was probably the easiest BCM to get hold of for ages... even though it was supposed to be a tour cd? anyway. if AQ falls through, try here:
http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/artists/birchville+cat+motel.html

but don't order the Nadja Archive release cos I'm waiting until pay day to do that myself

[edison]

Finally, I also pre-ordered the hell out of this:

The New Pornographers - Challengers (Executive Edition)

Apart from, y'know, receiving the record on release date, you can hear the record as soon as you've preordered

That's... weird. Or perhaps it makes sense, and I'm weird. Either way, if I (pre-)order an album before having heard it, it's because I want to hear it for the first time with the actual physical copy in hand, so I wouldn't want to listen to mp3s first if I've already paid for it. If I want to listen to an album before having the actual physical copy, it's because I want to make sure in advance that it's worth spending money on, so I wouldn't do this anymore once I've already made up my mind about paying for it.

I can see your general point and kind of agree with it in principle, but:
1- I would have pre-ordered or bought it anyway, because it's the New Pornographers, and I'm not sick enough to pass on a New Pornographers record (I still don't have an official copy of The Electric Version, but don't tell anyone)
2- The record is only coming out in more than two months, so it satisfies people like me who would have been too weak to wait if they read about it all over the Internet during the whole summer. When you pre-order, you actually get a code for a stream of the album (of course, some random dude converted it into MP3, and I grabbed that because it's more convenient). If you want to wait until you receive the album, nothing's stopping you! and it'll be the same as a regular pre-order, except for the extras listed http://www.buyearlygetnow.com/promo.php here.
3- If any of those outtakes are nearly as good as "Graceland" - a song that they left out from Electric Version because they felt it didn't fit but which is among my 3 or 4 favorite NP songs, the whole thing will be more than totally worth it (and it's really not shockingly expensive in the first place)

Good luck with Aquarius!

[edison]

(I do realize my point 1 pretty much contradicts what you just said, but perhaps 2 and 3 - and the link - make a more compelling case)

(and since sometimes you have to utter platitudes I'll go ahead and say that of course all of this is not ideal and I wish leaks didn't exist and albums could come out less than 6 months after they were finished)

[alex]

Thanks for that link, Chris. I might be doing that if things don't work out with the AQ order, indeed.

edison: yeah yeah I didn't mean to rip on the use of the pre-order itself - all of those bonus things seem like a nice touch 'n all, I was just talking about the excitement of listening to the actual album for the first time vs. listening to an online stream and about how, once I have established that I'll buy an album in any case, I wouldn't want to ruin that excitement by listening to the stream or mp3s first. On that point, you are indeed in direct contradiction with me. Which is fair enough, of course, it only means that I'm a patient person and you are not. Just kidding, of course.

Also, you sound like a New Pornographers salesperson there! For the record, me pre-ordering the thing is completely out of the question, as my own personal somewhat silly mailorder policy would ban me from making any new music purchases between me pre-ordering the album and me having received it in the mail and given it three thorough listens. While this would sure save me some money, it simply is not an option. So, use your marketing skills on someone else!

[alex]

also, they fucking registered the domain name buyearlygetnow.com for this stuff? Matador is basically dead to me, now.

[alistarr*]

PAY NOTHING UNTIL 2008!!

[edison]

edison: yeah yeah I didn't mean to rip on the use of the pre-order itself - all of those bonus things seem like a nice touch 'n all, I was just talking about the excitement of listening to the actual album for the first time vs. listening to an online stream and about how, once I have established that I'll buy an album in any case, I wouldn't want to ruin that excitement by listening to the stream or mp3s first. On that point, you are indeed in direct contradiction with me. Which is fair enough, of course, it only means that I'm a patient person and you are not. Just kidding, of course.

Also, you sound like a New Pornographers salesperson there! For the record, me pre-ordering the thing is completely out of the question, as my own personal somewhat silly mailorder policy would ban me from making any new music purchases between me pre-ordering the album and me having received it in the mail and given it three thorough listens. While this would sure save me some money, it simply is not an option. So, use your marketing skills on someone else!

Marketing "skills"? Are you crazy? Nah, I must have sounded like a NP salesperson because you sounded so completely against the whole thing, and I had to push what I felt were the positive aspects more than I would have normally done. Also, well, I'm excited about the record and all the bonus stuff! But of course I didn't expect you to pre-order. (But your aside joke on the difference between the two of us being patience is actually pretty close to the point, because we both agree in theory - the thing is, I can't wait, you can. For the moment, at least, as I think I'm going to start to try and refrain from listening to leaks at some point in the near future, because they are of course less exciting)

Also, I do get your reservations (and the hatred of the marketing campaign name, which also made me cringe quite a bit), but overall I still think it's a fair way for them to get a number people who'd only have downloaded the record to actually buy it. I'd be shocked if they were ripping people off, or releasing bad music, but they obviously aren't. I'm guess I'm more of a centrist than you are anyway

In related news, I have to inform you that you should also hate on most of America's coolest record stores, including Other Music, who are participating in this + bands like Yo La Tengo and Pavement, who have already done similar stuff with their latest records. Another day full of dread!

[alex]

In related news, I have to inform you that you should also hate on most of America's coolest record stores, including Other Music, who are participating in this + bands like Yo La Tengo and Pavement, who have already done similar stuff with their latest records. Another day full of dread!

It's cool, I have a lot of hatred for our culture of instant satisfaction in me, I can cover them all!

For the record, I was not so much saying that it's not fair for them to be looking for new ways to get people who'd otherwise not buy the album to reconsider, I was saying that I find their strategy a little off-putting for people like me, who'd like to pretend they can spend all their money on music-related purchases and nonetheless somehow miraculously avoid supporting a music industry. And that, if they were just a little bit more sensitive to such sensibilities of fragile died-in-the-wool indie kids and did the whole thing on a normal matador subpage instead of setting up that ridicilous domain name, it wouldn't be quite as alienating.

I really, really did not mean to diminish your excitement, though. I am sorry.

[edison]

In related news, I have to inform you that you should also hate on most of America's coolest record stores, including Other Music, who are participating in this + bands like Yo La Tengo and Pavement, who have already done similar stuff with their latest records. Another day full of dread!

It's cool, I have a lot of hatred for our culture of instant satisfaction in me, I can cover them all!

For the record, I was not so much saying that it's not fair for them to be looking for new ways to get people who'd otherwise not buy the album to reconsider, I was saying that I find their strategy a little off-putting for people like me, who'd like to pretend they can spend all their money on music-related purchases and nonetheless somehow miraculously avoid supporting a music industry. And that, if they were just a little bit more sensitive to such sensibilities of fragile died-in-the-wool indie kids and did the whole thing on a normal matador subpage instead of setting up that ridicilous domain name, it wouldn't be quite as alienating.

I really, really did not mean to diminish your excitement, though. I am sorry.

Haha, point taken. And excitement not too diminished, don't worry!

[Andrew_TSKS]

I was saying that I find their strategy a little off-putting for people like me, who'd like to pretend they can spend all their money on music-related purchases and nonetheless somehow miraculously avoid supporting a music industry.

but you can't, and i'm assuming you know that since you used the word "pretend", so why not just get it all outfront so that all of us are reminded as often as possible just how ugly and disgusting capitalism truly is? as calvin's dad always said, "it builds character."

[girl]

So, we could call this story "Chris is hopelessly out of touch with popular culture".  I bought a new sweater at Nordstrom today, and my salesperson (& co-worker) gave me some free stuff with it.  I got a cute tote bag, a bracelet and some charms, and two cds--Jem--Finally Woken and Gavin DeGraw--Chariot.  I've never heard of either of these people.  Apparently Rolling Stone, Fox News and People Magazine all think very highly of Gavin DeGraw, also he's been featured on One Tree Hill.  Judging a book by its cover, I wouldn't give either of these a second look, but does anyone know if it's worth my time to open the shrink wrap on them?

[davy]

PAY NOTHING UNTIL 2008!!

when any of you bitches gets ready to buy a living room suite, i can get you no payments and no interest for 20 months.

sayin'.

here's my card.

[dormiens vigila]

I bought a LOT of albums this month, but I'd say the highlight would be Hissing Fauna, Are Your the Destroyer? by Of Montreal.  Not gonna lie... I've had it since before it came out in mp3 form, but I finally bought it.  Buying an album is better in my opinion, not just because of sound quality and ethical issues, but because there is something more real about my relationship to an album I love if I have it physically there in front of me and can read the liner notes in depth and all of that.  But I'm a child of my generation in that sense, so I'm sure there are some who wouldn't agree (although not pirating seems to be kind of the pervailing LPTJ ethic).

So, we could call this story "Chris is hopelessly out of touch with popular culture".  I bought a new sweater at Nordstrom today, and my salesperson (& co-worker) gave me some free stuff with it.  I got a cute tote bag, a bracelet and some charms, and two cds--Jem--Finally Woken and Gavin DeGraw--Chariot.  I've never heard of either of these people.  Apparently Rolling Stone, Fox News and People Magazine all think very highly of Gavin DeGraw, also he's been featured on One Tree Hill.  Judging a book by its cover, I wouldn't give either of these a second look, but does anyone know if it's worth my time to open the shrink wrap on them?

I know nothing about Mr. DeGraw but that he appears to be well known.  I could swear I heard Jem a while back and thought it was one of those things that was not really horrible, but you'd never really want to buy.  I can't remember too well.

[icelander]

I have listened to them all once and, as it is, I am very happy with this little celebration on payday. Plus, I got them all for really cheap.

[WhereTheSlimeLive]

i got this earlier in the week

[davy]

GORGOROTH pentagram  /  DARKTHRONE transilvanian hunger

(i just read the allmusic review of the latter, and it's one of the most damning criticisms i've ever read on that site: "it's an unpleasant dentist-drill experience that only the unholiest of unholies will pretend to enjoy."

ouch!

[Good Intentions]

The only good allmusic reviews I've read have been by our own Mr N Raggett. At times I wonder if those guys are for real.

Also: Transilvanian Hunger is awesome.

[WhereTheSlimeLive]

Yah, it really is worth your purchase do not fret.

[davy]

Yah, it really is worth your purchase do not fret.

it's worth it for the title track alone.

"transilvanian hunger", to me, is pretty much THE definitive black metal song.

that chord progression with that blastbeat behind it, and then the vocals...i just can't imagine something being blacker.