The More Successful Band Should Get to Keep the Name

Oxford Valley Mall. Shopping with Kim.

New releases. The London Suede.

Is that Suede?

It was.

The first time I saw a "UK." A "London." Added to a band's name. To distinguish it from another. Of the same name. American bands.

I assume American.

They were still Suede to me. Still are.

I don't know how long labels had been doing this. I know it continues.

I was hesitant to buy the EP in question. I wanted to be positive I was purchasing the band I liked. The Nude on the back. Confirmed.

"The London" or not. This is my favorite Suede release.

Suede - Stay Together. The Wall. New.

Whatever You Call Them, Shoegaze or Not, They Are Under-Appreciated

I had heard of them. Never heard them.

T-shirts in Thrasher. For sale.

Through their appearance at Lollapalooza. The first or second.

I wasn't there. I knew they played.

Then. In Dallas. World Cup. 1994.

I decided to give them a listen.

Prompted by Dallas radio. There was a single. Played between The Offspring. And Blur.

I didn't buy an album there. Strange. Considering I bought others.

Th' Faith Healers. Swirlies. Sunny Day Real Estate.

It took the return home.

A trip to the Newtown Book and Record Exchange.

Helped by Jess. My neighbor. A classmate. A friend.

I always wanted her job in high school.

Lush - Split. Newtown Book and Record Exchange. New.

We Weren't Above Picking Through Their Trash

Positively Records. The Newtown Book and Record Exchange. Rainbow Records. Spinster Records.

We would spend a lot of time. And money. In the record stores of our suburban world.

Our world. Suburban Philadelphia. Bucks County.

Mostly with Mike. Or Chad. Sometimes Colin.

All of them. Still interested in music. New music. More than a lot of our friends. Our shared friends.

Occasionally. A lucky day. The stores would have a "free" box.

Never filled with music. Always filled with promotional material.

Posters. Stickers. Banners.

Perfect for my teenage room.

A sampling of posters. SST and Cruz Records stickers. All over my room. Mirrors. Light switches. Random items. Bands. Labels. Some things I had only marginal interest in.

They were free. I did not discriminate.

A Sub Pop poster. An illustration. Teal. A shade of yellow. White. Various bands. The new releases.

The Spinanes. Sunny Day Real Estate. 5ive Style. Definite.

Red Red Meat. Six Finger Satellite. Maybe.

The poster made it's way to Syracuse University. A lot of the promotional items did.

Most never made it back.

Traded away. Given away. Thrown away.

Five Style - Miniature Portraits. AKA. Bargain bin.

Of Course You've Heard It in a Beer Commercial

Sometimes it felt. As though.

And to me. At least.

And always in good fun.

Myself. Bobb. Were in a race. An unspoken race.

A race to post.

"Newly-hyped British band X."

"Newly-hyped European band Y."

To Bobb. 120 Days. Working for a Nuclear Free City. Mando Diao.

To me. The Kooks. Guillemots.

The Kooks - Konk. Best Buy. New.

Greatest Hits Do Not Count and Neither Does Bona Drag

Favorite album by The Smiths. That was the question.

The Smiths. Strangeways. The Queen is Dead. Meat is Murder.

Four choices.

Someone responded. Hatful of Hollow.

It can't be. It isn't an album. There was a debate.

I stand by my opinion.

A greatest hits. Technically. No. The concept is the same.

I am not opposed to greatest hit packages. Or. Collected works. Rarities. B-sides. But these aren't albums.

Greatest hit releases. Perfect for the casual fan.

For me. That means. Styx. Journey. Bruce Springsteen. Elvis. David Bowie.

Even then. They don't allow for a complete picture. Of an artist. Of a band.

They can open doors. Can be a good starting point.

Though. I'd rather have the best album. Over a greatest hits. A better starting point.

Greatest hits. Collected works. Rarities. B-sides. Serve a second purpose. Completion.

I may own every album. Most. If not all. Singles. Of a band. An artist.

And I will buy the greatest hits release. I will buy the collected B-sides.

I will double up. Triple up. On many tracks.

I don't expect people to understand. They may even think I'm wasting money. It makes sense to me.

I want the entire body of work. Regardless of. If the release contains any new material. Or not.

The Smiths. New Order. Happy Mondays. Stone Roses. Morrissey. Suede. Oasis. Blur. The Cure. Depeche Mode. Erasure. Pet Shop Boys. Ian Brown. Joy Division. All fall into this category.

I will buy the same songs over. And over.

This can be a greatest hits. A collected works. B-sides. Rarities. As long as it is a distinct. And separate release.

Embrace - Fireworks (Singles 1997 - 2002). eBay. Used.

Explanation Embrace

My brother made a request.

I honor requests.

The request. More Embrace.

I loaned him This New Day when it came out.

Months ago. Many months.

He ripped it. Listened to it.

Now he's looking for more.

A sampling. That's what he is getting.

A sampling. Meaning. What I own.

Embrace - Come Back to What You Know (Single 2). eBay. Used.

That Should Have Been Their Free Show at The Garden

They could have been. Should have been.

The undisputed kings. Of mom-friendly British rock.

They missed their window. Only a few years.

Snatched away.

Chris Martin and Co.

Embrace - Drawn From Memory. New York purchase. Jewel case lost.

It's Not the Most Embarrassing Thing I've Had in My Collection ("Honey to the B" Anyone?)

"I wonder how the new Ashlee Simpson is."

"I hear it's bad."

A few days pass.

"I downloaded some songs. It is bad."

A week. Or two. Passes.

"It's only four dollars. Should I buy it?"

Another week. Or two.

"You know there is a Santogold song on there?"

"Really?"

"Yes. Santi White."

"Maybe I'll give it a listen."

Listened. And enjoyed. Most of it.

Ashlee Simpson - Bittersweet World. AKA. Used. Cathy purchase.

Acquiring the Recorded Output of J. Spaceman and Sonic Boom Is Not Cheap

Many posts ago. A month. Or two. Or three.

I mentioned my dislike of Spectrum. In what context. I can't remember.

It has always been more disinterest. Than dislike.

Based on prior ownership of Forever Alien.

As stated in the post. I was willing to reanalyze my position. Some time had passed. Since my last listen. And selling of the disc. On eBay.

Within days. I found a used copy at AKA.

Things were meant to be.

I enjoyed them more. This time around.

It made me wonder. Had I confused them with E.A.R.?

Was my disinterest with E.A.R.?

I have only owned one E.A.R. release. Because Kevin Shields appeared on it.

That's the same reason I own an album by The Beat Up.

And the Fear Satan Remixes. (Mogwai.)

So. I've come to terms with Spectrum. A favorite. No. A lot better than I remembered. Yes.

Which brings me back to E.A.R.

Standing in AKA yesterday. Discounted discs. Best of Jesus Jones. Double disc. In my hand. I see an E.A.R. import. Perhaps the time to re-evaluate.

Eighteen dollars. Two songs. Perhaps not. Going forward. I'll be looking.

I put Jesus Jones back.

And raided the bargain bin.

Spectrum - Forever Alien. AKA. Used.

He Introduced Me to a Number of Bands, Most of Them on Thrill Jockey, One of Them Being Rollerskate Skinny

I like to think I heard Sean talking about a new band. Endeavor.

While standing on the street. In a tank top. And shorts.

Outside of a Frail/Chokehold. House Show.

In Philadelphia. On Rodman Street. I'm pretty sure Rodman.

It was quickly shut down.

That's not true. The show is. The tank top is. The story isn't

The real story. Manages to be less interesting.

I believe Sean mentioned them on the SXE-L. A new band he liked. A new hardcore band.

That was the first I had heard of them.

Endeavor - Don't Die With Your Eyes Closed. Trustkill.com. On sale.