By way of a New Year's Resolution, a friend of mine pledged to read four books per month throughout the coming year. Another has set himself the lofty goal of watching 365 films in 365 days - as I type, they are both still on track. I knew that I wouldn't have a hope in hell of getting anywhere near either of those targets, so I went for something much more within my limited grasp, namely to listen to as many albums, in full, as possible in 2019.
So at the beginning of January I started to keep a list of every album I played from beginning to end. The format is immaterial, LP, CD or Download, as long as the album in question is played in its entirety. If I skip tracks, cherry pick the odd tune or give up part way through, it doesn't go on the list. My aim, as often as possible, is to treat the album as a body of work, old school stylee.
I realise that this is a purely self-indulgent endeavour and unlikely to be of the slightest interest to anyone else, but since I'm jotting them down, I thought I'd share the stats month by month anyway. So here's a list, in order, of the 37 albums I played in full in January, with a track from one of 'em at the end - a tune from The Stroppies' self-titled debut. Expect these guys to show up again when their new LP arrives at Swede Towers in March. (If you're reading this Brian and you're not already aware of them, I reckon they might be right up your street).
CB3 - From Nothing to Eternity (2018) LP
John McLaughlin - Devotion (1970) LP
Julian Cope - Rite (1993) CD
Sandman Project - Royal Family (2018) LP
Matching Mole - 1st (1972) LP
Ian Carr - Belladonna (1972) LP
VED - Omikron (2016) LP
Sista Maj - Localized Pockets of Negative Entropy (2018) LP
Thomasz Stanko Quintet - Purple Sun (1973) DL
Isotope - Illusion (1974) LP
Alasdair Roberts etc - Au Cube (2018) LP
Isotope - Deep End (1975) LP
Soft Machine - 1st (1968) LP
Soft Machine - 2nd (1969) LP
Fanatism - The Future Past (2018) LP
Alexander 'Skip' Spence - Oar (1969) CD
The Stroppies - s/t (2017) DL
The Janitors - Fuzz Club Session (2019) LP
Elvin Jones - Genesis (1971) DL
Ian Carr's Nucleus - Roots (1973) LP
The Janitors - Horn Ur Marken (2016) LP
Elvin Jones - New Agenda (1975) DL
Richard Youngs - Dissident (2019) LP
John Cale & Terry Riley - Church of Anthrax (1970) LP
Kungens Män - Dag & Natt (2017) LP
National Health - s/t (1978) LP
Ultimate Painting - Up! (2018) DL
dbh - Time Flies (2013) LP
Defunkt - s/t (1980) LP
Dr John - Gris-Gris (1968) LP
Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? (2019) DL
Herbie Hancock - Kantonschule (1972) DL
Prince Far-I - Showcase in a Suitcase (1980) LP
Träden - s/t (2018) DL
Soft Machine - Alive & Well (1978) LP
Elvin Jones - Mr Jones (1973) LP
Edgar Froese - Aqua (1974) DL
John McLaughlin - Devotion (1970) LP
Julian Cope - Rite (1993) CD
Sandman Project - Royal Family (2018) LP
Matching Mole - 1st (1972) LP
Ian Carr - Belladonna (1972) LP
VED - Omikron (2016) LP
Sista Maj - Localized Pockets of Negative Entropy (2018) LP
Thomasz Stanko Quintet - Purple Sun (1973) DL
Isotope - Illusion (1974) LP
Alasdair Roberts etc - Au Cube (2018) LP
Isotope - Deep End (1975) LP
Soft Machine - 1st (1968) LP
Soft Machine - 2nd (1969) LP
Fanatism - The Future Past (2018) LP
Alexander 'Skip' Spence - Oar (1969) CD
The Stroppies - s/t (2017) DL
The Janitors - Fuzz Club Session (2019) LP
Elvin Jones - Genesis (1971) DL
Ian Carr's Nucleus - Roots (1973) LP
The Janitors - Horn Ur Marken (2016) LP
Elvin Jones - New Agenda (1975) DL
Richard Youngs - Dissident (2019) LP
John Cale & Terry Riley - Church of Anthrax (1970) LP
Kungens Män - Dag & Natt (2017) LP
National Health - s/t (1978) LP
Ultimate Painting - Up! (2018) DL
dbh - Time Flies (2013) LP
Defunkt - s/t (1980) LP
Dr John - Gris-Gris (1968) LP
Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? (2019) DL
Herbie Hancock - Kantonschule (1972) DL
Prince Far-I - Showcase in a Suitcase (1980) LP
Träden - s/t (2018) DL
Soft Machine - Alive & Well (1978) LP
Elvin Jones - Mr Jones (1973) LP
Edgar Froese - Aqua (1974) DL
.jpg)
16 comments:
I have never listened to any of these Swede and the only one I have anything by is Julian Cope
I think Ian Carr may play guitar with Kris Drever?
Top list though
Spend your days listening to records, who could not like that? A distressing absence of Carl and Pearl Butler albums on your list, though.
That's a different Ian Carr CC. The jazz man died in 2009 and I never did get to see him, but I've seen the 'folky' Ian Carr playing with both Karen Tweed and Kathryn Tickell over the years.
Unfortunately I don't spend all my days listening to records George, rather I do it in fits and starts where the time allows. In fact I wish now that I'd also noted what I've listened to and when. Days go by where I only get a chance to play the odd song here and there, then when the opportunity arises (as in my long train journeys last week), I make the most of it. Checking out Carl and Pearl on YouTube as I type - marvellous.
An impressive list and I haven't heard of half of them (except perhaps on these pages!) Will be interesting to see your final count come December 31st! I adore the illustration by the way - it's just perfect. Do you have any info on whose work it is and/or what it was for originally?
The illustration is great isn't it C? I nicked it off t'internet a couple of years back, I forget where from exactly, but I knew it'd come in handy one day!
I have a feeling that there may be one or two people reading this who have a wall in their house just like it!
I wish I did!
Ian Carr worked with a hero of mine on a few albums in the 70s - Dick Morrisey.
If you're paying full whack for all these albums I fear for your finances!
I once saw Morrissey–Mullen live in Southend back in the 1980s - is that the same Dick Morrissey? There are a few recent purchases scattered through the month, but the majority are established members of the family, pulled from the shelves...or from a hard drive.
Man, Swede, you have done it again. You continue to find great indie pop from Australia. I like this idea of yours. Let us in on your list every once in a while so we can see how you're doing.
All being well I'll update every month Brian. Overtime at work has fallen through the floor for the time being, so I have extra listening time on my hands.
Yes, the same Dick Morrissey.
Finances aside, a laudable project for 2019. For what it's worth, I'm doing the same with podcasts. As much as I enjoy putting playlists together, I love the spoken word, so I'm filling a lot of my downtime (including train journeys) listening to podcasts old and new. And reading; so much reading to catch up on.
Reading (and writing come to that) has fallen off a cliff for me in the last 18 months or so. Far too much other stuff going on in my head to concentrate properly for any period of time. Must try harder.
I look forward to reading this monthly catalogue, because such things are right up my street.
I am of course wondering which of the artists / albums above you just made up to test if we were paying attention. I have a few guesses...
They're all genuine Rol, but that's a great idea for a few months down the line.
Post a Comment