Saturday was Record Store Day 2016, which saw local vinyl shops filled with limited new releases. I went a little nuts, and this is a fairly quick take on what I bought. Thanks to Turntable Lab for making the process painless, and to Dan Budiac for keeping me company in line.
#1 – Lush / Origami
Beautifully packaged, beautifully mastered, and the download codes contain a ton of demos and unreleased tracks. Glad I splurged on this.
#2 – The White Stripes / The Complete John Peel Sessions
Didn’t even know this was getting released. Missed how raw TWS could sound.
#3 – Clint Mansell feat. Kronos Quartet / Requiem For A Dream
One of the greatest all time soundtracks, with new material and gorgeous packaging.
#4 – The Go! Team / Thunder, Lightning, Strike
Has been on my favorite albums list for a while. This would be higher if it wasn’t for the nitpicky issue of this being the other version of T,L,S. (There’s this weird thing where there’s two very similar versions of the same album with some differences in the vocals and samples, and I’m used to the other one.)
#5 – J Dilla / The Diary
Didn’t realize this was going to be a vocal album. Digging what I’ve heard so far but I need more time with it.
#6 – Air / Casanova 70
Not normally crazy for splatter designs, but it looks nice in person and it’s a reissue of a classic Air track.
#7 – CHVRCHES / Every Open Eye (The Remixes)
Haven’t spent much time with this, but liked what I heard. Annoyed the download code doesn’t work (yet), and doesn’t have a fully design sleeve.
#8 – Junior Kimbrough + Daft Punk / I Gotta Try You Girl (Daft Punk Edit)
Not what I would’ve expected out of a Daft Punk remix/edit, but a solid 15 minute reworking of a soul classic. Nice etching on the B side.
#9 – If Music Presents You Need This: Eastern European Sounds (1970-1986)
Some interesting exotic tracks, but Alojz Bouda’s “Random (Naslepo)” was one of those songs you drop the needle on and immediately rip it back off the vinyl.
#10 – Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force / Planet Rock (Remixes)
A little underwhelmed with what I heard of the remixes. But one of those classic songs that felt mandatory.
#11 – VA / Disney’s Favorite Songs
Was hoping this would be more than just a by-the-book compilation of well known Disney songs. Dig the cover art, though.
#12 – Hello Kitty / Hello World
It’s telling that no one submitted this into Discogs for a solid 24 hours out of embarrassment. Luckily, I have no shame. Mostly just bought this for Katie’s Sanrio collection – the songs are pretty awful.