Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night

Crystal Stilts – Alight of Night

Slumberland, 2008

Acquired: Crystal Stilts show at the Replay, New, 2009

Price: $12

Crystal Stilts are one of the few bands that can pull off looking incredibly bored and still put on a good live show. It kind of goes with the sound of Alight of Night. It’s nothing incredibly groundbreaking, but it’s such a perfect combination of things that have been proven to work that it sounds really refreshing. I also think it’s shelf life is going to be much longer than the Vivian Girls first record, which is already boring. Good move, Frankie Rose! Actually, she was the best part of the Crystal Stilts show, as she was the only one that looked into it and made up for the fact that their keyboardist was absent and that they didn’t play my absolute favorite jam from this record, “Prismatic Room” (though I did miss a few songs, thanks Lawrence for establishing the very strict code that if Ian thinks a show is going to start late it will start early and vice versa). That’s really the highlight of the record though. The shimmery kaleidoscope that I view the rest of the record through. The cover is beautiful and feels like it could have been printed by hand (but surely was simulated) but I like it. It’s a tangible thing, and as trite as it is to say, it’s a record that sounds better on vinyl.

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Armed Forces

Elvis Costello & the Attractions – Armed Forces

Columbia, 1979

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2008

Price: $4

While I’ve been a huge fan of My Aim is True and This Year’s Model for a while, I’d never heard Armed Forces until last year when I bought it because it was cheap. Plus the back cover with the elephants is pretty cool. I really need to listen to it more, because after a couple of listens I could feel it growing on me. It’s not as immediately gratifying as the first two, but I think that’s part of the appeal. There are actual layers here, things to pick apart. I wrote a song called “Accidents Will Happen” assuming it had already been used as a song title and after hearing “Accidents Will Happen” by Elvis Costello, um, I think I need to change it because man, everyone will just think it’s a cover. A shambly one at that!

Elvis Costello - This Year's Model

Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model

Columbia, 1978

Acquired: Amoeba Music (Los Angeles), Used, 2005

Price: $4

Saw this for cheap at Amoeba when I was in LA and of course had to buy it. Fuck any notion of a sophomore slump with Elvis Costello, because this album is just as good as My Aim is True. It phases out the raw rootsy punk sound of that record in favor of keyboardy new wave. It still kicks ass, though, and sophomore year my roommate and I held what I dubbed the “No Action” party, which was designed specifically for no one at the party to get laid that night. Alas, the title song never played, but whatever. Though “Pump it Up” is the best known song on this record and has been used in countless montages in films, it’s probably my least favorite song here. Maybe just because it’s been ubiquitous to the point of being obnoxious. “Little Triggers” makes me hurt every single time I hear it and breaks my heart just a little bit more. It’s still one of the sexiest songs I’ve ever heard. This is a record full of monster jams and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played “Radio Radio” when I’ve been pissed off with the way KJHK is going (now I’m listening to "Radio Radio" it all the time).

Elvis Costello - My Aim is True

Elvis Costello – My Aim is True

Columbia, 1977

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2006

Price: $5

This is the record I immediately recommend to anyone I know who is just now getting a turntable. Sure, the cover is iconic, but there’s something about this record on vinyl that makes it even more special than it sounds on CD or iTunes. It’s from a time when thought was put into not only the record as a whole, but structuring a record between two sides. Side A is full of nothing but jams and the classic ballad “Alison,” ending with the mysterious “Watching the Detectives” which really feels like it should be the last song on a record. In a sense it is, because when you flip it you’re hit with probably the most recognizable jam on this record, “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes. The rest of the songs aren’t as massive as those on Side A but seriously, every single song on this album is great. It would probably find it’s way into my “Top 10 Records of All Time” list and I’m not even kidding. If you’ve heard this record, which I am positive you have, you know what I am talking about. Or at least you should. If you don’t own it, even if you don’t have a turntable, go out and pick up a copy for five bucks somewhere. It’s worth having and will always be one of the most insufferably cool records of all time.

Sam Cooke - The Man and His Music

Sam Cooke – The Man and His Music

RCA, 1986

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007

Price: $10

So I grew up on Oldies 95, and I’ve had a firm adoration of Sam Cooke since I was about 7 years old after hearing “Wonderful World” for the first time. That and “Another Saturday Night” were in heavy rotation on the station and I didn’t really get into the rest of his jams until early college when I downloaded this compilation. That and Britt Daniel of Spoon did a cover of “Bring it On Home to Me” that I got pretty obsessed with. This thing is just loaded with ex-girlfriend songs. I can’t even count how many times I’ve listened to “I’ll Come Running Back to You,” “Nothing Can Change This Love,” and “Bring it on Home to Me” while heavily drinking. There’s something about the sweetness and the warmth of his voice. How he has to know he’s one of the greatest singers of all time. These songs are about loving in the past, present and future and when I listen to him sing I can’t really think of a better (male) singer. I really think this is one of those records that could bring world peace (which is really sad, given that Sam Cooke was shot to death). It’s one of those records that makes me OK with the world and gives me hope in a REALLY sappy way. And then my girlfriend and I sang along to “Bring it On Home to Me” and it was awesome. So good.

Constantines - Constantines

Constantines – Constantines

Three Gut/Sub Pop, 2001

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2007

Price: $5

While not as inventive as their much praised sophomore LP Shine a Light and not as inviting as Tournament of Hearts (my favorite record of theirs, which for some reason I do not own), the self-titled debut from Constantines is a collection of jams made by dudes who are clearly very very obsessed with Fugazi (with a little Replacements jones thrown in for good measure). I got into them via their touring with the Weakerthans in 2004 (who were and are one of my favorite bands of all time) and though the closest the tour was coming was Columbia, MO, I still checked out some of their stuff just incase I wanted to make the trek. “St. You” was the first song I heard, and it’s probably the reason I bought this record when I saw it. Though it sounds nothing like the rest of the album, it’s still one of my favorite “I’m having a sad fucking day” ballads. Though singer Bryan Webb always sounds like someone else (sometimes Springsteen, sometimes Ben Nichols from Lucero), he’s a good enough writer for me to not give a shit. It’s almost becoming a Canadian thing, good songwriting that is. John K Samson, Spencer Krug, Jim Guthrie, you know, now that I think about it maybe they’re trying to corner the market. Which is fine by me, because I’m known to trash a decently produced and poppy record if the lyrics are boring as shit. Fortunately, this is a pretty goddamned unique record for 2001.

Comet Gain - Broken Record Prayers

Comet Gain – Broken Record Prayers

What’s Your Rupture?, 2008

Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2009

Price: $18

Oh thank goodness for store credit, because in these tough tough times there’s no way I would have been able to afford this record. And I NEEDED to own it. It came into KJHK one day in the AAM Sunday Service package and I was completely blown away. Granted, the first three songs do a fucking amazing job of setting up this fantastic compilation of hits, singles, b-sides, and new jams. It’s launched my new crusade of telling everyone I know about how great Comet Gain is. I mean, I always kind of liked them peripherally. I had a couple of singles downloaded, etc. But this one really drives it home. I am fully convinced that “You Can Hide Your Love Forever” is the greatest pop song of the last ten years. It’s perfect, anorak pop relying on sweet heartbroken lyrics and a fucking killer melody. “Jack Nance Hair” is a close second, or first, depending on what my mood is. For some reason, only the Brits can get away with the mid-song-spoken-word rant thing. There’s a little quote inside and I think it sums up exactly what I can’t put my finger on when it comes to why I adore Comet Gain. It reads, “We started as a joke and idea, we played broken songs on broken amps and cardboard drums and it never got much more professional. We believe in obsolete things and passionate hearts and still do and made these records from our hearts to yours for whatever it was and still is and could be.” That, and this line from “Jack Nance Hair:” “We have torn ideals/ Comet Gain has torn ideals.” These things get to my Achilles heel when it comes to music. Shambling indie-pop songs played by people that might as well live down the street who just want to have a good time and at the same time have an incredible sense of melody. This record is fucking genius.

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

Impulse!, 1965

Acquired: Love Garden, Used (Reissue), 2006

Price: $10

I remember getting this record on CD for Christmas when I was 16. I asked for it because Henry Rollins mentioned it in one of his spoken word bits and cited it as a record that could bring world peace…in a sense. I think in the bit he’s talking about Palestinian soldiers going to kill some Israeli’s and hearing this record playing from their camp (this and Road to Ruin by the Ramones). It was about how people could just get along if they knew they liked the same great records. Anyway, I knew nothing about jazz then (I still don’t) but this record still sounds fresh. I pay attention to Coltrane like I would pay attention to a pop song. It’s so expressive, beautifully arranged and everything is just so precise there is no way anyone could not see this as one of the crowning musical achievements of the western world.

John Coltrane - Giant Steps

John Coltrane – Giant Steps

Atlantic, 1960

Acquired: Love Garden, Used, 2006

Price: $8

I have an anecdote about this record, where I say that I love this record because Coltrane is so good that if he missed a single note the whole thing would fall apart and I would feel like dying. I don’t listen to a lot of jazz, but I still love this record. I don’t know shit about jazz and I still love this record. And Coltrane, given that I have two jazz records in my collection and they’re both by him.

Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man

Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

Columbia, 1988

Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2007

Price: $2

While I’m more partial to Leonard Cohen’s earlier stuff, I’m Your Man has “Everybody Knows” on it, which I’ve rocked over the years while dealing with sinister ex-girlfriends. Lines like “Everybody knows you’ve been discreet, but there were so many people you had to meet without your clothes” are brutal, descript and mean in a slightly backhanded way that makes them perfect. “First We Take Manhattan” was one of the first Leonard Cohen songs I heard years and years ago and I thought it was really weird because I had just listened to “Chelsea Hotel #2” and was greeted with the weird 80s electro march of that song. But the big thing is, I really like this album and it’s a testament to Leonard Cohen’s genius. Even today his albums are still good, which is always surprising to me. Well, when any songwriter is about three decades out of his heyday and can still deliver, it’s impressive. Plus the cover has a picture of him eating a banana, which I find incredibly cool.