I Will Survive

this has been around for 8 or 9 years. but it still amuses...

5. Soundtrack - Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

after ten or fifteen years of scorning my parents collection of Abba and other assorted 70s tapes, I arrived home from university with this soundtrack in my collection. And spent a summer blasting all those songs that my parents knew and liked (except when I was listening to Weezer - they weren't so keen on that).

Yes, I did enjoy the movie. Then a year or three later I bought the soundtrack. Probably on special at the warehouse. It was that mid-ninties period where disco and abba become vaguely cool again. Not that I care about that now, and I can just enjoy the music without cringing.

It's a pretty good collection of songs, a bit of abba, a few obscure songs I'd never previously heard of and a few that I don't like at all. But a solid soundtrack anyway.

favourite song - I will survive - Gloria Gaynor
skippable song - Can't help loving that man - Trudy Richards

Original Release Date: August 23, 1994

4. Across a Wire - Live in New York City - Counting Crows

I was lucky enough to see counting crows live a few years ago on the Hard Candy tour.  This double live album is from a few years prior to that - at a guess, sometime after Recovering the Satellites.  I quite like listening to Counting Crows live when I'm in the right mood.  The songs are never go quite how you expect them too.  I've listened to a few bootlegs and they never seem to sound quite the same each time.

The track lists of the two CDs have a couple of the same songs, but otherwise cover a good portion of the two Counting Crows albums that I suppose most people know best.

Two live cds of two concerts might seem a bit strange (why not just one?) but they are very different. I think the VH1 disc is my favourite but that may be because it is late at night as I listen, so I preferred the quiet more acoustic versions of the vh1 concert. Whereas the MTV concert is, well, louder and would be better for blasting in the car on a road trip.
I think I only paid $17 second hand for this cd a couple of years back but it is worth owning or buying the MP3s if you like the Counting Crows.  If you were just going to own 1 counting crows cd I'd still recommend august and everything after (even though I think I prefer their later music).

Favourite song - Mtv - 'A Murder of One',VH1 - 'Rain King'
Skippable song - 'Chelsea' (its a but too jazz for my taste) and also 'round here' (mtv version - I like it but at 10 minutes its a bit long)

Release Date - July 14 1998

v

3. Acoustic Dance Party - Toad the Wet Sprocket

According to Amazon.com, I purchased this EP on March 28, 2000. Which would mean it was my first ever online purchase with my first ever paycheck from my first ever job after I finished university. Fitting that it was a Toad cd, seeing that they provided a constant soundtrack through my five years at uni.

I cant be expected to be objective at all about toad the wet sprocket

acoustic dance party contains 5 songs off the albums dulcinea & fear performed live unplugged.

sometimes I forget why I lived for toad back in the 90s but listening to this cd reminds me and they once again afirm they have a spot in my top 5 if not claim the title of all time favourite music artists

heh I was hoping I could rationally evaluate the albums in my collection but find it is impossible. many of them were a huge part of my life at one time or another and I can't separate the music from the feelings they invoke

ah well, no matter what this ep is a classic example of 90s acoustic rock.

favourite song - somethings always wrong
song I'll skip - none, I love every track on this cd


Released : December 13, 1994

R.E.M. - Supernatural Superserious

2 - Accelerate - R.E.M.

This is only the second time I've listened to this cd as it was only released this week.  But since it is R.E.M. I had to get it the day it came out.
Unlike the last few R.E.M. cds I didn't fall in love with the first single on first listen but I downloaded it off itunes a few weeks ago and it has really grown on me.

What can I say about this cd, R.E.M. have been a constant favourite of mine since 1994 and they have yet to disappoint me. Track 5 "houston" reminds me a little of Automatic for the People yet would sound completely out of place on that album.

Its too early for me to say how I'd rate Accelerate in amongst the R.E.M. albums of the past 20 years but I do like it a lot even after only a few listens.

Favourite track - to early to pick but either "man-sized wreath", "supernatural superserious" or "living well is the best revenge"
song most likely to be played loudly on repeat loudly in the car - "I'm gonna dj" or one of the 'favourites' I mentioned above
Song I'll probably skip - "sing for the submarine"

www.remhq.com
release date - 1 April 2008

1. Abulum - Glen Phillips

First up is Abulum by Glen Phillips. It has the distinction of containing the first song that I ever downloaded as an mp3 and yes it was a legal download. Train Wreck. I haven't really listened to this cd in a couple of years, I've played the odd track and listened to live versions of the songs.

I really do like glen phillips though I can hear how much his music has changed since this first solo album but I still really like that slight darkness and overall mood of the songs.

I don't know why I don't listen to it more often.

Favourite track - Train Wreck
most depressing track - Darkest Hour.
most skippable song - Maya. sometimes I love it, sometimes I skip right past it.

www.glenphillips.com

Release Date - Amazon lists it as April 10, 2001. That was the Brick Red version in a jewel case with the song "Sleep of the Blessed" added. Not sure of the initial release date, but I know I ordered in late 2000 and had it in my possession in January 2001 at the latest.

the project

My 60gb ipod told me it was full the other day. No matter what other people tell me or what I try to convince myself of, I am a girl go must have all her music on her ipod. Why I don't know, but god forbid that I decide to listen to a song and find that it isn't there.
I know by some standards 10452 songs isn't much but itunes tells me that I could listen for about 29 days. I think it's going to take me way longer than 29 days to listen to all the albums I own.

Another thing I know is that many of those songs and cds have never been listened to and the only time they have been touched is when I transferred them from cd to mp3. The real groovy sale bins and cheap cds at the warehouse really have a lot to answer for. And my pre itunes store and emusic habit of buying whole cds just for one song didn't help.

So my mission starting tonight is to listen to every complete album in my collection in alphabetical order since it seems more adventurous that way! But it also means getting to start with an easy one.
I'll be subjecting myself to at least one cd every night -well most nights unless I can't be bothered.