Top 6 records RB bought with his 60% employee discount at Newbury Comics

For the past few weeks I’ve been able to finally live out the inevitable. At some point, for however long or short a time, I knew I was destined to log some time as a record store clerk. Realistically it just had to happen because it suits my personality almost too well. I love music and can be kind of a prick about it when it comes to defending my tastes, and generally speaking I like hanging out and talking to people. There’s more to it than that, especially during the holiday season when Florence and the Machine records are flying off shelves left and right, but in general its been a nice way to pass the time and make some cash.

But I’ll quit stalling. The real perk is the insane employee discounts I get on everything in the store, including 60 percent off of CDs and vinyl. Holy fuck, right? If I wasn’t jumping ship to Chicago I think I’d gladly give myself up to the gods of retail full time. Anyway, I haven’t bought much in the way of music this year, but the temptation to buy proved to be too much to ignore. Below are in no particular order the six discs I bought with said discount and my early impressions of each:

1. Sunny Day Real Estate – S/T (Sub Pop, 1995)

SDRE’s respect amongst fans and critics has always been there, at least in some small part, but it seems lately people have really come around to just how fucking great these guys were. As the preeminent band to push emo into the pop music foreground, the band’s music still resonates some 16 or 17 years later, and for my money nothing in the band’s short catalogue beats the material boasted on their 1995 self titled release. The songwriting is earnest yet aggressive, the recording vivid and crisp and together it just makes for a great listen. No way Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music didn’t have their ears keenly tuned to Sunny Day’s dial when they were starting out.

2. Beach Fossils – What a Pleasure (Captured Tracks, 2011)

Joy Division’s influence has always wielded a huge influence in the alternative/indie/shoegaze sound, and the music world is chalk full of uninspired imposters. So when Beach Fossils manage to make such overused influences sound legitimately fresh and compelling, it’s a huge complement. What a Pleasure may be rooted in the same jangly guitars, echoey vocals and muted, robotic drumming that made Joy Division so famous, but they expose a sunnier, almost surf pop-ish side to the formula that you’ll never find on Unknown Pleasures.

3. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian, 2011)

War On Drugs fans had to worry, or at least be curious, as to how the atmospheric Philly band would fare minus the contributions of founding member Kurt Vile. But while Vile’s talents and contributions can’t be denied, his absence only makes Slave Ambient that much more impressive. Rather than cower in the absence of their co-founder/songwriter, the band picked up the pieces to make their best record to date. Meshing classic rock influences such as Springsteen and Dylan with the decidedly artier sounds of My Bloody Valentine, it might be best described as heartland indie rock. Then again you could just as easily call it the best album of the year.

4. Bad Brains – Black Dots (Caroline Records, 1996)

I’ve written about this already in the blog’s last incarnation, so I’ll just give you the cliff notes. Black Dots is an awesome collection of previously unreleased tracks culled from the band’s late 70s, early 1980 heyday. Blisteringly aggressive and awesomely powerful stuff from arguably the best band of their genre’s era.

5. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Mirror Traffic (Matador Records, 2011)

Maybe the biggest complement I can pay to Mirror Traffic is that I like it. I love Pavement, but I’ve always found Stephen Malkmus’ stuff to be a hit or miss. Face The Truth was cool, I’m kind of on the fence about Pig Lib and I can’t get into Real Emotional Trash‘s jammier tendencies. But Mirror Traffic does as good a job of any Jicks record of fine tuning Pavement’s slack rock sound into something a bit poppier and compact. I’ll take that.

6. The Chemical Brothers – Surrender (Virgin Records, 1999)

Oh yeah, I went there.I did that. Indie rock to big beat electronica in one move. Sure, 80 percent of this record probably made its way into either a car commercial or a movie trailer at one point or another, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it’s a great, really addictive record. I’ve always appreciated the Chemical Brothers’ ability to seamlessly bridge the gap between rock, hip hop and dance crowds, and Surrender might be their most accessible and successful attempt. Play this fucker loud with the bass UP.

 RB