And So It Begins....Again

So I've been thinking about my blogging. My other blog has mostly been about my comics fandom/addiction, but what about those hundreds, if not thousands of CD's and vinyl I have wasting space in the basement? Don't they need my love too, shouldn't I share that love with the public as well? Well I guess so, but here's the problem, since I don't live in the city anymore and the closest thing to a record store I have now is a Borders or Best Buy I am really not up on what's new these days. But I do know two things....albums I love and the fact that no enough people own them. So I created this blog as a public service to try and bring the albums that I believe are classic and everyone should own. Most of these will be older (10-20 years) since I really can't gague the "classic-ness" of albums released under 5 years ago. Make no mistake, this is not objective criticism here, but I will try to make this about albums that are accessible and rarely will I present you with anything that really goes against the grain. Most likely, many of the albums will already be on your radar, if not already in your collection. But I just have to share. If you are looking for insightful comments about new music or looking for rare /forgotten tracks from nigh-on many years ago, go check out Ditching Boy's blog, as that's his bag.


So here are the general rules:

• I will attempt to post weekly.
• Each post will single out an individual album ans will provide reasons why it is top-to-bottom awesome.
• I will attempt to use the word "awesome" as little as possible.
• I will usually include a track.
• I make no promises that you will like any of this, or even that anyone will read this. This blog is pretty much to keep me from talking to myself.
• I will break these rules at will.

So on to our first album:

Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

This is one of the first albums that I truly loved, at some point, nearly every song has been my favorite. I remember seeing the video on 120 Minutes one night and knowing that I would be going straight to the record store after school the next day and buying that CD. Matthew Sweet wrote and executed a nearly perfect album here, surrounded by a group of excellent musicians, every single note on this album sounds like it was perfectly placed there for maximum effect. Despite that, none of it feels cold, you can feel the passion and heart that went into the album (and pain, don't forget the pain since most of the songs are about breakups). Though it's been over 15 years (!) since it's release, it still sound fresh and true. This record has been the soundtrack to at least two separate relationships in my life and just listening to it is better than any photo album. Here's a song that's been a favorite since the CD's first spin:

Matthew Sweet - Evangeline

Recommended Listening: While his albums that followed never quite rose to the heights of Girlfriend, it's hard to make this good of a record twice. If you like what you hear, I'd recommend picking up either 100% Fun (more stripped-down rock) or In Reverse (more Brian Wilson-esque Wall of Sound) as they are both very good.

Well, thanks for listening/reading, I've built up a fair list of what I want to talk about, but feel free to make suggestions, you may remind me of a long-lost favorite or turn me on to something new.