light my fire

light
Originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

i guess many of you are hooked on music or records, which isn't really the same thing:
there's a fetichism of the object itself, levels of interest beyond its musical "quality" : the cover art, the quality of the packaging, etc. as we're mainly dealing with coded immaterial mp3 format, it's a discussion i'll be glad to share with concerned bloggers out there.
back to music and records, i'll be straight on this: i'm addicted to both.
i think i developed a neurotic syndrom, very much alike bulimia or sex: the more i get, the more i want. and there's such an incredible amount of music at hand everywhere that the frustration leads to more dependance, musicblogs being the latest form of addiction.
out of blogosphere, here's what happens to me every 2 or 3 weeks at the record store:
i pick up albums until i can't hold everything in my hands. oh i don't grab them randomly, frantically: i usually have a list of what i'm looking for, a selection i wrote down from magazine reviews, hints i got online, etc. and from hip-hop to electronica, it can easily escalade up to twenty items. the shop carries "used" records but a lot of new stuff ends up here: promos sold by journalists or label representatives for easy cash, news addicts (even worse than me) who had already sold their advance copies for the next fix, whatever.
so i check my fave sections and on a good day i'll find most of the stuff i want at bargain price, forming a pile i can't barely hold - or afford. then i realize my crazyness and make a more thorough selection, listen to the more dubious, swear i'll never read reviews again or follow any online tips and i finally put most back in place. except when i can't resist to "hide" a special one in the death/metal section (just to be sure i'm the one who'll get it later...) though i usually feel it's now or never, because there will be new stuff next time, leading to the urgency of taking it right now.
yeah, it's pathetic, i know. and on top of that the dealers, very aware of my condition, put a few irresistible hot picks aside just for me: rare imports, promo 12"s, limited editions, special digipacks with bonus unreleased material. i hate them, but i'm so glad they did it,too...
LATEST PICKS: diplo/florida, the album leaf/in a safe place, murs/end of the beginning, dj numark&pomo/blend crafters vol.1, maroons/ambush, yesterdays new quintet/angles without edges(+elle's theme e.p/uno esta e.p), abdominal&dj fase/flowtation device, nicky siano's the gallery, headset/space settings.
now guess what? as i work at home i listen to music all day long and then sometimes i don't know what to listen to, really. my fine lp collection in the basement? the selection of tracks grabbed online? the latest cd's i purchased-supposedly the hottest sounds around? the slept-over albums i'll finally give a chance? or should i turn the radio on or just pick up a book and listen to the fire... in such blank moments, i usually turn to a few favorites, a set of cds i keep together in a separate drawer. some kind of a rescue set. and from this safer place comes:
HAROLD BUDD/THE ROOM OF MIRRORS, atlantic, 2000
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if you've heard of harold budd, you can imagine the soothing quality of the album.
budd's biography reveals influences as diverse as albert ayler, john cage, morton feldman and includes collaborations with brian eno, the cocteau twins and andy partridge of xtc.
there's plenty of info about him online but all of this can't even give you the slightest idea of the depth, creativity and beauty of his music. luckily, epitonic shares a few of his tracks, and a fila brazilia remix of THE ROOM.
HERE
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
as a mac user i have a hard time with blogger. it won't display anything but unicode characters so tryin' to dive in the source code is impossible except when my girlfriend accepts to mess with it on her pc. that's why the link list isn't updated as often as it should be. it will be done asap but all apologies for those who showed support and were fast to add me in their faves. props to jazz and conversation, stereogum, scenestars, funk you, dozer, comfort music, sticker shock, bumrocks, silence is a rythm too, slow rotation, nite songs.
great tracks, discoveries and painkillers for a poor music addict's soul.