Delusions of Adequacy

Occasionally -- far more often than my dad would like, not nearly as often as he probably thinks -- I go on a CD-buying binge and pick up three or four discs at once. Then a month or three pass when I don't get anything, then I'll buy one, then another few months of silence, then three or four at once.

I'm coming off the end of such a binge, and the results have been a bit more mixed than I'd like, but that's par for the course.

Guadalcanal Diary: Standing in the Shadow of the Big Man/Jamboree

This is a two-fer, with one of the brighter lights to emerge from the jangle-pop scene of 1980's-era Athens, Georgia. Guadalcanal Diary released four albums during their initial run; the two on this disc, the first two they released, are widely hailed among their fans as two of the best... but then, GD didn't really have time to put out a bad album; they broke up before they reached their U2 Rattle and Hum/REM Monster/Smashing Pumpkins Adore phase. My only previous exposure to them was their last studio album, 1989's Flip-Flop, a truly guiltless pleasure that I've listened to enough to nearly wear out the tape... which is why I'm also getting a CD of it, finally, though it's something of a rarity.

WHAT I THOUGHT OF GUADALCANAL DIARY BACK THEN: "These guys are good; I hope they make more records."
WHAT I THINK OF GUADALCANAL DIARY NOW: "These guys were really good; why didn't I buy more of their records back then?"

Also, they reunited briefly in the late 90's and went on tour. I found this out on Tuesday. Arrgh.

Hymns Triumphant

A two-disc collection of hymns performed by the London Philharmonic Choir and London National Philharmonic Orchestra, including most, if not all, of the hymns on my lists below. Glowing reviews from other Amazon.com customers had me salivating in anticipation; alas, rather than complete renditions of the hymns, these seem to be mostly medleys. Double arrgh. I despise medleys. Master-pieces. I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, so perhaps I won't end up hating it despite its gorgeous performances, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

WHAT I THOUGHT WHEN I ORDERED IT: "London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. Classic hymns. What could go wrong?"
WHAT I THOUGHT WHEN I LISTENED TO IT: "Crap in a hat."

The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs, Vol. 3 and i

I first heard Magnetic Fields on an episode of The Shield; in that, I'm probably in good company. The song was the heart-breaking "All My Little Words" and it is officially one of my Favorite Songs of All Time. I can listen to it five or six times in a row, and I learned to play it (sort of) on the guitar. I got the CD it's on, 69 Love Songs Vol. 1, and promptly discovered a goodly number of other gems among its 23 tracks (each of the three volumes contains 23 songs; do the math), including "I Don't Want to Get Over You," "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side," and "Book of Love." None of them has really approached, for me, the simple, powerful beauty of "All My Little Words," but I continue to mine the Fields' discs for hidden treasures. I've not listened to either Vol. 3 or i (their new release) enough to form solid opinions on them, but my early impression is that there will be some good stuff here.

WHAT I THOUGHT WHEN I FIRST STARTED LISTENING TO VOL. 1: "I hope I find something on this as good as 'All My Little Words.'"
WHAT I THOUGHT WHEN I STARTED LISTENING TO VOL. 3 AND i: "I hope I find something on these as good as 'All My Little Words.'"

They probably hate that song.