The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 12

It has been about 10 months since my last Listening Project blog entry.  I have only made (2) purchases of CDs since that time (one in September and one in January).  With apps like Songza, Pandora and my newly purchased Amazon Prime, the need to buy CDs has subsided somewhat but I still get the itch to head on out to my local Half Priced Books store and pull up a stool and peruse the clearance rack.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1204	TobyMac	Alive And Transported	9/2/2014	Yes
1205	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Chronicle	9/2/2014	Yes
1206	Michael W. Smith	Freedom	9/3/2014	Yes
1207	Amy Grant	Home For Christmas	9/4/2014	Yes
1208	Norah Jones	Not Too Late	9/4/2014	Yes
1209	James Taylor	One Man Band	9/5/2014	Yes
1210	MC Hammer	Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em	9/8/2014	Yes
1211	R.E.M.	Reveal	9/11/2014	Yes
1212	Moby	Songs 1993 - 1998	9/12/2014	Yes
1213	Crowded House	The Very Best Of Crowded House	9/18/2014	Yes
1214	Sting & The Police	The Very Best Of Sting & The Police	9/19/2014	Yes
1215	James Blunt	Back To Bedlam	1/17/2015	Yes
1216	Bond	Classified	1/17/2015	Yes
1217	En Vogue	Funky Divas	1/18/2015	Yes
1218	10,000 Maniacs	In My Tribe	1/19/2015	Yes
1219	10,000 Maniacs	Love Among The Ruins	1/19/2015	Yes
1220	Christina Aguilera	Stripped	1/20/2015	Yes

• TobyMac “Alive And Transported”: I am not much for live CDs but this one came with a companion DVD and the DVD was the real reason I bought this in the first place.  I could not believe the whole thing was $2.
• James Taylor “One Man Band”: Another $2 find where there was a DVD of the artist in concert.  Well worth the price.
• MC Hammer “Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em”: A classic.
• Moby “Songs 1993 – 1998”: I really like Moby.  Did you know he goes by the name Moby since he is related to Herman Melville who wrote Moby Dick (Moby’s given name is Richard Melville Hall).
• Crowded House “The Very Best Of Crowded House”: I will admin to only knowing one song by this group but the whole CD is good.  I broke a rule and bought this CD despite being a little scratched up (all but 2 tracks play fine).
• Bond “Classified”: The daughter really likes these ladies so I bought the CD for her.
• En Vogue “Funky Divas”: Their biggest hits are on this CD.  Well worth the $1.
• 10,000 Maniacs “In My Tribe” and “Love Among The Ruins”: So, I did not know that this group continued on after their lead singer left.  Both CDs are good but it is like listening to 2 different bands.

So, there you have it.  I do not know when I will get any more CD’s.  I have purchased some mp3’s from Charlie Peacock and The 77’s along with a Mark Heard LP recently but since this project is limited to CDs, I do not list them.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 11

So I picked up a few CDs recently from GoHastings.  I went way over my average $1 of spend per CD (probably averaged $4 each with shipping) but I was rewarding myself for finally starting to lose some weight.  I have been walking quite a bit and I needed some new tunes for my mp3 player to motivate me.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1190	Chevelle	Sci-Fi Crimes	3/28/2014	Yes
1191	Chevelle	Vena Sera	3/31/2014	Yes
1192	Megadeth	Youthanasia	4/10/2014	Yes
1193	Megadeth	Risk	4/11/2014	Yes
1194	Megadeth	The World Needs a Hero	4/14/2014	Yes
1195	Megadeth	The System Has Failed	5/2/2014	Yes
1196	Megadeth	United Abominations	5/5/2014	Yes
1197	Megadeth	Endgame	5/6/2014	Yes
1198	Megadeth	TH1RT3EN	5/7/2014	Yes
1199	Megadeth	Super Collider	5/9/2014	Yes
1200	Pillar	For The Love Of The Game	5/19/2014	Yes
1201	Randy Stonehill	Paradise Sky	5/20/2014	Yes
1202	Stone Temple Pilots	Tiny Music…	5/21/2014	Yes
1203	Yes	90125	6/9/2014	Yes

• Chevelle “Sci-Fi Crimes” & “Vena Sera”:  Don’t you hate it when bands change their sound from album to album?  Well, with Chevelle you don’t have that problem.
• Megadeth (all CDs above): I probably should not have bought all of these at the same time but rather just a few at a time over a period of months.  Being angry and singing / screaming about it seems more believable from a 25 year old Dave Mustaine than a 45 year old Dave Mustaine.   All in all though I like all of these CDs.  I am only missing their first 2 releases to have their complete catalog of studio releases.  I did not care much for their sound before their 4th album anyway so I have all that I want.
• Randy Stonehill “Paradise Sky”: I was very shocked to find this on the $1 rack at Half Priced Books but there it was.  This is Randy re-recording stuff from this first few releases (circa 1970 through 1981).  The front cover of the CD says “Official Soundtrack to the movie FALLEN ANGEL” which I have never heard of but appears to be a documentary about Larry Norman (who produced 2 of Randy’s early LPs).  There is a long and possibly sordid tale about a great fallout between Randy and Larry.
• Yes “90125”: Buying this broke a rule for me.  It was a whopping $5 (at Amazon) but I used it as a filler item in my cart to get to the limit of free shipping.  This is the deluxe re-issue that contains my favorite version of “Leave It” (the a cappella
  version).

So I shot past 1200 CDs without blinking.  I will admit also to ordering (3) LPs recently but this blog is specific to CDs so I will likely not blog about them.  The LPs (from Bourgeios Tagg and The Call) were never released on CD that I could find.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 10

According to my records, I have bought exactly 1 CD in the past 200 days.  That seems incredible to me so I began to ask myself why, all of a sudden, I stopped having the need to purchase new (to me) music.  I came up with a few reasons.

• Job Change at Work: I changed jobs in June of 2013 and the work I do during this new role is not one that allows me to listen to music while I work.  I plowed through a lot of the almost 1200 CDs while at work (before I took this new job).
• I bought a Fiat: That Fiat came with a free year of Sirius XM and my CD collection cannot compete with the 80’s on 8 channel.
• The Motivation Project: For a brief period there, I swore off new music.

But, I did buy 1 CD in November…

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1189	Stryper	No More Hell To Pay	11/22/2013	Yes

• Stryper “No More Hell To Pay”: This is their best album of new stuff since their getting back together.  I put this in the Fiat’s CD player and listened to it to and from work for a whole week.  Michael still has his voice and they obviously can still play guitar.  I just packed up all 1200 CDs in a box in preparation for our big move in 2 weeks but this CD still is in the Fiat’s dash.  I only bought this CD as I had a $10 Best Buy coupon that expired in November.  The Best Buy closest to me closed and Best Buy sent me a $10 gift card to comfort me on this loss.  After tax and shipping, I think I paid just over $5 for the CD.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 9

It has been a bit since a Listening Project blog and as you can see from the healthy list below I have not slowed down in my (seeming) quest to own every CD.  I got a few of these for 4 / $1 at the resale shop closest to us and the rest are from the clearance racks at various Half Priced Book Stores.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1160	Tree 63	The Answer To The Question Expanded Edition	6/23/2013	Yes
1161	Ginny Owens	Beautiful	6/23/2013	Yes
1162	Carrie Underwood	Carnival Ride	6/23/2013	Yes
1163	Various Artists	Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Soundtrack	6/24/2013	Yes
1164	Various Artists	Chicago Soundtrack	6/25/2013	Yes
1165	Various Artists	The Classic Spielberg Scores	6/26/2013	Yes
1166	Rob Thomas	Cradlesong	6/28/2013	Yes
1167	Decemberadio	Decemberadio	6/28/2013	Yes
1168	Eric Clapton	From The Cradle	6/28/2013	Yes
1169	Fireflight	The Healing Of Harms	6/29/2013	Yes
1170	Various Artists	Batman Forever Soundtrack	6/29/2013	Yes
1171	Barry Manilow	Because It's Christmas	6/29/2013	Yes
1172	Carman	The Best Of The Early Years	6/30/2013	Yes
1173	George Winston	December	7/1/2013	Yes
1174	Kenny G	Faith, A Holiday Album	7/1/2013	Yes
1175	Various Artists	I Know What You Did Last Summer Soundtrack	7/2/2013	Yes
1176	Various Artists	In The Name Of Love - Africa Celebrates U2	7/2/2013	Yes
1177	John Mayer	Inside Wants Out	7/3/2013	Yes
1178	KJ-52	It's Pronounced Five Two	7/3/2013	Yes
1179	Delirious	Live & In The Can	7/4/2013	Yes
1180	Kenny G	Miracles, The Holiday Album	7/5/2013	Yes
1181	Various Artists	Now That's What I Call Country	7/5/2013	Yes
1182	Various Artists	Now That's What I Call Country 2	7/5/2013	Yes
1183	ZZ Top	Recycler	7/6/2013	Yes
1184	Various Artists	Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves Soundtrack	7/6/2013	Yes
1185	Roberta Flack	Softly With These Songs - The Best Of Roberta Flack	7/6/2013	Yes
1186	The Smashing Pumpkins	Thirty-Three	7/7/2013	Yes
1187	The Swift	Today	7/7/2013	No
1188	Tony Bennett	The Ultimate Tony Bennett	7/8/2013	Yes

• Tree 63 “The Answer To The Question Expanded Edition”: I have the non expanded version of this album and the expanded version has 5 more songs (though 3 are just acoustic versions of other songs on the CD).  I miss this band.  Their lead singer went back to South Africa and now his lyrics are more political in nature (which is fine if only I cared about South African politics).
• Various Artists “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Soundtrack”: I bought this for $0.25 solely for the WIlly Wonka theme song (this is from the Tim Burton version of this film).
• Various Artists “Chicago”: I bought this solely for the Cell Block Tango (and then he ran into my knife, he ran into my knife 10 times).
• Carman “The Best Of The Early Years”:  I used to have Carman’s first 2 albums on cassette but they are long since gone.  They were both live albums and it was good to hear those songs again.
• George Winston “December”: I only bought this as it was on the Windam Hill label.  I remember hearing about this when an artist on that label named Pierce Pettis covered a Randy Stonehill song that I liked.  When you are only spending $0.25, it does not take much to get into my basket.  This is instrument keyboard music and I like it.
• Kenny G “Faith, A Holiday Album” & “Miracles, The Holiday Album”: This along with the Barry Manilow Christmas CD should make our holiday music list just about complete come December.
• Various Artists “In The Name Of Love - Africa Celebrates U2”: You cannot even recognize some of these songs (and I know every U2 song by heart).  Still worth the listen though and since my music player on my main computer in the living room connects to Wikipedia, I had fun reading about all the artists on this album.
• Roberta Flack “Softly With These Songs - The Best Of Roberta Flack”: I am still amazed at the quality of music I can get for $1 (and how something like this makes it to the clearance rack).
• Tony Bennett “The Ultimate Tony Bennett”: Awesome.

At one point in time I listened to Kenny G (Faith, A Holiday Album) then Type O Negative (I Know What You Did Last Summer Soundtrack) then Waldemar Bastos (In The Name Of Love - Africa Celebrates U2).  I would dare to say that I might be the only person on the planet or who ever lived who listened to those 3 artists back to back to back.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 8

Last weekend we were looking for something to do so we headed toward the Half Priced Bookstore in Plano and I plopped down toward the floor and spent another hour of my life digging through the clearance section.  Using my wife’s 10% off educator card (that she gets for being a home school mom), I was able to pick up the below CDs for $0.90 each.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1148	Melissa Etheridge	Melissa Etheridge	4/1/2013	Yes
1149	Various Artists	Mission Impossible Soundtrack	4/1/2013	Yes
1150	James Taylor	Never Die Young	4/1/2013	Yes
1151	Rod Stewart	Out Of Order	4/1/2013	Yes
1152	UB40	Promises And Lies	4/2/2013	Yes
1153	Jimmy Buffett	Songs You Know by Heart	4/2/2013	Yes
1154	Basia	The Sweetest Illusion	4/2/2013	Yes
1155	The Fold	This Too Shall Pass	4/2/2013	Yes
1156	Rod Stewart	Vagabond Heart	4/3/2013	Yes
1157	Leann Rimes	What A Wonderful World Disc 1	4/4/2013	Yes
1158	Leann Rimes	What A Wonderful World Disc 2	4/4/2013	No
1159	KJ-52	The Yearbook	4/4/2013	Yes

• Melissa Etheridge “Melissa Etheridge”: With this purchase, I now have Melissa Etheridge’s first 6 CDs.  Excellent stuff.
• Various Artists “Mission Impossible Soundtrack”: I bought this solely on the fact that the bass player and drummer for U2 are the artists that perform the Mission Impossible theme.  I did notice that Bjork also had a track on this disc so that was a bonus.
• Rod Stewart “Out of Order” & “Vagabond Heart”: It is amazing how many songs that I know off these 2 CDs.  The only other Rod Stewart CDs I have are from his Great American Songbook series.
• UB40 “Promises And Lies”: I can see myself becoming a UB40 fan.  They are still putting CDs out I guess and this is only my 2nd one that I have found on the clearance racks.  This one has their big hit “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” (an Elvis Presley song originally).
• Jimmy Buffet “Songs You Know by Heart”: I am not sure what universe you have to be in where a best of Jimmy Buffet CD finds its way to the dollar rack but I am happy and sad at the same time to be in it.
• Basia “The Sweetest Illusion”: I will admit to have never heard of this artist before (or I thought it might be a band).  I bought it solely on the album cover art and release date (mid 90’s).  It turns out that Basia is a Polish jazz singer and this CD contains her only big hit for the US (ironically a dance song).  I actually deal with co-workers from Poland on a semi-regular basis so I will need to remember to ask them if she is still popular there.
• LeAnn Rimes “What A Wonderful World”: This 2 CD release has a lot of Japanese (I think) writing on the back of it.  I can find no existence of a 2 CD version of this album by LeAnn Rimes so this has to be some sort of bootleg / pirated thing.  Disc 1 has the 11 songs from the normal release of this CD and then 10 or so more songs from Miss Rimes that I recognize from other releases (You Light Up My Life- Inspirational Songs, Unchained Melody - The Early Years and I Need You) so this disc was worth the purchase price.  The 2nd disc contains 20+ Christmas songs that are definitely NOT by Miss Rimes.  Some are in Japanese (I think) and others are sung in English by Japanese (I think) artists (I suppose it could be another accent from the east).  Hearing Frosty The Snowman and others in Japanese (I think) was a novelty that I will not likely want to hear again.

As I crawl towards my 1200th CD I think most of these are good additions to my collection.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 7

I have a renewed interest in music lately ever since the wife bought me an acoustic guitar.   When I was at my local Half Priced Book store looking for a guitar book I could not help sitting down in front of the bargain rack (it is very close to the floor) and seeing what I could find.  Here was my haul from last weekend.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1142	Bon Jovi	7800° Fahrenheit	3/11/2013	Yes
1143	Neil Diamond	The Best of Neil Diamond	3/11/2013	Yes
1144	Rich Mullins	Brother's Keeper	3/11/2013	Yes
1145	Neil Diamond	The Jazz Singer	3/12/2013	Yes
1146	Various Artists	O Brother- The Story Continues	3/12/2013	Yes
1147	Matthew West	The Story of Your Life	3/13/2013	Yes

• Neil Diamond “The Best Of” & “The Jazz Singer”: This brings my Neil Diamond CD count to 5.  My mother used to have “The Jazz Singer” on 8 track and though I have never seen the movie I recognize about 1/2 the songs.  The Best of CD has a few duplicates from my other CDs but at a $1 one cannot be choosy.
• Rich Mullins “Brother’s Keeper”: The brings my Rich Mullins CD count to 6.  I have been trying to strum out a few Rich Mullins songs on the guitar (“Awesome God” is easy enough).
• Various Artists “O Brother- The Story Continues”: This is nothing short of a CD that tried to jump on the bandwagon from the successful soundtrack to the movie.  It is just 20 or so really, really, really old song recordings (read: not great quality) that sound like they belong on the movie’s soundtrack.  I think I might have overpaid but the early versions of “Man of Constant Sorrow” are probably worth it.

Well there you have it.  Along with these CDs I also bought a Beatles “easy guitar” songbook and have been torturing my family with the G – Bm – Em – C – F chords of “Help!”.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 6

It has been almost 4 months since my last blog about my CDs.  Believe it or not, I simply have not bought any new music on CD other than a single purchase around New Year’s Day.  I did visit the Half Priced Book Store last weekend however and thus I have enough for a new blog entry. 

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1130	Relient K	Five Score and Seven Years Ago	1/2/2013	Yes
1131	Bing Crosby	Bing's Gold Records: The Original Decca Recordings	2/9/2013	Yes
1132	Jaci Velasquez	Crystal Clear	2/10/2013	Yes
1133	Barry Manilow	Barry Manilow	2/10/2013	Yes
1134	Vangelis	The Best of Vangelis	2/10/2013	Yes
1135	Chris Tomlin	Glory In The Highest	2/10/2013	Yes
1136	Abba	Gold	2/11/2013	Yes
1137	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	Greatest Hits	2/11/2013	Yes
1138	Barry Manilow	Greatest Hits, Vol. 1	2/12/2013	Yes
1139	Barry Manilow	The Greatest Songs of the Sixties	2/13/2013	Yes
1140	Harry Connick Jr	She	2/13/2013	Yes
1141	Soundgarden	Superunknown	2/14/2013	Yes

• Relient K “Five Score and Seven Years Ago”: I have been looking for this CD for quite some time so I was happily surprised to see it on the 90% off rack at Mardel’s.  This is very similar in sound to their current stuff (which I much prefer to their earlier CDs).
• Jaci Valasquez “Crystal Clear”: I have Jaci’s first CD and loved it.  I think she was all of 16 when it was released.  A very pure voice with just enough Latin influence mixed in with normal pop songs.
• Barry Manilow “Barry Manilow” & “Greatest Hits Vol 1” & The Greatest Songs of the Sixties”: So much Barry, so little time.  Apologies to the son and his friend as I mad them listen to the Best Of CD (from 1974) on the way to dropping them off at school the other day (and sang / hummed along all the way).  I have a few other Manilow CDs including the Greatest Songs of the Fifties.  Don’t judge me.
• Abba “Gold”: How can anyone put this on the clearance rack for $1?
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “Greatest Hits”: How can anyone put this on the clearance rack for $1?
• Soundgarden “Superunknown”: These guys had the advantage of sounding like Nirvana at just the right time.  I have had this CD before (or maybe cassette) but this listening left me wanting a little more complexity.

Well there you have it.  I might have outgrown my need for so much new music.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 5

It has been 6 weeks or so since my last blog about my CDs.  The wife and kids spent the last 10 days of September in Indiana and I stayed home with the dogs, the fish and the toad.  This left me with a lot of time to kill evenings and weekends.  I hit a great 4/$1 sale only to find a greater 5/$1 sale at the next store.  I then hit the 1/2 Priced Books clearance rack and paid the outrageous price of 1/$1 for the balance on the list below.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1103	Becoming the Archetype	Celestial Completion	9/22/2012	Yes
1104	Various Artists	All You Need Is Love	9/22/2012	Yes
1105	Church Of Rhythm	Church Of Rhythm	9/22/2012	Yes
1106	Aaron Jeoffrey	The Climb	9/22/2012	Yes
1107	Depeche Mode	Enjoy the Silence	9/23/2012	Yes
1108	The Parachute Band	Glorious	9/23/2012	No
1109	Todd Agnew	Grace Like Rain	9/24/2012	Yes
1110	Phish	A Live One (Disc-1)	6/24/2012	Yes
1111	Phish	A Live One (Disc-2)	9/25/2012	Yes
1112	Hole	Live Through This	9/25/2012	Yes
1113	Michael Bolton	The One Thing	9/25/2012	Yes
1114	Newsboys	Thrive	9/26/2012	Yes
1115	Various Artists	Totally Hits	9/27/2012	Yes
1116	dc Talk	Welcome To The Freak Show	9/27/2012	Yes
1117	Mariah Carey	#1's	9/29/2012	Yes
1118	The Alan Parsons Project	The Best Of The Alan Parsons Project	9/30/2012	Yes
1119	Boston	Don't Look Back	9/30/2012	Yes
1120	Various Artists	End of Days Soundtrack	10/1/2012	Yes
1121	Rush	Grace Under Pressure	10/1/2012	Yes
1122	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	Into The Great Wide Open	10/1/2012	Yes
1123	Janet Jackson	Janet	10/1/2012	Yes
1124	Gary Allan	See If I Care	10/3/2012	Yes
1125	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	She's The One Soundtrack	10/3/2012	Yes
1126	Suzanne Vega	Solitude Standing	10/4/2012	Yes
1127	Temple of the Dog	Temple of the Dog	10/6/2012	Yes
1128	Boston	Third Stage	10/6/2012	Yes
1129	Loreena McKennitt	The Visit	10/8/2012	Yes

• Becoming the Archetype “Celestial Completion”: I am not sure what to call this genre but it is growing on me.  Mostly breakneck speed drumming and strumming and then some screaming / growling thrown in for good measure.
• Various Artists “All You Need Is Love”: This 4 track disk appears to have been only available at Starbucks and I only bought it for the U2 song that is on it.
• Depeche Mode “Enjoy The Silence”: I am breaking a Listening Project rule by listing this here as this is really a 8 track “single” release with 6 versions of the same song.  Some I liked, some not so much.
• Boston “Don’t Look Back” & “Third Stage”: Even at $1 each, these were good finds.  I don’t think there is any rhyme or reason to the logic behind getting put on the clearance price at 1/2 Priced Books.
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “Into The Great Wide Open” & “She’s The One Soundtrack”: These were both in the 4/$1 or 5/$1 rack.  A great find if you ask me.
• Suzanne Vega “Solitude Standing”:  This includes her hit song, “Luka” and this one has spent the last month in my CD player in the Buick.  Awesome stuff.
• Temple Of The Dog “Temple Of The Dog”: A little disappointed as the song “Hunger Strike” (the only one I had heard before buying this CD) is the only song I cared for at first listen.

I have not really blogged in 6 weeks and it has been 2 weeks since I finished listening to these new CDs.  I just could not get motivated to sit down for 15 minutes to write a new blog.  Perhaps I have outgrown blogging?

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 4

It has been 2 months or so since my last blog about my CDs.  I bought 5 CDs about a month ago and dutifully listened to them.  It was not until I bought one last week that I remembered again this project.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1096	FM Static	Critically Ashamed	7/25/2012	Yes
1097	The Cars	Greatest Hits	7/25/2012	Yes
1098	Harry Connick, Jr	Only You	7/25/2012	Yes
1099	Paul Baloche	Open The Eyes Of My Heart	7/24/2012	Yes
1100	Connie Francis	Side By Side Disc 1	7/24/2012	Yes
1101	Brenda Lee	Side By Side Disc 2	7/24/2012	No
1102	Mychildren Mybride	Unbreakable	8/24/2012	Yes

• FM Static “Critically Ashamed”: I recalled that this group is a side project of the lead singer from Thousand Foot Krutch.  Other than the obvious similarities in vocals, this band it quite different but still listenable.
• The Cars “Greatest Hits”: Just fun to listen to, all of the time.
• Harry Connick Jr. “Only You”: This is Harry’s take on some popular songs from the 20’s to the 60’s.  Nice and relaxing.
• Paul Baloche “Open The Eyes Of My Heart”: If you have not heard of this artist before just visit any modern worship service at a church.  Paul will have likely written or co-written half of the songs that you hear.
• Connie Francis / Brenda Lee “Side by Side”: If I were honest with myself I would have to admit that I still have a crush on Connie Francis.  I used to listen to a Connie Francis LP that my dad had when I was growing up.  I never got tired of it.  Of course my crush is on the young Miss Francis on the album cover of that LP but that is what I immediately reverted back to when I popped this CD into my player.  This CD does not contain all of her hits (it is missing Stupid Cupid and Lipstick on Your Collar for starters) but for $1 I cannot be picky.  The other CD of Brenda Lee music is mostly live recordings of sounds that I do not recognize so it gets a rare NO in the Again? column.
• Mychildren Mybride “Unbreakable”: There is no way the drummer on this CD makes it through more than 2 or 3 songs in a concert without taking a break.  The drumming and guitars are so fast and so in synch that I can forgive the grovel vocals that almost always goes with this style of music.  I popped this into the car’s CD player after buying it and the wife complained about the vocals.  I asked her what other type of “singing” could possibly go with the overall sound and we both couldn’t think of any.

I have slowed way down in building my collection (6 CDs in 2 months).  Amazingly I do not even have the desire to head to the clearance rack or garage sales to look for more music.  Maybe I have enough CDs now (I don’t believe so either).

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 3

In retrospect I should have just kept walking.  It was Saturday morning about a week ago and Nina (the Doberman) and I were on our morning walk and we happened past a garage sell (or what would soon be a garage sell as they were still brining things out from the house to set out on the driveway).  Even from the sidewalk I could see 2 huge piles of CDs along with a sign indicating they were only asking $0.50 each.  I knew I was in trouble.  I should have kept walking like a recovering drunk should walk past a bar.  What is listed below is what I ended up with and is only this short as I did not have any more cash on me.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1063	Bread	Anthology Of Bread	6/17/2012	Yes
1064	3 Doors Down	Away From The Sun	6/17/2012	Yes
1065	AC/DC	Ballbreaker	6/17/2012	Yes
1066	Dire Straits	Brothers In Arms	6/18/2012	Yes
1067	Rush	Chronicles Disc 1	6/18/2012	Yes
1068	Rush	Chronicles Disc 2	6/18/2012	Yes
1069	Prince & The New Power Generation	Diamonds And Pearls	6/18/2012	Yes
1070	Soundgarden	Down On The Upside	6/19/2012	Yes
1071	Ozzy Osbourne	The Essential Ozzy Osbourne Disc 1	6/19/2012	Yes
1072	Ozzy Osbourne	The Essential Ozzy Osbourne Disc 2	6/19/2012	Yes
1073	REO Speedwagon	The Essential REO Speedwagon Disk 1	6/20/2012	Yes
1074	REO Speedwagon	The Essential REO Speedwagon Disk 2	6/19/2012	Yes
1075	Chicago	Greatest Hits 1982-1989	6/20/2012	Yes
1076	Bon Jovi	Keep The Faith	6/21/2012	Yes
1077	Depeche Mode	Music for the Masses	6/21/2012	Yes
1078	Stone Temple Pilots	Nº4	6/21/2012	Yes
1079	Ozzy Osbourne	The Ozzman Cometh	6/21/2012	Yes
1080	Depeche Mode	People Are People	6/22/2012	Yes
1081	Metallica	Ride The Lightning	6/22/2012	Yes
1082	Peter Gabriel	Secret World Live Disc 1	6/22/2012	Yes
1083	Peter Gabriel	Secret World Live Disc 2	6/22/2012	Yes
1084	Ace Of Base	The Sign	6/22/2012	Yes
1085	Nickelback	Silver Side Up	6/22/2012	Yes
1086	Skid Row	Skid Row	6/23/2012	Yes
1087	Stone Temple Pilots	Thank You	6/23/2012	Yes
1088	Stevie Nicks	Trouble In Shangri-La	6/23/2012	Yes
1089	Depeche Mode	Ultra	6/23/2012	Yes
1090	Alanis Morissette	Under Rug Swept	6/23/2012	Yes
1091	Air Supply	The Vanishing Race	6/24/2012	Yes
1092	Def Leppard	Vault - Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980-1995	6/24/2012	Yes
1093	Genesis	We Can't Dance	6/24/2012	Yes
1094	The KLF	The White Room	6/24/2012	Yes
1095	Tom Petty	Wildflowers	6/24/2012	Yes

• Bread “Anthology of Bread”:  I took a chance on this one as I cannot for the life of me name one song by this group.  The CD cover was a picture of the band in their heyday and they had some cool hair so I took a chance.  I can see myself listening to this one often.
• Dire Straits “Brothers In Arms”: I bought this only for the 2 hit songs that I remember from my MTV days.  The other songs don’t quite fit the same mold but it was an enjoyable listen.  I imagine my future listening of this CD will be limited to the hits.
• Rush “Chronicles Disc 1 & 2”: Wow, all this for 50 cents!  Awesome, awesome, awesome.  I cannot say that I eve heard more than one or two of these songs but I definitely discovered this band way too late in my life.
• Soundgarden “Down On The Upside”: Riding Nirvana’s coattails only lasts so long I guess.  This is the release after their best selling album (Superunknown) and it doesn’t quite pack the punch but it still is OK.
• Ozzy Osbourne  “The Essential Ozzy Osbourne Disc 1 &2” & “The Ozzman Cometh”: If I had know that “The Ozzman Cometh” was another best of CD then I likely would not have bought it (even at the 50 cent price point) since it contains mostly songs from the 2 disc other collection I picked up at the same time.  I really have only heard Ozzy’s later stuff (late 80s, 90’s) so hearing the earlier stuff was fun.  This is a great CD to run to as imagining Ozzy chasing you is a good motivator to keep running.
• REO Speedwagon “The Essential REO Speedwagon Disk 1 & 2”: Another jackpot.  I know most the stuff on disc 2 (their mellower, power ballad years) but I very much enjoyed disc 1.  You can really tell that they changed their sound to get some hit singles once they discovered that power ballads sell.
• Depeche Mode “Music for the Masses” & “People Are People” & “Ultra”: I really expanded my Depeche Mode library here.  The music is so simple at times but so powerful and emotional as well.  This is another band that I discovered to late in life.
• Metallica “Ride The Lightning”: This is the first Metallica CD that I have ever owned.  It is probably a good start.
• Ace Of Base “The Sign”: Don’t judge me.  We had this CD when my 10 yr old daughter was a baby and you could pop it in any time and she would start moving around (and stop crying sometimes) so this CD brings me happy memories.
• Air Supply “The Vanishing Race”: This is from the mid 90’s but the duo’s voices are still awesome.
• Def Leppard “Vault - Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980-1995”: All the hits and a few others thrown in to get enough tracks so that you do not feel like you are getting ripped off.
• The KLF “The White Room”: This one was still sealed and I am not sure what that means.  I seem to recall a hit song by this band with special guest singer Tammy Wynette so I took a chance.  This is not great and it reminded me of a more subdued C+C Music Factory.
• Tom Petty “Wildflowers”: I recognize several songs on this disc (more than just the hits) so I am thinking I must have borrowed it from the Kokomo library at one time or another.  Good stuff.

I am pushing 1,100 CDs now and this is probably my best find so far based on quality of CD and price paid.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 2

The son and I wanted to get out of the house and go do something and we ended up at Mardel’s.  I (of course) went straight to the clearance rack in the music section and scored some decent CDs at 75% / 90% off.  I bought one simply because it looked like a rap album and the son is getting into that style of music.  At only $1 you can afford to take a few chances.  Here is what I bought.

#	Artist	Album	Date Listened	Again?
1058	Sanctus Real	The Face Of Love	6/9/2012	Yes
1059	Jars of Clay	The Long Fall Back To Earth	6/10/2012	Yes
1060	Becoming The Archetype	The Physics Of Fire	6/10/2012	Yes
1061	Mars ILL	ProPain	6/10/2012	Yes
1062	Various Artists	Welcome 2 Holy-Wood	6/10/2012	Yes

• Sanctus Real “The Face of Love”: I have really wanted to get some music by this band.  I only have their “Lead Me” single that I bought so I could practice and perform it for church.  I never thought I would find any of their stuff on a clearance rack.  I have listened to this new CD about a dozen times already.  Awesome
• Jars of Clay “The Long Fall Back To Earth”: If I had not of read the front of the CD I would have swore I was listening to The Afters.  I think Jars of Clay is a band that I have really tried to like after they released their 2nd CD (I loved their first CD).  This one I really like.  It was released in 2009 so maybe this is their new sound.  Here’s hoping!
• Becoming The Archetype “The Physics Of Fire”: This group has a lot of growling for vocals (not my favorite) but the guitar and (especially) drums are awesome.  I sat in awe of how anyone could play either instrument that fast.
• Mars ILL “ProPain”: I think I was thinking of another band when I picked this one up.  I thought I was getting a dance / techno CD but alas this is more rap / r&b.  Still good but not what I was hoping for with this $1.
• Various Artists “Welcome 2 Holy-Wood”: This is the rap CD I mentioned earlier in this blog.  This was really for my son but it is not bad.  I put YES in the right column since I will likely be forced to listen to this again whether or not I really want to.

So there you have it.  All in all I showed restraint in that I only purchased 5 CDs,  Once again though I can say that I have listened to all of my CDs.

Jon

The Listening Project–Supplemental Blog 1

Almost 2 months has gone by since I have bought any new music but I did make a small purchase (see list below) during a 20% sale at my favorite Half Priced Books store.  At only 80 cents each, I think I made a good purchase.  You can reference this blog entry for details about The Listening Project.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
1047	Kelly Clarkson	Breakaway	5/27/2012	Yes
1048	Daughtry	Daughtry	5/27/2012	Yes
1049	Brian Healy	Devils, Angels & Saints	5/27/2012	Yes
1050	Green Day	Dookie	5/27/2012	Yes
1051	Depeche Mode	Exciter	5/27/2012	Yes
1052	Robert Plant	Manic Nirvana	5/28/2012	Yes
1053	Michael McDonald	Motown	5/28/2012	Yes
1054	Various Artists	O Brother, Where Art Thou?	5/29/2012	Yes
1055	Fleetwood Mac	Say You Will	5/29/2012	Yes
1056	Bruce Hornsby	Spirit Trial Disc 1	5/29/2012	Yes
1057	Bruce Hornsby	Spirit Trial Disc 2	5/29/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs…

• Kelly Clarkson “Breakaway”: I was disappointed in this one.  While Kelly’s voice is great, most of the songs are not.  Even the lyrics get repetitive song after song (I think not being able to breathe is mentioned in 3 or 4 of the songs).  I will probably listen to it again though.
• Daughtry “Daughtry”:Continuing on the American Idol theme here.  This one is pretty good.  I remember being disappointed when the lead singer was voted off way to early in season 5.
• Brian Healy “Devils, Angels & Saints”: This completes my collection of Dead Artist Syndrome CDs (I think).  For all practical purposes, Brian IS Dead Artist Syndrome.  I am not sure why he released this one under his own name.  The initials of the band and the title of the CD are both DAS though.  Maybe he was having trouble with his label.  I heard a lot of Michael Roe (The 77s) in the back ground vocals on this one.
• Green Day “Dookie”: A few questionable lyrics here but a good CD nonetheless.
• Depeche Mode “Exciter”: Newer stuff by this band that I discovered way too late.
• Michael McDonald “Motown”: What is not to love of this disc of Michael singing old Motown songs?
• Various Artists “O Brother Where Are Thou?”: The jewel of my purchase this week.  I have listened to “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” a ton of times this week,

I have done pretty well in not buying any new music but the kids and I were killing time while the wife as at work and one thing led to another and we ended up at the Half Priced Book store.

.Jon

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Listening Project–Week 37

This marks the end of this project  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  There was only 1 CD remaining to be listened to in my march through all of my CDs. 

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
1046	U2	Zoorpoa	4/8/2012	Yes

• U2 “Zooropa”: This is not my favorite U2 album but I like them all anyway.  I was taking stock of my U2 albums and between CDs, LPs and cassettes I am only missing their “Rattle and Hum” album.  It was fitting that U2 ends this project.

Well that’s it.  It took me 263 days but I listened to them all.  Here are my closing thoughts.

What I knew already

I like music.  I often quote the latter part of Ecclesiastes 1:8 which says “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.”  My ears are never full of hearing.  I listened to 4 CDs a day, every day, for the past 7+ months and it did not seem odd to me to do so.

I like all kinds of music.  If you joined me on this journey then you know this already.  From jazz to pop to rock to metal to new age to dance to punk to country to you name it.  Other than the really hard core metal, I did not find a genre that I did not like.

What I kind of knew already

I have a lot of Reba McEntire CDs.  I mentioned during this project that I bought a few Reba CDs on the clearance rack during a time that our family was watching reruns of her comedy show and then I just could not stop.  At current count I have 11 of her CDs.

I have a lot of Stephen Curtis Chapman CDs.  I thought I did not like SCC but then I was looking for a new song to sing for a solo during a church service.  My mother recommended one by SCC and then I started to research other songs by him to sing as well.  I think I have done 4 or 5 SCC songs now (including “Cinderella” one Father’s Day).  Like Reba, I have 11 CDs by SCC but unlike Reba he got NOs on 4 of his releases.

I do not like 4Him, Jonathan Pierce, Al Denson, or PFR.  These artists got the most NOs percentagewise.  These artists accounted for 25% of all the NOs during this project.

I really like Harry Connick Jr., Melissa Ethridge, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, and Sting.  I own at least 5 CDs from each of these artists and they all got YESs.

I have a ton of CDs that are by “Various Artists”.  75 to be exact.  These include soundtracks of course but also a ton of theme CDs (best of the 50’s, compilations made for Startbucks, new artists on a specific record label, etc).  These tend to show up on the bargain racks at a higher percentage rate it seems and I tend to buy them even if I only want it for a single track.  I have been introduced to tons of new artists this way.  I should probably stop buying Various Artists CDs.

What I learned

I have a sickness.  I did not write it down but when I started this project I “only” had about 800 CDs.  I knew I had a lot but I did not know that I had that much.  This project was supposed to (among other things) make me realize that I have too much music and that I needed to stop purchasing any more (even if they were only $1 each).  This collection took my my whole life to amass.  Then, in only 260+ days I bought over 200 more CDs.  So, during this project, which was supposed to make me realize that I had too much music, I increased the size of my collection by 25%!  The wife is right, I need help.

What now?

After listening to “Zooropa” last Sunday morning I had a problem.  What should I listen to?  I mean, for more than 1/2 a year I have not had to think about what CD to listen to next.  In the end I chose the Susan Ashton CD that I had just bought the week prior and then copied all 11 of my U2 CDs to my mp3 player and have been listening to them pretty much all week.  Last night I grabbed the best of KC & The Sunshine Band as the we drove to dinner.  I even pulled out my USB LP player and listened some old The Call and Degarmo & Key LPs while I worked from home this week.

What do I do if I buy more CDs?  Certainly I will listen to them all but I will not likely resurrect this blog series to report on it.  Maybe a few years from now I will start the whole project over again, who knows?  Thank you for joining me.  I had a lot of fun.

.Jon

The Listening Project–Week 36

Well another week has passed by and I was able to get through a few more CDs in my listening project.  I had a three day workshop this week at work so that slowed my progress compared to recent weeks but with a long listening day today I was able to get to 42 CDs.  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  Here are the CDs I knocked off of my list this week.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
1004	Merchant Band	The World Can Wait	3/31/2012	Yes
1005	By The Tree	World On Fire	3/31/2012	Yes
1006	Superchick	Beauty From Pain	4/1/2012	Yes
1007	Big Dismal	Believe - Bonus Sampler	4/1/2012	Yes
1008	Blind Melon	Blind Melon	4/1/2012	Yes
1009	The Violet Burning	Chosen	4/1/2012	Yes
1010	James Taylor	A Christmas Album	4/1/2012	Yes
1011	Mannheim Steamroller	Christmas in the Aire	4/1/2012	Yes
1012	Common Children	Delicate Fade	4/1/2012	Yes
1013	Susan Ashton	A Distant Call	4/2/2012	Yes
1014	Semisonic	Feeling Strangely Fine	4/2/2012	Yes
1015	Preacha	Geography Of A Journey	4/2/2012	Yes
1016	The World Wide Message Tribe	Heatseeker	4/2/2012	Yes
1017	Halo	Heaven Calling	4/3/2012	Yes
1018	Blackball	Hope	4/4/2012	Yes
1019	M.C. R.G.	In Jesus Name	4/5/2012	Yes
1020	The Choir	Kissers And Killers	4/5/2012	Yes
1021	Nevertheless	Live Like We're Alive	4/5/2012	Yes
1022	Various Artists	My Utmost For His Highest: The Anthems	4/5/2012	Yes
1023	GS Megaphone	Out Of My Mind	4/5/2012	Yes
1024	Dishwalla	Pet Your Friends	4/5/2012	Yes
1025	Various Artists	Pure Moods	4/5/2012	Yes
1026	Ginny Owens	Something More	4/6/2012	Yes
1027	The Violet Burning	Strength	4/6/2012	Yes
1028	Avalon	Testify To Love Live In Concert	4/6/2012	Yes
1029	Twila Paris	True North	4/6/2012	Yes
1030	Delirious	World Service	4/6/2012	Yes
1031	Worldbeat	Worldbeat	4/6/2012	Yes
1032	Adam Again	Worldwide Favorites	4/6/2012	Yes
1033	Michael W. Smith	Worship	4/6/2012	Yes
1034	Michael W. Smith	Worship Again	4/6/2012	Yes
1035	Chris Taylor	Worthless Pursuit of Things on the Earth	4/6/2012	Yes
1036	Various Artists	WoW Hits 2002 Gold Disc	4/7/2012	Yes
1037	Various Artists	WoW Hits 2002 Red Disc	4/7/2012	Yes
1038	Various Artists	X 2008	4/7/2012	Yes
1039	Various Artists	XM Artist Confidential Vol. 1	4/7/2012	Yes
1040	Melissa Etheridge	Yes I Am	4/7/2012	Yes
1041	Leann Rimes	You Light Up My Life- Inspirational Songs	4/7/2012	Yes
1042	Glenn Kaiser	You Made The Difference In Me	4/7/2012	Yes
1043	Melissa Etheridge	Your Little Secret	4/7/2012	Yes
1044	Matchbox Twenty	Yourself or Someone Like You	4/7/2012	Yes
1045	The Smashing Pumpkins	Zero	4/7/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs that I have listened to over the past week…

• Merchant Band “The World Can Wait”: I bought this online (mp3 format) for the son for his birthday as he said he really liked this band.  I somehow lost the CD I burned for him and also the mp3 files but fortunately I found the actual CD in the bargain bin somewhere.  Think of a praise and worship version of Coldplay.
• Superchick “Beauty From Pain”: And thus starts a 24 CD streak.  I should have finished this project this week but I did something stupid last Saturday night.  I went to a resale shop and bought a pile of CDs.  Who can blame me?  They were 4 / $1.  I have the remix of this album and listened to it back in August.
• The Violet Burning “Chosen” & “Strength”: Pretty good stuff. These guys (or maybe this guy) sounds a lot like another artist called Dead Artist Syndrome.
• James Taylor “A Christmas Album”: I could not resist another Christmas album.
• Susan Ashton “A Distant Call”: I could not believe it but this is my first Susan Ashton CD.  I think I have a song or two of hers on some compilation CDs.  Awesome.
• Halo “Heaven Calling”: Never been sorry to have purchased anything on Pachyderm Records (the brothers Elefante).  I did a quick search and found one website that wanted $80 for this disc!  I think I will keep my copy.
• The Choir “Kissers And Killers”: This one is rare as well.  The Choir’s independent release between labels.  The rerecorded most of these for the “Speckled Bird” CD (which I also have).  It was nice to hear the alternative versions.
• Nevertheless “Live Like We're Alive”: I thought I recognized the band name and I was right.  The first track was a big hit on the local Christian hard rock radio station.  Lucky to find it for a quarter.
• Avalon “Testify To Love Live In Concert”: Despite this band being very popular I could not find this CD listed anywhere on any web site.  There was a DVD released with this title but I could not find it as a CD.  I might have another rare one on my hands.
• Twila Paris “True North”: Yikes!  Another yes for another Twila CD?  I might have to admit to being a fan.
• Adam Again “Worldwide Favorites”: A best of from on of my favorite bands.
• Various Artists “WoW Hits 2002 Gold & Red Disc": This is an annual thing done for Christian artists.  It is an honor to make the WoW CD listing.  It is sort of like the “Now That’s What I Call Music” serious I suppose.
• Various Artists “X 2008”: Similar to the WoW series but specific to the Tooth-N-Nail records and their affiliates.
• Melissa Etheridge “Yes I Am” & “Your Little Secret”: Melissa in her prime.
• The Smashing Pumpkins “Zero”: This CD (really an EP) is definitely on the CON side of me doing this project.  The last track is parts of 70 songs (from what appear to be various jam sessions) all crammed into a 23 minute track.  It was almost unbearable, especially the final 3 minutes.  The wife plugged her ears and begged me to turn it off.

I almost finished this whole project this week but ran out of time.  I tried.  Once I finished the 23 minute torture from The Smashing Pumpkins I had had enough.  As it stands I at 99.9% complete with only 1 lone CD remaining, U2’s “Zooropa”.  Next week I will close out the project with my final thoughts.

.Jon

The Listening Project–Week 35

Well another week has passed by and I was able to get through a few more CDs in my listening project.  I made great progress this week and listened to 55 CDs.  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  Here are the CDs I knocked off of my list this week.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
949	Watermark	Watermark	3/24/2012	Yes
950	Russ Taff	The Way Home	3/24/2012	Yes
951	Jennifer Knapp	The Way I Am	3/24/2012	Yes
952	Bruce Hornsby and The Range	The Way It Is	3/24/2012	Yes
953	Rachel Rachel	Way To My Heart	3/25/2012	Yes
954	Various Artists	Wayne's World	3/25/2012	Yes
955	Mike Roe	We All Gonna Face the Rising Sun	3/25/2012	Yes
956	Harry Connick Jr	We Are in Love	3/25/2012	Yes
957	Stellar Kart	We Can't Stand Sitting Down	3/25/2012	Yes
958	Russ Taff	We Will Stand-Yesterday and Today	3/25/2012	Yes
959	Emery	The Weak's End	3/25/2012	No
960	Creed	Weathered	3/26/2012	Yes
961	The Wedding	The Wedding	3/26/2012	No
962	TobyMac	Welcome to Diverse City	3/26/2012	Yes
963	Thousand Foot Krutch	Welcome To The Masquerade	3/26/2012	Yes
964	INXS	Welcome To Wherever You Are	3/26/2012	Yes
965	Charlie Peacock	West Coast Diaries Volume 1	3/26/2012	Yes
966	Charlie Peacock	West Coast Diaries Volume 2	3/26/2012	Yes
967	Charlie Peacock	West Coast Diaries Volume 3	3/26/2012	Yes
968	Reba McEntire	What If It's You	3/26/2012	Yes
969	Margaret Becker	What Kind Of Love	3/27/2012	Yes
970	Cheri Keaggy	What Matters Most	3/27/2012	Yes
971	Morgan Cryar	What Sin - The Best Of	3/27/2012	Yes
972	Wynonna	What The World Needs Now Is Love	3/27/2012	Yes
973	English Band	What You Need	3/27/2012	Yes
974	P.O.D	When Angels & Serpents Dance	3/28/2012	Yes
975	Harry Connick Jr	When My Heart Finds Christmas	3/28/2012	Yes
976	Tim Hughes	When Silence Falls	3/28/2012	Yes
977	Kerry Livgren	When Things Get Electric	3/28/2012	Yes
978	John Mellencamp	Whenever We Wanted	3/28/2012	Yes
979	Pillar	Where Do We Go from Here	3/28/2012	Yes
980	Twila Paris	Where I Stand	3/28/2012	Yes
981	Third Day	Wherever You Are	3/28/2012	Yes
982	Emery	While Broken Hearts Prevail	3/29/2012	No
983	Maire Brennan	Whisper to the Wild Water	3/29/2012	Yes
984	Whitecross	Whitecross	3/29/2012	Yes
985	Whitesnake	Whitesnake	3/29/2012	Yes
986	Reba McEntire	Whoever's In New England	3/29/2012	Yes
987	SHeDAISY	The Whole SHeBANG	3/29/2012	Yes
988	Dixie Chicks	Wide Open Spaces	3/29/2012	Yes
989	Scott Krippayne	Wild Imagination	3/29/2012	Yes
990	Erasure	Wild!	3/29/2012	Yes
991	Sheryl Crow	Wildflower	3/30/2012	Yes
992	Wilshire	Wilshire	3/30/2012	Yes
993	John Elephante	Windows Of Heaven	3/30/2012	Yes
994	Rich Mullins	Winds of Heavens, Stuff of Earth	3/30/2012	Yes
995	ZOEgirl	With All Of My Heart- The Greatest Hits	3/30/2012	Yes
996	Rick Cua	Within Reach	3/30/2012	No
997	Amy Morriss	Within the Sound of Your Voice	3/30/2012	Yes
998	Ginny Owens	Without Condition	3/30/2012	Yes
999	Shania Twain	The Woman In Me	3/30/2012	Yes
1000	Chevelle	Wonder What's Next	3/30/2012	Yes
1001	The Waiting	Wonderfully Made	3/30/2012	Yes
1002	John Reuben	Word Of Mouth	3/31/2012	Yes
1003	Rich Mullins	The World As Best As I Remember It Vol 2	3/31/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs that I have listened to over the past week…

• Russ Taff “The Way Home”: This is probably my favorite Russ Taff CD.  It contains the songs “I Cry” and “Farther On” (both of which I have sang as specials in church).
• Rachel Rachel “Way To My Heart”: I think I picked this one up as I had heard that Kerry Livgren played the guitar solo on Rachel Rachel’s cover of “Carry On My Wayward Son”.
• Various Artists “Wayne's World”: Hits and misses here for me.  The kids like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” but I like Alice Cooper’s “Feed My Frankenstein”.
• Russ Taff “We Will Stand-Yesterday and Today”: I am not sure why I bought this since I have most of Russ’s stuff already.  I did get to hear “I Cry” and Father On” again quickly though.
• Charlie Peacock” West Coast Diaries Volume 1, 2 & 3”: Originally released independently (my cassette copies came via mail order), these were rereleased by Sparrow records after Charlie signed with them.  I gave away my cassette copies to a pastor friend of mine some time ago.  Volume 1 contains my favorite, Charlie Peacock song, “My Mind Played A Trick On Me”.
• English Band “What You Need”: Joe English at one time was the drummer for Wings.  He is an awesome vocalist as well (sounding much like Phil Keaggy).
• Harry Connick Jr “When My Heart Finds Christmas”: I am still finding Christmas CDs peppered throughout this project.  This is his first of 3 Christmas albums (so far).
• Kerry Livgren “When Things Get Electric”: This is post Kansas and post A.D. Kerry Livgren.  The vocalists on this one sound very much like the vocalists on the A.D. albums (but they are not the same singers).  This is a great CD (especially if you like / liked Kansas).
• Twila Paris “Where I Stand”: I am not a big Twila Paris fan but I really like this CD.
• Whitecross “Whitecross”: I saw Whitecross in concert in support this, their first, album.  They were touring with fellow Christian metal band Bloodgood.  The drum set was so puny (like maybe 6 pieces) and the lead singer had no stage presence but Bloodgood more than made up for it.  Scott Wenzel’s voice sounds very much like Ratt and the guitarist is awesome.  A great CD despite having a low budget.
• John Elephante “Windows Of Heaven”: John’s vocals are awesome.  He was lead singer for Kansas at one time.  He also did a stint as lead vocalist of Mastodon, a Christian metal band.
• Amy Morris “Within the Sound of Your Voice”: I have no recollection of buying this CD.  That is a rarity in this project as I usually have a great memory for the purchases of my music.
• Chevelle “Wonder What's Next”: The 1,000th CD.  Wow!
• The Waiting “Wonderfully Made”: I have this memory of listening to this CD while driving our minivan on a snowy night while helping a friend pick up a desk he was buying.  This was their last release as a band.

I am 98.1% of the way done now.  Next week should be the last week of this project for sure since I only have 19 CDs remaining in my list.  I am already worrying about how to decide what to listen to after I get done with U2’s Zoorpoa.

.Jon

The Listening Project–Week 34

Well another week has passed by and I was able to get through a few more CDs in my listening project.  I slowed my pace a bit this week (party due to taking Monday afternoon off) but still managed to get through 40 CDs.  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  Here are the CDs I knocked off of my list this week.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
909	Jimmy Buffett	Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays	3/17/2012	Yes
910	Leslie Phillips	The Turning	3/18/2012	Yes
911	Del Amitri	Twisted	3/18/2012	Yes
912	Various Artists	Twister Soundtrack	3/18/2012	Yes
913	Various Artists	Two A.D.	3/18/2012	Yes
914	Relient K	Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...But Three Do	3/18/2012	Yes
915	UB40	UB40	3/18/2012	Yes
916	Leann Rimes	Unchained Melody (The Early Years)	3/18/2012	Yes
917	Avril Lavigne	Under My Skin	3/19/2012	Yes
918	Distance	Under The One Sky	3/19/2012	Yes
919	Cindy Morgan	Under The Waterfall	3/19/2012	Yes
920	Russ Taff	Under Their Influence	3/19/2012	Yes
921	EMF	Unexplained EP	3/19/2012	Yes
922	The Waiting	Unfazed	3/19/2012	Yes
923	U2	The Unforgettable Fire	3/19/2012	Yes
924	Natalie Cole	Unforgettable With Love	3/19/2012	Yes
925	Toby Keith	Unleashed	3/19/2012	Yes
926	Eric Clapton	Unplugged	3/20/2012	Yes
927	Rod Stewart	Unplugged...And Seated	3/20/2012	Yes
928	Shania Twain	Up! Green	3/20/2012	Yes
929	Shania Twain	Up! Red	3/20/2012	Yes
930	Five Iron Frenzy	Upbeats And Beatdowns	3/20/2012	Yes
931	Peter Gabriel	Us	3/20/2012	Yes
932	Vigilantes of Love	V. O. L	3/21/2012	Yes
933	Silage	Vegas Car Chasers	3/21/2012	Yes
934	Eric Champion	Vertical Reality	3/21/2012	Yes
935	Cher	The Very Best Of Cher	3/21/2012	Yes
936	Hall & Oates	The Very Best of Daryl Hall and John Oates	3/21/2012	Yes
937	Depeche Mode	Violator	3/21/2012	Yes
938	The Waiting	The Waiting	3/22/2012	Yes
939	Jason Mraz	Waiting For My Rocket To Come	3/22/2012	Yes
940	Petra	Wake-Up Call	3/22/2012	Yes
941	Bryan Adams	Waking Up The Neighbors	3/22/2012	Yes
942	4 Him	Walk On	3/22/2012	No
943	Boston	Walk On	3/22/2012	Yes
944	Scott Blackwell	Walk on the Wild Side	3/23/2012	Yes
945	The Call	The Walls Came Down	3/23/2012	Yes
946	U2	War (Remastered)	3/23/2012	Yes
947	U2	War (Remastered) Disc 2	3/24/2012	Yes
948	Enya	Watermark	3/24/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs that I have listened to over the past week…

• Jimmy Buffet “Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays”: This is a live CD and one I very much enjoyed.  This marks the first time I actually listened to this CD even though I bought it some time ago.
• Leslie Phillips “The Turning”: This is the last CD by this artist under the name Leslie.  On all her newer stuff she goes by Sam Phillips.  Whatever the name, I love her voices.
• Various Artists “Twister Soundtrack”: This is my son’s favorite movie (he is really into weather) but for the life of me I did not recognize any of these songs nor to I recall hearing them during the movie.  The next time we watch it I will have to pay less attention to the tornados and more attention to the background music.
• Various Artists “Two A.D.”: The follow up to “One A.D.” that I reviewed a while back.  New Age / Trance style music that is best listened to as background music.
• UB40 “UB40”: Fun fact: the band takes its name from the form you fill out for unemployment in their native country.  This is pre “Red, Red Wine” but is still fun to listen to.
• The Waiting “Unfazed” & “The Waiting”: I love this band’s lyrics.  Highlights (lyric-wise) include “The Company You Keep” and “Hands In The Air”.  I am making a mental note to blog about the latter song as it really describes my life to a tee.
• U2 “The Unforgettable Fire”: The opening song last Sunday at church was “Pride (In The Name Of Love).  I do not know how it fit’s in really to the service but I do recall the band playing it around this time last year.
• Eric Clapton / Rod Stewart “Unplugged” & “Unplugged…And Seated”: These are both from the time when everybody and their brother was doing acoustic, live CDs.  Both are very good though I think I prefer the Clapton one better.
• Shania Twain “Up!”: This release came with 2 discs.  One was supposed to be more country and one more rock.  I think they replaced the fiddle with another guitar as they sound about the same.  The international version has the country version and an international version.  I have heard it and they basically replaced the fiddle with some sort of weird Japanese stringed instrument.
• Cher “The Very Best Of Cher”: I was listening to “I Got You Babe” and thinking of my wife on the eve of our 15th wedding anniversary while in the parking lot of Kroger during a run to the grocery store for garlic bread.
• 4 Him “Walk On”: I wasn’t going to say anything but I have been on a phenomenal run of YESes.  My previous record for CDs in a row that I would listen to again was somewhere in the 60’s/  This CD ended a streak of 130 CDs in a row that I would listen to again.  I do not have enough CDs left in this project to beat that record.  I have seven 4 Him CDs and all but one garnered a NO.
• Boston “Walk On”: Wow, I am glad I gave this CD a listen to as it might just become one of my favorites.
• The Call “The Walls Came Down”: This is sort of a best of from their first 3 albums.  When they changed labels and got a bigger following, their old label released this CD that contains about 2/3s of the songs from the fist 3 releases by this awesome band.  I have their 2nd album on LP somewhere in my closet.
• US “War (Remastered) Disc 1 & 2”: I am allowing myself to not listen to my regular War CD as it is the same track listing as disc 1 of this remastered version.  The bonus disc has 4 versions of New Year’s Day and 3 versions of Two Hearts Beat As One.  They are played back to back so this is not really a pleasant listen.

I am 92.8% done and I managed not to buy any more CDs this week.  I have 74 CDs to go according to my master spreadsheet.  Based on recent weeks, I should be done in 2 weeks but I have a workshop during the first week of April which likely means I will not be listening to music at work for 3 of the days that week.  Since the majority of my listening time is at work, This project might go until week 37.

.Jon

The Listening Project–Week 33

Well another week has passed by and I was able to get through a few more CDs in my listening project.  I made record progress and got through 53 CDs.  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  Here are the CDs I knocked off of my list this week.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
856	Jeff Deyo	Surrender	3/10/2012	Yes
857	Stephen Crumbacher	Take It In	3/11/2012	Yes
858	Al Denson	Take Me To The Cross	3/11/2012	Yes
859	Newsboys	Take Me to Your Leader	3/11/2012	Yes
860	Steve Camp	Taking Heaven by Storm	3/11/2012	Yes
861	White Heart	Tales Of Wonder	3/11/2012	Yes
862	Various Artists	Teenage Romance	3/11/2012	Yes
863	Philadelphia	Tell The Truth	3/11/2012	Yes
864	Pearl Jam	Ten	3/12/2012	Yes
865	Sting	Ten Summoner's Tales	3/12/2012	Yes
866	MXPX	Ten Year's And Running	3/12/2012	Yes
867	Kim Hill	Testimony	3/12/2012	Yes
868	PFR	Them	3/12/2012	Yes
869	Vangelis	Themes	3/12/2012	Yes
870	Cheri Keaggy	There Is Joy In The Lord	3/12/2012	Yes
871	Underoath	They're Only Chasing Safety	3/12/2012	Yes
872	Glass Tiger	The Thin Red Line	3/12/2012	Yes
873	Eli	Things I Prayed For	3/13/2012	Yes
874	Third Day	Third Day	3/13/2012	Yes
875	Smalltown Poets	Third Verse	3/13/2012	Yes
876	Randy Stonehill	Thirst	3/13/2012	Yes
877	Sixpence None The Richer	This Beautiful Mess	3/13/2012	Yes
878	Run Kid Run	This Is Who We Are	3/13/2012	Yes
879	Petra	This Means War!	3/13/2012	Yes
880	Barry Manilow	This One's For You	3/13/2012	Yes
881	Chevelle	This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)	3/14/2012	Yes
882	Blindside	A Thought Crushed My Mind	3/14/2012	Yes
883	Glenn Kaiser	Throw Down Your Crowns	3/14/2012	Yes
884	Sixpence None The Richer	Tickets For A Prayer Wheel	3/14/2012	Yes
885	Tim Miner	Tim Miner	3/14/2012	Yes
886	Third Day	Time	3/14/2012	Yes
887	Clay Crosse	Time To Believe	3/14/2012	Yes
888	Giant	Time To Burn	3/14/2012	Yes
889	Glenn Kaiser	Time Will Tell	3/14/2012	Yes
890	The Call	To Heaven And Back	3/15/2012	Yes
891	Harry Connick Jr	To See You	3/15/2012	Yes
892	Cranberries	To The Faithful Departed	3/15/2012	Yes
893	Whitecross	TO THE LIMIT - To the Limit - The Best of Whitecross	3/15/2012	Yes
894	TobyMac	Tonight	3/15/2012	Yes
895	MC Hammer	Too Legit To Quit	3/15/2012	Yes
896	Bonnie Tyler	Total Eclipse Of The Heart	3/16/2012	Yes
897	Various Artists	Totally Country Vol. 5	3/16/2012	Yes
898	Idle Cure	Tough Love	3/16/2012	Yes
899	No Doubt	Tragic Kingdom	3/16/2012	Yes
900	Rebecca St. James	Transform	3/16/2012	Yes
901	Tree 63	Tree63	3/16/2012	Yes
902	Whitecross	Triumphant Return	3/16/2012	Yes
903	Miss Angie	Triumphantine	3/17/2012	Yes
904	The Elms	Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll	3/17/2012	Yes
905	Project 86	Truthless Heroes	3/17/2012	Yes
906	Bebo Norman	Try	3/17/2012	Yes
907	Chumbawamba	Tubthumper	3/17/2012	Yes
908	Sheryl Crow	Tuesday Night Music Club	3/17/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs that I have listened to over the past week…

• Jeff Deyo “Surrender”: I think Jeff left SONICFLOOd (I am too lazy to research at this moment) and went solo.  This sounds about like SONICFLOOd though.
• Stephen Crumbacher “Take It In”: Solo project from the lead singer of the group Crumbacher.  I love his voice and this one is a little tamer than the CDs by his group.
• Newsboys “Take Me to Your Leader”: This is the release that made me a Newsboys fan.  Having Steve Taylor write the lyrics was a brilliant idea.
• Pearl Jam “Ten”: Wow, awesome.
• MxPx “Ten Year's And Running”: I almost gave this one a NO.  I first ran across them on the Petra tribute album and this is a best of release.
• Vangelis “Themes”: The last track on this CD is “Chariots of Fire”.
• Eli “Things I Prayed For”: The title track’s 3 verses (about the things he prays for) goes from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.  He prays that his hair would not stick up in weird places then prays that his hair WOULD stick up in weird places then prays that his hair would not FALL OUT in strange places.
• Petra “This Means War!”: This really solidified that all would be well with Petra when John Schlitt replaced Greg Volz as lead singer for this legendary Christian rock group.
• Barry Manilow “This One's For You”: Don’t judge me.
• Chevelle “This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)”: I need more Chevelle.
• Blindside “A Thought Crushed My Mind”: A re-release of their early stuff that I picked up for $5 on sale from their website.  A little rough for my taste but still good.
• Glenn Kaiser “Throw Down Your Crowns” & “Time Will Tell”: This lead singer from Rez / Rez Band / Resurrection Band takes on the blues.  I love his gravelly voice.
• Giant “Time To Burn”: Not a commercial success like their self titled CD (that I wish I could find) but still awesome arena rock guitar licks and power vocals.
• Whitecross “TO THE LIMIT - To the Limit - The Best of Whitecross”: Yet another best of from a band that I have all their releases and yet was “forced” into buying since there was a new song on it.
• Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”: A best of CD (I think but since I only remember 2 of her hits I am just guessing).
• The Elms “Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll”: I need to buy more Elms stuff.
• Chumbawamba “Tubthumper”; Very addicting.

I am 88.9% done and I managed not to buy any more CDs this week.  I have 114 CDs to go according to my master spreadsheet.

.Jon

The Listening Project–Week 32

Well another week has passed by and I was able to get through a few more CDs in my listening project.  I made record progress and got through 52 CDs.  You can reference this blog entry for details about this project.  Here are the CDs I knocked off of my list this week.

#	Artist	Album	Date	Again?
804	Peter Gabriel	So	3/3/2012	Yes
805	Bryan Adams	So Far So Good	3/3/2012	Yes
806	Reba McEntire	So Good Together	3/3/2012	Yes
807	Downhere	So Much For Substitutes	3/3/2012	Yes
808	Everclear	So Much For The Afterglow	3/3/2012	Yes
809	Alanis Morissette	So-Called Chaos	3/3/2012	Yes
810	The Aaron Pelsue Band	Solid. Rock Solid Worship	3/3/2012	No
811	Dave Matthews	Some Devil	3/4/2012	Yes
812	Carry Underwood	Some Hearts	3/4/2012	Yes
813	Rich Mullins	Songs	3/4/2012	Yes
814	Maroon 5	Songs About Jane	3/5/2012	Yes
815	Tears for Fears	Songs From The Big Chair	3/5/2012	Yes
816	Depeche Mode	Songs Of Faith And Devotion	3/5/2012	Yes
817	SONICFLOOd	SONICFLOOd	3/5/2012	Yes
818	SONICFLOOd	Sonicpraise	3/5/2012	Yes
819	Margaret Becker	Soul	3/5/2012	Yes
820	Kathy Troccoli	Sounds Of Heaven	3/5/2012	Yes
821	Precious Death	Southpaw	3/5/2012	Yes
822	White Heart	Souvenirs	3/6/2012	Yes
823	Bleach	Space	3/6/2012	Yes
824	Sarah Jahn	Sparkle	3/6/2012	Yes
825	Dogs of Peace	(Speak)	3/6/2012	Yes
826	Various Artists	Special Brew	3/6/2012	Yes
827	Choir	Speckled Bird	3/7/2012	Yes
828	Steven Curtis Chapman	Speechless	3/7/2012	Yes
829	Paula Abdul	Spellbound	3/7/2012	Yes
830	Jewel	Spirit	3/7/2012	Yes
831	The Offspring	Splinter	3/7/2012	Yes
832	Steve Taylor	Squint	3/7/2012	Yes
833	Belly	Star	3/7/2012	Yes
834	Harry Connick Jr	Star Turtle	3/7/2012	Yes
835	Various Artists	Starbucks World Music Volume 1	3/7/2012	Yes
836	Reba McEntire	Starting Over	3/7/2012	Yes
837	Jeremy Camp	Stay	3/8/2012	Yes
838	Jet Circus	Step On It	3/8/2012	Yes
839	KLANK	Still Suffering	3/8/2012	Yes
840	Sometime Sunday	Stone	3/8/2012	Yes
841	Randy Stonehill	Stories	3/9/2012	Yes
842	Charlie Peacock	strangelanguage	3/9/2012	Yes
843	Tori Amos	Strange Little Girls	3/9/2012	Yes
844	Jonah 33	The Strangest Day	3/9/2012	Yes
845	Various Artists	Streams	3/9/2012	Yes
846	Various Artists	Street Beat	3/9/2012	Yes
847	Various Artists	Strong Hand of Love- A Tribute to Mark Heard	3/9/2012	Yes
848	Kutless	Strong Tower	3/9/2012	Yes
849	Clash of Symbols	Sunday is an Altogether Different Proposition	3/9/2012	Yes
850	Tree 63	Sunday!	3/9/2012	Yes
851	dc Talk	Supernatural	3/10/2012	Yes
852	Santana	Supernatural	3/10/2012	Yes
853	Ian	Supersonic Dream Day	3/10/2012	Yes
854	Alanis Morissette	Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie	3/10/2012	Yes
855	The Chemical Brothers	Surrender	3/10/2012	Yes

Here are my thoughts on a few of these CDs that I have listened to over the past week…

• Peter Gabriel “So”: A great way to start off the week.
• Bryan Adams “So Far So Good”: I may be mistaken but I think I “borrowed” this CD about 5 years ago and just never returned it.  If I remembered who I borrowed it from then I would return it.  If it is yours then let me know.
• Dave Matthews “Some Devil”: I am becoming more and more of a Dave Matthews fan every week.
• Rich Mullins “Songs”: A best of (and my first) CD from Rich.  I have since gathered many of his regular releases.
• Tears for Fears “Songs From The Big Chair”: Only 8 songs on this CD, pity.
• Depeche Mode “Songs Of Faith And Devotion”: I discovered this band too late in their career.
• SONICFLOOd “SONICFLOOd"” & “Sonicpraise”: It had to happen eventually.  This is 2 CDs that are from the artist that appear alphabetically.  Oh there have been others but normally it is a 2 CD set or something like that.  I am less of a fan now than I was originally when I bought these CDs.
• Kathy Troccoli “Sounds Of Heaven”: Was excited and shocked to hear one of Kathy’s songs on American Idol last week (Go Light Your World).
• White Heart “Souvenirs”: So many White Heart best of CDs in my collection.  Still good stuff though.
• Sarah Jahn “Sparkle”: Sadly, this is the only CD that she ever put out.  I first heard her voice on the Petra tribute album.
• Dogs of Peace “(Speak)”: This is the other CD that I mentioned last week that starts with a parenthesis and yet fell into the pile this week.  This is basically 2 guys that have played on or produced tons of other CDs coming together to do their own.  Sadly, this is their only release.
• Various Artists “Special Brew”: This starts out with an 8 minute remix of U2’s “Numb” and just gets cooler from there.
• Harry Connick Jr “Star Turtle”: The music is good but there are 4 tracks mixed in that (I think) are telling a story where Harry is talking to a guy with some kind of computer altered voice.  I don’t get what he is trying to do here.
• Jet Circus “Step On It”: I bought this since the lead singer from Leviticus (well the lead singer from their 3rd release) was the lead singer on this CD.  Basically a drum machine and these guys playing bass and guitar.  So so music but good vocals.
• KLANK “Still Suffering”: The best industrial genre CD that I own.  The wife really dislikes this CD (she says he sounds to angry to be on a Christian label) but I love it.
• Charlie Peacock “strangelanguage”: My favorite CD by Charlie.  Just the right mix of all his other CD’s styles.  The lyrics to “Insult Like The Truth” are spot on.
• Various Artists “Streams”: I saw this on eBay when it first came out.  Jon Anderson (from Yes) sings a duet with the group 4 Him.  This was much touted on eBay and for some reason (even though this was available at any Christian bookstore) it kept selling for >$20.  Eventually everyone caught on.  Basically an album of songs written by Brent Bourgeois (formerly of Bourgeois Tagg).  Michael McDonald, Sixpence, Delirious and others all have standout songs.
• Various Artists “Strong Hand of Love- A Tribute to Mark Heard”: This was how I first hear Mark’s music (except his release under the name “Ideloa”).
• Tree 63 “Sunday!”: Their last release before breaking up as a band.  I miss them.
• dc Talk “Supernatural”: Their last release before breaking up as a band.  I miss them.

I am 83.7% done and I managed not to buy any more CDs this week.  I have 167 CDs to go according to my master spreadsheet.

.Jon