My Saturday Haul

I got loads of new and exciting things today. I'm not sure how it happened as I really didn't spend much money, it was just some kind of magic culmination of things I'd ordered long ago, gift certificates, etc.

Amongst the loot:

The first three Drive-By Truckers CDs. The first two DBT albums, Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance were just re-released last week. They'd been out of print for quite some time and were near impossible to track down, so it was great to see these become available. In addition to picking these up, I also got a copy of Alabama Ass Whuppin' which is a live CD that features many of the songs on the first two albums and a cover of the Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died". Sonic Boom was running a special give-a-way, so in addition to my CDs, I also ended up lucking into getting a signed copy of the CD booklet from Decoration Day.

In addition to my DBT purchases, I also picked up a copy of the new Matt Pond PA EP Winter. I've been wanting to check out a Matt Pond CD for awhile, so when I saw that this EP includes covers of a Neutral Milk Hotel song and a Neil Young song I was hooked.

My Bright Eyes' CDs finally showed up in the mail today. So far I think I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is the stronger of the two new albums. I was pleased to find that "Landlocked Blues" is a different version of one of my favorite Bright Eyes songs, "One Foot In Front of the Other" which originally appeared on the Saddle Creek 50 compilation.

At Half Price Books I found used copies of Nick Drake's Way To Blue and Laurie and John's Arabella. The Nick Drake album I picked up because (a) he's Nick Drake and because (b) the only album I had of his was Pink Moon. I've been wanting to check out the Laurie and John CD for awhile, so I was pleased to see it sitting in the used bin. John Stirratt is the bassist for Wilco and his twin sister Laurie played in the band Blue Mountain. From the brief chance I've had to listen to it so far it sounds like a nice pop record, so I have high hopes for it.

A couple of weeks ago I subscribed to Tablet Magazine. They're running a subscription special where you can get 2 CDs plus a one-year subscription for $20. Today my first issue showed up and included with it were my two CDs: Hard-Head Woman: A Tribute To Wanda Jackson and Kimya Dawson's Hidden Vagenda. The Wanda Jackson tribute is a Bloodshot Records compilation and has a bunch of good people on it including: Neko Case, Robbie Fulks, Jesse Sykes, and the Bottle Rockets. Kimya Dawson was one of the lead singers in the Moldy Peaches. Her new album has received mixed reviews, but I tend to dig the l0-fi stuff, so I'm hoping that it's something I'll enjoy.

It wasn't only music that found it's way to me today. I also received issue #15 of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. The theme this time is Iceland (Tropical Icy-Icy) and it looks as beautiful as always.

The last piece of today's haul is The Brak Show, Vol. 1 on DVD. I can't even tell you how excited I am about this one. Brak is the man. All Hail Brak! Seriously.