The holidays are over and I've bought myself a few shiny, new (er...), things. My daughter got an iTunes gift card for Christmas and promptly bought herself a bunch of songs for her iPod. It appears that a new, popular, song is $1.29. Ouch. Everything in the list below cost me $1 or less (half were 50 cents). I'll admit, some of these are hard to admit to owning,
1. The Weathermen : Old Friend Sam 12".
2. The Weathermen : This Is The Third Communique 12"
3. Golden Palominos : Visions of Excess LP
4. Prefab Sprout : From Langley Park To Memphis LP
5. Yello : You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess LP (West German pressing)
6. Siouxsie & the Banshees : Nocturne 2LP
7. Altered Images : I Could Be Happy 12"
8. Tracy Chapman : Self-titled LP (to replace the one I sold)
9. Pretenders : 2000 Miles 12"
10. Cichlids : Be True To Your School LP
11. Midnight Oil : Self-titled 1st LP (Australian pressing)
12. Missing Persons : Words 12" (UK pressing)
13. Soft Cell : Soul Inside EP (Canadian pressing)
14. Soft Cell : Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing EP
15. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions : Easy Pieces LP (promo with label bio)
16. Cactus World News : SPIN Concert Series Live LP
17. Mission Papua Holland : June '87 LP (ambient noise - 500 copies)
18. Spiegelsplitter : Spiegelsplitterspitz 12" (German new wave)
19. In The Nursery : Stormhorse (test pressing on UK Sweatbox)
20. R.E.M. : Stand 7" (with "Memphis Train Blues" b-side)
21. Eyeless In Gaza : Sun Bursts In 7"
22. The Sound Asleep : I'm Cold Outside 7"
23. Graham Parker : Heat Treatment LP
24. Strawberry Switchblade : Let Her Go 12"
25. Dif Juz : Extractions LP
26. Doctor & The Medics : Spirit In The Sky 12"
27. Everything But The Girl : These Early Days 12"
28. Arms Akimbo : This Is Not The Late Show LP
29. Thompson Twins : Don't Mess With Doctor Dream 12"
30. Richard Barone & James Mastro : Nuts and Bolts LP
31. The Creatures : Standing There 12"
32. The Communards : Red LP
Now that I've typed it up, some of these are pretty embarrassing (Doctor & The Medics anyone?), but I'm happy to have them all. I've actually been looking for the Cactus World News SPIN radio show forever. The Dif Juz LP is great. The Mission Papua Holland LP is one I had never heard of but it was odd looking so I picked it up and it's probably the best thing in the list. The Spiegelsplitter 12" is nutzo electro new wave from 1981. The Soft Cell "Soul Inside" EP is a Canadian pressing with a different sleeve from the UK copy I already have. The remix EP (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing) has some good versions but is not what I remember from the last time I heard it (circa 1988) at my friend George's house. The Yello record is amazing. The Midnight Oil is a little weak. The Richard Barone record is good but not great. The In The Nursery test pressing is a great find. I was surprised I didn't already have the Golden Palominos, Prefab Sprout, and Siouxsie records. The Graham Parker makes me wonder why I keep buying Graham Parker records. The Pretenders 12" has a live version of "Money" from the US Festival. Hit or miss, but more hit to my mind.
