Older Sounds

Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite. amazon.com. Used.

Morrissey - You Have Killed Me. amazon.com. Used.

Moloko - The Time Is Now. amazon.com. Used.

Monaco - Music for Pleasure. amazon.com. Used.

New Order - Brotherhood (Deluxe). amazon.com. Used.

Older Sounds

CSS - CSS. amazon.com. Used.

Grateful Dead. amazon.com. Used.

Elf Power - Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs. amazon.com. Used.

Loaded - Volume 1. amazon.com. Used.

Morrissey - Maladjusted. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

Bear's Den - Without/Within. iTunes.

Soft As Snow - Glass Body. iTunes.

Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business. amazon.com. New.

Dark Blue - Just Another Night With the Boys. Jade Tree. New.

Hookworms - Pearl Mystic. iTunes.

More Moz

The Morrissey posts seem to go over well. Everyone wants a B-side.

Morrissey - We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful. Amazon.com. Used.

The Ten

My goal is to post at least ten items today. I'm that far behind.

Morrissey - Piccadilly Palare. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Mystery Solved

When I picked the single up I couldn't for the life of me remember which album it came from.

With a little research I realized there wasn't one.

Morrissey - Sunny. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Where Did You Go?

Before I picked up the compact disc single I had Boxers on vinyl. Now I have no idea where it went.

There's a pretty good chance I sold it.

That being said. Phenomenal tune.

Morrissey - Boxers. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Slipping

I didn't remember the song until I listened to the single.

My Morrissey knowledge takes a serious downward dive in regards to anything after Maladjusted.

I'm ashamed to say I don't even own the last album.

Although I saw him on that particular tour.

Morrissey - Let Me Kiss You. Amazon.com. Used.

Showtunes

I really like Maladjusted.

Even if I do refer to it as the "showtunes" album.

It was the last Morrissey record I was excited for.

"Alma Matters" is the standout in my opinion.

Morrissey - Alma Matters. Princeton Record Exchange. Bargain bin.

Childhood, Childhood

I would use the Ouija Board to find out which girls liked me. I always moved it to the preferred result.

Shocking. No magic in the mass produced Parker Brothers product.

Morrissey - Ouija Board, Ouija Board. Amazon.com. Used.

Divorce

We sold all of our doubles.

Then I lost the remaining copy in the divorce.

Lesson learned.

Morrissey - World of Morrissey. Amazon.com. Used.

When Doesn't It Snow Between Syracuse and Buffalo?

A two-plus hour drive through the snow.

Syracuse to Buffalo.

I guess it was a date.

Even with the time I spent in and around Buffalo between 1995 and 1997. Various trips from Syracuse. I never became familiar with the city.

So I was lost. Looking for the venue.

I couldn't tell you the name.

There were seats. Almost a concert hall. It was a concert hall.

We weren't there for the symphony.

My memories are of an empty venue.

It surely wasn't empty. Likely sold out. At the very least. Close to it.

People threw the obligatory flowers towards the stage.

The atmosphere was different than it had been in Philadelphia. Far less intense. A lack of people rushing the stage.

The whole night. Somewhat unmemorable.

Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart. Princeton Record Exchange. Bargain rock.

Playing Favorites

If I had to choose. I'd take Morrissey over The Smiths.

This doesn't diminish how much I enjoy The Smiths.

I love The Smiths.

Though I'd rather listen to Morrissey than The Smiths.

This opinion is subject to change. It has. It will again.

But right now. Today. 7:55am. My preference is Morrissey.

Morrissey - The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get. ??? New.

All That and Shoplifters

The first time. I wasn't sure what to expect.

Maladjusted tour. The Electric Factory. Philadelphia.

We drove down from Syracuse. Me. Eric. Adeet. One or two others.

It might have been well past his prime. But still. The crowd was like nothing I had ever seen.

The adoration. It was like footage of The Beatles. Of Elvis.

Bouquets of flowers. The flowers being thrown on stage.

Fans crying. The fans throwing themselves on stage.

People crawling down from the balcony.

People climbing up from the floor.

Running to touch him. To kiss his hand. Only to be dragged off stage. Removed from the venue.

The experience was incredible. Intense. Potentially overwhelming.

Adeet went down. Eric was standing with him. To this day I don't know if it was caused by the heat, Morrissey or both.

Morrissey - The Boy Racer (Single 1). ??? New.

It Had Been My Only Reason to Go to the Student Center

Spectrum was going out of business.

Skipping class was always an option. It was important to get there early.

Skipping class would have been the option with or without the sale.

Skipping class happened more often than class. As reflected by my grades.

It was the height of my Morrissey worship. I made sure to purchase every single in stock.

I left some doubles. Hoping my friends would benefit. Adeet in particular.

I cleared out Morrissey. The Smiths. Pizzicato Five.

Leaving behind George Best.

Morrissey - Our Frank. Spectrum. New.

Selling Promos as New

Hatful of Hollow. The first album I bought by The Smiths.

Positively Records. Levittown.

This was long after I had been buying things from New Order. The Cure. Depeche Mode.

It wasn't that I didn't know The Smiths. It wasn't that I didn't listen to them.

The actual act of purchasing an album. It happened to come later than most.

Before that time. Dubbed tapes. Mixtapes. Nothing original.

Once I started buying. I didn't stop. I still haven't stopped.

However. Hatful of Hollow. Lost. Somewhere. Yet to be replaced.

The Smiths - The John Peel Sessions. ???

My Mom Thought Typing Was a Better Option

Ninth grade. Drafting. Selected as our major.

A perfect storm of personalities. A new teacher.

No chance of control.

Ian. Brian. Michael A. Peter. Rob. Dustin. Dave. Ryan. Jeff in a Morrissey t-shirt.

Few girls. Three. Kristen. Samantha. Kate talking Check Your Head.

Parent teacher conferences were inevitable. And they happened.

More than one in my case. Always embarrassing for my mother. She worked in the district.

I had many seats. Moved around. Not by choice. Eventually I sat with Rick. We had played soccer together. Various teams. In-house. Travel.

Others were moved. The games didn't stop. Throwing tennis balls around. Moving desks outside.

The classroom. Located near the shop classes. Contributing to our sense of freedom. Freedom from standard in-class behavior. Freedom from honors.

There was work. There was learning. Little of it committed to memory.

Brian developed his writing style.

The class constructed foamcore houses. In the real world. Mine would not have been structurally sound. The foamcore did not collapse under its own weight. Like a single family residence would have.

With the family inside.

We were at our worst in middle school. Junior high.

If I could go back. Find a lot of those teachers. Apologize. I would.

Morrissey - November Spawned a Monster. AKA Music. Bargain bin.

Part Two in a Series

How did one become a cover star?

Some. Not particularly glamorous.

Most. If not all. Unfamiliar.

Due to my age. More likely my location.

With the solo career. He became the cover star.

The way he always wanted it to be.

That's how I imagine it.

Putting himself out there. On there. On the albums. The singles.

The Smiths - Ask. Schine Student Center. New.

No Chance of Owning It All

Colin pointed out the extent of their discographies.

Morrissey has had a long solo career. It makes sense.

The Smiths on the other hand. Had a relatively short career.

But they've been milked for all they are worth. Continue to be milked.

(Ahem, Joy Division.)

Each of us thought we had pretty nice collections for both Morrissey and The Smiths.

Not even close.

The first step to rectifying this. Filling the gaps in our collections.

Compare. Contrast.

Morrissey - Beethoven Was Deaf. ???

[Image via www.impawards.com]

Sticky Buttons and a Slow Hinge

At the end of my shift I packed my bag. Placing an extra Rock Star inside.

Something to drink in the morning.

The problem could have started then and there. Or anytime between then and there and midnight.

Arriving home. Dropping the bag on my bed.

I went upstairs to eat. Go about my business. My business is television.

Time to sleep.

Moving my bag. I notice dampness. I notice wetness. I notice a full-on soaking.

Opening my bag. A Rock Star calamity. Bills. Paperwork. Compact disc maxi-single. All are wet. All have taken on a yellowish hue. Familiar among the energy drinking public.

My phone. My iPod. Not present. My Discman was.

Yes. I continue to use a Discman. My no frills, yet sensible Focus. Tape deck only.

Drying the Discman. It appeared to be over. It wouldn't play. Into the trash.

Going to bed. Thinking it might not be so easy to find a new one.

Waking up. I remove it from the trash. No luck.

Back into the bag.

The next day. One last try.

Success. Tuesday. Driving again like it was 1994.

Morrissey - Now My Heart Is Full. AKA Music. Bargain bin.