Recent music trade ins.

I wanted to buy an album, but I didn't want to spend any money.

"Paul, why do you still buy CDs?"

Because I can sell them BACK, that's why!



And then suddenly I'm getting decent trade-in for the vinyl versions of classic albums I bought in the 90's because at the time they were cheaper than buying a CD, and since I didn't have an iPod yet, I figured it was cheaper to get the vinyl version for the one or two songs than buy the used CD.

I got more for the first batch of vinyl I traded in, more that I spent on them in the first place, than I got for any CD trade in I ever did.

Note: I rarely traded in/sold CDs up until the middle of the last decade. I felt like I owed it to the bands to hold on to that music, and that by selling them, I'd have admitted to making a mistake with my music choices, especially albums that I would be ridiculed for owning in the first place (and double-especially for the genre of music I was known to enjoy!). I didn't want to admit that tastes change. Even if I added new styles and genres that I hadn't bothered with or didn't know about or even disliked in the first place, I refused to unload any of my Iron Maiden albums. C'mon, Powerslave fuggin' rules. It's just hard to make out with that sensitive artsy chick you met listening to "2 Minutes To Midnight." Even for me.

ANYWAY, Krusty Goon of Hired Goons told me about this band Baroness, and I figured that if I'd give them a shot, I'd trade some stuff in. I bought their latest album, and I will talk about that in a future post. It was less risky to buy their third (and technically fourth?) CD(s) as by then a band has matured a bit, gotten better production to go with better songwriting, and even if their longtime fans think I'm getting the watered down version of what this band SHOULD be about (MAN), I'm a veteran of just jumping blindly into a band's catalog (and cringing when I do), so I'd rather buy the latest and if I wanted to reach back into their past, I'd get rid of a bit of mine as well.

So off the top of my head, here's what I got rid of:

-Led Zepplin - Physical Graffiti on vinyl. A lot of inserts for this complicated cover. How COULD I? Well, I have a new rule: not liking the album is no longer the ONLY reason to get rid of it. I now consider when the last time I listened to it was, and how frequently I would do so again. This is why I got rid of all but a few of the Maiden CDs (also, because they were rare versions, I was able to sell them to collectors to fund the 1st Goons recording, which outweighs the benefits I would get from listening to those Maiden albums again). I have a complicated view of Zep. Some of their music is awesome. A lot of the people who enjoyed Zep at the time I'm supposed to discover and like Zep were total assholes. I avoided a LOT of classic rock due to this, and still refuse to listen to The Grateful Dead or The Steve Miller Band for the same reason.

I looked at the track listing and beyond Kashmir, there wasn't anything there I would miss that I wouldn't be able to borrow from someone in the future, had I really really really wanted to listen to it again. Yet I can listen to Achilles' Last Stand any time. Weird.

-LARD - The Power Of Lard on vinyl. This head on collision between Jello Biafra and members of Ministry will always have a special place in my heart for "The Last Temptation Of Reid," but "Pure Chewing Satisfaction" had just a few great songs and some filler. And then there was "70's Rock Must Die," which was kind of a pointless "EP." This was their first "EP," three songs, one of which was just noise to me. I forgot the other song, leaving just the title track as the only memorable entry. Haven't listened to it in a while. So it had to go.

-Mars Volta - Frances The Mute on CD. Somewhat okay, but nothing stood out. So, off it went.

-Double Negative - Daydreamnation on vinyl. The great Brian Walsby was on this. Then he quit the band. Then the singer quit or was kicked out. It didn't seem like a split where people left respecting each other's decisions, so I have less of a view of this band, and only checked it out because they opened for COC and Brian did a signing at my store. And he's a cool dude, too. This gets a lot of love in the punk community because it's a throwback to the hardcore crossover whatever movement and I figured that the best thing to do in this situation where it wasn't totally my thing in the first place was to drop it off and let someone else get it who really wants it and for a good price.

-Snake Nation - s/t on vinyl. Can't believe I let this go. It was in my collector hands for the last 7 years because, again, not only does it feature Walsby, it also features Woody & Mike of COC. This was a strange record done in a strange time during one of COC's breakup periods. I gave it a few spins and I swear, I don't remember any of it. Which is a shame considering how much of COC's music has remained in my brain for so long. Walsby has detailed much of his experience with this project in his comic strips over the years, and it appears that many ideas and goals were lost in the mixing process. Maybe. I'd have held on to it for the COC completist but I haven't listened to it, and I hate hate hate to be negative on any aspect of COC or anyone involved and how they express themselves musically, but in the end I just didn't like it. Maybe another fan can swoop this up.

-Cave In - some CD. I don't even remember. This was my 2nd or 3rd try for Cave In and I not only don't see what the big deal is that all my metal friends who raved and raved about this band, but I just plain didn't like it. So, back to the used CD store it goes.

-Black Sabbath - Paranoid on CD. I have it on vinyl, and most of this album appears on some double disc retrospective. I only need this in so many formats.

Unlike, say, Van Halen 1. Speaking of which.

WHAT I GOT

-Van Halen - Van Halen (1) on CD. Have it on vinyl. Man, I love this album. VH albums were my first experiment in "getting those classic songs for 1/3rd or 1/4th of what I'd spend if I got the CD!" experiment. It was in the $2 bin. What's the harm? Played great, uploaded to iPod, end of story. From beginning to end, this album is amazing. "SHOWWWWW your LOVE." And so on.

-ISIS - Oceanic on CD. One of their more well liked albums. I heard a bit of this here and there but never liked the mix. The ISIS guys owned the label that released most of the Pelican albums, so how bad could they be? I was always interested. This is pretty good.

-Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty, Check Your Head, THE MIX UP on CD. I got "Sounds Of Science" for cheap and as a result of my exposure, I want to hear more. Hello Nasty and Check Your Head were cheap, and I may give Check Your Head to someone who needs it more than I do. The real score here was The Mix Up, their 2nd batch of instrumentals that they wrote and performed themselves, which is why I've always respected these guys, even when I never really got them. Now I'm jamming a lot to them lately. Wonder why.

-Baroness - Red Album on CD. This was why I showed up and wanted to make the trade. Their first album. They get compared to Mastodon a lot, which I didn't understand on their latest, but I understand here. Pretty rough too. They and Mastodon are both from Atlanta (and both on Relapse, or at least Mastodon was). They don't sound like Mastodon now, at least with their new album(s), and I like Mastodon but I think that's a good thing. Even the artwork has that retro classy but dark look to it that Mastodon featured on Leviathan. and their previous albums. WTH? I'll be reviewing Baroness' stuff later.

-Ramones - Ramones on CD. Remastered RHINO version with bonus tracks. Already have it, but when I see a great album for $2, a friend is getting this shoved into their hands. Gotta spread the word.

Okay, that's it for now.