Ep. 34 – Christianbook.com – Aug 26th, 2008

About a week ago I somehow stumbled across a christian media website called ChristianBook.  While i was on their i noticed that some of the CD’s they had for sale were ridiculously cheap.  I found a few on the list and snapped them up right away.  They came in the mail two days ago!

“Contact” – The Benjamin Gate

This is the first album i had ever hear by the Benjamin Gate.  I downloaded it during my senoir year of high school along with some other albums and it sat on my computer for awhile.  Sometime during my freshman year of college i got bored with the music i had and found this album on my computer.  From the first time i listened to it I loved it!  This album is a perfect album.  There is not one song that i do not like.  I really love the singing; this is one of two rock bands i really follow that have female vocalists.  The sound of the album is a mix of Rock, Pop, and a little bit of Dance.  I recommend giving this album a spin and deciding for yourself if it is your style.  

Track-listing:

	1. Lift Me Up (Far Away)
	2. This Is Not
	3. Calling, The
	4. Do What You Say
	5. Overkill
	6. Need
	7. Light
	8. Your Kisses Blind Me
	9. Tonight
	10. Gratitude
	11. Way You Are, The
	12. Violently
	13. Fall Away

Price Paid: $2.99 (plus shipping for all 3 CDs <3.99>)

“Brace Yourself for the Mediocre” – Roper

From the ashes of Five Iron Frenzy, The O.C. Supertones and some other bands, the pop-punk band Roper arose.  Brainchild of Reese Roper, X-FIF Singer, the band released one album before disbanding.  Some don’t like it, but i think that is because they compare it to the supergroups that came before.  This album still features Reese’s zainy lyrical style and his great singing voice.  It is a solid pop-punk album.  Do not expect Five Iron and you won’t be disapointed. 

Track-listing:

1. “Hello Lamewads” – 3:16
2. “You’re With Stupid” – 2:27
3. “Amplify” – 3:59
4. “Vendetta” – 3:47
5. “Red Eye to Miami” – 2:56
6. “Quicksilver” – 3:21
7. “1985″ – 3:20
8. “Say Sayonara” – 3:32
9. “How Your Halo Fell” – 3:30
10. “Day of Pigs” – 2:37
11. “Fireflies” – 3:28
12. “You’re Still The One” (Shania Twain cover) – 2:57
13. “In Excelsis Deo” – 3:42

Price Paid: $1.99

“Until My Heart Caves In” – Audio Adrenaline

This was Audio Adrenaline’s last full-length before they callled it quits.  They were one of the first bands i ever got into and have been with me since.  For awhile i didn’t really like that style of music, so i kind of forgot about them for awhile.  I downloaded this album when it came out and it reignighted my liking of them.  I saw it for really cheap on that site and decided since i didn’t have to pay any additional shipping that i might as well take advantage of that.  Plus the website gave me an additional 5% off if i added this item to my order.

Track-listing:

1. “Clap Your Hands” – 3:28
2. “Until My Heart Caves In” – 3:41
3. “King” – 5:01
4. “Melody (Lost Inside the Wonder)” – 4:16
5. “Starting Over” – 4:04
6. “Are You Ready for Love” – 3:31
7. “Undefeated” – 3:36
8. “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher” – 3:36
9. “Light of the Sun” – 3:46
10. “All Around Me” – 3:30
11. “Losing Control” – 4:47

Price Paid: $2.84

Well, that’s all the new albums i have for now.  Might be awhile before my next post, but then again you never know.  I’ll try and post anything intersting that i come across.  Be sure and check out my new Links section up there ^^^^.  Thanks for reading!

Ep. 13 – St. Vincent DePaul’s – July 13, 2008

Went to a St. Vincent DePaul’s today to look at Vinyls.  My friend told me she gets hers there for 10 cents.  She said that you don’t find anything very often though.  Well i didn’t find any good Vinyls but i actually did find some good cd’s!

“Lift” – Audio Adrenaline

Great release by a great christian band.  I think the title track “Lift” is great as a praise song.  Who would of thought i’d find it here.  I found it unopened!  Price Paid: $2

“Point of Know Return” – Kansas

I got really into Kansas last year.  I illegally downloaded a few of their albums, and this was one of them.  Only recently did i find out that a lot of Kansas’ later releases are heavily christian inlfuenced because Kerry Livgreen gave his life to the Lord.  Kansas’ albums are very good and i’m excited i found this one.  Price Paid: $2

“Under a Blood Red sky (Live)” – U2

U2’s legendary live album featuring live tracks recorded at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  My interest in U2 has been reaffirmed since purchasing Achtung baby and War and the album released after the War Tour in 1983 caught my eye.  For the price it was well worth it!  Price Paid: $2

Well that’s all for today.  A couple of unexpected finds from an unexpected place.  It just goes to show that however unlikely, it still pays to take a look!

Revisions to the Hunt-list.

I have decided to add a few things to the hunt-list and to take some things off.

Add

“Some Kind of Zombie” – Audio Adrenaline

“The Joshua Tree” – u2

“Vapor Trails” – Rush

“Fly by Night” – Rush

“Boogi-root” – DJ Maj

“Caress of Steel” – Rush

“War” – u2

“Achtung Baby” – u2

“The Alchemy Index, Vol. 3&4: Air & Earth” – Thrice

“The Artist and the Ambulance” – Thrice

“Pop” – u2

Remove

“Fireflies” – Frodus

“Radioactivity” – Frodus

Ep. 4 – Hot Hits and “Love” – June 16th, 2008

Today i decided to check out Hot Hits, another record store on gratiot not a mile from Record Time.  My first impression of the place was less than optumistic.  It was dirty, cluttered and disorganized.  It looked like a pawn shop with dvds and videogames lying around in piles, no prices on anything.  I decided to give them a chance and browse through the music they had.  I was actually surprised by what i found.  I suspect the reason i found what i did was because they get very few costumers, especially costumers looking for the obscure stuff i was looking for.  A few of the titles i found but did not buy were:  “Chase the Sun” – The O.C. Supertones (maybe next time), “The Adventures of the Orange County Supertones” – The O.C. Supertones, “On Your Feet” – Spoken (i was very surprised to find one of spoken’s very early albums since they aren’t very big… i’m not a huge fan of the album though, so i passed it up…), and “Payable on Death” – P.O.D.

I did find a few albums on the list that were worth getting at Hot Hits, sadly Hot Hits charges $7 for used CD’s instead of $6 like Record Time so I oly got a few:

“Satellite” – P.O.D.

This album and I go way back.  This is probably the first hard rock album i ever owned.  Back in the day (7th grade) when my top recording artists were MXPX, Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, and the Newsboys (i know, i’m sorry, i was a kid… and everyone else liked them ) my friend Eric told me about this band, P.O.D. and he burned me their album.  I was in love right away, the music was so powerful… heavy distortion, screaming, i loved heavy music… now, i know people are like P.O.D.?  That’s your exposure to heavy music?  You can’t get much more mainstream than P.O.D… I know, but this album opened the door… and really if you give it a listen now, it is pretty heavy, you have to admit (especially in contrast to the Newsboys )  So this album has been a part of my collection since i started defining my musical tastes, so when i saw it, i had to pick it up.  Price Paid: $7

“Wake Up, O Sleeper” – Cool Hand Luke

I’ve already said how my love for cool hand luke has grown in the last six months.  I had all their albums downloaded and recently found “the Balancing Act” at Record time.  Well, Hot Hits actually had their second release, “Wake Up, O Sleeper” so i snatched that bad boy up!  Price Paid: $7

“Love” – The Juliana Theory

When i really started to get into the christian alternative and rock scene in high school, i found out about the Julianna Theory.  I gave them a listen, but at that time i was listening to bands like Underoath (early Underoath, with Dallas on vocals) As I Lay Dying, Extol, and Christian hardcore or metal.  What i heard of the Julianna Theory was not “heavy” enough for me.  Then somewhere along the line i downloaded some pack that had a bunch of christian albums in it and “Love” was one of them.  It found it’s was onto my ipod and stayed there for awhile, just waiting.  Waiting until i started college… every once and awhile a song from the album would pop up on shuffle and i would think “this is pretty good, who is this…” I’d look and it would be a song off this album.  When i compiled the hunt-list i decided that i would buy this album if i ever come across it.  I came across it today and I was pretty shocked, the only Julianna Theory album that Hot Hits (or Record Time for that matter) had was the only one i like!  Hah!  Price Paid: $7

After Hot Hits i made a stop by record time because i had a trade in.  I traded in a sealed copy of Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” (it was a gift) and got $3 store credit.

“Shadows are Security” – As I Lay Dying

Though my interest in metal is not as strong as it used to be, I can’t deny that this is a good album.  For $3 i couldn’t pass it up.  Price Paid: ($6 – $3 store credit = $3)

Pretty productive day.  Not sure if i’ll be going back to Hort Hits anytime soon, but the trip todday was worth it.  I found out about a couple more record stores in the area so i might try those sometime soon… after i get paid again.

A little bit more about the mission…

People have been asking me lately why i would undertake such a project. For those of you who have never read my blog before, i am on a mission to purchase all the albums I illegally downloaded in the past. I thought i would go into a little more detail about just why i would make a decision like this:

1. Music is a huge part of my life.

Music is like a drug. Its very hard to describe the effect music has on me, i feel that music is so closely tied with emotion… it speaks to you on more than just a conscious level… there is anger, sadness, joy, and all of it can be so easily felt by the listener… you can listen to a piece that is completely instrumental and know exactly what emotion is being conveyed just by how the piece sounds.

I remember when i when i first started getting into music. I really didn’t have a defined sound, i just liked what people around me liked… i remember the first CD i ever owned (before that i owned 1 cassette tape – Carmen – “The Champion” yikes!) The first CD i ever owned was “Underdog” by Audio Adrenaline, and it is actually an album i still listen to. I remember exactly how i got it too… My Aunt was in this “CD Club” thing through a catalog where as long as you bought so much per month you got CDs for pretty cheap. Anyway, i was talking to her about my new CD player that my parents had just got me and i told her how i didn’t even have any CDs yet… she had just ordered Underdog and “Supernatural” by DC Talk… she said i could have one of them… i listened to a little of both and chose Audio Adrenaline. This brings me to my next point:

2. Music is closely tied to memory

or at least in my life it is… just like i have a story about the first album i ever got, there is a back story behind a lot of the albums in my collection, even the ones i stole. The sounds of these albums, the songs, the music… every time i hear them they bring me back to a specific point in my life, i feel feelings of that time, i think about people i haven’t seen in years, it’s about more than just the music. Buying these albums that I’ve been listening to for years is like buying little pieces of my life, little time capsules.

3. Downloading music is wrong.

boy did it take me a long time to come around. I starting pirating music freshman year of high school and took off like a bat out of hell… i downloaded everything i could find on the internet, i only bought a few albums here and there from my favorite artists and only if they were new releases… i hardly ever went out of my way to pay for an album… Well, without going into too much of a rant about ethics and morals and what not, i have decided its wrong. I am a Christian and i can finally say that since i started college i am trying to live my life acourding to Jesus’ teaches and to honor God with my life. Taking music that does not belong to me without paying is not honoring God plain and simple so i have decided to stop.

4. I listen to obscure bands that need every record sale they can get.

I also want to support the bands i like especially since most of the bands i like are obscure bands that are semi-well known but are in no way famous. I really love their music and i want them to keep making it, so i should support them.

So there are four-ish reasons why i am undertaking this grand project, plus hunting for the good albums is quite fun!