the boombox
i listen to most of my music in either my car, or with my panasonic rx-d55gc-k. when i was researching about what sort of music player i wanted, i had three stipulations informing my search: 1) needed to be able to play radio, cassettes, and cds. bluetooth would be nice but not necessary. 2) needed to look good. 3) needed to be in decent working condition, or at least something i can easily repair without much of a headache. 4) needed a remote.
i figured that i'd probably need to find something new, or at least new old stock. the thrift stores out where i live are touch and go for electronics; we used to have a dedicated electronics goodwill, which would fix up and repair computers for people to purchase, and had lots of pieces and parts for sale, but it became a normal goodwill after just a couple years. having a remote was critical, since i knew that if i had to keep getting up to adjust the volume, change the channel/track, or whatever, i'd hardly use it. after looking it up, the panasonic rx-d55 offered pretty much exactly what i needed at a good price point, so i got it with holiday money in 2022. i admit i was also charmed by its orange-backlit LCD--that specific color adds so much warmth to an otherwise pretty chilly-looking device.
it sounds great and has exactly the settings i want and need. once in a way the cassette deck is a little temperamental, and doesn't always open when i want it to eject, but fiddling with it typically fixes the problem. i'm happy i've got it, and it serves me well.
the cd player
my husband and i recently made some big changes to our music-playing setup. we've both been more committed to collecting physical music, since we fucking hate streaming culture and want to actually own and enjoy the stuff we listen to, while supporting the artists and communities we love. i'm also a big proponent of actually sitting down and listening to the whole damn album, start to finish, at least once. the artist(s) who made an album possible put the songs in that order for a reason. sometimes they tell a story. taken out of that context does little favors to the listener. but i digress.
anyway, we had a bit of an adventure getting a suitable cd player for our living room. my dad had some old bose speakers (501s) that he gifted us, plus an amp he found at goodwill for like, $6.99. we got these set up, but didn't have a cd player. for a brief time, just to test the amp and speakers, we hooked my old ps2 to the amp and played a couple albums through it. the ps2 wasn't connected to the tv, so we just had to navigate blindly. it wasn't too hard, and we thought about keeping that setup with the ps2 (i even went to the trouble of cracking the old console open and cleaning it out a bit before using it for this), but it was a real awkward way to play a cd.
so we didn't do that. a friend of ours loaned us a Sony CDP-CX53, which is a 50+1 (!!!) cd changer. it's a beast of a box! the internal carousel has some lights that make it look really cool when it's filled with cds. the contraption has a special +1 slot for when you just want to play a cd real quick. it needed some work, though. our agreement was that if i could fix it up and we wanted to buy it, we'd buy it from our friend. i got it working (it needed cleaning plus it was missing a screw, which made the disc reader a little loose), but my husband and i figured we didn't need 50 cds in the player at the same time.
for a while i scoured thrift stores, but each time i found a promising player, it had some unfortunate fault--either it had a cracked case, or a missing button, or the cd carousel didn't work, or something. finally we gave up on getting lucky and turned to ebay, where we found a Sony CDP-C360Z that can play five discs. it works like a charm and ain't bad looking, to boot.
here's our current setup. there's a tangle of audio and power cables at the back, but it looks pretty slick from head-on. i admit that springing for the Sony had one hiccup--i wanted an orange-lit display, and this one is clearly blue. Ty rightly convinced me that this was a shallow thing to be concerned about.
the turntable
Ty and i are very fortunate--for our birthdays (which are during the same month), his mom got a Fluance RT82 for us. it's a gorgeous piece of equipment, with walnut finish, a sleek build, and everything about it is so satisfying to use. this is the first time i've had a proper record player--the one we were using previously was part of those all-in-one victrolas, but we discovered that its tonearm isn't properly weighted, and can actually damage vinyls after enough plays. so, we put our record collection aside for a spell, but now we can actually play them again.
i admit i'm a little intimidated by this piece of equipment. it's easily one of the nicest things in our home, and each component (and its settings) can change the quality of the sound. i'm not an audiophile by any means and actually enjoy the idiosyncrasies that different mediums and methods bring to the sound of an album. however, since there's so much potential variation with vinyls--from the weight of the tonearm, to the quality and condition of the needle, to the record itself, and more--it feels like a tall task to get everything "right." still, i'm very grateful to have it.
we're currently trying to make sure our cats know never to sit on top of it, even with the dust cover down. it's by no means fragile, but i just want to keep it looking and sounding great for years to come.
music library
entries are arranged from newest to oldest, defined by when i wrote the entry and not when i added the album to my library. click the titles to be taken to the album's bandcamp when available, or a youtube video/playlist or whatever.
last updated: october 10, 2023
Night Trax
Plack Blague - entry added october 10, 2023electronic / industrial / queer / kinky, 2017, vinyl
i was obsessed with getting this album and stalked ebay and discogs for a lonnnnng time before finally getting this. this past spring i was very fortunate to see Plack Blague live, and god damn does he put on an incredible, sexy, hypnotic show. i've never danced like that before and sweat right thru my jeans. i have a puppy mask that i was tempted to wear out, and part of me regrets not bringing it, but the other part of me realizes that it would've been too stuffy and i would've passed out.
industrial is one of my favorite genres and Plack Blague is a superb musician. he's got this amazing ability to make his voice sound less like vocals and more like a machine and it ROCKS. if you have the opportunity, please see him live. support queer musicians - they're making the best art of the day.
The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground - entry added september 12, 2023art rock / proto-punk / experimental / psychadelic, 1967, vinyl/cd
the album so nice i bought it twice. originally got it on vinyl, but wanted it on cd so i could play it in my car and in the study where i don't have a turntable. the vinyl version i have is a reissue of the one released in the 60s, and has an extra track (chelsea girls). the back cover does not have the Eric Emerson picture on it, but the banana on the front can be peeled off.
as i frequently tell my husband, Lou Reed's lyrics in "heroin" make me want to try the drug out. maybe all the panic around rock music in the 60s and 70s was justified. however, as most people will probably tell you, i have control issues, so i swear not to be shooting up anytime soon. another favorite is "european son" for the loudness of its noise and its chaotic breakdown. and, of course, who doesn't love the hypnotic rhythm of "venus in furs?"
easily one of my favorites. i could listen to this one all damn day and often have.
_SNDWRK/gh
greenhouse - entry added september 4, 2023electronic / braindance / glitch / deathrave / experimental, 2022, cd
one of my favorite albums lately. this is another one that seems to short-circuit my thoughts, especially when played loud and with certain tracks on repeat. i dig the presentation of the album as well--the disc is made with a translucent green plastic, and it's held in a digipak made of recycled materials. part of it feels a bit at-odds with my desire to preserve media; creating it from recycled materials that can degrade and even decompose over time (far faster than plastic, anyway) reminds me that everything is ephemeral, including this music. bittersweet.
my favorite track, and the one i often play at the highest volume i can tolerate, is c_majalis. my neighbors probably wonder why i'm listening to, well, electronic noise when i pull into my driveway with this blasting. "braindance" is an accurate description for what's probably happening to my neurons. highly recommend doing the same if you get the chance. sweetness is also pleasantly, well, sweet. this album is best enjoyed as a whole work--it's worth sitting down, without distraction, to really give the music the chance to seep into the folds of your brain.
Flying Microtonal Banana
King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard - entry added august 11, 2023experimental / acid rock / psychadelic rock, 2017, cd
i never actually listened to King Gizzard before this, which is weird because i'm a big fan of Osees (Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, whatever they're calling themselves these days...). i love music that has a drone to it, of sorts... it quiets my mind down and helps me focus. the more the music makes it feel like my brain is melting, or becoming squishier, the better.
i picked this one up at the only music store in town that i have ever seen King Gizzard being sold at. for whatever reason, the store has chosen to highlight their works, and they have multiple new vinyls and cds by King Gizzard up for grabs. i actually thought about getting something by them a while ago, ended up skipping it because i found some albums i was more tempted by. plus i at least knew that King Gizzard did a lot of genre-bending and experimentation, and i wanted to make sure i was getting something that'd be a good intro for me to their music. i stood at the shelf doing research about them, ended up getting overwhelmed, and moved on. however, when i recently visited, i just grabbed Flying Microtonal Banana on a whim, no knowledge about it at all, could barely make out the description on the back... and it's fantastic.
hard to say what my favorite track is because they're all so good. i love the beat and repetition on "Melting" and the title track is an excellent closer. it's definitely making me want to check out traditional Turkish music, too. highly recommended.
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens - entry added january 3, 2023indie folk / folk rock / baroque folk, 2005, cd
my husband accidentally got me into Sufjan Stevens' work the day we left for our honeymoon in Chicago in august of 2022. while we were waiting on our ride to the airport, he pulled this album up and played it on repeat to get us pumped up for the journey. both of us were already excited, but i was pretty struck with the tunes and Stevens' vocals. so, Illinois was the first album of his that i sought out. i had the opportunity to buy it while in Chicago, at Reckless Records on Belmont (near Boystown, of course!), but for some dumb reason passed up on it. guess i didn't want to look too touristy to the cashiers or something. i really need to stop feeling self-conscious about the stuff i buy, especially when i've made objectively ballsier purchases in-person in the past.
i manaaged to find this album as part of an ebay lot with three other albums by Stevens for $20 and snapped it up. very glad i did, since i hadn't really listened that closely to it prior to getting it in the mail. my favorite tracks are Chicago (of course), John Wayne Gacy, Jr.; Casimir Pulaski Day, The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts, The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!, and honestly just about every other song - depending on my mood. of those listed, Casimir Pulaski Day punches me in the jaw with its last couple lines, and the Predatory Wasp makes me tear up. i have blubbered like a baby at 4:47 am listening to those couple songs on repeat.
i think part of the reason this whole album sticks with me so much is because i have extremely fond memories of visiting chicago. i fall in love with places every time i travel, but chicago is the one place where that love has grown rather than diminished. i wish i lived closer. i've also grown more fond of albums/musicians who have complicated and nuanced relationships with their faith, which Sufjan Stevens absolutely brings into his art. to some degree i envy the faithful who are able to believe in something intangible to begin with, but also have true relationships with those beliefs. (i've got no interest in, nor respect for, blind belief or unintelligent engagement.) i'd also like to know what it feels like to really believe in something divine, but i think my own discomfort with vulnerability and skepticism holds me back. (i'm also too much of a historian and anarchist who's concerned with the material effects of faith and specifically religion.) maybe i can experience those complexities vicariously? is it ethical to be a tourist of someone's deeply-held, divine convictions? dunno.
in conclusion this is a great album.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel - entry added december 18, 2022indie rock / psychadelic folk / lo-fi, 1998, cd
this album blew me away the first time i heard it, and then again when i learned when it was released. talk about influential!
when i first heard it, i listened to it literally non-stop through much of 2020. while i can't say that one single song tears my heartstrings out, the album as a whole and its core concept can be tough to get through without feeling a wide gamut of emotion. i've always been a fan of discordant or "noisy" music (as dad would've called it), so i love the album's embrace of the pops and crackle of old media. was '98 before or after the resurgence of vinyl? favorite track: Holland, 1945 for its unceasing assault on my ear drums and excellent musicality.
Wincing the Night Away
The Shins - entry added december 18, 2022indie rock / post-punk, 2007, cd
i really got into the Shins this year and listened to their stuff constantly in the office, more or less on repeat. i'm not 100% sure why their music appeals to me so much, but i think it's that mix of intriguing lyricism and diverse, unexpected melodies. this particular album was a gift from a friend of mine who i play d&d with.
i'm constantly whistling the track "Australia" and "Phantom Limb" in the shower; these songs are ridiculously easy to sing along with. on the topic of the album as a physical object, i really love the design of the cover and the way the lyric booklet looks. the art reminds me of doodles during math class, bringing back memories of getting my pencil confiscated by the teacher because i wasn't taking notes (which ultimately made it harder for me to concentrate on the lessons). anyway--! it's an album i keep replaying again and again.
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
The Pogues - entry added december 18, 2022celtic punk, 1985, cd
easily one of my favorite albums - every song is a banger in its own way. it's difficult to choose a favorite track, but "the Sick Bed of Cúchulainn," "the Old Main Drag," and "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day" stand out. "Sick Bed" is a great opener with a fun melody, and "the Old Main Drag" is both genuinely tragic and comically pathetic--one of my favorite kinds of character archetypes in stories (and this song, very much, tells a story). the reason i list "I'm a Man" is because it's sung by the band's bassist, Cait O'Riordan, with a feminine voice, giving the song a great transmasculine bend.
that doesn't mean the album is front-loaded, of course. this album's got one of the best renditions of "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" out there to cap it off, along with some other jaunty and diverse tunes. i've made the executive decision to cheat a little with this entry, since my "physical copy" of this album was actually burned onto a blank cd, and has been played over and over until the damn thing got damaged. i'm the type of person who, when he gets music stuck in his head, needs to play it to exorcise the tunes. these songs burrow right into my brain and haunt me regularly, so the cd racked up a lot of overtime hours. my husband provided me with a digital version shortly after we started dating, from his own huge collection of punk music, along with a few other albums.
update: december 27, 2022 - i found a physical copy of this in the very, very back of the shelf at a local record store for four bucks. proceeded to blast it at top volume on my drive home. my ears rang for a bit after i got back. worth it.