Records

'Tis the season for giving...to myself. I've been super busy these days, but i was able to make it out the other afternoon to do a little record shopping for myself. I didn't overdo it, surprisingly, but I did make it away with a pretty good haul.

Buzzcocks
Singles Going Steady
4 Men with Beards (re-issue)
LP

This is another one of those that I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I don't already own on vinyl. Regardless, I've remedied that situation, and have been listening to this one a lot. Gotta love the Buzzcocks. I sometimes wonder how successful they could have been in the U.S. given the proper push. The musicianship isn't quite on par with that of the Clash, but it's not all that far off, and I would put their pop sensibility up against just about everyone else. I definitely think they're the greatest thing to ever come out of Manchester.

Sweet
Desolation Boulevard
RCA Records (U.S. Release)
LP

Of all the studio albums by Sweet, this is definitely the one to own. This is the first record they made after they decided to shed the teeny-bopper image, although this is still about a year or so before they started writing their own stuff. Granted, a lot of their glossy stuff is pretty fun, too ("Little Willie" and "Wig Wam Bam" come to mind), but the real heavy hitters are on this one ("Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run"). The deep cuts on here are solid, too. I particularly like "A.C.D.C." and "The Six Teens".

Wilco
Summerteeth
Nonesuch Records (re-issue)
LP

This is definitely my favorite Wilco record, although YHF is not far behind. I like this one the best because it reminds me the most of Big Star. It sounds really nice on the 180 gram vinyl, and it includes a CD version, as well. Done and done. I'll probably have to get my hands on the re-issues of A.M. and Being There pretty soon, too.