Last album you bought

Depends what you're into, Scott. I saw Sabrina live earlier this year and she's probably one of my favorite pop artists, despite not really listening to a lot of modern pop. She has a fantastic voice and I think she's worth a shot if you're into modern pop - I'd say she's just below the mainstream as she's not really as popular as some other female singers around right now.

Too Many Dreams [2019] - The Fifth House

Another free CD that a band sent me as a thank you gift after I e-mailed them for lyrics!

Merry Christmas... Have A Nice Life [1998] - Cyndi Lauper
The Canadian and German releases, and they released LPs (one green and one red), I bought the green LP.

Ready! Get! Go! [2013] - Dot Wiggin Band

Almost forgot to mention this - got this one about a month ago after I realized it had a lyrics booklet. I even transcribed most of the album by ear some years ago, so I had to adjust some of my older transcriptions to match the official lyrics. A very fun and quirky album overall - if anyone is familiar with The Shaggs, this is a solo project of sorts featuring one of the members of that group.

From Out of Nowhere [2019] - Electric Light Orchestra
Metal is Girly and Gay (And That's Okay) [2019] - Negative Øhio

The second album is from a noise music project that two of my friends are in. Even though I own all of the songs digitally, I bought the CD to support them (plus I'm credited in the "special thanks" on the back of the CD!)

FROOT [2015] - Marina And The Diamonds
I Disagree [2020] - Poppy
Lost and Found [2011] - The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

I pre-ordered the Poppy album back in October, and it just arrived today - 2 days before its release date! Pretty cool; I've never had that happen before, but I also rarely pre-order CDs as it is.

Exile [1997] - Gary Numan
Greatest Hits [2000] - Rupert Holmes
I'm The Man [1979] - Joe Jackson
Signals [1982] - Rush

Made an annual visit to the record store today. It only seemed right to pick up a Rush CD given the recent news of Neil Peart's death, plus I only own Moving Pictures and 2112.

Mayflies [2019] - The Bergamot

Yet another free CD a band sent me after contacting them via e-mail. They both signed it as well!

Ask Me About Your Strong Suits [2016] - Great Deceivers (45" vinyl)
In Spirit [2019] - Great Deceivers (cassette)
The Pauses / Great Deceivers [2012] - The Pauses and Great Deceivers (vinyl)
Seasons in Reverse [2011] - Great Deceivers (CD)
Some [2017] - Great Deceivers (cassette)
You Feel Me [2016] - Great Deceivers (cassette)

Got all of these for free - another small band sent me a ton of merch after contacting them for lyrics. On top of these, they also sent a T-shirt and a tour poster! Probably the biggest haul of free stuff I've ever gotten as a thank-you gift from a band, so I'm very grateful.

Jesus Juice [2020] - Toad and the Stooligans

Once again, a small band I contacted for lyrics offered to send me free merch. Aside from the CD (which was autographed by all five band members), they also sent a T-shirt, some stickers, and a bandana!

Look Sharp! [1978] - Joe Jackson
Images Of Sigrid [2008] - Poni Hoax
Tropical Suite [2017] - Poni Hoax
Good Morning Starshine [1969] - Strawberry Alarm Clock

Made another annual visit to the record store today! Was genuinely shocked to find some of these; I'm pretty sure this was my first time seeing Poni Hoax CDs in the wild (I've been a fan of them for a long time), and I've never seen that Strawberry Alarm Clock album on CD either. I already own Tropical Suite digitally, but I still really wanted to own it physically. I also ended up emptying out their entire Poni Hoax section by picking these up

Ooh, good finds!

Nicholas, what did you think of the Paramore album?

I thought it was phenomenal. I did a tier list for all of the albums I listened to last year and I put After Laughter in the S tier. It was actually the first Paramore album I listened to in full, believe it or not, but couldn't have been a better starting point because I have a penchant for that sort of new wave sound. "Hard Times" is one of my favorite songs of all time, but "Caught in the Middle", "Rose-Colored Boy" and "Idle Worship" were among my other favorites. Just a near-perfect pop album from front to back.

David Bowie - Blackstar

Nice! What does "S tier" mean? I didn't listen to it to much at first, as it's such a different sound than their other stuff. But "hard times" is very catchy, and i like "rose colored boy" and "26" as well.

S tier is basically the highest ranking in a tier list, you can read more info on it here. I know they had more of a pop punk sound on their first few albums and I do enjoy a lot of those earlier singles too. Whenever I get around to it I think Brand New Eyes will be the next album I listen to from them.

Personally, the more low-key songs on that album like "26" weren't really favorites for me, but I can still really appreciate them in the greater context of the album. "Tell Me How" was a great closer.

I think their most popular album is riot, but brand new eyes is actually my personal favorite. I really like careful, ignorance, and playing God.

I also highly recommend their self titled album. Think that 1 has a good mix of their typical sound and some a bit more experimental ones.

It's that time of year again for my annual record store visit!

Voyage [2021] - ABBA
Anthology [1995] - Joe King Carrasco & The Crowns
Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land [2021] - MARINA
OK Human [2021] - Weezer

I also picked up two vinyls: Electric Light Orchestra's Eldorado, which marks my first time owning one of their albums on vinyl (I have them all on CD already) and I found Orleans' debut album in the bargain section, which was a worthy addition to my collection of yacht rock vinyls. I now own three vinyls from them.