This Time It's Personal: The November 2023 Record Challenge Thread

November 9
“Oh yeah, I used to know those guys before they became huge. I served them coffee every day. They were cool then but their fame went to their heads.”
Play an artist from your hometown (or any of your previous homes of residence). Did you ever run into them?

Elliott Smith – New Moon

Portland is my adopted hometown, as I moved here after college. I was lucky enough to arrive well before Elliott Smith was really known outside of the Pacific Northwest. I got to see him play with Heatmiser, but more importantly, also saw him play solo + acoustic a handful of times in tiny venues, when he was mostly trying things out and experimenting with a new format. Magical shows, for sure.

Portland is a decent place to run into artists, as many live here and it's still a relatively small city (at least I think of it that way). My daughters both overlapped with Stephen Malkmus' (Pavement) daughter at an arts magnet middle school, and I used to see him out front picking her up, or at other random school events. I've run into Janet Weiss (Quasi, Sleater-Kinney) more times than I can count, and I've bumped into Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) and Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmiser) at the grocery store.

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November 11
:::quiet Saturday morning:::

Shoot, you woke up way too early today even though you had plans to sleep in. No one else is up, it’s just you, your morning cup of coffee, and your turntable. What do you feel like playing to ease you into today?

A little jazz will do the trick

Miles Davis - Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet

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November 12
Them: “Hey, Vertical Horizon is playing at the fair this year! We’re gonna’ get tickets, you wanna’ come?”
You: (gesturing towards your new haircut) “Can’t you see? I’m Emo now; I only listen to Emo.”

Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Tricky one, I guess I relate to the sweetness beneath the layer of noise and distortion.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Sunset 666
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November 12
Them: “Hey, Vertical Horizon is playing at the fair this year! We’re gonna’ get tickets, you wanna’ come?”
You: (gesturing towards your new haircut) “Can’t you see? I’m Emo now; I only listen to Emo.”

Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

I never really had any sort of "style" - unless you can call anything from the JCPenney Big and Tall catalog a style. It got a little better once you could order clothes online, but even then the options were fairly limited. Pretty much dressed like a dad my whole life, jeans and a button down shirt....sometimes a hoodie in the cold months.

I suppose this albums title sums up all I wanted to do in my teen years. I certainly couldn't fit in any leather jackets, though. Well I could fit, but it wouldn't look that good.

Ramones – Leave Home
Sire – SR 6031 NP, 1977

Portuguese pressing

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November 12
Them: “Hey, Vertical Horizon is playing at the fair this year! We’re gonna’ get tickets, you wanna’ come?”
You: (gesturing towards your new haircut) “Can’t you see? I’m Emo now; I only listen to Emo.”
Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Various Artists "Pretty In Pink Soundtrack" (1986 A&M Records; 2012 reissue)
I've dressed pretty plainly all my life. I find something that fits me - shoes, pants, shirts and generally stick with it. Like if something fits nicely, I'll just get it in different colors and go with that. Every once in a while I find something new and make a small change. But there was one time during my teenage years that I did something completely wild and crazy for me.... I sported a permed mullet. I guess I was probably wearing Polo shirts in 80's colours and Vuarnet t-shirts. Anyway, that was a look. No evidence remains from the era except a hockey photo that's well hidden. And I swear I never skated as breezily down the left wing than I did in the days I sported those beautifully flowing locks. Something by John Hughes seems appropriate.

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Turbo said:
November 12
Them: “Hey, Vertical Horizon is playing at the fair this year! We’re gonna’ get tickets, you wanna’ come?”
You: (gesturing towards your new haircut) “Can’t you see? I’m Emo now; I only listen to Emo.”
Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Various Artists "Pretty In Pink Soundtrack" (1986 A&M Records; 2012 reissue)
I've dressed pretty plainly all my life. I find something that fits me - shoes, pants, shirts and generally stick with it. Like if something fits nicely, I'll just get it in different colors and go with that. Every once in a while I find something new and make a small change. But there was one time during my teenage years that I did something completely wild and crazy for me.... I sported a permed mullet. I guess I was probably wearing Polo shirts in 80's colours and Vuarnet t-shirts. Anyway, that was a look. No evidence remains from the era except a hockey photo that's well hidden. And I swear I never skated as breezily down the left wing than I did in the days I sported those beautifully flowing locks. Something by John Hughes seems appropriate.

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colorful Benetton Polo shirts and Vuarnet t-shirts were all the rage here in the late 80's!
 
gafacaode said:
colorful Benetton Polo shirts and Vuarnet t-shirts were all the rage here in the late 80's!
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There's this department store in Quebec City called Simons (there are several across the province now) - they'd have the best boxing day sales back in the day so I'd go there to stock-up on Polo shirts after xmas. We were always down there visiting family during the holidays.
 
November 8
“You might have heard of them. They’re part of this new Estonia-Pop scene.”

Play a record from one of your favorite location-based scenes. Were you into this trend while it was happening, or did you discover it after it was all over?

The Appleseed Cast - The Fleeting Light of Impermanence

From the Midwestern Emo scene that brought 20-ish-year-old me a lot of music to love (American Football, Cursive, the Anniversary, the Get Up Kids, etc...) came this band, that just kept chugging along, incorporating post-rock sounds into their style in a way that presaged some of the bands of the current emo revival.

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November 9
“Oh yeah, I used to know those guys before they became huge. I served them coffee every day. They were cool then but their fame went to their heads.”

Play an artist from your hometown (or any of your previous homes of residence). Did you ever run into them?

Grandaddy - Sumday

I lived in Modesto, CA during the first half of elementary school, hometown of Grandaddy, but before there was Grandaddy, but maybe 3rd-grader me was at the same mall as Jason Lytle once or something...

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November 12
Them: “Hey, Vertical Horizon is playing at the fair this year! We’re gonna’ get tickets, you wanna’ come?”
You: (gesturing towards your new haircut) “Can’t you see? I’m Emo now; I only listen to Emo.”

Various – Allen Ginsberg's The Fall Of America II
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I definitely spent a good deal of my twenties romanticizing the Beats and longing to create a contemporary scene much like it. Impossible, of course! But I still remember those times fondly. When my buddy and I did our cross-Canada hitchhiking tour as a folk n' spoken word duo, we'd actually booked a gig in Montpelier, VT with the intention of using it as an excuse to head to Lowell, MA to visit Kerouac's grave so we could recreate the photo of Dylan and Ginsberg sitting there. Even during my deepest obsession with the Beats, I was never been much a fan of Kerouac's writing, and even less so of Kerouac as a person, but I did love Gins and figured the photo would be a lovely tribute to him. Sadly, I misplaced my birth certificate and had to stay in Montreal while Jeff went down to play the show and visit the grave on his own. I did wind up getting to see Erykah Badu & The Roots as a result of missing that excursion, which was amazing, but I'd have traded it in an instant to actually have made the pilgrimage.
 
November 12
Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Yup not sure what this prompt actually means or is about. So just an excuse to play a wall of noise. I was big into skateboarding for about 10 or so years in my teens, which was a gateway into hardcore music. Sold most of it but you will have to pry my Husker albums out of my cold dead hands.

Husker Du - New Day Rising

Loud fast rules!! Skate hard!!!
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jamieanderson1968 said:
November 12
Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Yup not sure what this prompt actually means or is about. So just an excuse to play a wall of noise. I was big into skateboarding for about 10 or so years in my teens, which was a gateway into hardcore music. Sold most of it but you will have to prior my Husker albums out of my cold dead hands.

Husker Du - New Day Rising

Loud fast rules!! Skate hard!!!
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See? You did understand it!
 
Oops, in my rush to catch up, I skipped over a day...

November 8
“You might have heard of them. They’re part of this new Estonia-Pop scene.”
Play a record from one of your favorite location-based scenes. Were you into this trend while it was happening, or did you discover it after it was all over?

The Spinanes – Manos

Portland has always been in the shadow of Seattle when it comes to a "scene". That said, we had our own contributions during the grunge era, they just didn't hit the big time the way many up north did. That said, there was a steady buzz around town in those days, on obsessive focus on pondering which of Portland's bands would be the lucky ones to break through. One of the bands that everyone started to put their money on was The Spinanes.

They started off as a duo comprised of Rebecca Gates (vocals, guitar) and Scott Plouf (drums). Notably, no bass guitar, much like another duo that would follow in their wake (Quasi). Their album Manos was released in 1993, and it quickly became the first album released by Sub Pop to hit No. 1 on the college charts. Elliott Smith sang backup on their second album, Strand, released in 1996. They found moderate success but never did find the big break-through. In 1997, Plouf left to play with Built to Spill, and Gates moved back to Chicago to start a new iteration of The Spinanes with Joanna Bolme.

Merge reissued this release on vinyl in 1998. It's still a great album, and definitely reminds me of those early days.

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November 10
:::loud Friday night:::

You and your crew are about to head downtown for a real crazzzzy night. Play something that would get you in a dancing mood or excited about staying up way too late. Let’s face it though, you’re really just going to fall asleep while watching NCIS reruns in your recliner around nine o’clock tonight.

Amyl & The Sniffers – Comfort to Me

Not catching up to this until Sunday afternoon, but given that most of the family is out running errands and whatnot, let's do this!

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hatfieldpdx said:
November 10
:::loud Friday night:::

You and your crew are about to head downtown for a real crazzzzy night. Play something that would get you in a dancing mood or excited about staying up way too late. Let’s face it though, you’re really just going to fall asleep while watching NCIS reruns in your recliner around nine o’clock tonight.

Amyl & The Sniffers – Comfort to Me

Not catching up to this until Sunday afternoon, but given that most of the family is out running errands and whatnot, let's do this!

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Nice! I almost played their first album for this prompt. So much energy!
 
November 11
:::quiet Saturday morning:::
Shoot, you woke up way too early today even though you had plans to sleep in. No one else is up, it’s just you, your morning cup of coffee, and your turntable. What do you feel like playing to ease you into today?

Yasmin Williams – Urban Driftwood

Incredible acoustic finger-style instrumental guitar. Saw Yasmin perform live in the woods at Pickathon last year, which was pretty rad.

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November 12
Play an artist that represents a certain style you adhered to during a certain time in your life. If your physical/clothing style never changed, then play something that maybe connected to your emotional style. I’m not sure what that means exactly, so why don’t you interpret it?

Bob Dylan – Desire

I'm not exactly sure what this means either, all I know is I went through a massive early Dylan phase through much of high school and college. Probably drove my friends crazy, but something about his songwriting really spoke to me during that phase of life. Something to do with a girl, I'm fairly certain of that.

Anyway, the early stuff doesn't really connect with me in quite the same way these days. Desire is the one I reach for the most, so let's spin that.

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