This Month’s CD Stash

Try as I might I can’t seem to stay away from God’s gift to men, Best Buy. The place is like kryptonite for my wallet. After staying away for almost a month I was lured back twice in a 2 day span. So I figured I’d share this month’s CD stash with you.

Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue

Yellowcard is my new favorite band of the moment. Lets start with the name. I love it. I’m not sure if it’s intentionally soccer related or not but any soccer reference whether intended or not is cool in my book. This CD is solid. It starts out blazing with the first 3 songs knocking the Punk-Pop sound right out of the park. The middle third is a bit of a let down but not by much. It finishes strong with a mellower vibe that counters the hard crunchy sound of the first 3 songs. There really isn’t a bad song on the CD so while I’m sure it won’t be in my heavy rotation for very long, I see myself returning to this album from time to time for a light, easy going punk fix.

Usher – Confessions

I was yet again suckered into buying a CD site unseen based on a hot single. Unfortunately that hot single (Yeah!) is about the only thing this Usher CD has to offer. I might as well use this CD as a coaster based on the number of listens this CD will get in the future. I’ve been had before and probably will again. This CD is another prime example of why I rarely buy R&B and hip-hop albums anymore. These genres in today’s current music climate seem more prone than most to the “one hit – rest filler” album tendency that’s plaguing the music industry. Oh well. At least I can rip a pristine, high quality MP3 of that one hit off this CD and add it to my mp3 collection.

Dave Matthews Band – The Central Park Concert (3 Disc Set)

To say that the Dave Matthews concert is incredible would be a terrible understatement. Every DMB concert is unique and this one takes that to a whole different level. The best part is you get 3 + hours of great music for what you usually pay for one CD at today’s grossly inflated prices. This CD set will become a staple in my pantheon of at-work listening CDs. I can’t think of a better way to blow 3 hours than listening to DMB. If you haven’t had a chance to catch DMB live you’ve done yourself an injustice. I saw them when they came through Memphis for the Beale Street Music Festival a few summers ago. It was a festival show so it was a bit abbreviated but still a load of fun. I stood up for 5 hours on a sprained ankle just so I’d have a good spot to see the show. Once the show started I jumped up and down on said sprained ankle and screamed lungs (and voice) out to all my favorite tunes. The live DMB experience is a can’t miss event. These CDs are the next best thing.

My sort of still girlfriend (long story) says I’m crazy for spending my money on CDs. Mariah says there are beter ways to spend my money. The way I see it though I enjoy music and don’t mind investing my hard earned cash on something that I derive a great deal of pleasure from.