Galaxie 500 / This Is Our Music (Rough Trade / 1990)

First off, I'll have a lot more up here in the coming weeks. Between traveling to LA and San Fran, and Record Store Day, I have quite a few new records to get to and with any luck I won't grow bored of this project, or of myself, or life in general.

I think This Is Our Music must be the easiest Galaxie 500 record to find, just because it was the last of their career and released at the peak of their albeit limited popularity. Plus Amoeba in LA had it stickered at $15, which seemed like a sweet deal. I don't really see Today or On Fire for less than $50, but when I asked the clerk why this one was priced so low, she said they see that record a lot. So I guess it's around, but it's still nice to find. Actually, now that I think about it, I might have preferred the clerk to say something like, "Oh, wow, that must be mispriced. Guess it's your lucky day." Salesmanship, folks.

I like this band more ever year, which is to say that they've become one of my great favorites. It's not saying much to say that they do a lot with very simple elements, and Kramer is clearly a fourth band member in shaping their sound. Recently I read (was it Pitchfork's?) oral history of Galaxie 500 (it was indeed Pitchfork's), and I seem to remember Dean Wareham saying that one of the keys to their sound was Naomi Yang playing the bass so high up on the neck. In fact, I think all three of them were unusual players. These songs done straightforwardly might be more forgettable. Wareham gets the most attention for the vox and great guitar sound, but I've never but one of those who though Luna was anywhere near this band's equal. And as much as I love Damon and Naomi's work with Ghost, there's something about those lyrics. "Watching Kojak all alone..." Kojak was a little early for me, but sub in MacGyver and it rings true.

This LP sounds nice with a bit of surface noise buried in the guitar squall. The vinyl favors the atmospheric production, and I've already gone back to it quite a few times. "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" slays me every time. I never owned this on CD, so it's nice to have it first on vinyl.

Though This Is Our Music appeared in 1990, I don't consider it a Project 90s acquisition because to my ear this band feels planted firmly in the 80s. It's definitely a pre-grunge record.