some history
Back in December 2005, I took a look at my CD collection and realized that it was severely outdated, and small to boot. It consisted mostly of genres and styles that I was interested in during my late childhood and adolescence, but no longer listened to.
I wanted to acquire more music to give me something to listen to and to accurately reflect my current taste in music, and I didn't want to pirate it. Just looking at the amount of CDs I'd have to buy to get my library up to date was scary and prohibitively expensive, and I didn't want to buy too many, or otherwise give up. I came up with the idea to buy one CD, every week, for a year. I thought up the idea in December and started it in January, as my New Years resolution for 2006. I wanted to keep track of my purchases and developing tastes too, and write about them here, so this section of my website followed shortly.
the program
The basic premise of the program was simple: every week, on or around Friday, I purchase a new CD. That's it. I tried to keep a published list of CDs that I wanted to check out, but in practice I didn't keep it as up-to-date as everything else, so usually I ended up picking something completely random or based on a previous purchase. The weekly CD program was thought up as a way to quickly build my library of favorites while at the same time broadening my music horizons, and not break the bank in the process, and in that sense it was a success: I got to explore old genres, discover new ones, and my music tastes have evolved and refined as a result. When I started out I didn't know what I was into, and now I know that I'm a big fan of Indie Rock, among other things.
I've included here, for posterity (and because this project took too damn long to be forgotten), a summary of the selections I made because of the program. For now, the program is over, but considering its success I may decide to try it again in future years.
December
- 12.30: Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs (link)
- 12.22: Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman (link)
- 12.15: Mute Math - Mute Math (link)
- 12.08: Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister (link)
- 12.01: Eisley - Room Noises (link)
November
- 11.24:Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings (link)
- 11.17: Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News (link)
- 11.10: Death Cab for Cutie - We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes (link)
- 11.03: Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap (link)
October
- 10.27: The Decemberists - The Tain (link)
- 10.20: The Decemberists - Her Majesty (link)
- 10.13: Of Montreal - The Gay Parade (link)
- 10.06: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (link)
September
- 09.29: The Decemberists - Picaresque (link)
- 09.22: The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts (link)
- 09.15: Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (link)
- 09.08: Tom Petty - Highway Companion (link)
- 09.01: Muse - Absolution (link)
August
- 08.25: Feist - Let it Die (link)
- 08.18: Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (link)
- 08.11: A Camp - A Camp (link)
- 08.04: The Jackson 5 - The Ultimate Collection (link)
July
- 07.28: Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (link)
- 07.21: The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia... (link)
- 07.14: a-ha - Hunting High and Low (link)
- 07.07: The Smiths - Meat Is Murder (link)
June
- 06.30: Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair (link)
- 06.23: Depeche Mode - Violator (link)
- 06.16: Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (link)
- 06.09: Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (link)
- 06.02: Pearl Jam - Ten (link)
May
- 05.26: A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (link)
- 05.19: Massive Attack - 100th Window (link)
- 05.12: Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets (link)
- 05.05: Tool - 10,000 Days (link)
April
- 04.28: Nine Inch Nails - Deluxe Edition: The Downward Spiral (link)
- 04.21: Antonio Carlos Jobim - Best of... (link)
- 04.14: The Arcade Fire - Funeral (link)
- 04.07: Radiohead - OK Computer (link)
March
- 03.31: Rush - Moving Pictures (link)
- 03.24: Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense: Special Edition (link)
- 03.17: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous (link)
- 03.10: Gorillaz - Gorillaz (link)
- 03.03: Gorillaz - Demon Days (link)
February
- 02.24: Elliott Smith - Either/Or (link)
- 02.17: Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (link)
- 02.10: Incubus - Make Yourself (link)
- 02.03: Incubus - Morning View (link)
January
- 01.27: Gorillaz - Laika Come Home (link)
- 01.20: Sigur Rós - ( ) (link)
- 01.13: Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (link)
- 01.06: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (link)
