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Music Diary Project: Day 2
While yesterday represented a fairly typical workday for me, things worked out quite a bit differently today. I woke up with a severe headache and a nasty stomach bug, so I got out bed just long enough to send an email to work about not coming in before I went back to sleep. By mid-afternoon I finally felt well enough to get out a bed and attempt to eat some food, so I finally turned on some music while I checked my work email and read a little bit.

For most of the afternoon it was catching up on some recent albums:
Mars Classroom - The New Theory of Everything
This is the third project Robert Pollard has put out in 2011, this time a collaboration with Gary Waleik - guitarist and singer of legendary indie pop band Big Dipper. The first run-through sounded really great and while it didn't rely as heavily on the Big Dipper sound as I hoped, there were enough great guitar leads to keep it fresh. Pollard is on a surprisingly strong run this year.

The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave
Granted, I wasn't giving this my full attention, but nothing really jumped out at me, it didn't sound like the band was really making any exciting new strides. But I think I'll give it a few more spins before I try to pass any judgment.

The Kills - Blood Pressures
Ever since I reviewed their second album, No Wow, back upon its release, I've been a big fan of this duo. I wasn't terribly thrilled with Alison Mossheart's time with Jack White in The Dead Weather, so I was really looking forward to her teaming back up with Jamie Hince. On a quick first listen, this sounds really close to what I was hoping for - I'm excited to spend some more time with it.

At the risk of coming across one of those nostalgic fools, I spent a big portion of my evening listening to Nirvana to mark the 17th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide. Not to celebrate his cowardly act, mind you, but to celebrate what was at one time a very important band in forming my musical tastes. Without Nirvana I wouldn't have discovered the Pixies or Sonic Youth or Husker Du or Dinosaur Jr or, well, countless other bands I now love. And, let's face it, Nirvana was a damn great band in their own right, no matter what history wants to make of them.
Nirvana - Bleach
Decided to start with the 2009 remaster of the first full-length, which has traditionally been the album of theirs I've listened to the least but, whenever I do, I'm not quite sure why - it's pretty solid.

Nirvana - From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
Since this was up next in my iTunes after Bleach, I just let it keep rolling. I love the versions of "Aneurysm", "Sliver", and "Negative Creep" on here.

Nirvana - In Utero
I couldn't let the day pass without a spin of my very favorite Nirvana album now could I? I've always thought this was a perfect balance of the band's split persona - the pop and the noise.

By this point my wife had returned from work and brought a much appreciated dinner, now that my stomach was feeling ready to attempt a real meal. After catching up on reruns of The Daily Show and Colbert, I was cherry-picking some tunes to listen while I wrote some emails and surfed around (you'll be able to see just where I wandered back to):
The Weeknd - "The Morning"
James Blake - "The Wilhelm Scream"
James Black - "Limit To Your Love"
Katy B - "Katy On A Mission"
Katy B f. Ms. Dynamite - "Lights Out"
The Clash - "Something About England"
Nirvana - "Verse Chorus Verse"
Nirvana - "Old Age"
Nirvana - "I Hate Myself and Want To Die"
Nirvana - "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip"
Nirvana - "The Other Improv"
Nirvana - "Serve the Servants (acoustic)"

Now, as I write up this entry and get ready to head back to work in the morning I'm listening to:
Zombi - Spirit Animal
What better way to end a weird day?