Surprised

Last year it was a little different with Amnesiac. Before I had always detested Radiohead and I still don't care about anything pre-Amnesiac. Including bloody Kid A.

(Rush's Vapour Trails and the new Simian album sort of fit into this category too, except I haven't actually bought them yet)

LPs I didn't think too much of on the listening post, but bought anyway and ended up loving: DJ Shadow, Télépopmusik.

I didn't expect much from DJ Shadow's The Private Press, cause so many people had put it down so hard, and when I heard it, I was like "what are these people thinking? this record RAWKS!".

Also, I managed to go probably 2 entire years hearing System of a Down grouped into the "nu-metal" thing with all these other groups whose music I literally hate, and never once listened to them in all that span of time. Then, the exact day my band finished recording the tracks for our album, I was driving home on the interstate and heard "Chop Suey!" for the first time and almost shit myself. I stopped at the store and bought Toxicity that night, and listened all the way through it with goosepimples apoppin'.

About my situation with it!

I can't think of anything that has surprised or disappointed me in the way the threads describe. My biggest surprise of the year was Babasonicos, but I had never heard anything by them or about them at all and just came into them cold. Turns out they're geniuses!

Best live surprise of the year was the Spacious Mind. Beforehand: "A bunch of Swedish hippies who record albums in communes, great." Afterward: "Holy fuck! They're rock gods!"

Was mildly surprised to hear a Bowie album with songs that I didn't have to try too hard to like.

I didn't even know tank was putting out a new album and I just got it so maybe i will be really blown away.

Cam'ron was another surprise.

But:

1. The V-Rock CD from the Grand Theft Auto 7-cd box set. I figured the box set was cheaper than buying the six others separately and after dutifully listening to each one I was very much surprised at how much fun the hair metal really was. Of course I still can't listen to it sober.

2. Biggest Dancehall Anthems 1979-1982 on Greensleeves. It was in the Post Exchange for cheap and I said 'Hey, this looks like the kind of crap that might not suck, and two CDs of it!' expecting it to be full of drab, undistinctive reggae atmospherics. And it is, with a couple of exceptions. But I LIKE IT. A LOT. Plus nearly every track starts off with a snare hit perfect for sampling(Bonus!).

I wasn't expecting to be impressed with Sonic Youth live and wasn't even planning to go but they delivered the greatest rock show ever. Ultimately, the album is pretty much what I expected though (some interesting ideas, some really solid playing but overall a lethargic wishy-washy indie 'rock' record).