Welcome to Dustybooks' new musical digs

Hi and welcome to the new Dusty Books & Pictures music blog. I'm Nathan, a library assistant and occasional DJ in Wilmington, NC, and I actually have an existing blog, and an existing place to talk about music, but both have existed in their present form for the better part of a decade and it seemed like time for a change, especially since I want to talk about songs and albums and rock & roll and I'm not satisfied with any of the formats or outlets I currently have. So here I am on Blogspot, where some of the best discussion and sharing of music happens on the Internet. I wouldn't claim that I can serve any great purpose but I love adding my bit to the great mass conversation we're all always having.

The purpose here will generally be reviews of albums and singles that I have listened to lately, not necessarily for the first time. In most cases I won't have written about them before, because at my old site I never really got past putting up full reviews of my four favorite bands, which is kind of embarrassing. In some cases I will be revising those old reviews. I hope to post one album review a day, in an order dictated by nothing beyond whimsy, and I'll talk about singles and post little news items whenever.

This isn't going to be canonical in any way, and I'm not going to make any claims about any authoritative element of what I'm posting. Because I like a lot of stuff, which we'll talk about here, and I don't care about a lot of stuff, which we won't. I have a blind spot toward most classic rock, all metal, and nearly all modern country. Other than that, I think I'm pretty eclectic. But this blog will be a totally selfish collection of news and reviews about stuff I'm excited about. It's other people's perogatives to stake claims over what's culturally important or significant or whatever.

To give some idea of my taste before we start this fun romp, here are my top ten (actually eleven) artists of all time:
1. The Beach Boys
1. The Beatles
2. The Velvet Underground
3. Talking Heads
4. Chuck Berry
5. Stevie Wonder
6. Buddy Holly
7. Prince
8. The Everly Brothers
9. The Kinks
10. Big Star

But my two favorite currently-existent acts that are still doing relevant work are Leonard Cohen and Yo La Tengo.

My top ten albums (keeping in mind that I'm not a big "album" guy, but we'll talk about that later!):
1. Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
2. Television- Marquee Moon
3. Beatles- s/t (white album)
4. Miles Davis- Kind of Blue
5. Big Star- Sister Lovers
6. John Coltrane- Giant Steps
7. My Bloody Valentine- Loveless
8. Wire- Pink Flag
9. Velvet Underground - s/t (gray album)
10. Beatles- Rubber Soul

And the greatest songs in rock & roll IMO (and oh yes, I am aware that I rank a Beatles ripoff above any Beatles song):
1. ? & the Mysterians "96 Tears"
2. Archie Bell & the Drells "Tighten Up"
3. The Knickerbockers "Lies"
4. Chuck Berry "Sweet Little Sixteen"
5. Prince "When You Were Mine"
6. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
7. The Beatles "Don't Let Me Down" and/or "She Loves You" and/or "Help!"
8. The Chiffons "One Fine Day"
9. The Beach Boys "Let Him Run Wild" and/or "I Get Around"
10. Talking Heads "The Big Country"

Hope to see you all soonish! On the moon! In the Future!