Tori Amos: Night of Hunters

I'm thoroughly enjoying my lastest Tori Amos CD purchase. I can admit it, I've been a Tori Amos fan for DECADES. She is probably my all time favorite recording artist. I like here eclectic style, her eccentric behaviors, and her modern and traditional spin on piano. I find her piano music mesmerizing.

Sure, I listen to a lot of "skanky teeny-bopper" music, mainly when I'm working out to keep my heart rate up, and my pace up running. But when I'm in the mood to relax and enjoy good quality music, I always go for my Tori Amos, or Sarah McLachlan, or Annie Lenox type of "better quality" music.

This new album is more instrumental and traditional, like her earlier albums. She draws on themes from Satie, Granados & Chopin weaving in some Irish mythical past. I love her all acoustic tracks and am very much looking forward to seeing her in concert again in December.

Poe: Haunted (Extended Mix Album)

I like good music. And I always like discovering new things. Poe is not necessarily new music, but new to me. The beauty of the free Pandora app on my iPhone, is that when I play bands I like it brings in more similar bands to like. No exception here, I've enjoyed just about every song on this CD / MP3 download. I highly recommend.

A Craven Family Classic

This FANTASTICALLY obnoxious LP from my childhood has finally re-released in CD format. When I saw this on Amazon, I HAD TO HAVE IT! It's a train wreck, and I TOTALLY love every song on this. I've been busting up since it arrived at work last week.



It is time to plan that 70s disco party and costume contest, once and for all, at our place...! :)

David & Ziggy

This has been a fantastic CD to add to the Craven household music repertoire. The whole CD is full of top hits. I particularly like the joint project with Nine Inch Nails, "I'm Afraid of Americans." China Girl. Fashion. Modern Love. It's got all the good stuff on this, including some Ziggy Stardust tracks.

A Goldfrapp Inundation

So, I could be content and happy listening to music 24/7, every day, for the rest of my life. I LOVE music, and can't seem to get enough of it. I like all types, but typically am a sucker for fast paced pop alternative. My sister Rebecca was up here this past weekend for the Lady GaGa concert at the Tacomadome. She introduced Holly and I to a bunch of tracks from three Goldfrapp albums. Needless to say, while we were listening to the music at home, I was downloading music on my iPhone while we conversed I LOVE it...!



Rocket, Believer & Alive. Excellent tracks. This whole CD is my favorite.



Ooh La La, Lovely 2 C U, Timeout From the World & Number 1. Excellent tracks.



A fantastic CD as well. I have more music to add to my work out and running routines. She reminds me of a cross between Kylie Monogue, Oliva Newton-John and Metric. What's NOT to like about this music.

The Resistance

I've really been enjoying my Muse recent music purchases. I like the varying styles of music on both CDs. Some a little country sounding, some heavy metal and others alternative in nature. Particularly with wanting to block out unnecessary drama with colleges at work, it's nice to put my head phones on, and tune people out.

Me Like Me Some GaGa

I definitely jumped on the obnoxious Lady GaGa bandwagon this week. What am I thinking? And, why did I wait so long? This is perfect work out music, yeah that's right, I'll "only" listen to this at the gym, right...!



Great tracks on this CD. Poker Face is my favorite track.



And Monster is my favorite track on this CD. I only purchased a few tracks from each disc on iTunes, since I didn't care for every track. But I'll totally admit, that Miss GaGa can help me kick up my work out routines even more so than I already have. Why can't Lady GaGa perform at church on Sundays? I'd probably enjoy Sacrament Meeting that much more, if she got her groove on up on the stand. Then she can be followed by Guns N' Roses. Holly would appreciate that best! She is the metal rocker in our relationship.

Funhouses & Evil Clowns

I always enjoy a good, high energy Pop inspired CD. No exception with this latest CD purchase. Not new on the market, but new to the Craven household and my myriad of apple products. I'll have to say, that almost every track on this CD are actually pretty good. Some have a country vibe. The explicit lyrics are not that bad, and at least four tracks can totally make me sweat like a banshee at the gym. Particularly when I'm cycling as fast as I can on the recumbent bike, or on the elliptical machine. In that vein, high energy work out music that helps to increase caloric burn is always welcomed in my book. Bring it on P!nk.

Sarah's Greatest Hits

I've been enjoying this Sarah McLachlan greatest hits CD as of late. Not a new CD on the market, but a new CD for me. Holly gave this to me for Christmas. All of her best studio recordings are compiled here, as well as two new recordings. Both are fantastic. If you like Sarah, I think this is a smart buy for any personal CD library.

Candlelight Carols & Chamber Music

I'll admit, if I had my way, the Christmas season would last much longer than just the last few weeks at the end of each calendar year. I love everything that the Christmas season offers. From thinking of others, to recommitting yourself to do good in the communities in which we live and work. But most importantly, to reflect on the memories we have with our families and good friends, with the pivotal purpose of Christmas being the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and his Atonement for all mankind.

I really, REALLY like the John Rutter Christmas Album with the Cambridge Singers and London Sinfonia that I just ordered. I didn’t realize it, buy my parents have these LP’s with some of these songs. I remember all these songs as a child. The record must have had a different cover, and as a kid I’m sure I didn’t equate that it was John Rutter arrangements. I became acquainted with John Rutter in High School choir concerts when I sang in multiple holiday performances. We sang a lot of his Christmas music.

I’m a little teary eyed listening to this in my office today, thinking about Christmas with my Mom and Dad, the memories and smells of my childhood home and all the numerous amazing things I associate with this time of year. I'm grateful Holly and I have such fond memories of our parents and families during the holidays. As Holly mentioned to me in email, "it makes me long for the day when we can make the same kind of memories for our children." This is why Holly and I love this time of year, and why we love Christmas music so much.

Anxiously Waiting...

For two of my many favorite things! What is this, might you ask? Another Tori Amos CD with traditional and new Christmas music. Who would have thought? Tori Amos Minter Graces will release on 11/10/2009.



CD Release info:

After nearly two decades writing and recording some of her generation’s most emotionally powerful music, Tori Amos will release her first seasonal album, Midwinter Graces, on November 10 via Universal Republic. A follow up to Tori’s critically acclaimed studio album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Midwinter Graces will find Tori reworking and expanding on classic carols as well as developing some of her very own seasonal tracks.

Midwinter Graces is an album that has been in the making for the past 40 years. Raised in the Baltimore area under the watchful eye of her Methodist minister father, Tori grew up playing holiday carols at Sunday services and Christmas Day celebrations in her father’s church. These were the songs that gave a young Tori her first taste of music, and now almost 40 years later Tori gets her own chance to reimagine the classics.

Midwinter Graces Tracklist:

What Child, Nowell
Star of Wonder
A Silent Night with You
Candle: Coventry Carol
Holly, Ivy, and Rose
Harps of Gold
Snow Angel
Jeanette, Isabella
Pink and Glitter
Emmanuel
Winter’s Carol
Our New Year

Get Your Letter On, On, On, On

I always love a good Indie Rock inspired album. This CD came out a few months ago, and I finally got around to purchasing it today. All the tracks are good. I've overlooked this group based on prior albums. Didn't really care for the earlier stuff. With that said, I'm sold on this latest installment.

It's Tori Time Again!

I'm counting down the days until the new Tori Amos CD releases on May 19th. I really like the single that has been playing on the radio "Welcome to England." She's also on tour again later this fall and winter. I'll have to decide if this proves as good as all her last albums, and maybe purchase tickets to see her again. Every last album of hers, I play over and over again. Probably to Holly's dismay. We own almost every CD she's recorded, with the exception of all the concert specific live track recordings and so forth. I'm sure this new CD will be just as good as her past dozen or so.

No Line On The Horizon

There are few bands that I completely love every CD that they put out. I could probably count on one hand the bands where we have every CD. Tori Amos, Cranberries to name a few. U2 is also one of them. Their latest album is classic U2! I love this and have been playing it very loudly in the car and at work in my office. CD's as of late typically only have a few songs that are good. I like every single song on this entire disc. I'm inspired to want to spend some cash on tickets when they have their next concert in Seattle. The last U2 concert I went to was the Lemon Tour at least 10-12 years ago up at the University of Utah before I moved to Seattle. Where does the time go.

More Angry Shirley

I've been a Garbage and Shirley Manson fan for years. I'm always pleasantly surprised how much I end up liking each of their CD's that they release. This one is a few years old, but I recently borrowed it from Patrick and have input it to my iTunes at home and at work. I was checking out the official Garbage web site, and another CD has been recently released. Looks like this could be a purchase in the very near future.

In Ghost Colours

I've decided that I'm really liking the genre of "Indie Rock" music lately. This CD, "In Ghost Colours," by Cut Copy is a lot of fun, if I do say so myself. This is perfect work out music at the gym, as well as car commuting music. Holly and I have this on our iPod's to randomly listen to. I need to check out and see if their other released albums and imports are just as fun.

Viva La Vida

I had an amazing Christmas with Holly and our families. We flew back into Seattle last night. Every year we are spoiled it seems. I have been wanting this new Coldplay CD since it released earlier this year. Holly gave this to me, and I've been playing it all day at work, first day back in the office. Coldplay is becoming one of my favorite all time bands, right up there with Tori Amos, Fleetwood Mac, ABBA and Stevie Nicks. Coldplay is touring [supposedly] in Seattle this summer. Or at least coming to Portland or Vancouver BC. I need to keep my eye out on some good tickets.

My New Favorite "Old" CD

I finally got my British version release of "More ABBA Gold" today at work. This UK version has a few more tracks on it than the US released version. I've been an ABBA fan my entire life. I was hoping that this CD would come prior to the transatlantic flight over to Paris. It looks like I'll be updating my iTunes library at home this evening.

My favorite tracks in rank order:

1) Summer Night City
2) Angeleyes
3) Ring Ring
4) The Visitors
5) I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do