A couple of years ago, I stumbled across a copy of Jawbox's For Your Own Special Sweetheart at a Wherehouse Music store in Buckhead. It came recommended from a friend of mine, and was out of print, so I scooped it up. However, they also had a copy of Jawbox's also-out-of-print self-titled album, and, for whatever reason, I didn't buy it. That was a goof.

That same friend of mine finally loaned me his copy of the self-titled record. I'm still working through it, but the lead track is just amazing. I know I've heard the song before - I have the video on an old tape of MTV's 120 Minutes (the one time the video aired). But, somehow, it didn't get my attention.

Another highlight is their cover of Tori Amos' "Cornflake Girl" hiding at the end of the record.

Gregor Samsa is a Richmond-based shoegazer band. This is the first song on their EP from Iodine Recordings. I'm not usually into slow, moody music, but this song has a nice (mildly) upbeat part that keeps me interested. (It somehow reminds me of Antarctica's "Absence" (MP3), even though the songs really don't sound similar.)

On a side note, I do find it mildly pretentious (or just uncreative) to name the three songs on an EP ".", "..", and "...".

One for the chuckle bin. I know I've heard this song on classic rock radio, but I never knew it was a Kansas song. A friend of mine asked me to make him a CD from his old vinyl copy (I think it was his father's) of the Kansas album of the same name, and there was this song. Most of the album is standard seventies-era prog-rock (and includes their biggest hit, "Dust in the Wind", that I can't stand), but this song is pretty catchy.