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if there’s a bright side to having a crappy car stereo that doesn’t have an aux input or play cd-rs (at least, not without a ridiculous amount of cajoling), it’s that it allows me to get reaquainted with my cd collection. it’s a nice change of pace to commit yourself to one cd at a time instead of the mix/shuffle/playlist treadmill i’ve been on. while i wait for my new stereo to come in, here’s what i’ve been listening to in the car the past few weeks. you can find most of these for real cheap too!

stereolab - sound dust - i always try to give this one a fair shot but it’s one of my least favorite stereolab records. it’s just so uneven. it opens with an interesting beginning in ‘black ants in sound dust’, and before you know it you’re listening to what could be a song off of any of the previous albums and then you’re hearing another left field instrumental. this was their eighth or ninth album and while it was nice to hear something different, it was just laid out in a jarring way. margerine eclipse succeeds in incorporating more weirdness into the stereolab sound a lot more than this does. not recommended.

mogwai - EP + 2 - i think this came out after come on die young and while not as good as that i think it’s a much better and palatable introduction to the band (and the like-minded bands that followed in their wake). the first two tracks are positively gorgeous, and the third (sorry, i don’t know the names of ANY mogwai song) gives you just enough rock to bring you out of your stupor. definitely recommended.

the afghan whigs - black love - i totally love this record. musically and lyrically, it bridges the gap between the pure guitar angst of gentlemen and the soulful yet glossy (and sometimes embarrassing) pseudo-motown posturing of 1965. if the whigs had worn their R&B and who influences on their sleeves before, it was growing more and more apparent that this band was more rock than indie, more stones than replacements, more brick than prince and this album absolutely works. highlights include ‘my enemy’, ‘blame etc.’ and one of the greatest songs i’ve ever heard in my life, ‘bulletproof’. they should have broken up after this record and dulli should have gone straight into the twilight singers. highest recommendation.

barry white - all time greatest hits - if you’re going to own a barry white compilation, this may as well be it. everything essential is here (and the truly cheesy stuff from later in his career is thankfully absent), including ‘i’m gonna love you just a little more baby’, ‘can’t get enough of your love baby’, ‘let the music play’, etc. when white is at his best it’s pure magic but at the same time, you can tell when he’s just mailing it in because his sexy talk in the beginning of ‘don’t make me wait too long’ doesn’t even make any sense. he just trails off in that one. more than half of this record is worth it for the hits but the rest just treads water. highly recommended for fans, mild recommendation otherwise.

dinosaur jr. - green mind - i may be the only person i know that thinks this is the best dinosaur record there is. not that the first three weren’t classics but this is a j. mascis record that satisfies all of his good (no tympani, two minute guitar solos or string sections yet that plagued later records) indulgences. the wall of sound that characterized earlier releases was replaced by layers of instruments and vocals that you could actually hear and grooves that felt tight instead of like they were falling off the tracks. i never liked murph’s drumming. my favorites on this one include ‘puke & cry’, ‘muck’ and ‘blowing it/i live for that look’. highest recommendation.