Thwip.

I spent this past weekend in Atlanta with my roommate Jenny and our good friends Sara and Daniel. We had a great time goofing off and wandering around. We hadn't had a chance to all get together for an extended period of time in ages, so I really valued the trip. We had delicious beer that's unavailable in Alabama (Free the Hops!), ate at Vortex, made epic trips to Ikea and Zara, and played Rock Band and Mario Kart with our friend Matt.

While there, I also added to my record collection with the purchase of Nico's Marble Index, Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual, Patti Smith's Horses, Laurie Anderson's Strange Angels, and Björk's Volta, which came encased in an elaborate package: an outer shell wrapped around what is essentially an LP Russian doll, with five heavy-duty inner sleeves featuring photographs of Björk in a crocheted costume, which was constructed by the Icelandic Love Corporation. The record is impressive both sonically and aesthetically.

I think that's why I prefer vinyl and have for awhile. More and more over the past few years I've increased my record purchases and decreased my cd purchases to the point that I haven't bought a new cd in several months with the exception of The Sound of Arrows' "Danger" EP, which I ordered from Labrador in Sweden as it's not yet available in the States. I have to support those guys because I love their music, and they're incredibly nice to boot. I've written about them before, but check them out at their Myspace and order the EP from Labrador. It cost me about $9 including shipping, and it arrived from Sweden in three days.

That's enough rambling. I'm going to listen to some records.