We made a family trip to the library yesterday, and as usual I came home with a pile of books and media beyond what I am ever to get through in the three weeks I’m allowed to borrow them. I did, however, manage to work my way through the four new (to me) CDs that I borrowed.

In the order I listened to them at work today:

Loaded - The Velvet Underground.

The artwork features an underground subway entrance with a swirling plume of red smoke rising and text above that reads The Velvet Underground Loaded.

I’d never listened to The Velvet Underground before today. I found them enjoyable in that early 1970’s rock-and-roll way. Nothing too profound, but very listenable.

Chamber Music Society - Esperanza Spalding.

Esperanza Spalding is seated confidently in a red armchair surrounded by musical instruments, suggesting a jazz or chamber music setting for the album Chamber Music Society.

Jazz, anybody? Spalding is another new artist to me, and wowza. The woman plays bass and holy cow can she sing. Fantastic jazz. This one is a keeper.

Live at Leeds - The Who.

A plain brown cover with a stamped text that reads THE WHO LIMITED EDITION CARDS.

I’m typically a fan of live records, but this one didn’t really grab me. Maybe I’m not enough of an aficionado of The Who. I dunno. Turned this one off about four tracks in. Really couldn’t bring myself to care.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend.

An ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling in a warmly lit room where several people are partially visible, with the bold text VAMPIRE WEEKEND displayed across the upper portion of the scene.

I’ve owned Vampire Weekend’s Contra for a couple of years now and enjoy it OK. But when I heard my friend Dan complain a while back (on some social media - can’t remember which or when) that he hated Contra and hoped that VW’s new record would be more like their older stuff, I took a mental note to explore their other stuff.

And (no real surprise here) Dan was right. This eponymous record is, on first listen, far superior to Contra. Less frantic, more interesting melodies and instrumentations. I wish they wouldn’t drop the F-bomb - makes it less friendly for playing when the kids are around - but on the whole, yeah, this one bears multiple listens as well.

Thus ends Chris’s random update on new (to me) music.