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OK, I’ll admit it: I have a CD-buying habit. It’s not as destructive or expensive as many other habits I could have, but it still drives me to purchase more music, new music all the time.

My last new CD came in the mail on Friday - I had pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new CD, amused, back a couple of months ago. I’m not sure how well I like it yet; I’ll have to listen some more. Chris Rice has been on my automatically-buy list pretty much ever since his first album, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. Hopefully the streak continues. Before that, I got Andy Osenga’s [Souvenirs & Postcards], and then just before that Randall Goodgame’s War and Peace. I guess you could say I’m just doing catch-up as I find these new artists that I like so much.

Since I have to hold back a bit, I’ll at least post my list here so I can add to it from time to time, or note when I have purchased another one. If any of you reading this feel the desire to get one for me, go ahead. :-) They are listed in a basic priority order… which is always subject to change.

The Normals I don’t own any of their albums yet, but I should get all of them:_

• A Place Where You Belong
• Coming To Life
• Better Than This

They are available, all 3 for $24 at http://www.creativesitesmedia.com/normals/merch.shtml. I will admit to being torn between getting them for that good price or supporting Andy O directly by buying them from his site at a slightly higher price.

Randall Goodgame

• Arkadelphia
• The Hymnal

Available for purchase at http://www.uthstuph.com/ws/randallgoodgame/. I appreciate his War and Peace more every time I hear it… I need to catch up on his other stuff.

Sufjan Stevens

• Illinois

I wrote about this one before. I still haven’t purchased it.

Sandra McCracken

• Gypsy Flat Road
• The Crucible

I have only one of Sandra’s albums right now: Best Laid Plans. I’d sure like to add the other two.

Other things floating around at the bottom of the list: Ryan Adams’ [Cold Roses], and maybe Nickel Creek’s [Why Should the Fire Die?].

I guess that’s it for now. I imagine I’ll be adding to this list before I subtract from it too much. :-)

There have been a ton of reviews of Sufjan Stevens’ new album, [Illinois], floating around lately. I hadn’t heard any of his music, and after having one friend say “eh… not getting into it that much”, I had pretty much decided that it was going to go on my ignore list. But then three nights in a row, listening to my local NPR station whilst driving my car, I heard some rather interesting tunes… which, when the announcer came back to credit them, were all from the aforementioned Mr. Stevens album.

My interest thus piqued, I did a little internet research and found that Amazon has two free tracks you can download. Then I found this post on Richard’s blog which pointed me towards several more downloads. I’ve downloaded 6 tracks so far (which is only about 25% of the album…) and I’m really impressed. The song names are goofy (“The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You’re Going To Have To Leave Now, Or, ‘I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!’” is just one example), the subject matter is at times bizzare (“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”), but the end result is captivating. The layered instrumentation, the quirky rhythms (the first track is in a neat 5/4 time), Sufjan’s mellow vocals, they all serve to create a total package that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before… but engrossing at the same time.

I think I’m going to have to go out and buy this album. I looked for it at BestBuy the other night and it was nowhere to be found. Maybe Barnes & Noble will have it; it’s on sale on their website, maybe it’ll be on sale in the store, too. I have a car trip planned to Wisconsin for this weekend; it would be fun to add Illinois to the journey.