Odd Purposes
One of my maxims in life is that if I really hate something, there’s a good chance I really like it, deep down. This ties in with my belief that being a hypocrite is human nature, and not something to be judged by (I’m talking your life actions, not semantics and debates).
Example: in my extended years of backpacking, I came across a curious subset in the UK that went on cathedral tours. They had a set list of 10, 15, 20 cathedrals and they saw every one and that was their journey. Each to their own but they made other backpackers look at the their photos. Not cool, not interesting, and I suffered and hated it quite a few times through politeness. But wait! In later years, knowing what I do about the non-Christian history of such places, they do interest me quite a bit. But I would still hate that display of photos demonstrating the grandeur, and no pagan insights.
But here’s the thing. Having an odd purpose takes you away from the most touristed paths and opens up so many more possibilities. The less common your purpose, the more likely you will end up in scenarios that other tourists never have. You get a unique experience, and you see the real sides of the country you are visiting.
I love looking an extreme examples to find a truth. What if I decided to visit the owners of the 10 fattest hamsters in Bulgaria? You can guarantee I would have a unique and very real insight into that country.
Which brings me to today. When David Bowie dies, I listened to every album he made in chronological order. Then when Prince died, I did the same. Now, as I am looking through old Uncut magazines before I throw them out, I have come across their top 70 albums of the year 2000. With the aid of Spotify, I will listen to each one, counting down from 70 to 1.
(Obviously I will cut short any that don’t appeal to me…)
I expect this odd purpose will find me things otherwise unobtainable.
1. Lambchop – Nixon – SAVED – worth some more listens
2. Primal Scream – Xtrmntr – SAVED – worth some more listens
3. Radiohead – Kid A – dreary
4. Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of Bewilderbeast – Had the CD, is tired these days
5. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP – SAVED – worth some more listens
6. Emmylou Harris – Red Dirt Girl – HAVE CD – LOVE IT
7. Outkast – Stankonia – HAVE CD – not a big fan, aside from the hits
8. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker – ALREADY SAVED AND F’KIN AWESOME
9. Kid 606 – Down With The Scene – NOT FOR ME
10. Birth – Gotton Bold – NOT FOR ME
11. Steely Dan – Two Against Nature – NOT FOR ME
12. The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs- SAVED – worth some more listens
13. The Kingsbury Manx – The Kingsbury Manx – NOT ON SPOTIFY
14. Leila – Courtesy Of Choice – NOT FOR ME
15. Godspeed You Black Emperor! – Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas To The Sky – NOT FOR ME
16. Warren Zevon – Life’ll Kill Ya – NOT FOR ME
17. Phoenix – United – NOT FOR ME
18. Calexico – Hot Rail – SAVED – worth some more listens
19. The Webb Brothers – Maroon – NEATLY MOST
20. Lewis Taylor – Lewis II – NOT FOR ME
21. Lou Reed – Ecstacy – NOT FOR ME
22. Amon Tobin – Supermodified – NOT ON SPOTIFY
23. Smog – Dongs Of Sevotion –ALREADY SAVED AND F’KIN AWESOME
24. Doves – Lost Souls – NOT FOR ME
25. The Go-Betweens – The Friends Of Rachel Worth – NOT FOR ME
26. Gonzales – The Entertainist- NOT ON SPOTIFY
27. Willard Grant Conspiracy – Everything’s Fine – NOT ON SPOTIFY
28. Kelis – Kaleiderscope – NOT FOR ME
29. Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030 – NOT FOR ME
30. The For Carnation – The For Carnation – NOT FOR ME
31. Broadcast – The Noise Made By People – SAVED
32. Knife In The Water – Plays One Around The Other – NOT ON SPOTIFY
33. Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain – ALREADY SAVED AND F’KIN AWESOME
34. The Handsome Family – In The Air – ALREADY SAVED
35. Eels – Daisies Of The Galaxy – SAVED
36. Elliott Smith – Figure 8 – SAVED
37. Marah – Kids In Philly – SAVED
38. Patti Smith – Gung Ho – NOT FOR ME
39. Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out – NOT FOR ME
40. Jeff Buckley – Mystery White Boy- NOT FOR ME
41. Sonic Youth – Nyc Ghosts & Flowers – NOT FOR ME
42. Dr Dre – 2001 – NOT FOR ME
43. Joe Pernice – Big Tobacco – ALREADY SAVED
44. Add N To X – Add Insult To Injury – NOT QUITE FOR ME
45. The Mighty Wah! – Songs Of Strength And Heartache – NOT ON SPOTIFY
46. Chris Morris – Blue Jam – NOT ON SPOTIFY
47. The Twilight Singers – Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers – NOT FOR ME
48. St Ettienne – Sound Of Water – NOT ON SPOTIFY
49. Black Box Recorder – The Facts Of Life – MAYBE
50. XTC – Wasp Star: Apple Venus Vol. 2- NOT ON SPOTIFY
51. Apples In Stereo – The Discovery Of The World Inside The Moone – SAVED (But track #1 is probably all that is good)
52. Clinic – Internal Wrangler – NOT FOR ME
53. The Shazam – Goodspeed The Shazam – NOT ON SPOTIFY
54. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Madonna – NOT ON SPOTIFY (but a big fan)
55. Go-Kart Mozart – Instant Wigwam And Igloo Mixture – ALREADY SAVED
56. Asian Dub Foundation – Community Music – NOT ON SPOTIFY
57. Elastica – The Menace – SAVED
58. Romanthony – R Hide In Plain Site- NOT ON SPOTIFY
59. June And The Exit Wounds – A Little More Heaven Hamilton, Please – NOT ON SPOTIFY
60. Max Tundra – Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be – NOT FOR ME
61. Brave Captain – Go With Yourself – NOT ON SPOTIFY
62. Mandalay – Instinct – MAYBE
63. Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars – BEEN THERE DONE THAT
64. The Russian Futurists – The Method Of Modern Love – NOT FOR ME
65. The Wu-Tang Clan – The W – NOT FOR ME
66. Giant Sand – Chore Of Enchantment – SAVED and LOVING
67. David Holms – Bow Down At The Exit Sign – NOT ON SPOTIFY
68. The Hight Llamas – Buzzle Bee – NOT ON SPOTIFY
69. Bent – Programmed To Love – SAVED
70. PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea – SAVED