Fobclectic

Because it's just like me to be proud of odd things, I am proud of the eclectic nature of my music collection. And because I think you should care, I am now going to prove said eclecticism by telling you about the last eight CDs I've acquired:

Soul: Back to Black by Amy Winehouse has quickly found a spot on my list of ten best albums ever. Winehouse is a British soul singer often compared to Lauryn Hill, but I think a better comparison that is also often made is that she is basically the Billie Holiday of the 21st century. If you have little people who listen to your music with you, as I do, I recommend you buy the clean version of the album.



Reggae: Mind Control by Stephen Marley is Marley's first solo album, but he has been making music for years, most notably last year's Welcome to Jamrock by his half-brother Damian, which Stephen produced. Just like Jamrock, Mind Control is the perfect blend of the classic Marley family reggae sound and modern hip-hop.

Vocal Jazz: Unlike some friends of mine, I am not in love with Michael Buble. I did enjoy his last album, though, so I was curious about his new album when it came out a couple months ago. What convinced me to buy the album was a positive review I read on Okayplayer.com (a progressive hip-hop site, so reviews of white jazz vocalists are not all that common) combined with my curiosity to hear the song in which Buble collaborates with, of all people, Boyz II Men (who knew they were still alive?).

Pop: I've been wanting for a while to get a good Elton John collection. A good one came out this year. I bought it. I like it. The only song I wished were on the collection but isn't is "Levon," which I know only because a mission companion used to belt it in the subways of Madrid. I found the song on a download site and bought it there.

Hip-hop: Another artist I've come across in my never-ending crusade to satisfy a craving for more Lauryn Hill music that Ms. Hill is not likely to fill herself anytime soon is Ms. Dynamite, a British rapper/singer. I got her album off Amazon.com Marketplace for $0.01 (plus shipping) last month, and she's not Lauryn Hill, but she's good. I like her lyrics and her voice--she does this interesting thing where you never know whether she's singing or rapping--but the music itself seems kind of unoriginal to me.

Hawaiian: Another good deal I found on the Marketplace is The Best of the Ka'au Crater Boys. I bought the album because I really wanted their version of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and couldn't find it anywhere else--legally or illegally--but I'm glad I bought the whole collection. I was surprised to find so many songs I recognize, not only because these are mostly all Hawaiian-style covers of rock and country classics, but because these are the versions of those songs I grew up listening to. A nice little piece of nostalgia for me, and I imagine you might enjoy it even if you didn't grow up in Hawaii.

Gospel: During the intermission of the Seattle Men's Chorus concert I went to a couple weeks ago I made an impulse purchase. I absolutely love gospel music, see, and there was an album of gospel music called Soul Full featuring the Men's Chorus along with the Northwest Girlchoir, Urban Rhythms, and the Total Experience Gospel Choir. I was disappointed when I got home to realize the album is a live concert recording, as I much prefer studio recordings, but it's grown on me since then. I particularly like the combined choirs' rendition of "We Shall Not Be Moved," as the Civil Rights anthem gains new significance when sung by a gay men's choir.

Christian Rock: The most recent addition to my music library came this evening when a very kind friend gave me Jason Morant's Open, which is my first contemporary Christian rock album. I'm listening to it for the second time now, and really digging it.

Moral of the story: Gifts are always welcome, and I'm enamored of the idea of Mr. Fob the Eclectic enough that you probably can't go wrong with music.