Everyone has impulsively bought something at one time or another whether it be an electronic toy or clothes or music or food so I know this topic will met with, if nothing else, understanding. Music is my weak spot when it comes to spending money because being able to find anything you want on itunes or Emusic and buy any cd at 3 am, and then have it right then is dangerous for a music lover trying to save money.
Online music is definitely the biggest temptation for impulsively buying music but I’m focusing more on randomly buying a physical cd. Although I don’t do it very often I do love every once in a while buying a cd that I haven’t heard before. Almost always there is a cd on sale or for a good price which I’ve heard people talk about but haven’t gotten to check out or sometimes the artwork really sticks out or a combination of both.
A month or two ago I was in an American Eagle (because my wife went in I swear…) and Dashboard’s newest music video was playing so I was like this is cool I’ll sit in a chair and just watch while I wait. The next band that came on was Silversun Pickups. I had never really heard of the band but the video for “Lazy Eye� is a very good video, it matches the feeling of the song very well. I think if I had only heard the song I wouldn’t have been as intrigued with it. But true to fate I ended up in a store later that day with Silversun Pickups cd only being 7.99 thus weeks later I have not listened to the cd again.
Last week I was feeling lucky and decided I was in the mood to pick up a cd randomly again, and again I missed the mark. I had heard someone mention how they liked the band “The Good, The Bad, The Queen� and so I picked it up hoping to stumble on my cd of the year, needless to say the music is weak and not my style. This cd I have listened to more than once though and it has a chance to grow on me.
The thing I love about buying cd’s without having heard them I think is because I listen to so much music early before it’s ever been released for reviewing, that I’ve heard (and gotten sick of) so many records. I love having something that I haven’t heard blow me away with how good it is, and usually being able to listen to it more than 3 days (see Audio A.D.D. Article). Is there anyone that does this too? What, if any, are some cd’s that you’ve recently bought that hadn’t heard but were amazing, or terrible?
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I haven’t done this for quite a few years but I’ll tell you about a few CD’s I did pick up in this manner. It was the summer of ‘99 and I was on a trip out west were I was in a van full of high schoolers who frankly I really didn’t want to listen to, so my CD player was my best friend on this trip. I had seen Blink 182’s video for “What’s My Age Again” as well as see a couple of other people pick up their new CD and was very interested in it. I picked it up on this whim and listened to it probably over 100 times on this trip. That album, still to this date, is one of my most listened to albums. And from there my music taste was changed forever. Another CD I did this same thing to was Sum 41’s “Half Hour of Power.” This CD I had heard nothing about but seen it on a listening station at a Sam Goody and was amazed by the bands hooks and speed of their music. This became another summer album that I listened to well over 100 times. These are days I kinda miss when I could just pick up something I didn’t know and get addicted to it. Most of my favorite bands have come out of doing something like this, or doubting a band would be good after hearing one song but picking up the album and falling in love with it. But your right, with people being able to preview almost anything and buy digital singles, the impulse buy could become something of the past in the future.
I bought Project 86 - “Songs to burn your bridges by” after hearing the hit single “The Spy Hunter” and it remains to this day the worst cd I own. I have had good expierience with vague buying of cds though. While at warped tour the militia group records booth had a sale on cds. I think it was 3 cds for $10 so I saw the video for walking downtown by copeland and a video from rufio, so I decided to buy copelands new cd at the time “In Motion” along with their older cd “Beneth the Medicene Tree” which were definitly good buys. I also bought rufio’s “perhaps I suppose” which still takes it’s turn in my cd player. So I guess impulse buying can go either way.
My personal experience with the impulse CD has been a mixed bag of primarily horrible decisions, but of the few good ones I can remember, I recall buying the original Mute Math EP this way. I had heard “Control” someplace on the internet and after hearing it once, I went searching for their website to find a way to purchase it. I wound up ordering it from Towers, 11 dollars poorer, but hundreds of hours happier. Definitely one of the few times there was a bright ending to this story. Of the bad, the ones that stick out are Jinx and My Vitriol.
I have so done that. See, it was my cousins birthday about a month and a half ago. Than the iphones where about 500 to 1000 dollars. So me and my sister, whom was on vacation from her first year of college, put money together and bought her one. She was thrilled. I got lots of kisses and a hug. Of course I was like, you can stop that now. Anywayz, she decided, oh this is so nice. Why not go to the beach now. As i was checking out the guys surfing, and sitting their waiting for someone to ask me, “would you like to learn”. Thats just always looked fun. She goes my phone, my phone. Oh goodness, as if things couldn’t possibly get worse. Well after we had a panic attack, my aunt decided she was going to order another one. Only her credit card didn’t have much money in it, and she didn’t want to max it. So guess who has to pay for it. Not me, as if a high school senior is allowed, not with my mother. She is all about saving money. So my poor sister pays. Isn’t that a bummer?