When I was starting this project, I went through my MP3 library and made a list of all the albums I would want to own physically. From that, I filtered down a few that were must-haves-at-any-cost to be part of my starter set, or priorities to buy early on. These included the (previously posted) Neutral Milk Hotel record, Junior Senior, Phoenix, and a few others. High on that list, however was the Notwist's 2002 album, Neon Golden.
One thing I haven't really talked about on here is the price of music and buying physical objects: how it changes your relationship with an item, and forces you to actually assign value and make choices. When things are digital / pirated / free, it's easy: do you have space on your hard drive? If so, the new Soulja Boy Tell 'Em has the same value/expenditure of effort and money as the Pixies or Mozart. With physical media, you have to decide: do I want this album enough to pay money for it, and if so, do I want to spend as much as someone may be asking for it?
Some records, I'd pay any amount for. Neutral Milk Hotel is one. Weezer's blue album is one. And this is one. I tried to bid on a few copies on eBay, with a ceiling of around 50 dollars, but even that wasn't high enough. I gave up, thinking that I may just have to hold off, or buy it on CD and be content with that, but eventually I found a copy spring up on Amazon UK. With shipping, it was around 35 bucks, but it's so incredibly gorgeous, and worth every cent. Matte red sleeve, with a 10" booklet inside, more art project than lyrics pamphlet.
And, the music. Like a blues-making robot with a blown fuse, it's glitchy, heartfelt pop songs, with all the sad-eyed soul Owl Postal City Service can't quite grasp. These are songs for belting out while embracing a friend and for dancing while crying. These songs sound like a breakup and first love and birth and life and death all at once, forever.
I have a copy of the Notwist's first record on vinyl, in storage, in Austin. They used to be a metal band. I'm glad they're not.
