text: The official start date for the tunequest was feb. 11.
  I actually started formulating the idea on the 10th, but it took until the next day to fully formulate my methodology. even though the date passed last saturday, i think it’s worth noting that, if i had managed to stay awake and do nothing but listen to my iTunes library, i would have finished on march 25. as it stands, i’ve managed to accomplish 16% of that and my latest projections show me to be on track for my end-of-year completion goal.
  - yann tiersen [amelie]
  - thievery corporation [abductions & reconstructions]
  - tortoise live in san francisco oct 20, 2005
  - the offspring [conspiracy of one]
  - isao tomita [picture at an exhibition]
  - christopher franke [babylon 5: darkness ascending]
  - the pizzarellis [bucky and john: contrasts]
  - nobukazu takemura [child’s view remixes]
  - soul coughing [contest 7"]
  - basement jaxx [atlantic jaxx]
  - wool [box set]
  every time i think i’ve outgrown the offspring, the group’s trademark power-punk-pop always manages to pull me back in. i was a big fan in high school, even saw them in concert. since then however, my passion for the group has waned to the point where i’ve repeatedly considered ditching my collection. in fact, i hadn’t listened to conspiracy of one since iTunes gained the ability to track playcounts. it’s been so long that that this was like getting a whole new cd, and like the sucker that i am, i fell for it. that’s not something to be ashamed of, is it? •
  speaking of music that’s survived since high school, let’s take a quick look at wool. i picked this up, used, at hawsey’s book index, the book store i frequented in my teenage years for cheap books and music. i was tipped off, if i remember correctly, by a plug by friend-of-the-band dave grohl on an episode of mtv’s alternative nation (or maybe it was 120 minutes) and subsequent airing of the video for ‘kill the crow’ some time in 1995.
  box set is respectable enough, a heavy mix of punk, metal and enough pop-formula songwriting to merit attention. unfortunately for the group, the music industry was turning its attention toward crap-rock in the wake cobain’s suicide and this album barely made a splash at all. the fact that i found a copy at the book index is quite astonishing in retrospect. a couple years later though, wool’s guitarist joined foo fighters when pat smear left, so i guess it worked out for him. •
  two other quick notes: amelie soundtrack will take you away to the streets of paris. And the pizzarellis brand of laid back classical guitar will make you feel like you’re on the deck of a beach house, sipping a cool drink and enjoying the ocean breeze.