Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Odditties Sodomies Vol. 2 (2019)

Where bought? The most recent purchase and I bought it from some guy in Glasgow off Discogs. I think it was from his record shop, but I dunno what it is called.

A quick jump backward to catch A-C releases I missed out on. I'd imagine this represents the end of my Ariel Pink purchasing frenzy of the last year or so: the other two Odditties Sodomies volumes don't quite tickle me as much, and while I could find room for Underground, Scared Famous, Loverboy, and pom-pom, they'd probably have to be knockdown prices.

Ariel Pink, Sit 'N Spin (2021)

Where bought? This is going to sound odd but this was kind of an experimental purchase: Ariel had been, for want of a better word, cancelled and his label had dropped him before this album was due out. Some fans were reporting that their pre-orders hadn't turned up, but I had wagered on a forum that these records had been pressed ages ago and were sitting in a warehouse awaiting distribution. I ordered it via the Ariel Pink website and it showed up a week later with two Mexican Summer (the label that had dropped him) stickers. I win!

OK so there are other reasons to buy this. Namely that I was keen to see what Rosenberg had been up to since ditching lo-fi production in 2004 and serving up Mature Themes in 2012, his first album of mostly new songs.

Ariel Pink, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson (2017)

Where bought? Rise Records in Worcester. On the way home from lecturing one day. Remember it clear as day, even though it was a totally mundane occurrence.

The most recent studio release and the first one I bought. It's a great tight pop record with some weirdnesses by the standards of his contemporaries. Dials down the 'LA melancholia' and the novelty grabs of pom-pom (which I don't own). Some of the songs - 'Kitchen Witch', 'I Wanna Be Young', 'Feels Like Heaven' - feel like mainstream pop songs he wrote for various other artists and was turned down, so he did them himself.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Mature Themes (2012)

Where bought? 100% without a shadow of a doubt I bought this from Those Old Records in Rugeley. I'd been keen to visit Rugeley since I read an article about it in the Financial Times re: it housing the UK's largest Amazon depot. I'd also travelled up in the hope they had this Thinking Fellers LP they had listed on their website. They didn't, so I bought this instead.

While 'Round and Round' is seen as the big hit, on Spotify it has half as many listens as 'Baby', the Donnie and Joe Emerson cover and main single from this. Sadly, APHG released that on a 7" and didn't include it on the LP, though it found its way onto the CD and subsequent digital releases.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Before Today (2010)

Where bought? Something tells me that I got it through the 4AD website. I nearly sent it back because the centre hole was really tight and no amount of fashioning could get it to sit on the turntable. Seems to be fine now.

Real Arielheads know that, in a way, Before Today is kind of a joke played on the late adopters. Nearly every song here had existed in some form previously, often on an obscure rarities compilation or an off-hand moment buried deep within another track. By my estimation only the intro track and 'Fright Night (Nevermore)' are original compositions written for the album: seven are re-recorded excavations and two are covers.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, House Arrest (2002) [2020 reissue]

Where bought? Banquet Records in Kingston-upon-Thames, but online. Took ages getting it through the post because of the pandemic and the backlogs and generally postmen have a bad time finding our flat.

Once upon a time my old band opened for House Arrest-era Ariel Pink at a pub in Lancaster. We interacted a couple of times. Suffice to say that he is a complete space cadet. I remember he wore some really ugly clogs and was annoyed that the other band on the bill had insufficiently protected his gear at a previous gig, leading someone to steal his backing cassettes. His review of my set: "that was wild, I loved that out of tune shit." Owned.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Worn Copy (2003) [2020 reissue]

Where bought? Norman Records, online.

If The Doldrums is a relatively homogenous lo-fi goth record then Worn Copy is more obviously a work of psychedelic bricolage. Some of this is apparent in just one track: the opener 'Trepanated Earth' cycles through spoken interludes, odd lurching synthwave, noise pop, pop, Amon Duul-ish pastoral psychouts, and then something not a million miles from American '70s rock.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, The Doldrums (2000) [2020 reissue]

Where bought? Loathe as I sometimes am to buy online via Norman Records (they're a great independent stockist with a peerless selection from a UK buyer's perspective, but their descriptions of records they actually sell can be annoying - often records I am interested in buying - can be very much in the record store asshole mould) I got this through them. Took a while because of the pandemic but they were very good via email.

If you're not a fan of Ariel Pink then you'd be advised to turn your RSS off for the next few entries. One of many things I find interesting about Mr. Rosenberg is that quite often his own fans have a distinct awareness of i. how this music could rub people up the wrong way and ii. that its maker is a diamond-studded asshat.