Favorite "discovery" of the last year?

[Davey]

<img src=http://members.mailaka.net/davey/BunnyGetsPaid.jpg align=left hspace=10>Just a fun topic to kick off the weekend, maybe get a lot of people talking. What's the big standout for you in the last year or so? Old, new, borrowed, or whatever? The one that caught you off guard and gets played over and over. Maybe you missed it back in the day, or maybe it's a new one that lots of other people are missing. The one you've made a few too many posts about, and told a few too many people about in a few too many conversations, and feel now that you're on the verge of becoming known as a irritating shill to a few too many people? How'd you find out about it and where'd you get it?

For me, the obvious answer for the last few months has been Bunny Gets Paid by Red Red Meat. Listen to it all the time. 11 years old now, but coulda been yesterday. Just a very cool and hypnotic wall of fuzzed out guitars, with some bluesy vibrato and sliding acoustic and lots of colorful effects. Kind of Exile-era Stones mashed up with Giannt Sand or Yo La Tengo, and a dash of Wilco on the side. Already made a few too many posts about it so ...

Oh yeah, discovered it through my love of Califone, heading back to their roots. It's on Sub Pop but has been oop for ages with used copies fetching pretty high prices (above $20) in the marketplace, but I had it on my djangos alert list for a few months and one popped up for $5.99 so nabbed it pronto. Good stuff. Now I also have two more of their CDs, lacking only the s/t debut.

[JoeMc]

For older cd's I missed early on I would pick Echolyn's "As the World" (1995) and I.Q.'s "Subterranea" (1997). For new cd's (new groups) that I heard for the first time recently I would pick Magic Pie's "Motions of Desire" or Moon Safari's "A Doorway to Summer".

[Troy]

I know this is probably not what you are looking for contexturally Davey, but for me, the biggest discovery in the last year is that the SONG is more important then the ALBUM.

This was brought about by my inheritance of a 20GB iPod and my ripping my CD collection into it. See, to do my entire collection I'd probably need 60 GB or more, so I had to be selective. There are very few (less than 10?) whole albums dumped into the thing, but there are songs from about 1200 albums. Many albums have only one or 2 songs from them. I paced myself just right and made it to the Z's with about a half gig leftover.

It's weird how I have no desire to sit there and say "I feel like hearing the (Insert any title here) album today" anymore. I attribute it to the fact that I have all the good songs already in the iPod/iTunes system. I hit play and EVERY song is good. Every single one. Yes I hit skip occasionally, but that's attributable to my mood for fast or slow, hard or soft. Still, the skip button can go for days without being touched.

For the last 6 months I've been playing this thing on shuffle mode constantly while my CD collection gathers dust. I keep a pile of discs in the car for play cuz my car stereo has no effective way of connecting to the iPod (believe me, I tried everything short of a new stereo), but other than that, no CD use, no albums played.

I'm just totally bemused that I have become so infatuated with this random listening process. It has totally changed my viewpoint on listening to music. It's not that I have a insectile attention span, becuase I am still listening to a lot of 10+ minute epic songs. It's the variety. It's the never knowing what's next. It's the juxtaposition of hearing Esquivel, followed by Echolyn, followed by Dread Zeppelin, followed by And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, followed by Hans Zimmer, followed by Badfinger. And all great songs by them cuz I didn't rip any filler.

Yeah, I know, to some of you ALL Echolyn is filler . . . or all Trail of Dead is. But that's the REAL beauty of it. It's custom to ME and ME only. You go make your own. That's truly the whole point.

My desire for new music has shunk to almost nothing. There's so much music in this thing that still has zero plays, or only one in January that there's really no need for me to hear anything new. I already have too much variety. I'm hearing stuff I haven't heard in years that I already own because it was only one of 3 good songs on an otherwise mediocre album that I never would have pulled off the shelf to play.

I've bought very few albums in the last 6 months. Much fewer than my average in the last 5 years. Virtually every album I've bought may have a few good tracks on it, but as a whole listening experience? meh. I rip the 2 good tracks and move on. There's 3139 songs, 9 days, 7 hours+ of music on the thing. They will turn up eventually in the shuffle and when they do, I'll enjoy them.

Screw the albums, who needs them?

[MasterCylinder]

I rediscovered IN ABSENTIA from PT the other day........man, that is a piece of work.

[Davey]

I know this is probably not what you are looking for contexturally Davey...Screw the albums, who needs them?
Yeah, that is a good subject too. We've danced around that one some before, but I'll always be an "album guy". The feel and texture and adventure of the whole means more to me than one or two good songs. You and Jay and some of the others here are "song guys". But I often find my favorite songs on an album change over time, sometimes even short times, and sometimes it is a mood, and sometimes they are the songs I didn't even care much for at first. I did used to listen to select songs from albums a lot, even went so far as to have a list I kept near the stereo so I could quickly get at the songs I liked most, especially if a friend was over. But something changed in the last few years and I find myself gravitating back to earlier times, which was all about the feel and the mood and the flow to me. Never even bought any singles except as a young kid. And nowadays I'm more prone to listen to the same album for days, so my playlist is dominated by those type of albums, the ones with a strong identity. Sometimes I don't even know any of the song names, just how they unfold during the listening experience.

But I can see it being fun to listen like you do too. Just probably never be that fun for me. I never even use random play on the CDP, although I do like to listen to compilations. But I generally don't spend much time with the ones that have dramatic shifts in the music from song to song. Still more about the flow for me, even when I make comps.

[ForeverAutumn]

Yeah, that is a good subject too. We've danced around that one some before, but I'll always be an "album guy". The feel and texture and adventure of the whole means more to me than one or two good songs. You and Jay and some of the others here are "song guys". But I often find my favorite songs on an album change over time, sometimes even short times, and sometimes it is a mood, and sometimes they are the songs I didn't even care much for at first. I did used to listen to select songs from albums a lot, even went so far as to have a list I kept near the stereo so I could quickly get at the songs I liked most, especially if a friend was over. But something changed in the last few years and I find myself gravitating back to earlier times, which was all about the feel and the mood and the flow to me. Never even bought any singles except as a young kid. And nowadays I'm more prone to listen to the same album for days, so my playlist is dominated by those type of albums, the ones with a strong identity. Sometimes I don't even know any of the song names, just how they unfold during the listening experience.


I'm with Davey on this one. I have a few single tracks on my iPod, but for the most part I still rip the whole disk to it. And I listen to the full disk. If there's a song that I really don't like on a disk, I'll rip the CD and leave off the one song. Otherwise, I still find myself listening to full disks. Even when I put my iPod on shuffle, what usually happens is I hear a song and think, "that's a great album, I'm gonna listen to that whole album", and off comes the shuffle in favour of the album. I'm building a lot of playlists of songs, but that's done more to suit a mood.

Now, back to Davey's original question... my greatest discoveries of the last year. Well, I would have to say that my tied for number one disks of 2005 are my greatest discoveries. Andrew Bird and Luke Doucet. I am still listening to both of these 2005 CDs fairly regularly, although no longer daily like they once were. And I've picked up a couple of older disks by both and am enjoying them just as much. I hope to enjoy future disks by both of these artists as well. Definately the musical highlights of the last year for me.

[Slosh]

Why, Tapes 'n Tapes The Loon, of course. If you like your rawk Pixies-esque then you should own this by now. It's getting a major-label release this summer so my self-released version might be worth more than the $10 I paid for it someday, maybe :)

I've also been spending a lot of time with my Grandaddy and he's Just Like The Fambly Cat. Good stuff but not their best album. I'd say it's on par with Under The Western Freeway but not up to the level of The Sophtware Slump or Sumday. Can't hardly wait for Tuesday to pick up a legit copy with non-lossy sonics, along with the new Black Heart Procession (which I haven't, eh hem, previewed).

I'm kinda with Troy on the whole computer-as-audio-component thing. It has completely changed the way I listen to music and all for the better. I also only rip the songs I like except when an album is brand new, or is something that I hold in extremely high regard like The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I or Spoon A Series Of Sneaks. I'm not into the random play thing so much but rather making perfect playlists, which of course is super easy to do when all the music you want is only a couple of mouse clicks away.

Playing a CD seems so quaint now :p

[Davey]

I'm kinda with Troy on the whole computer-as-audio-component thing. It has completely changed the way I listen to music and all for the better. I also only rip the songs I like except when an album is brand new, or is something that I hold in extremely high regard like The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I or Spoon A Series Of Sneaks. I'm not into the random play thing so much but rather making perfect playlists, which of course is super easy to do when all the music you want is only a couple of mouse clicks away.

Playing a CD seems so quaint now :p
Ya know, I do sometimes use my computer as a server to my DAC and have some stuff on there I can arrange for fun and pleasure, and ultimately would probably like to migrate all my music to a server so it's all easily available, but I'm also concerned that many modern rock albums I now love probably wouldn't have ever made it to the lofty peaks I now reserve for them if I'd stripped off the "hot tracks" when they were still fresh....for instance, if I am making, say, a "Modern Rock" mix, and I have a CD like Gin Blossoms' Greatest Hits, and I enjoy more than two or three tracks on this disc---do I use these songs from the Gin Blossoms CD and put them into a mixed Modern Rock compilation? Should I strip CDs with alot of hot tracks and use the individual tracks in mixed compilations---or should I just take the whole good album with me on the road? See the dilemma? Should I just use the CD recorder to mix from various CD singles, to compilate them, or from CDs which only have one or two good tracks on them? I just feel like I shouldnt be "robbing" hot-tracked CDs (one of my favorite modern rock albums is the Goo Goo Dolls' "Dizzy Up The Girl"---this has a bunch of songs which I listen to, but it seems insane to take them off and mix them up with other music) of their songs to put into mixes...can anyone relate?

Ahhh, I still have fond memories of our old hot track buddy that wants to live and die in NY ... the enigmatic dilemma that just couldn't be killed ...
http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EEC59AA.php

http://forums.audioreview.com/images/smilies/6.gif

[Dusty Chalk]

Finally received and listened to that Hash Jar Tempo -- that's probably my favourite new-albeit-not-new-to-others thing that I've heard this year. Drone rock along the lines of SubArachnoid Space, GYBE, and Mono.

And Dave -- by utilizing your computer, and not burning to CD, you're solving your own problem. You can rip entire albums and make super-playlists of greatest hits that encompass more than a CD can hold, including entire albums of which you are fond. Total length becomes immaterial.

[Davey]

Finally received and listened to that Hash Jar Tempo -- that's probably my favourite new-albeit-not-new-to-others thing that I've heard this year. Drone rock along the lines of SubArachnoid Space, GYBE, and Mono.
Glad to hear that it hit the right spot. Pretty mellow stuff, but still lots of texture and minor adventures. Roy Montgomery also put out a pretty nice one on his own a few years ago called The Allegory of Hearing that almost rises to that same level, although the Bardo Pond did give Hash Jar Tempo a little more of that hard to pinpoint specialness. Nice cover on the Montgomery disc from the Brueghel painting (http://www.wga.hu/art/b/bruegel/jan_e/2/5sense1.jpg) of the same ...

http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/dre200/e240/e24084pbej0.jpg

"Recorded in Montgomery's harbor cottage in Lyttleton, New Zealand, during October 1998 on his trusty Tascam Porta One and mixed in January 2000, Allegory is a return to an instrumental palette first witnessed on his debut Drunken Fish CD Scenes From The South Island and the Temple IV CD on Kranky. Armed with a newly acquired Rickenbacker 12-string and vintage Farfisa electric organ, plus the usual Teisco, e-bow, and Quadraverb arsenal, Montgomery has created eight short soundtracks of a particularly meditative nature."

[Slosh]

I just tonight came across Kid Dakota The West Is The Future (2004) for the first time in my favorite local indie record store and even though I'm only five songs into it I can already say that it's really, really f<a>ucking great! Reminds me a bit of BHP 2 but with more guitar bombast. Makes for a nice follow up to Sparklehorse Good Morning, Spider which as you may have deduced is the album I played just before. ;)

Oh, and my daughter grabbed Propagandhi Potemkin City Limits. What's wrong with kids these days? :rolleyes:

[Troy]

Propagandhi

That's one of the most LOL band names I've heard in a while.

Yes, playing a CD does seem kind quaint now.

[Stone]

Oh, and my daughter grabbed Propagandhi Potemkin City Limits. What's wrong with kids these days? :rolleyes:

One of the best hardcore bands of recent times that I've heard (although I haven't heard this particular album).

[tentoze]

I'm so indie-un-hip that I never heard Frank Black until recently, and have been exploring some of his catalog, with favorable results.

[audiobill]

Willie Nile's "Streets of New York" is THE cd for me. It gets spun, podded, and played every week.

I never heard of the guy, until tentoze gave me a hedzup several months ago. Nile's voice reminds me of a cross between a Canadian musician by the name of Murray McLaughlin, an American we all know --Bobby Dylan, and a mellow version of Britain's Billy Bragg. Weird, I know. The lyrics are absolutely multitexed, from the point of view that they give up new meanings every week or so. The album works really well as a true album should... the same way that Springsteen's "Darkness On The Edge of Town" did when I first heard it, many moons agom and still does it for me, today. For example, "Candy's Room" on DOTEOT is a standout for me; yet, I don't see it on a Springsteen greates hits package. Why? Because it belongs as part of the whole album -- it's not complete without it's bookend tracks.

Highlights from Streets of New York include: "Game of Fools", "The Day I Saw Bo Didley", "Cells Phones Ringing In The Pockets of the Dead", and "Streets of New York"..........but, hey, don't take my word for it; they're all good... every single track (how many albums can you say that about? not many)

Thanks, again, 'toze for the discovery,

Bill

[Swish]

Why, Tapes 'n Tapes The Loon, of course. If you like your rawk Pixies-esque then you should own this by now. It's getting a major-label release this summer so my self-released version might be worth more than the $10 I paid for it someday, maybe :)

I've also been spending a lot of time with my Grandaddy and he's Just Like The Fambly Cat. Good stuff but not their best album. I'd say it's on par with Under The Western Freeway but not up to the level of The Sophtware Slump or Sumday. Can't hardly wait for Tuesday to pick up a legit copy with non-lossy sonics, along with the new Black Heart Procession (which I haven't, eh hem, previewed).

I'm kinda with Troy on the whole computer-as-audio-component thing. It has completely changed the way I listen to music and all for the better. I also only rip the songs I like except when an album is brand new, or is something that I hold in extremely high regard like The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I or Spoon A Series Of Sneaks. I'm not into the random play thing so much but rather making perfect playlists, which of course is super easy to do when all the music you want is only a couple of mouse clicks away.

Playing a CD seems so quaint now :p


I guess it's tough to keep going when you're broke.

Swish

[Davey]

Can't hardly wait for Tuesday to pick up ...the new Black Heart Procession (which I haven't, eh hem, previewed).
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I hear ya. Been a long time and I'm so ready for some tales from the dark side with Pall and Tobias and the rest of the crew. Sure to be one of the years highlights.

[Hawkeye]

Chris Orbach - "Safely Through the Night" - still getting regular plays both at home and on the road. First mentioned here: http://forums.audioreview.com/showpost.php?p=137873&postcount=1
A nice mix of folk, funk, and jazz, with a bit of blues.

[tentoze]

Willie Nile's "Streets of New York" is THE cd for me. It gets spun, podded, and played every week.

I never heard of the guy, until tentoze gave me a hedzup several months ago. Nile's voice reminds me of a cross between a Canadian musician by the name of Murray McLaughlin, an American we all know --Bobby Dylan, and a mellow version of Britain's Billy Bragg. Weird, I know. The lyrics are absolutely multitexed, from the point of view that they give up new meanings every week or so. The album works really well as a true album should... the same way that Springsteen's "Darkness On The Edge of Town" did when I first heard it, many moons agom and still does it for me, today. For example, "Candy's Room" on DOTEOT is a standout for me; yet, I don't see it on a Springsteen greates hits package. Why? Because it belongs as part of the whole album -- it's not complete without it's bookend tracks.

Highlights from Streets of New York include: "Game of Fools", "The Day I Saw Bo Didley", "Cells Phones Ringing In The Pockets of the Dead", and "Streets of New York"..........but, hey, don't take my word for it; they're all good... every single track (how many albums can you say that about? not many)

Thanks, again, 'toze for the discovery,

Bill

Yo, Bill- music for the ages.......these indie boys and girls won't stick their toe in this water..........

[3-LockBox]

Yeah, that is a good subject too. We've danced around that one some before, but I'll always be an "album guy". The feel and texture and adventure of the whole means more to me than one or two good songs.

I did the shuffle thing for a few weeks, but I kept coming back to albums. I usually rip whole albums on my MP3 player. Sometimes I listen in shuffle play, or I listen in a song by song mode, but I learned a long time ago (as you did) that my faves change over long periods of time, and when I got into comp making, I was leaving out songs that I would eventually 'rediscover' when I listened to the album.

I generally tend to disown CDs from which I only like one or two songs.

[superpanavision70mm]

THE 88. They have 2 great CD's KIND OF LIGHT and OVER AND OVER. Check em' out!

[MindGoneHaywire]

R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet DVD. With the visuals, it's the best album I heard last year. Without, I have no idea how it'd come across. I was pretty shocked this guy made something I thought was good, let alone that good.