It's a Tuesday rotation thing

[Slosh]

Well?

[Troy]

http://www.lostamerica.com/samplestuff/tuesday.jpg

Fixated on the Beach Boys disc heavily this week. What a fantastic production.

There's about 3 songs on the Air album that kill me.

[Slosh]

Some truly outstanding recent comps from newtrixster, jar, and tentoze. The comp trading volume may have fallen off but the quality of the comps themselves is better than ever.

...and as always ;) ...
McLusky - The Difference Between Me And You Is I'm Not On Fire
Les Savy Fav - Inches
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Super Furry Animals - Radiator and Rings Around The World and Guerrilla and Phantom Power
Enon - High Society and Hocus Pocus
The Black Heart Procession - Amore del Tropico and Three
Doug Martsch - Now You Know
Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
System Of A Down - Toxicity and Steal This Album
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - s/t
!!! - s/t
Spoon - Kill The Moonlight and A Series Of Sneaks
Richard Davies - Telegraph
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
The Violent Femmes - s/t
Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies
The Dismemberment Plan - Is Terrified and Juno split
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Frodus - And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea

[tentoze]

Well?Well alright.

New-To-Me stuff:

Jay Farrar, Live In Seattle- very good live set from a recent tour stop. Set list leans heavily on songs from Terroir Blues (not that that's a bad thing, IMO). The performance seems a bit detached, though.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, Streetcore- late coming to this one, but well worth the wait, and the purchase. Just fantastic songs and performances.

Handsome Family, Live At Schuba's Tavern- They do an amazing job at translating their "sound" into a live milieu. May be my favorite group right now. O, BTW, the parental advisory on the cover is warranted. Rennie Sparks is kinda toilet-tongued for easily offended folks. And she comes off at least as crazy as her husband. :p

Modest Mouse, Good News For Bad Mofos, or whatever it's called- on 180g vinyl. Interesting stuff here, seems more fleshed out than my recollection of M&A, and whatever else I've heard from them. Brock's voice is a unique instrument that meshes well with the music.

Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island- more vinyl. And it sounds pretty good, for being recorded on a no-track tape deck in a port-o-let. ;) Great tunes.

[Slosh]

Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island- more vinyl. And it sounds pretty good, for being recorded on a no-track tape deck in a port-o-let. ;) Great tunes.

I never got around to pulling the trigger on this one but it has been on my wishlist for years now. What do you think of it? More specifically, how does it compare to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea? I've read good and bad comments but have yet to hear it for myself, other than a song or two here and there.

[Dave_G]

Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun - prog, pop, whatever, this is an excellent album.

Ted Nugent - Craveman - Teds 2002 studio album. Lets just say this: he can cuss, profane, hoot, toot, snort, insult, and generally blast nonsense better than most. The music is, well, okay, but I think he needs to let his ego chill and let someone else handle lead vocals like Meatloaf did on the classic Free for All album.

IQ - Subterenea - this is one of my favorite neo prog bands and albums. I hear the new IQ album is their best ever. If so, it must be something else.

Sparks - Lil Bethoven - well, this is a real real lousy album. So is Plagiarism.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimmie back my Bullets - songs about women, whiskey, killin, guns, etc.

Marillion - The Thieving Magpie - a 2 cd live set with Mr. Fish on lead vocals. Excellent. Man, that was a great band back then.

Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation - incredible album. Not a bad toon on it.

Kansas - Point of Know Return - remaster. Superb album from my favorite band.

Also watched some Jadis dvd, Arena dvd, Ozzy dvd (I tell you what that cat Zaak Wylde is pretty good on guitar), and some Oingo Boingo dvd. Ozzy is a trip, completely.

Dave

[Davey]

http://members.mailaka.net/davey/playlist1.gif

[tentoze]

http://members.mailaka.net/davey/playlist.gif
Thanks for the seizure, Dave.......

;)

[Slosh]

http://members.mailaka.net/davey/playlist.gif


hehe, let's see if we can make someone puke

[tentoze]

I never got around to pulling the trigger on this one but it has been on my wishlist for years now. What do you think of it? More specifically, how does it compare to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea? I've read good and bad comments but have yet to hear it for myself, other than a song or two here and there.
I really need to listen to it some more to form an educated opinion. First impressions were that, musically, it is clearly in the same vein as Aeroplane- a younger brother; maybe a bit less polished. Sonically, even more lo-fi than Aeroplane, and that's getting pretty lo-fi, IMO. Recorded on a 4-track, IIRC. Mangum's vocals get so strident occasionally that it hurts, but not much more so than on Aeroplane, to my ears.

[Slosh]

I really need to listen to it some more to form an educated opinion. First impressions were that, musically, it is clearly in the same vein as Aeroplane- a younger brother; maybe a bit less polished. Sonically, even more lo-fi than Aeroplane, and that's getting pretty lo-fi, IMO. Recorded on a 4-track, IIRC. Mangum's vocals get so strident occasionally that it hurts, but not much more so than on Aeroplane, to my ears.

Thanks. OK, so I need this album. I'm just not sure whether I need it on vinyl. Aeroplane is sooo heavily compressed on CD. Hmmm, well, LP is usually a few pesos cheaper so I guess there's my answer. ;)

NP: Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels...

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Could you slow down your flashing billboard down, I can't make out a couple of those albums :).

[tentoze]

Thanks. OK, so I need this album. I'm just not sure whether I need it on vinyl. Aeroplane is sooo heavily compressed on CD. Hmmm, well, LP is usually a few pesos cheaper so I guess there's my answer. ;)

NP: Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels...
I find that it works both ways, and randomly- the new Modest Mouse was $13.99 on vinyl, $10.99 on CD.

[Toady]

The Constantines - Shine a Light
Unwed Sailor - The Marionette and the Music Box
The American Analog Set - Know By Heart

[Slosh]

The Constantines - Shine a Light

The American Analog Set - Know By Heart

How do you like these as a whole? I've only heard a few songs from each and all were pretty good. AAS in particular reminded me of Death Cab For Cutie but it's sometimes difficult to get a feel without hearing the whole album.

I don't know why I'm even asking. I've got so much music lying around that I need to pay more attention to. I guess I can't help myself :)

NP: Clinic - Internal Wrangler

[dld]

Mike Oldfield, Soundtrack to The Killing Fields

Queen, Soundtrack to Flash Gordon

Angelo Badalamenti, Soundtrack to The Straight Story

Georgio Moroder, Soundtrack to Cat People

True Romance soundtrack, Various artists

Two Days In The Valley soundtrack, Various artists

Pell Mell, The Bumper Crop, not as good as Interstate but actually not bad either

Van Morrison, Moondance. After hearing the end music to The Sopranos season finale ( Incredible how Glad Tidings fit so well with the shows ending!!!) I had to play this

Hendrix, Essentials Vol. I & II
Hendrix, Electric Ladyland

RPM's Pop Isn't A Four Letter Word

Tentoze's New Comp

Brian Wilson Live At Albert Hall Boot from BradH, King of the boots

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Well?
First album I listened to...


Rubber Soul

other stuff this week...

Signal to Trust - Folklore
Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
The Wrens - Meadowlands
Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Like Bad News
Les Savy Fav - Inches
The Walkmen - Bows & Arrows
The Libertines - Up the Bracket
Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse
Bailter Space - A great comp from an old RR buddy.
Mercury Rev - All is Dream
Dropkick Murphys - Blackout
Ben Harper - Welcome to the Cruel World
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Streetcore
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Thelonius Monk w/John Coltrane
Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light 'til Dawn
Jesse Cook - Gravity
Willie & Lobo - Fandango Nights

and comps from some of the usual suspects

Slosh - This Tanted Life
Davey - Fun in the Sun
JDaniel - CRSv9
Stone - '03

Also threw together 2 comps, no real rhyme nor reason to them, except that I like all the songs. I'll post the tracklists, just in case anyone would like one or the other...

1.
Transmission - Joy Division
Dig Me Out - Sleater-Kinney
Game Over - Antelope
Take it or Leave it - The Strokes
Way Too Early on a Sunday Morning - Eleventh Dream Day
Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground - White Stripes
Wallpaper Room - Lowsunday
Parade - Bedhead
Stockholme Syndrome - Yo La Tengo
Odalisque - The Decemberists
Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
Rid of Me - PJ Harvey
Dramamine - Modest Mouse
What's Your Take on Cassevetes - Le Tigre
Lovetown - The Glands
Silence Kit - Pavement
Mistake Pageant - Idlewild
Trash/Treasure - Wire
Seemingly Stranded - David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights

2.
Forever - Charlatans (UK)
Childhood Memories - British Sea Power
Believing Is Art - Spoon
Half a Day - The New Year
A Gentle Cycle Revolution - Appliance
High and Dry - Radiohead
Do Go On - Chisel
The Art of Stopping - Wire
The Dark is Rising - Mercury Rev
Self Preservation - The Lucksmiths
Broken Household Appliance - Grandaddy
Time for Heroes - The Libertines
Gravity's Bringing Us Down - Beulah
Sidewalk - Built to Spill
Your Church is Red - Blackheart Procession
Answers - 764-HERO

[Toady]

How do you like these as a whole? I've only heard a few songs from each and all were pretty good. AAS in particular reminded me of Death Cab For Cutie but it's sometimes difficult to get a feel without hearing the whole album.



the Constantines album i picked up a few days before seeing them open for someone... and i can't even remember who now. anyway, they are FABULOUS live. the album is very good. there are a few tracks that jumped out and grabbed me right away, and now that i've had it for a while i enjoy all of it.

Know By Heart is an amazing record. they may sound like Deathcab because Ben Gibbard sang one of the songs you heard? :cool: hehe. he's on one track. they're sort of a cross between Califone and Deathcab for me. another wonderful live band. i've seen them twice. once headlining a show with The Album Leaf supporting, and once as main support for Pinback. do i need to talk about how great those nights were? :D

also, they discovered Explosions in the Sky. i think allmusic.com may have that story on the EITS bio.

which reminds me... does anyone know which track(s) on Know By Heart feature Munaf Rayani (of EITS)?

todd

EDIT: the Explosions in the Sky story from allmusic.com:
This quartet of Texas kids was signed for its first release on Temporary Residence Limited after half a listen to their demo, which was submitted by the American Analog Set with a brief note saying "This totally f****** destroys."

[Davey]

First album I listened to...

Rubber Soul
UK Parlophone no doubt. What a great album....well, except for that silly Ringo song. Sounds pretty damn fine too. I think mine is a 70s reissue but still very nice.

Hey, those are some nice looking comps. If I didn't have just about everything on them I'd probably ask for one or two. Speaking of PJ Harvey (since she is on one of them) I saw her last night on the Letterman Show and she looked to be having a fun time. They did The Letter which I guess is the single from the new album and they were freakin loud! It's just a stripped down thing with real simple chords, but still fun. Not one of her finest songs but I enjoyed it. Bill Murray was on before her being his normal silly and often hysterical self, wearing a clown shirt and shorts and these bright yellow gloves. And when PJ came out after him, she had on a short dress and pink high heels, looking pretty glamorous, and wearing those same yellow gloves that she had gotten from Bill. Pretty funny. Did the whole song just about with those big yellow gloves wrapped around the mic :)

[Dusty Chalk]

Dagnabit, Troy, what is that Ridgway thing...never mind, looked it up, I see that he has a whole slew of stuff over at cdbaby, half of them sold out (probably never to return)...

Whut have I been listening to? I don't know, a bunch of stuff, let's see what I can remember:

Thomas Dolby
Curve
Sibelius
Buckethead
Maquiladora
Controlled Bleeding
Funkstorung
Lali Puna
In The Nursery
Joe Walsh
The new Hilary Hahn, Helene Grimaud SACDs.
Moby
The The (did anyone else notice how he sounds like Ian Anderson?)
Garden of Shadows
Wall of Voodoo
Ani Difranco
Magnetic Fields
Divine Comedy

Watched that BHP DVD -- weird! Not sure if it's worth owning, but definitely worth watching once.

Hey Dave G -- did you know there's a couple of Easter Eggs on that Oingo Boingo DVD? The video for "Insanity" is apparently a "must-see".

Daveydot -- I'd like to second the motion that you slow those down, I can't read some of them, neither...

Oh, and I actually listened to some vinyl this weekend!:

Mike Oldfield
Shriekback
Talking Heads
Godley & Creme
Colourfield

[DarrenH]

Vinyl:

Kansas - s/t
Beach Boys - Holland. Included the 7" 33 1/3. Aside from Sail On Sailor this pretty much sucked.
David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name
Green On Red - No Free Lunch. I thought I would give this another try. Still didn't make it for me.
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game 12" 45 ep. Has only four songs. Or is it three?. I can't remember. Fairly decent rockabilly stuff though.

CD:

Los Lobos - The Ride
Gov't Mule - Live At The Roseland Ballroom
Neil Young - Hawks and Doves
Kansas - Masque
Steely Dan - Aja
Pink Floyd - Animals
AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
Earth Wind and Fire - Greatest Hits. The 1998 release.
Carbon Leaf - Meander

Return To Forever - s/t and Light As A Feather and Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy and Where Have I Known You Before and Romantic Warrior.

Weather Report - Heavy Weather

Miles Davis - Birth Of The Cool and Bag's Groove and Walkin' and Filles de Kilimanjaro and Agharta

Jethro Tull - Rock Island and Catfish Rising and the Stormwatch remaster.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

UK Parlophone no doubt.

Yeah right! Don't I wish! Just a run-of-the-mill recent remaster, not sure of the details, but it still sounds pretty good, besides it's the music that counts, right?

Thanks for the word on P.J. The album seems to be getting pretty tepid reviews, at least the few I've come across. Wait a minute...just checked Metacritic and its got an 83 score, which is a lot higher that it was (low 70s I think) last time I checked. Things are looking up for young Polly. I assume you're planning on getting it. Lemme know what you think when you do :)

I see you listened to Chairs Missing...you're taste is improving! ;)

[Slosh]

the Constantines album i picked up a few days before seeing them open for someone... and i can't even remember who now. anyway, they are FABULOUS live. the album is very good. there are a few tracks that jumped out and grabbed me right away, and now that i've had it for a while i enjoy all of it.

Know By Heart is an amazing record. they may sound like Deathcab because Ben Gibbard sang one of the songs you heard? :cool: hehe. he's on one track. they're sort of a cross between Califone and Deathcab for me. another wonderful live band. i've seen them twice. once headlining a show with The Album Leaf supporting, and once as main support for Pinback. do i need to talk about how great those nights were? :D

also, they discovered Explosions in the Sky. i think allmusic.com may have that story on the EITS bio.

which reminds me... does anyone know which track(s) on Know By Heart feature Munaf Rayani (of EITS)?

todd

EDIT: the Explosions in the Sky story from allmusic.com:

Thanks. Two more to add to my ever-growing wishlist. Why is it no matter how many albums I buy the list never gets smaller? ;)

I don't recall the names of the songs offhand but I know they were from the above mentioned albums (some were on comps, the others happened to be playing the last couple of times I wandered into my favorite local indie store).

NP: Chisel - Set You Free (because Ex-Lion Tamer's comp reminded me I haven't listened to this in ages --- good stuff and better than the Ted Leo solo/Pharmacists albums IMO)

[Jim Clark]

I got a small stack of new discs to listen to:

KVLR aka. Kevlar (I guess). Indie rock band out of Sveden. Has some mighty fine moments that would surely make the grade of even the hippest of the indiehipsterelitistsnobs sulking around.

Procol Harum-The Well's On Fire. Seen the name bandied about from time to time and to the best of my knowledge never heard them until I got this from the library. Need a couple of more spins but I don't think this is the music for me.

Paul Oakenfold-Oslo. Very, very trancy. (well duh! what did I expect? sheesh.) Not really digging this to much either. *sigh*

jc

[Mr MidFi]

A bunch of the same ol' same ol'. One notable exception: David Bowie's Heathens disc. My next door neighbor burned one for me, and I liked it better than I had expected. No killer track, but lots of interesting sounds. Hangs together pretty well as an album. Sounds better at night, for some reason.

It was one of those strange conversations like what JC was talking about last week. This neighbor was talking about how much he likes this recent Bowie album, and I say, "Yeah, I kinda lost interest in him after the 70s." And he looks at me like I have two heads. Come to find out, he was unaware of David Bowie having a career prior to "Let's Dance." This is a 38-year-old suburban white guy I'm talking about. Very odd.

So we start talking some more about music, and he's talking about Cake, Big Head Todd, and a few other things...so I bring up Wilco. He's never heard of them. Again, this is the Chicago suburbs we're talking about here. He has no clue who I'm talking about. The very next day, there's a 5-column-wide photo of them on the front page of the Tribune's Arts section.

So now I don't know whether to burn him an Alladin Sane disc, or a Wilco sampler. I guess I better do both.

[Davey]

Daveydot -- I'd like to second the motion that you slow those down, I can't read some of them, neither...
Well, I did slow it down to 1 second per cover from the 1/2 second that Mark was complaining about. I didn't realize people actually cared anymore so I usually just post stuff for my own amusement - I just changed it to a little different format giving 2 seconds per cover but requiring stereo-vision. Or maybe just a simple list? Remember back in the old days when I/we/some of us used to write stuff about each one? And people actually talked back and forth about music? I guess that harkens back to the pre-vBulletin days.


Thanks for the word on P.J. I assume you're planning on getting it. Lemme know what you think when you do.
I probably won't be getting it anytime soon. I've listened to some of the songs and nothing really knocked me out but even so-so PJ is better than your average bear. Think I've got enough music to last me for awhile, though :)

[mad rhetorik]

Spiral Architect: <b>A Skeptic's Universe</b>
The Mars Volta: <b>Deloused In The Comatorium</b>

Listened to the above last night back-to-back. Talk about a case of cerebral meltdown..

Others:

In Flames: <b>Colony</b>
This one's addictive--I've spun it for about a week straight. Opening track "Embody The Invisible" gets me screaming right along (is that not the measure of a fine metal song?). Have to control myself in public or people start giving me funny looks...; P

Portishead: <b>Dummy</b>
Massive Attack: <b>Mezzanine</b>
Bob Dylan: <b>Blood On The Tracks</b>
Wilco: <b>Yankee Hotel Foxtrot</b>
Allman Brothers: <b>Beginnings</b>

[Slosh]

Remember back in the old days when I/we/some of us used to write stuff about each one? And people actually talked back and forth about music?

Music? I just remember talking about sex.

NP: some dothead's Fun In The Sun comp (and not just a pity spin either :) really, it's just a freak coincidence!)

[Pat D]

Well?
Mendelssohn, Symphonies nos. 3 and 4 (the Scottish and Italian Symphonies). Herbert Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony. London D 140143

Haydn, String Quartets Op. 20, Nos. 1-3. Kodaly Qt. Naxos 8.550701

Mannheim Steamroller, Fresh Aire III. American Gramophone AGCD-365

Mozart, Symphonien Nr. 39 & 41 “Jupiter.” Colin Davis, Staatskapelle Dresden. Philips 410 046-2

Mahler, Symphony no. 4. Kathleen Battle, soprano; Lorin Maazel, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. CBS WDMK-44908

Corelli, Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, Nos. 1-6. Jaroslav Kr(e)chek, Capella Istropolitana. Naxos 8.550402.

Haydn, Symphonies Nos. 6 (Le Matin), 7 (Le Midi), and 8 (Le Soir). Nicholas Ward, Northern Chamber Orchestra. Naxos 8.550722

Dvorak, String Quartets, Nos. 12 (American) and 13. Vlach Qt. of Prague. Naxos 8.553371

Sibelius, Symphony No. 5. Maazel, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. On Sony SK 46499

Sibelius, Symphony No. 2. Colin Davis, Boston Symphony Orchestra. On Philips 420 490-2

[Stone]

Vinyl:

The Scientists – Blood Red River

Wah! - The Maverick Years


CDs:

XTC – Drums and Wires

!!! - Louden Up Now
One listen so far, and it's not a huge improvement (although it is some improvement) over the sometimes-great-but-inconsistent debut album. Good dance beats, but I'm not sure it delivers much more. More listens are needed to see how it holds up.

Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News
First listen for this one. Sounds pretty cool - better than I expected.

Husking Bee – Grip

Husker Du – Warehouse: Songs and Stories

Arcwelder – Everest

Deerhoof – Milk Man

Built To Spill – Keep It Like a Secret

Hop on Pop – As Drawn By Ethan, Age 2

Kiss – Love Gun

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players – Vintage Slide Collections from Seattle, Vol. 1

Auteurs – New Wave

Turbonegro – Ass Cobra

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust

Pixies – (Live in London) [DVD]

The Good Life – Lovers Need Lawyers EP

Motorhead - Ace of Spades

Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation

Stone

[-Jar-]

Husker Du – Warehouse: Songs and Stories

Arcwelder – Everest

Stone


Sometimes I think WAREHOUSE might have made a tighter single album. And it might have been more digestible to the public. But what songs do you cut? And I Know the recording quality is endearing, but sometimes I also wonder if it would have made a bigger splash had it had a better recording.. but then again, most things recorded in the late 80's sounded like crap anyways...

How's that Arcwelder album? I've only ever owned PULL, which I love.. just never got around to their other albums

-jar

[Dusty Chalk]

Well, I did slow it down to 1 second per cover from the 1/2 second that Mark was complaining about. I didn't realize people actually cared anymore so I usually just post stuff for my own amusement - I just changed it to a little different format giving 2 seconds per cover but requiring stereo-vision.Okay, thanks. I wouldn't whine, but there's no way to pause it...
Or maybe just a simple list? Remember back in the old days when I/we/some of us used to write stuff about each one? And people actually talked back and forth about music? I guess that harkens back to the pre-vBulletin days.No...? We actually talked about music? Who, me? You still talk about music.

[DPM]

A friend and I spent a week checking out southern California, Arizona and Nevada. The soundtrack to the trip was as follows:

1) Fish/A Wilderness Of Mirrors
2) Zappa/One Size Fits All & concert from late 70's
3) America/Greatest Hits
4) Yes/Yessongs & Tormato
5) Jethro Tull/Live Bursting Out
6) Gentle Giant/Final concert from 1980
7) Porcupine Tree/In Absentia & Signify
8) Inside Out sampler
9) White Willow/Sacrement
10) Eden's Plot/Eyfuctah
11) Aquarium Rescue Unit/Mirrors Of Embarrassment
12) Anekdoten/Gravity
13) Proto-Kaw/Before Became After
14) Spock's Beard/V

Today I spun Grand Funk Railroad/Grand Funk, Mr. Bungle/California, Todd Rundgren/Liars, and Opeth/Deliverance.

Dave M

[ForeverAutumn]

So now I don't know whether to burn him an Alladin Sane disc, or a Wilco sampler. I guess I better do both.

Would you like me to send you a copy of my Imaginary Bowie Collection comp for him? Two disks of pre-Let's Dance Bowie. The most recent stuff on it is from Scary Monsters. Well, with one exception...I couldn't resist including Putting Out Fire. I think you may have this, but I'm happy to send another copy if you would like.

FA

[Stone]

Sometimes I think WAREHOUSE might have made a tighter single album. And it might have been more digestible to the public. But what songs do you cut? And I Know the recording quality is endearing, but sometimes I also wonder if it would have made a bigger splash had it had a better recording.. but then again, most things recorded in the late 80's sounded like crap anyways...

How's that Arcwelder album? I've only ever owned PULL, which I love.. just never got around to their other albums

-jar

I like Warehouse a lot. It has a few songs, especially on the second album/side/half that aren't on par with the rest for me, but overall I think it's a great album, and probably ranks as #3 on my favorite Husker Du albums list.

The Arcwelder album is really good. It's the only one I have, so I have no point of reference for their stuff, but I really like it. I bought it a couple years ago after hearing an Arcwelder song on a comp (I think by cc), which I believe was from an earlier album. I should go back and find that comp to compare the song with the stuff on Everest.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

NP: Chisel - Set You Free (because Ex-Lion Tamer's comp reminded me I haven't listened to this in ages --- good stuff and better than the Ted Leo solo/Pharmacists albums IMO)

I agree, it is better than the Tyranny of Distance , the best (IMO) of Ted Leo's/Pharmacists albums. more rockin', better songs. Do you have your copy on vinyl? Mine suffers from a little too much surface noise, especially at the beginning of either side, otherwise very good sounding records.

[DariusNYC]

All the mentions of Pink Floyd's Animals in that "Best of '77" thread (great thread by the way) served to remind me that I hadn't really listend to this album all the way through in, like, 10 years. I never owned it, but friends and roommates did in my carefree years. So I picked it up and have been spinning it a lot lately. I guess it's my fave PF album of the moment (although Meddle has been my favorite for a while previous to this, and WYWH before that). Its quality is unimpeachable; it's weird and intense. And it's the last PF album I can fully buy on to before Waters' takeover was complete and the band completely lost the balance that made it successful (not that there's not some great stuff on The Wall and Final Cut, and better those albums than the ones after Waters' departure).

Continuing with Pink Floyd, I've also been listening to the Final Cut lately, spurred on by a recent retro write-up in Pitchfork. I'm sorry, but Waters' ironic whisper singing becomes just unlistenable; and the whole thing just isn't musical enough. The album, with its thematic focus and lyrical and vocal intensity, has a lot to recommend it. But it fails for me in the likeability department -- which is key, right? You have to actually like the album, not just be impressed by it.

Speaking of liking the album, Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News has been playing a lot. And it's effortlessly likeable. The sound of a band in complete control of its sound and at the top of its game. This album puts Modest Mouse in the major leagues. I never thought The Moon & Antarctica quite did that, although I know some here did.

Also, Electrelane's Power Out. Quite digging this on early listens. Love the decadent feel.

Secret Machine's Now Here is Nowhere is still being dug by me; I may be seeing them in NYC in a couple weeks.

Hey, one question for folks on Animals. So, the album is excellent and all. But, you know, it really only has four songs on it. And yes the songs go on for a long time and have a lot of atmosphere, but they don't really have more ideas in them than many other shorter songs of similar quality. It seems to me that with an album like Wish You Were Here or Animals, Pink Floyd is really creating full length albums that substance-wise, are EPs. Good for them, but what do you think about the difference between an excellent album like Animals or WYWH with four real songs, compared to an album with 10 great songs of the same length? Are you getting less. I have no grand conclusion here, but I wonder what you think. I guess for me, I really like it, but it is like listening to half an album for me, even with its respectable 40 minute length.

[Stone]

I agree, it is better than the Tyranny of Distance , the best (IMO) of Ted Leo's/Pharmacists albums. more rockin', better songs. Do you have your copy on vinyl? Mine suffers from a little too much surface noise, especially at the beginning of either side, otherwise very good sounding records.

Man, maybe I should give in and buy this. I never considered buying any Chisel after seeing them live in '94 or '95 and thinking they were mediocre, at best. I also have "Theme for a Pharmacist" on a CMJ sampler, and that didn't cause me to consider buying their stuff either. I do really like a lot of the stuff he's done with the Pharmacists, though.

[Dusty Chalk]

Hey, one question for folks on Animals. So, the album is excellent and all. But, you know, it really only has four songs on it. And yes the songs go on for a long time and have a lot of atmosphere, but they don't really have more ideas in them than many other shorter songs of similar quality. It seems to me that with an album like Wish You Were Here or Animals, Pink Floyd is really creating full length albums that substance-wise, are EPs. Good for them, but what do you think about the difference between an excellent album like Animals or WYWH with four real songs, compared to an album with 10 great songs of the same length? Are you getting less. I have no grand conclusion here, but I wonder what you think. I guess for me, I really like it, but it is like listening to half an album for me, even with its respectable 40 minute length.OTOH (on the one hand), I think you're over-analysing. It's still 40(ish) minutes of music, isn't that all one should care about? Sure, it's played a little more patiently, but to say it's not an album is to say that there are some rules that are being broken. First of all, fog the rules -- in music, even a freakin' mathematician over-analist such as Schoenberg knew when to adhere to his own rules, and when not to. Secondly, unorthodoxy rules! Even if there is some "rule" being broken, isn't it great that they're breaking it?

OTOH, I think this comes from living in the CD age -- we have gotten used to, nee spoiled by, 60+ minute albums, using up a significant factor of the available technology. And I think this is where the feeling of being "short-changed" is really coming from. I mean, let's take this to the logical extreme -- Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans is only four songs, yet somehow I doubt you feel that it comes across as a "glorified EP". Why? Because the length is more along the lines of today's compact disc albums.

[-Jar-]

Hey, one question for folks on Animals. So, the album is excellent and all. But, you know, it really only has four songs on it. And yes the songs go on for a long time and have a lot of atmosphere, but they don't really have more ideas in them than many other shorter songs of similar quality. It seems to me that with an album like Wish You Were Here or Animals, Pink Floyd is really creating full length albums that substance-wise, are EPs. Good for them, but what do you think about the difference between an excellent album like Animals or WYWH with four real songs, compared to an album with 10 great songs of the same length? Are you getting less. I have no grand conclusion here, but I wonder what you think. I guess for me, I really like it, but it is like listening to half an album for me, even with its respectable 40 minute length.

Hey Darius, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Decemberists, but if you get a chance, check out the song "The Tain" from their TAIN EP. Here's a near-20 minute song that's just bursting with new ideas at almost every turn. Definately not just one or two ideas stretched out to 20 minutes. If this were an album side, you'd definately not be left feeling short-changed, like maybe you seem to feel about "Dogs"

-jar

[DariusNYC]

OTOH (on the one hand), I think you're over-analysing. It's still 40(ish) minutes of music, isn't that all one should care about? Sure, it's played a little more patiently, but to say it's not an album is to say that there are some rules that are being broken. First of all, fog the rules -- in music, even a freakin' mathematician over-analist such as Schoenberg knew when to adhere to his own rules, and when not to. Secondly, unorthodoxy rules! Even if there is some "rule" being broken, isn't it great that they're breaking it?

OTOH, I think this comes from living in the CD age -- we have gotten used to, nee spoiled by, 60+ minute albums, using up a significant factor of the available technology. And I think this is where the feeling of being "short-changed" is really coming from. I mean, let's take this to the logical extreme -- Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans is only four songs, yet somehow I doubt you feel that it comes across as a "glorified EP". Why? Because the length is more along the lines of today's compact disc albums.

Not every album with a few long songs has the same effect for me as these Pink Floyd albums. Yes stuffs more "movements" and ideas into their long songs than Floyd does. So there's more there, in a sense. But, that being said, I generally like the 70s Pink Floyd albums a lot better; what's there is usually higher quality. But compare Wish You Were Here with an album of similar quality with 10 songs and I think the latter will just have more to it -- for example, I can listen to it more times without wanting to move on to something else, because there are more different things to latch on to. This is not strictly a criticism, though; nor is it saying that the PF albums shouldn't be this way. These Floyd albums are excellent on their own terms. And they're the right length too. But idea-wise, they are a bit like extra long EPs.

[Troy]

It's a pity this Animals/WYWH/EP discussion is buried in this threaed. I bet there are a lot of opinions on this subject. It's a really interesting question to ponder.

Darius, can you name an "album of similar quality with 10 songs" that we can compare to these Floyd releases?

I like WYWH more than Animals because it feels more artful to me. It feels like a whole album and Animals feels like a collection of 4 disparate songs. The structure of 3 of those songs is very similar, so it's a bit repetitive in that regard. What saves Animals for me is that it rawks more than WYWH. WYWH feels like a sprawling 3 act epic film. I think there are more musical ideas and themes in WYWH. Plenty, considering it's length.

It COULD be argued that there are not enough ideas and musical themes contained on these albums for their length, but it's that atmosphere that you mentioned that always carried the day for the band. And pacing. That's why these are both great albums. They strike a balance between only a few ideas pushed to their conclusion by using the right amount of atmosphere and production.

[Mr MidFi]

Would you like me to send you a copy of my Imaginary Bowie Collection comp for him? Two disks of pre-Let's Dance Bowie. The most recent stuff on it is from Scary Monsters. Well, with one exception...I couldn't resist including Putting Out Fire. I think you may have this, but I'm happy to send another copy if you would like.

FA

Yes, I already have that fine comp, as well as a couple other good Bowie retrospectives. I appreciate the offer, but it's not needed. Thanks anyway.

Speaking of Bowie...I was playing Alladin Sane in the car today. Damn. What a great disc. And "Watch That Man" might just be my #1 favoriate Bowie song of all time. Am I the only one?

[BradH]

Hey, one question for folks on Animals. So, the album is excellent and all. But, you know, it really only has four songs on it. And yes the songs go on for a long time and have a lot of atmosphere, but they don't really have more ideas in them than many other shorter songs of similar quality. It seems to me that with an album like Wish You Were Here or Animals, Pink Floyd is really creating full length albums that substance-wise, are EPs. Good for them, but what do you think about the difference between an excellent album like Animals or WYWH with four real songs, compared to an album with 10 great songs of the same length? Are you getting less. I have no grand conclusion here, but I wonder what you think. I guess for me, I really like it, but it is like listening to half an album for me, even with its respectable 40 minute length.

Good question. I would ask what's the difference between WYWH/Animals and DSOTM which is packed with ideas. Then again, you could fit the ideas from Animals on an EP but it would have to lose something, wouldn't it? Maybe the sparseness is intentional. Those hounds howling in the distance on Dogs is haunting. I don't think it would be as effective if they were stuck somewhere in a tight break surrounded by verse/chorus/verse/chorus. Gilmour's chord slashes at the climax of Sheep are transcendent. Would it be as effective without the long climb to get there? I don't know. And what about the quality of ideas rather than quantitiy? I prefer Animals far more than WYWH because I think the musical ideas are better, even though neither is packed like, say, The Wall.

Then there's the whole issue of listening to PF in an (ahem) altered state. Obviously, more research is in order...

[Davey]

Also, Electrelane's Power Out. Quite digging this on early listens. Love the decadent feel.
Just curious, I know that you often resist buying albums that don't have the potential to reach a certain level of popularity, and I kind of understand your reasoning in that a person only has so much time for listening and talking about music, and you'd like to be able to share some of that time with friends, so what makes you occasionally pick a relatively obscure one like Electrelane to buy? Nice album, btw :)

[DariusNYC]

Just curious, I know that you often resist buying albums that don't have the potential to reach a certain level of popularity, and I kind of understand your reasoning in that a person only has so much time for listening and talking about music, and you'd like to be able to share some of that time with friends, so what makes you occasionally pick a relatively obscure one like Electrelane to buy?

Easier to answer this question than some of the interesting thoughts and questions that Troy and BradH have raised, so I'll start with this. You would understand why I bought Electrelane if you met my hottie, indie-music-loving, excellent-taste-possessing, 25-year-old hairdresser Allison. I've always had good luck with her suggestions, and she doesn't overload me with them. And I've turned her on to some good tunes as well, most recently Kanye West. Also have a couple of the cooler paralegals at my law firm that filter me some good recs; if it's something I've also heard favorable mention of here, it's a double incentive to pick it up. Gots to stay in tune with the young folks.

[Slosh]

I agree, it is better than the Tyranny of Distance , the best (IMO) of Ted Leo's/Pharmacists albums. more rockin', better songs. Do you have your copy on vinyl? Mine suffers from a little too much surface noise, especially at the beginning of either side, otherwise very good sounding records.

Yes

and

yes,

which prompted my to buy 8 AM All Day on CD. If you haven't heard it, it's not on the same level as Set You Free but still pretty good. It does, however, have the best Ted Leo composition I have heard so far: "Red Haired Mary". In fact, I think I'll spin it right this very minute :)

[Slosh]

Hey Darius, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Decemberists, but if you get a chance, check out the song "The Tain" from their TAIN EP. Here's a near-20 minute song that's just bursting with new ideas at almost every turn. Definately not just one or two ideas stretched out to 20 minutes. If this were an album side, you'd definately not be left feeling short-changed, like maybe you seem to feel about "Dogs"

-jar

Actually, "The Tain" is the entire EP but at seven or so dollars I feel I got my money's worth. The band says it's composed of five distinct parts. I say four as the last part is really just a variation of the first. Maybe they're just talking about the lyrics? I really like the second part the most. It sounds very "Imigrant Song"-ish to me, but not in a rip-off kind of way -- it still has enough of their own sound to walk that fine line.

"Dogs" is my favorite Floyd tune and has been for about as long as I can remember. Hell, it very well may be my favorite prog song ever. I think what made Waters-era Pink Floyd so unique was here was a prog band, but with a blues-based guitarist and somehow they made it work. When Waters left they lost that balance and kinda turned into a Gilmore backing band with a much more bluesy feel overall. I'm not the only one around here that thinks this either. I remember someone else mentioned the same thing a few years back.

[-Jar-]

"Dogs" is my favorite Floyd tune and has been for about as long as I can remember. Hell, it very well may be my favorite prog song ever. I think what made Waters-era Pink Floyd so unique was here was a prog band, but with a blues-based guitarist and somehow they made it work. When Waters left they lost that balance and kinda turned into a Gilmore backing band with a much more bluesy feel overall. I'm not the only one around here that thinks this either. I remember someone else mentioned the same thing a few years back.

I like "Dogs" a lot too. Back in high school, I had a ritual.. during football season, I'd get back from the games all tired (I was in the marching band.. hehe ok, not THAT tired.. but still...) and I would listen to ANIMALS with my headphones as I was falling asleep. So it being fall, the following Saturday morning would consist of my brother and I going out with my dad to cut wood for the winter. So, whenever I listen to ANIMALS, my visualisations involve the woods that we got our trees from, or the corn field were we picked corn.. basically fall things. Do any of you have "places" that you go to in your mind when you listen to different albums.. I could list a bunch.. but I'd probably come off sounding like a loon. Anyway, yea.. "Dogs" is probably one of my at least top 5 Pink Floyd songs...

About Waters' leaving.. I like what my friend said.. DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER on it's own is a pretty good album, but it's not much of a Pink Floyd album..

-jar

[ForeverAutumn]

Yes, I already have that fine comp, as well as a couple other good Bowie retrospectives. I appreciate the offer, but it's not needed. Thanks anyway.

Speaking of Bowie...I was playing Alladin Sane in the car today. Damn. What a great disc. And "Watch That Man" might just be my #1 favoriate Bowie song of all time. Am I the only one?

You're welcome.

Watch That Man is certainly a great song, but I wouldn't say it's my all-time favourite. I'm not sure what song that distinction would go to. There are so many great songs. I guess I'd have to say...All The Madmen....no...wait....Quicksand! No. I'm gonna say Cracked Actor. No...that's not it either....Sorrow? Oh, You Pretty Thing? After All? Oh, who am I kidding. I can't do it. No sir. I can't pick just one.

[Mike]

Speaking of Bowie...I was playing Alladin Sane in the car today. Damn. What a great disc. And "Watch That Man" might just be my #1 favoriate Bowie song of all time. Am I the only one?

Well it's not my all time favourite Bowie track but it's up there. But Aladdin Sane is without doubt my favourite Bowie album with tracks like Drive in Satuday, Jean Genie, Cracked Actor, Prettiest Star etc. I rembember having the vinyl on the double gatefold sleeve and my Dad throwing a fit when he saw it. Bowie at his best by a long way IMO.

Cheers
Mike

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey, one question for folks on Animals. So, the album is excellent and all. But, you know, it really only has four songs on it. And yes the songs go on for a long time and have a lot of atmosphere, but they don't really have more ideas in them than many other shorter songs of similar quality. It seems to me that with an album like Wish You Were Here or Animals, Pink Floyd is really creating full length albums that substance-wise, are EPs. Good for them, but what do you think about the difference between an excellent album like Animals or WYWH with four real songs, compared to an album with 10 great songs of the same length? Are you getting less. I have no grand conclusion here, but I wonder what you think. I guess for me, I really like it, but it is like listening to half an album for me, even with its respectable 40 minute length.

I agree with Troy. It's a shame that this discussion is buried in the Tuesday Thread.

Over the past month, I've been re-listening to my Pink Floyd collection in chronological order, beginning with Atom Heart Mother because I didn't have anything earlier than that (although I do now have a copy of Piper...Dawn but haven't spun it yet). And ending with The Division Bell (which I also haven't listened to yet). It's been interesting to see the progression of the band and the music from album to album so far.

Animals is a fantastic disk. It is, IMO, the last musically great PF disk. I don't mean to say that the disks which followed aren't great in their own right, they are. But there is a definate change of pace after Animals. The Wall is an obvious turning point in PF musically. It's almost like suddenly they have become a different band. Same enough that they could keep the same fans, but different enough that it's as though they crossed a line (or a wall, so to speak) between Animals and The Wall. They went from the dreamy, spacey, psychedelic music that is Animals, to the hard, angry, staccato that makes up The Wall and continues to flow into The Final Cut and A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.

I have always loved Animals for the music. It's a great disk to sit back, relax and listen to, as Todd put it, in an altered state. But for pure listening enjoyment I've always preferred Meddle or WYWH.

My response to Darius' original question is that I don't feel like I'm getting less because a disk has fewer songs or ideas. The key is that, the ideas that it does have need to be good ones. In my opinion the music just has to be good. I don't care how many songs I hear. I care about how much I enjoy what I'm listening to. Is Yes' Close To The Edge any less of an album because it only has three songs? Or, Rush's Hemispheres an EP because it only has four songs?

Animals wouldn't be Animals if it had shorter songs. Don't you ever hear a song that's only 3 or 4 minutes long, that you like so much, you wish it were longer?

[Mr MidFi]

Or, Rush's Hemispheres an EP because it only has four songs?

No...Hemispheres is an EP because it's, like, 32 minutes long. ;)

Seriously, I listen to both Hemispheres and Permanent Waves a lot more than I used to, now that I burned them both onto a single disc. They work well together.

[Dusty Chalk]

...there is a definate change of pace after Animals. The Wall is an obvious turning point in PF musically. It's almost like suddenly they have become a different band.Actually, that's about the point at which Roger "took over". If you watch the Dark Side of the Moon Making-of DVD, they mention that they even had a "formula" up until that point, if you can believe it. Of course, it's not much of a formula: about 50% instrumental, 50% music with lyrics. It's just that on albums like Atom Heart Mother and Dark Side of the Moon, they're regulated...erm...relegated to separate tracks, whereas on Animals and Wish You Were Here, they're mixed in. The Wall and The Final Cut are completely different -- you're absolutely correct, Roger is trying to tell a story, as he continued to do in his solo career. What's funny is, if you look at Division Bell and Momentary Lapse of Reason, they follow the formula of about 50% instrumental music (if you take into account the long instrumental sections of most tracks on Division Bell, for example), and are therefore more true Pink Floyd albums, than The Wall or The Final Cut.

I know, I can already feel the flames coming on. That's alright, it's just an opinion, but it's one I feel I can defend.

[mad rhetorik]

What's funny is, if you look at Division Bell and Momentary Lapse of Reason, they follow the formula of about 50% instrumental music (if you take into account the long instrumental sections of most tracks on Division Bell, for example), and are therefore more true Pink Floyd albums, than The Wall or The Final Cut.

<b>A Momentary Lapse Of Reason</b> is probably the least 'Floyd album next to <b>The Final Cut</b>. Whereas <b>The Final Cut</b> is almost exclusively written by Roger Waters (the sole exception being "Not Now John"). Richard Wright wasn't on board and Nick Mason wasn't even drumming on all the tracks. On <b>A Momentary Lapse Of Reason</b>, Nick Mason admitted in interviews that he didn't do any of the actual drum tracks. Richard Wright also admitted later that he only added his keyboards to one track. Virtually everything on that album was written by Gilmour. It should be considered a Gilmour solo album, just as <b>The Final Cut</b> should be considered a Waters solo (and in the credits it says "Written By Roger Waters, Performed By Pink Floyd").

Now, for <b>The Division Bell</b> Richard Wright and Nick Mason actually contributed something. But to say that it's more "Floydian" is a matter of opinion. For me Pink Floyd was all about the partnership of Waters and Gilmour. The later albums do use the 50/50 "Floydian" formula, but Gilmour did this in a cynical attempt to recall the 'Floyd's glory days. Post-Waters 'Floyd is an arena-rock dinosaur and little more. That's not to say I don't enjoy "On The Turning Away," "Learning To Fly," "Terminal Frost," "Cluster One," "Poles Apart," "Marooned," and "High Hopes"--I just consider them to be fine Gilmour songs, not Pink Floyd songs.

[mad rhetorik]

I think <b>Animals'</b> more minimalist sound was intentional. It's very much a textured, subtle effort compared to <b>Wish You Were Here</b> and <b>Dark Side Of The Moon</b>, which contained more studio effects and musical ideas. <b>Animals</b> is all about the spare atmosphere. The guitar and keyboards serve as a vehicle to move Waters' evocative lyrics along, while in <b>The Wall</b> Roger's voice and Kamen's orchestration were the focus. I like <b>Animals'</b> simplicity--it fits in the context of most music released that year. Sure, you <i>could</i> conceivably make an EP out of it, but these songs are so good that you want them to be longer and develop more.

And I'm surprised that nobody yet has mentioned the album's centerpiece, "Pigs (Three Different Ones)." Gilmour's incredible solo at the end of that jam is a total epiphany. I put it in my Top 5 favorite guitar solos of all time.