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nobody

01-04-2005, 08:11 AM

Tuesday!

Let's try this Tuesday what ya listenin' to thread.

I listened to a bunch of stuff from this year last week, making up my 2004 comps, so this week, I dug out mostly older stuff, a few of which were...

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d601/d60144o1b64.jpg">
Yeah, everybody loves their live debut, and for good reason, but this one has a great, raw garage sound to it that just gets better and better. They even toss in a wonderful ballad for good measure. If you're into garage rock and don't have this, run, don't walk, to your nearest record store.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c492/c492530luq7.jpg">
Booker T. and the MGs are probably one of those bands that most people enjoy through compilation, and I can see why. But, they really never recorded a completely bad track that I've heard, so digging through individual releases is absolutely worthwhile. This one is a classic from the title track opener all the way through. Funky, groovy soul straight outta Memphis.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf000/f011/f01125m7009.jpg">
What? John Coltrane playing in a backing band for a vocal album of mellow jazz classics? Yup. It works wonderfully as well. Another absolute classic outing for Coltrane that really shows his range. People who don't like his more up tempo stuff or those who would like some jazz but get turned off by the disorder of much of it would do well to listen here.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf800/f802/f80256rrz9b.jpg">
Black Sabbath's second record is the heavy metal album to end all heavy metal albums as far as I'm concerned. Featuring powerhouse tracks like the title cut, War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots, Iron Man, and even a mellow groove track like Planet Caravan, every song's a winner.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg100/g185/g18569woek6.jpg">
Atmospheric swan song from Roxy Music. The opening More Than This sets the stage for the wonderfully floating synth pop soundscapes that follow.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre900/e945/e94584osxan.jpg">
Underrated reggae classic from Peter Tosh. If you like Peter Tosh, you'll like this record. Nothing new or groundbreaking, but more classic roots from one of the masters.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc500/c517/c51795tiv07.jpg">
Another lesser listened to reggae classic. This time Jimmy Cliff expands on his original sound, actually incorporating more laid back rock grooves, even handling a cover of Dave Mason's Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving You with style. He's in his usual fine voice on a diverse selection of material.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d644/d64424b0p4j.jpg">
The title track may be the only big hit from this release, but there's plenty more great music throughout. More traditional than the albums that were to follow, but songs like Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud and the epic closer Memory of a Free Festival always sound great to me.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre700/e772/e77263bntu6.jpg">
Classic set featuring Oscar Peterson's group backing Sarah up. Late period Vaughn doing classic tunes as only she can.

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre200/e279/e27945hucdt.jpg">
Yup, I first saw this one advertised on TV, a Rhino compilation of doo wop hits. Scoff if you must, but this disc has 20 classic doo wop tracks and every one is an absolute classic. Earth Angel, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Get A Job, Stay. Speedoo...hell I could just list every song. If you're ever in the market for a great 50s compilation, this one's a sure hit.

OK...there's 10 I listened to this week. How about the rest of you....

Stone

01-04-2005, 08:26 AM

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre200/e279/e27945hucdt.jpg">
Yup, I first saw this one advertised on TV, a Rhino compilation of doo wop hits. Scoff if you must, but this disc has 20 classic doo wop tracks and every one is an absolute classic. Earth Angel, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Get A Job, Stay. Speedoo...hell I could just list every song. If you're ever in the market for a great 50s compilation, this one's a sure hit.....

I have this too and it's great. I also have a 4-CD set of doo wop called The Doo Wop Box that is loaded with great stuff. Lemme know if you want to hear it.

Troy

01-04-2005, 09:04 AM

I'll have to look for that Booker T disc. I have "Melting Pot" and love it, but I also have "Green Onions" and find it to be a bunch of cheesy cover songs.

Buncha new to me stuff over the past week:

Secret Chiefs 3- "Book of Horizons".
Mr. Bungle side project. Defies description, part middle eastern space rock, part mind bending trip hop, part growly over-the-top death metal. Great cover of "Exodus". When it's good, it's a stunner. When it's bad (the death metal parts) it sends me leaping for the skip button. 4.5 stars from AMG, check it out:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=33:5wfjz2oheh2k

Land of Chocolate-"Unikorn on the Cob" and "Regaining the Feel".
Excellent modern progrock with some ties to the band Echolyn. Amateurish vocals over some of the most interesting abuse of time I've heard in a long time. Fans of Echolyn are sure to dig this. Quirky, low budget and fun.

Tony Banks- "Seven"
Orchestral album from founding Genesis keyboardist. Rather bland. Doesn't rock.

Eloy- "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes"
Late 70s German Pink Floyd rip off, long considered one of those long-lost prog bands that many have wondered about, but never heard. Sounds good, but it's awfully derrivative. Not that that's really bad by itself . . . Fans of "Wish You Were Here" will enjoy this.

FM- "Survellance" and "Headroom"
Another long lost 70s prog band, these are both dubbed from vinyl to CD. Survellance is the Canadian trio (members later worked with Rush on the Signals album) blending a more pop sound with heavy symph leanings. Pleasurable album that brings back good memroies. Nice to hear it again. Never heard Headroom before. It's an early studio improv disc. Two 16 minute tracks that are alternately spacy and jammy in a 1974 kinda way. Non-essential.

Helmet of Gnats
Stupid name for a band that sounds just like a cross between the Dixie Dregs and Brand X. But not as good as either of those bands. Still it has it's moments. I need more time with this one.

"Tool" and "A Perfect Circle" comp
Same guy sent me this too with no track list so i don't even know which band does which songs, but I don't like ANY of it so it really doesn't matter. Boring teenager angst metal.

Swish

01-04-2005, 09:14 AM

I just got the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds double ceeded, along with the remastered Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, which also includes a bonus disc and countless bonus tracks not included on the original release, as well as a way cool booklet with pics of the band as well as comments about each song. Sweeeeeeet.

I also recently got Funeral from Arcade Fire so I'm spinning that frequently. There's too much more to do right now, so I'm keeping my list short and sweet.

Swish

ForeverAutumn

01-04-2005, 09:45 AM

"Tool" and "A Perfect Circle" comp
Same guy sent me this too with no track list so i don't even know which band does which songs, but I don't like ANY of it so it really doesn't matter. Boring teenager angst metal.

It's too bad that you don't know which A Perfect Circle tracks are on that disk. I don't have their first two disks, but Thirteenth Step is quite mellow, for the most part. Not the "teenager angst metal" that you describe. Although I've recently purchased their newest release, Emotive, and teenage angst metal could be used to describe that one. Even worse, it's teenager angst metal of bad covers. I was not impressed.

I do think that you might enjoy Thirteenth Step however.

Dusty Chalk

01-04-2005, 10:15 AM

Wow, you're listening to Secret Chiefs 3? I thought I was the only one who listened to that. What I like about them is that they're all over the place. The introduction of the death metal tracks was so subtle that I didn't even notice it -- I don't think the first three albums have any growling vocals, but I could be wrong. All of the albums will have highlights and not for you. There's some real bad moments on the first album, even by my standards -- sounds like outtakes, and they shoulda took them out.

Frameshift, Unweaving the Rainbow -- some good stuff on there, really good stuff, but I still like the Ayreon better. It just resonates with my gloomy gus nature more. Actually, I like Be (by Pain of Salvation) more as well. It's a keeper, but it's not a year-end list contender.

Juniorboys, Last Exit -- do not understand the hoopla around this, it's just not that good. It's good -- it's a keeper -- but again, it's not a year-end list contender. Will listen again later, though. It sounds like it's got some good stuff going on.

Seal, Best|1991-2004 -- I may have to sell all my other Seal records, this is all I really need. I'm still not sure I understand "Killer" (no, not the lyrics, just ... the song -- it just kinda stomps around).

:-- - { - Wired: Rip, Sample, Mash, Share. } / + -- pretty cool little CD.

Ulrich Schnauss, A Strangely Isolated Place
Oceansize, Effloresce
Rammstein, Reise, Reise -- really good, a lot better than Mutter
Peccatum, Lost in Reverie -- also better than the Frameshift
Decree, Moment of Silence -- almost a contender for year-end list, one of those that sounded a lot more exciting on first listen than it did upon revisit
Seabound, No Sleep Demon V2.0 -- excellent synthpop, my cupo' tea.
The Cure
Marillion, Marbles -- yuck, bleck, way too schmaltzy. I keep expecting them to break out into "I Want To Know What Love Is". Ralf.
Justin Sullivan, Navigating by the Stars -- a more acoustic-y album from the head of New Model Army. Or is it 'heart'?
Auf der Maur, Taste You -- yeah, I'd like her to. ;p
Client, In It for the Money -- I need to investigate these guys further, electroclashy
Serie Noire: Dark Pop and New Beat -- excellent old and new electroclash sampler -- I mean, whoever can transition Alan Parsons Project into A Split Second is cool in my book
Mum, Summer Make Good -- definitely making my year-end list now, which is up to eleven about now
Aimee Mann, Live at St. Ann's Warehouse -- very cool live thingy, and funnily enough, shortly thereafter, I watched the episode of Buffy where she does a guest appearance and does a couple of funny things (stops the song in the middle as an incident occurs, "I hate playing vampire clubs")
Eleni Mandell, Afternoon -- a little too country, will only be playing this when I'm in a very specific mood
Mum, Dusk Log EP -- I love these guys, and will eat up everything they make.
Red Flag, Fear Series of singles -- gosh, I miss these guys. :(
Paatos, Kallocain -- oh, yeah, I need to visit progears...
Killers, Hot Fuss -- I do enjoy this record, just not as much as others do
Styrofoam, Nothing's Lost -- very cool record, sounds like crap
Dykehouse, Midrange -- definitely making my year-end list
Cut Copy, Bright Like Neon Love
Front 242, Pulse and Still & Raw -- great pair of releases
Flesh Field, Strain -- surprisingly good EBM/techno/synthpop/industrial/whatever
Voivod, Kronik -- weird release
Peaches, The Teaches of Peaches -- meh, I like her better in small doses
Keith LeBlanc, Freakatorium
Matthew Parmenter, Astray -- it's funny, I can hear other people accusing Happy The Man's latest album of having too many ballads, and yet, to me, it's not; and yet, this is.
Einstur, Perpetuum Mobile -- another definite
Diabolical Masquerade, Ravendusk in my Heart and The Phantom Lodge
Nine Inch Nails, Broken and the new deluxe edition of The Downward Spiral -- when listening to the latter, realized I haven't listened to it since I got into audiophilia -- heard a lot of things that I've never heard before (most cool, but not all good), so I pulled out the former as well
Retrosic, God of Hell

nobody

01-04-2005, 10:36 AM

That mum EP slipped by me. I'm gonna have to have a look around for it.

And Troy, there are a couple songs on Hip Hug-Her that you may feel fall into the cheesy cover category. They do Groovin and Sunny. I like 'em both, but you may disagree with me.

mad rhetorik

01-04-2005, 10:42 AM

Over these past couple weeks I haven't had much to do--classes are done, my home computer remains busted, and my work schedule has been generally relaxed (barring the fact I had to work New Years' Eve... won't even go into how bad that was). So I took it upon myself to listen to tons of music. Sometimes up to six albums a day.

The new stuff:

Helmet: Meantime
This has been on my list for forever, finally got it last week. Don't know whether it's metal, hardcore, post-hardcore, or even proto nu-metal, but whatever you classify Helmet as, they stomp some serious ass, and I want more albums from them. I've heard plenty of Helmet beforehand, and always liked their stuff; I wonder why it took me so long to finally snap and buy this. The only weakness I can lodge against them is a bit of repetition, but hard to fault when their basic sound is this good. Page Hamilton knows the art of "The Riff" and uses it at every opportunity.

The Smiths: Hatful Of Hollow
This arrived courtesy of Jay, along with a copy of LAMF's Lost '77 Mixes. Despite loving all sorts of post-punk (Joy Division, The Cure, Killing Joke, Psychedelic Furs etc.) I've just never been a Smiths fan. Mostly due to Morrissey's posturing. Well, he's here, and his Limey, foofy pretentious shtick certainly gets annoying, but the backdrop of Johnny Marr's pretty guitarwork makes it a bit more tolerable. I know I'm never gonna live this down, but when I heard "How Soon Is Now?" I immediately thought of that silly TV show "Charmed." I know, I have commited an unfathomable sin against my already nearly nonexistent indie cred, and will never live up to Davey's level of hipster-ness. I beg forgiveness. ; P Anyway, this is decent, but I didn't really want to spin it more than twice. Polished Britpop; nice, but a little too shiny, and Morrissey's crooning/whining really doesn't do it for me.

LAMF: Lost '77 Mixes
Aw, hell yeah. The complete opposite of the Smiths album. Real, honest-to-goodness rock'n'roll written by drug addicts for drug addicts--the best kind. My fave is "Chinese Rocks," I think it's better than the Ramones version and that's saying something. It's so raw, and sounds like it was all recorded in one session, one song right after the other (the countdowns, between-song chatter etc. were left in). This was a great Christmas gift, thanks Jay!

The Roots: Things Fall Apart
Quality underground hip-hop, with live instrumentation (?uestlove lays down some great grooves behind the kit here, reminds me of Buddy Miles). Some awesome rapping (Black Thought, in particular, is an excellent MC) and production touches. The only thing that bothers me about this album is that the Afrocentrism gets a bit over-the-top (I expected that though) and there is a serious overuse of the "N" word. Other than that, ace.

Troy's The Van Allen Belt: Lactatertots
Ummmm..... weird. More of the fun "farting on Casios" of the first two albums, except now with vocals. Lots of goofy lyrics about "suburban tikis" and "Marty Feldman eyes." Who did the vocals? They're hilarious, in a sort of so-bad-they're-good way. I enjoyed it, though. I think it's better than the earlier Garage Band stuff, more catchy, probably due to the vocals. Is "The Van Allen Belt" the official name of this project now? I dig.

Got into one of my "heavy" moods, and along with the aforementioned Helmet I listened to:

Meshuggah: Chaosphere
I hadn't listened to this in a while, so I forgot just how freakin' scary this is. Probably the heaviest album I own (not counting a Cryptopsy album and some stuff on comps). Anyway, this is HEAVY. Heavy like an elephant. Heavy as f<a>uck. You get the picture. Play this loud and make sure there's no one pregnant, old, on a pacemaker, or small children nearby.

The Refused: The Shape Of Punk To Come
Sepultura: Beneath The Remains
December: Lament Configuration
Botch: We Are The Romans
Converge: Jane Doe
Mastodon: Leviathon
Death: Human
Fantomas: Amenaza al Mundo

Other stuff:

Frank Zappa: One Size Fits All
Modest Mouse: The Moon And Antarctica
The Pixies: Trompe Le Monde
David Bowie: Low
King Crimson: Red
Nirvana: In Utero
The Who: ...Sell Out
The Buzzcocks: Singles Going Steady
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
The Clash: self-titled

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf800/f802/f80256rrz9b.jpg">
Black Sabbath's second record is the heavy metal album to end all heavy metal albums as far as I'm concerned. Featuring powerhouse tracks like the title cut, War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots, Iron Man, and even a mellow groove track like Planet Caravan, every song's a winner.

All true, except you left out "Hand Of Doom." One of the most graphic depictions of heroin use in the day, and with creepy music to match. I'm sure lyrics like "Push the needle in" went over real well with the '70s conservative establishment. : P

Davey

01-04-2005, 10:51 AM

Juniorboys, Last Exit -- do not understand the hoopla around this, it's just not that good. It's good -- it's a keeper -- but again, it's not a year-end list contender. Will listen again later, though. It sounds like it's got some good stuff going on.
Wow, that's quite a list you got there, Dusty Man! Don't know how you can listen to so much, let alone remember it all! I tend to listen to only a few a week in recent times but usually listen to them a few times each if I like them. Anyway, you probably saw some of the talk over at obner about the Junior Boys, some of it started by me. I don't really feel all the excitement either, but it has grown on me quite a bit. Very nice CD for getting the weekend groove started. Quite a bit more depth than I at first suspected. Remember what the girl Aimaa at obner said? "its like a minimalistic funk timebomb that carries so much energy in each throbbing beat and burp. its an electro-funk revolution waiting to happen (or maybe already is. .)" Hehehe, I do like the sound of that description a lot better than the CD though. Definitely a grower ;)

Troy

01-04-2005, 11:18 AM

Troy's The Van Allen Belt: Lactatertots
Ummmm..... weird. More of the fun "farting on Casios" of the first two albums, except now with vocals. Lots of goofy lyrics about "suburban tikis" and "Marty Feldman eyes." Who did the vocals? They're hilarious, in a sort of so-bad-they're-good way. I enjoyed it, though. I think it's better than the earlier Garage Band stuff, more catchy, probably due to the vocals. Is "The Van Allen Belt" the official name of this project now? I dig.

Yes, the whole thing is meant to be fun, silly and ridiculous. Amazing how serious some people take it. Well, this just in: I'm a weird mo-fo.

I wrote every note and sang all the parts except the obvious female parts which were sung by my wife.

Vocals always make songs more catchy, but I've seen some people seriously get earwormed by the tune in "Solver" and "Styrofoam".

Yeah, "Van Allen Belt" is the name of the project.

It's very stimulating to work on something so far out of one's comfort zone. Doesn't matter whether it's a failure or not. I highly recommend sticking your neck out creatively in any medium.

Davey

01-04-2005, 11:32 AM

Yes, the whole thing is meant to be fun, silly and ridiculous.
Ooh ooh ooh, I forgot to mention that one. Hehehe, what a hoot. Those vocals do sound a lot like your hero, Stan Ridgway, don't they? Or am I imagining it? Is there a "Stan Ridgway" plugin processor? Just kidding, but the whimsical vocals sometimes don't quite work with the music, at least for me. Color me impressed, though. Not quite the type of stuff I enjoy spending a lot of time with to be honest, but that's not a criticism. Some of it just comes off a bit noodley and overextended for my taste. Still go back to that comment I made before about dynamics. In some cases the music just lacks a certain drama, the difference between light and dark. But there are some very nice moments too. A couple of them I took note of and have that at home so I'll mention more later but I think they generally involved some real guitar, so that's kind of cheating. The lyrics are really just too goofy, though :)

Troy

01-04-2005, 12:28 PM

Ooh ooh ooh, I forgot to mention that one. Hehehe, what a hoot. Those vocals do sound a lot like your hero, Stan Ridgway, don't they? Or am I imagining it? Is there a "Stan Ridgway" plugin processor? Just kidding, but the whimsical vocals sometimes don't quite work with the music, at least for me. Color me impressed, though. Not quite the type of stuff I enjoy spending a lot of time with to be honest, but that's not a criticism. Some of it just comes off a bit noodley and overextended for my taste. Still go back to that comment I made before about dynamics. In some cases the music just lacks a certain drama, the difference between light and dark. But there are some very nice moments too. A couple of them I took note of and have that at home so I'll mention more later but I think they generally involved some real guitar, so that's kind of cheating. The lyrics are really just too goofy, though :)

Thanks Davey

Yeah, I've heard the Ridgway thing a lot. That's just how I sing, dammit. I can't help it. Maybe part of why I like his stuff so much too . . .

Based on your dislike of so much of what I like (LOL), I'm not the least bit surprised with how it's not your cuppa. I'd love to talk to you more about the lack of dynamics and drama using specific examples. I hear a lot of that on that disc, too much, in fact, so I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. Pls take that to e-mail or PM.

-Jar-

01-04-2005, 01:03 PM

Helmet: Meantime
This has been on my list for forever, finally got it last week. Don't know whether it's metal, hardcore, post-hardcore, or even proto nu-metal, but whatever you classify Helmet as, they stomp some serious ass, and I want more albums from them. I've heard plenty of Helmet beforehand, and always liked their stuff; I wonder why it took me so long to finally snap and buy this. The only weakness I can lodge against them is a bit of repetition,

Funny, the lead off track to their debut album STRAP IT ON is "Repitition" - one of my favorites. Definately pick that up if you don't have it. It's a lot rougher around the edges than MEANTIME but it does kick plenty of ass. BETTY is good, It's grown on me over the years, but boy, we all hated it when it came out. We were all like, WTF PAGE?? He stopped doing interviews because of all the flak he was taking. I feel bad now because I was one of the journalists, admittedly for a small mag in Cleveland, but still, I was very very harsh on BETTY. It was just such a 180 degree turn from where MEANTIME was going. But as I said, time hasn't been to bad to it, and it does have some great tracks on there. Some missteps too.. You'll also want to check out the BORN ANNOYING ep. Early stuff, definately worth having.

-jar

-Jar-

01-04-2005, 01:22 PM

haven't had a lot of listening time recently.

mostly tapes in the car...been spinning some old Slosh mixes at work.. 2003 All Over again, his 2004 and something called Aural Sex.. great one there. Nice night-driving music. RPM's COMPUS ROOLUS got a spin, as did a couple from Mike and Mr. Midfi (JUST SAY WO! - classic one).

I ordered some stuff from Barnes & Noble (got a gift certificate)..hopefully they will arrive soon:

Built to Spill - KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET. From all the stuff I've heard, this is my favorite B2S album. Though I'm sure I'll eventually end up with all their stuff.

Bob Curnow Big Band - THE MUSIC OF PAT METHENY AND LYLE MAYS. Ever since I heard about this album I've been wanting to pick up. And I played one of the charts on this album back in college jazz band: his arrangement of "If I Could" (from FIRST CIRCLE) Can't wait to hear how the rest of these sound.

Mahler 2nd - Oleg Caetani & Robert Schumann Philharmonic (Chemnitz). Dustychalk told me about this one a year or so ago. Read some great reviews on it, probably wouldn't slap down the $27 otherwise, so I decided to give it a go since I got the gift certificate.

Shostakovich 5th - conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Love his conducting, haven't heard a bad performance yet, decided to give it a try.

-jar

Stone

01-04-2005, 01:39 PM

Funny, the lead off track to their debut album STRAP IT ON is "Repitition" - one of my favorites. Definately pick that up if you don't have it. It's a lot rougher around the edges than MEANTIME but it does kick plenty of ass. BETTY is good, It's grown on me over the years, but boy, we all hated it when it came out. We were all like, WTF PAGE?? He stopped doing interviews because of all the flak he was taking. I feel bad now because I was one of the journalists, admittedly for a small mag in Cleveland, but still, I was very very harsh on BETTY. It was just such a 180 degree turn from where MEANTIME was going. But as I said, time hasn't been to bad to it, and it does have some great tracks on there. Some missteps too.. You'll also want to check out the BORN ANNOYING ep. Early stuff, definately worth having.

-jar

I like Betty too, but it is different from Meantime.

MR, if you're looking to pick up more Helmet, I recommend that you don't pick up the latest POS that Page released.

Slosh

01-04-2005, 02:06 PM

N.O.S. (new old stuff):
Three Mile Pilot - The Chief Assassin To The Sinister
Needs some more spintime but I was a little surprised that it sounds more like what the Black Heart Procession became than the less (musically) somber Pinback.

Pinback - Blue Screen Life
Slower overall than Summer but worth the time to let it seep in.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
NIN - Broken and The Fragile
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Faith No More - The Real Thing
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Enon - High Society
Richard Davies - Telegraph
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
Rogue Wave - Out Of The Shadow
Earlimart - Treble And Tremble
Nirvana - Incesticide
Kid Dakota - So Pretty
Sixteen Horsepower - Folklore
McLusky - The Difference...
tentoze's Pianomunde
dbi & cc's GvsB comp
Radiohead - OK Computer
Sparklehorse - Good Morning, Spider
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Rae's 1/3rd Gone
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

lists suck!

NP: Stone's YEC (virgin spin)

Dusty Chalk

01-04-2005, 04:46 PM

Wow, that's quite a list you got there, Dusty Man! Don't know how you can listen to so much, let alone remember it all!Well, first of all, that's not all in one week, that's all since the last time we did a Tunesday thread.

I don't remember -- I have them in a stack, and the stack was about ready to fall over.

I don't remember them all, usually, but for some reason, I did this time.
Anyway, you probably saw some of the talk over at obner about the Junior Boys, some of it started by me. I don't really feel all the excitement either, but it has grown on me quite a bit. Very nice CD for getting the weekend groove started. Quite a bit more depth than I at first suspected. Remember what the girl Aimaa at obner said? "its like a minimalistic funk timebomb that carries so much energy in each throbbing beat and burp. its an electro-funk revolution waiting to happen (or maybe already is. .)" Hehehe, I do like the sound of that description a lot better than the CD though. Definitely a grower ;)I concur -- I want to hear the album that description describes. What I like about it is that it's open-ended enough ("...waiting to happen...") that if you say something like "it's not funky", she can always defend it by saying "I didn't say it was funky, I said it was funk waiting to happen -- proto-funk, mebbe." So perhaps it is apt.

By the time that 'revolution' happens, I'm going to be dead and gone before the first bullet flies.

Like I said -- I can tell it's a grower, it just hasn't yet. Not on me, anyway. Perhaps I need to listen to it louder -- worked with Lamb, anyway.

Davey

01-05-2005, 10:53 AM

I'd love to talk to you more about the lack of dynamics and drama using specific examples. I hear a lot of that on that disc, too much, in fact, so I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. Pls take that to e-mail or PM.
You're right that it's not really dynamics I'm describing in the normal senss of the word. Maybe dynamic shading is a better description. For me, what makes music sound dynamic is the sense that the sounds are emerging from a real and harmonically rich background. Kind of like the flames shooting out of the back of a rocket as it lifts off. Trails of harmonics and such. And that's what I mean by drama. But we do generally listen to different styles of music so it's difficult to relay what I mean. Lots of pop artists spend much of their careers trying new things to add that sense of depth to their recordings. Your recording is very dynamic in the normal sense, as you say, but it also sounds kind of flat and 2-dimensional to me. And a little soft at times. That's one of the reasons that some electronica-based artists such as Portishead (just as a typical example since I know you are very familiar with them) started using manipulations like cutting a vinyl LP of their recording and scratching it up a little and then recording that as the "final" version in addition to incorporating a lot of "real" sounds that have their own recording space. Gives the music more of a foundation with all the vinyl noise and extra atmosphere. But it's mainly just getting away from the more clinical sound and introducing room effects and other background sounds as an anchor. Maybe you already do and I just didn't notice, but it did seem to sound fuller with the guitar parts. Some bands like Low and others of the slowcore genre are experts at creating that tension in the air that I like so much. Even though most probably wouldn't think of them as a dynamic band, sounds seem to almost explode from the background sometimes. Steve Albini has been capturing a lot of this in recordings that he engineers.

Anyway, just wanted to explain a little more about what I meant. I guess some in the audiophile world use the term microdynamics to describe what I'm trying to say. I'll give it another listen and get back to you in private and we''ll talk more. Some very interesting parts in your music that I really like, just loses me as a whole listen.

audiobill

01-05-2005, 03:53 PM

Late to the thread -- it's Wednesday, but what the hey.

Picked up two CDs that I have been eyeing & both are on the heavy side of metal.

Shadows Fall -- The War Within

If you enjoy bands like Metallica, then you will definitely enjoy the latest outing by this band. Melodic with choruses and, of course, thrashy drums'n'guitars create a stunning album for this very promising band.

Killswitch Engage -- The End of Heartache

Power riffs abound on this most excellent of heavy metal albums. In fact, there are many similarities (all good) between the two bands that I've been listening to this week. The clinical (and I use the word in its best sense) playing of the musicians in this band works to elevate this creation into one of the best metal creations that,imho, I've heard in the past several years. Definitely worth your time, if you like your metal loud and musical. In fact, I'd even venture to say that some Prog types who enjoy the likes of Porcupine Tree, may enjoy both of these metal albums.

That's it,
Bill

3-LockBox

01-05-2005, 07:14 PM

Dream Theater DVD - Live At Budokan :D

Spock's Beard - Day For Night :o

Rick Wakeman - Journey To Center Earth+Criminal Record :D

Neal Morse - One :)

Blackfield (self titled) :o

...and even the new one from The VanAllen Belt!!! ;)

mad rhetorik

01-06-2005, 08:07 AM

Shadows Fall -- The War Within

Killswitch Engage -- The End of Heartache

Both Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall go under the "metalcore" label, but they're more like a thrash revival (with Swedish melodeath influences) than anything else. As you noted, anyone who likes early In Flames, early Metallica, Megadeth, At The Gates, Slayer etc. will probably dig this, although the sound is starting to become a little weak-sauce and commercialized (avoid crap like Atreyu, From Autumn To Ashes, Bleeding Through, etc.).

Neither of those albums you mentioned are unlistenable, but they're not the best output from either band. I've recently been digging more Shadows Fall's back catalogue (still don't own any proper albums, but have a comp from one of my friends who is a fan), and the earlier album Of One Blood is by far the definitive Shadows Fall. Better singing, better riffs, more melody, just better all-around. "Crushing Belial" is an awesome track. If you've heard In Flames or Soilwork, think along similar lines except a bit thrashier.

As for Killswitch Engage, the definitive album from them is Alive Or Just Breathing. Different vocalist from The End Of Heartache (Jesse Leach) who is a far better singer than Howard Jones in my opinion; it's heavier but doesn't sacrifice melody, the "emo" tendencies that have crept in on The End Of Heartache are absent, there is less clean singing (that may or may not be a drawback to you), and the production is better. You may want to check those out Bill.

audiobill

01-06-2005, 03:58 PM

Both Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall go under the "metalcore" label, but they're more like a thrash revival (with Swedish melodeath influences) than anything else.
As for Killswitch Engage, the definitive album from them is Alive Or Just Breathing. Different vocalist from The End Of Heartache (Jesse Leach) who is a far better singer than Howard Jones in my opinion; it's heavier but doesn't sacrifice melody, the "emo" tendencies that have crept in on The End Of Heartache are absent, there is less clean singing (that may or may not be a drawback to you), and the production is better. You may want to check those out Bill.

Hey, Mad R.

Thanks-a-ton for the breadth and depth of the suggestions you make.
I'm really digging both bands and I'm sure I'll want to explore each further.

I always appreciate your "metal" wisdom.
Cheers,
Bill

risabet

01-06-2005, 04:09 PM

In "Nobody's" post does Sarah Vaughn look a little bit like James Brown or am I seeing things?

Chrisgnat

01-23-2005, 11:15 AM