So they tell me it's Tuesday - what you got?

[Mike]

First up and out the traps, here's some of mine

Son Volt - Okemah and The Melody of Riot
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Alison Moorer - Duel
Richard Davies - Telegraph
Junior Boys - Last Exit
Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft
Pure Reason Revolution - Cautionary Tales...
Mew - Frengers
My Morning Jacket - Z

And some best of comps
The Clash
Elvis Costello
Ian Drury

Cheers
Mike

[Duds]

The Best of Fish
Soulfly - Dark Ages
Back Against The Wall - a progressive rock tribute to "The Wall"
Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
Gathering - B Sidea and Rarities

[ForeverAutumn]

Well, in an effort to cut down on my spending...I've spent about $200 on CDs in the last two weeks. I guess that "cutting down" thing isn't going so well.

Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
Tool - Lateralus
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Andrew Bird - Mysterious Production of Eggs
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans and Transatlaticism
Engineers - S/T
Isilders Bane - Mind Vol. 1
Colin James - Limelight

And of course...the iPod Shuffle God.

And...I have another five disks from my little sprees that I haven't spun yet. Stay tuned next week.....same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

[Duds]

Tool showing up on these lists lately!!!!

Well, in an effort to cut down on my spending...I've spent about $200 on CDs in the last two weeks. I guess that "cutting down" thing isn't going so well.

Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
Tool - Lateralus
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Andrew Bird - Mysterious Production of Eggs
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans and Transatlaticism
Engineers - S/T
Isilders Bane - Mind Vol. 1
Colin James - Limelight

And of course...the iPod Shuffle God.

And...I have another five disks from my little sprees that I haven't spun yet. Stay tuned next week.....same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

[ForeverAutumn]

Tool showing up on these lists lately!!!!

Yeah, that'll be your influence on me. I'm not quite sure what to make of this disk yet. I can't believe, however, that I've gone all these years without ever hearing Tool! After a couple of spins, there's some great stuff on here, but I haven't been in much of a metal mood lately, so it's not striking the chord with me that I know it will when I'm in the proper mood. Same thing with the Soundgarden disk. I need to be in a different frame of mind...their time will come.

[Duds]

i'm sure there are a few other Tool fans in here who influenced you as well, but thanks anyway!! the mellower parts to Lateralus are amazing to me, the songs Lateralus, Disposition, and Reflection are just awesome, imo.

Yeah, that'll be your influence on me. I'm not quite sure what to make of this disk yet. I can't believe, however, that I've gone all these years without ever hearing Tool! After a couple of spins, there's some great stuff on here, but I haven't been in much of a metal mood lately, so it's not striking the chord with me that I know it will when I'm in the proper mood. Same thing with the Soundgarden disk. I need to be in a different frame of mind...their time will come.

[noddin0ff]

I took the plunge and decided to see what the Porcupine Tree was about. I like Signify. First listen was with headphones and very nice. Will probably like In Absentia after a few listens. I also ripped the bonus audio tracks from the DVD Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou to CD. These are 10 covers of David Bowie songs sung solo w/ guitar in Portuguese by Seu Jorge. Kind of humorous and oddly pleasant.

Porcupine Tree: Signify, In Absentia
Seu Jorge sings David Bowie
Tom Waits: Big Time, Blue Valentine
Liquid Soul: Here's the Deal, Liquid Soul
Bill Evans: Complete Village Vanguard Recordings
Air: Moon Safari
Ani DiFranco: Little Plastic Castle

[newtrix1]

Eagles - Hotel California (DCC)
From the Caves of the Iron Mountian (my standard Halloween cd) - Levin, Marotta & Gorn
Patricia barber - Companion
Shaggy - Boombastic
Longwave - The Strangest Things
Twilight Singers - As Played By… & Blackberry Belle
Ocean Blue - Davey Jones Locker

A bunch of old-school stuff while doing some exterior painting this past weekend:
Yes - Yessongs
Boston - s/t
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Bruce Hornsby - Harbor Lights (especially enjoyed China Doll & Rainbows Cadillac)
China Crisis - Acoustically Yours
Led Zep III


Comps:
An Elbow Full of Lonely - Jar
Welly Top Mary & Theivery Corp 18th st - Mike
Blue Route Boogie - moi

[Mike]

Welly Top Mary & Theivery Corp 18th st - Mike

Ah Welly Top Mary I almost forgot about that, any good to you?

Cheers
Mike

[newtrix1]

Ah Welly Top Mary I almost forgot about that, any good to you?

Cheers
Mike

Don't know if you still have the tracklist, but I liked the first half (up to & including track 10). Some favorites were; Nitin Sawhney, Alex Gopher, Zero 7, Aromabar, Dzihan Kamien. The comp lost me a bit from 11 on due to fewer vocals and that 5+ minute, repetitive beat/sample stuff that is sometimes common within this genre and isn't my cup-of-tea. But overall very nice & opened me up to some stuff I'd never heard. You have any album rec's based on what I listed above?

[Mike]

Don't know if you still have the tracklist, but I liked the first half (up to & including track 10). Some favorites were; Nitin Sawhney, Alex Gopher, Zero 7, Aromabar, Dzihan Kamien. The comp lost me a bit from 11 on due to fewer vocals and that 5+ minute, repetitive beat/sample stuff that is sometimes common within this genre and isn't my cup-of-tea. But overall very nice & opened me up to some stuff I'd never heard. You have any album rec's based on what I listed above?

Don't have a tracklist handy but a couple spring to mind. You could probably pick them up cheap second hand as they are all a few years old and the whole electronica/chill movement has maybe had its day and moved on now.

Personally I still like it, have a go with....

Nitin Sawhney - Beyond Skin
Zero 7 - Simple Things or When It Rains
Dzihan and Kamien - Gran Riserva or Freaks and Icons

Cheers
Mike

[Davey]

At Head-Fi there was recently a resurrected Interpol thread about their last album Antics, and in response to a request for other bands like Interpol and Joy Division, some (including myself) suggested the Editors debut as being a good match. And listening to it again on the weekend, I'm left thinking that the match is too good. It does have that Joy Division meets Echo & The Bunnymen via the Chameleons kind of sound that has gotten so popular, but doesn't really seem to go beyond being a copy of that sound. Actually, a copy of Interpol's copy of that sound. Anyone else feel this way? Or is that just being too critical? Admittedly I do like it as I'm kind of a sucker for all those swirling guitars and Ian Curtis vocals, but geez guys it would be nice to add a touch of your own personality in the mix. Good album, just not very distinctive sounding and overall not one of my favorites this year. I'd much rather listen to the latest British Sea Power, or Elbow, but those are kind of a different style. The Editors disc is still fun, though I still like Bloc Party more. Pretty crappy sounding with extreme amounts of compression like Interpol and Bloc Party and Maximo Park and all the other American and British rock CDs, but fun.

And speaking of BSP, the latest Open Season got stuck on repeat for a couple passes.

And David Kilgour's 1997 eponymous masterpiece got a listen.

And a nice little Spoon meets Shins by invitation from Death Cab for Cutie pop band from Detroit by the name of The Recital in the way of their latest 2005 release Colour Up. Fun CD. Shame no one will ever hear it. Maybe this'll be a Christmas card bonus disc this year for a few like-minded friends (if I can think of any )

And a few other things, but wound up spinning a couple of my comps, the old Twilight and the recent Light So Dim, the latter a half-hearted attempt to capture the same feel of that earlier one. Too much doom and gloom for one soul to endure? Hardly

Hey Mike, howdya like that Richard Davies album? Think I spun that myself this past week. Hard to remember for sure because one or two songs were on some comps I spun too. Been listening to it pretty regularly lately.

[Mike]

At Head-Fi there was recently a resurrected Interpol thread about their last album Antics, and in response to a request for other bands like Interpol and Joy Division, some (including myself) suggested the Editors debut as being a good match. And listening to it again on the weekend, I'm left thinking that the match is too good. It does have that Joy Division meets Echo & The Bunnymen via the Chameleons kind of sound that has gotten so popular, but doesn't really seem to go beyond being a copy of that sound. Actually, a copy of Interpol's copy of that sound. Anyone else feel this way? Or is that just being too critical? Admittedly I do like it as I'm kind of a sucker for all those swirling guitars and Ian Curtis vocals, but geez guys it would be nice to add a touch of your own personality in the mix. Good album, just not very distinctive sounding and overall not one of my favorites this year.

I hear you there's no denying the influence track after track. I kind of missed out on all the Joy Division fascination first time around (not that I ain't old enough!) it just wasn't my sound at the time so I don't mind if they stay too close to home. There was thread a while ago talking about ressurecting an old sound with a modern twist and I still think they pull it off pretty well. But saying all that it's early days for them yet assuming they go beyond a debut, look at British Sea Power I never would have thought they would bring out such a killer follow up to their debut with a totally different sound.

Hey Mike, howdya like that Richard Davies album? Think I spun that myself this past week. Hard to remember for sure because one or two songs were on some comps I spun too. Been listening to it pretty regularly lately.

You can chalk that up as another of your successes it's a good album. I saw it cheap second hand and really liked the track you picked for that comp you did and as a result made it to my wishlist. It has a nice sound too which is always a bonus not too much of that compression rubbish we all talk about. Although the other album you mention by Bloc Party I know has lots of compression but I really like the sound of that album, to me the mix suits that tight rhythmic up front in yer face kind of sound they have.

Cheers
Mike

[Davey]

I hear you there's no denying the influence track after track. I kind of missed out on all the Joy Division fascination first time around (not that I ain't old enough!) it just wasn't my sound at the time so I don't mind if they stay too close to home. There was thread a while ago talking about ressurecting an old sound with a modern twist and I still think they pull it off pretty well. But saying all that it's early days for them yet assuming they go beyond a debut, look at British Sea Power I never would have thought they would bring out such a killer follow up to their debut with a totally different sound.

Oh I definitely hear ya. The whole Joy Division connection to Interpol, and by extension to the Editors and the rest, is a bit overdone in my opinion, although there's no denying a sympatico in the sound and an almost reverence it would seem to that great voice of Ian Curtis. In reality, the sound of Interpol can be traced much more closely to Echo and the Chameleons (or was that the Bunnymen ). In any case, none of these bands really have that same unique production that JD had. That stark, skeletal, sometimes almost mechanical feel, even amist all the layers of sound, just isn't a part of the lush, fluid production most of these bands use, which is more in fashion these days as demonstrated by Coldplay conquering the world's music charts. I wonder how well a true Joy Division sounding band, without all that needless dynamic compression, would fare in the market? Probably not well.

Ya know, I was actually a tad disappointed in that Richard Davies CD. Not the music by any means, but the mastering of the CD has more compression than I recall on the excellent sounding vinyl LP, which was all I'd heard until tentoze sent me a copy of the CD earlier this year. And some clipping of the waveform as well. Just goes to show, even the tiny indies were scared to release CDs that didn't sound as loud back in the late 90s. But you're right, not nearly as bad as the average pop CDs today, which are getting nearly unlistenable in any kind of critical setting for some of us due to that totally and relentlessly in your face amount of compression (and very often severe clipping) that has become the de facto standard in the industry.

[ForeverAutumn]

And speaking of BSP, the latest Open Season got stuck on repeat for a couple passes.

That's one of the, yet unheard, purchases from my latest binge. Can't wait to find the time to give it a spin.

[Troy]

This week's iPod shuffle-fest. This is a few hours out of many days of shuffling:

Walletsworth- Umphrey's McGee
Too Late for Everything- Echolyn
SofaBack- FM
Burning Sky- Porcupine Tree
That's Really Super, Supergirl- XTC
Standing in the Grits Line- Musical Mayhem 7
Dinosaur- King Crimson
Alchemia- Bill Nelson
Starship Trooper- Yes
Saucer- Pell Mell
Even the Waves- Chroma Key
Los Endos- Genesis
You're the Wish You Are I Had- XTC
The Gash- The Flaming Lips
Joe's Garage- Zappa
I've Seen the Saucers- Elton John
Dirty Work Underfoot- Musical Mayhem 7
Believe- IZZ
Fluorescent Sea- State of Grace
Dolphin Logic- Random Hold
Church of Women- XTC
Nickel and Dime- Journey
The Colony of Slippermen- Genesis
117 Valley Drive- the Bears
Furniture Music- Bill Nelson
Down Jacket- The Van Allen Belt
Ankle Bracelet- Mike Keneally
Out of Control- Oingo Boingo
Life in the Air Age- Be Bop Deluxe
Fired- Ben Folds
The Wheel and the Maypole- XTC
Stinker- Elton John
Liposuction- Laika and the Cosmonauts
Sasquatch- Camel
Rehumanize Yourself- The Police
Everything is Catching on Fire- They Might Be Giants
Strangitude- Ozric Tentacles
Grey Seal- Elton John
Lost for Words- Split Enz
Precarious Timbres- Random Hold
Antarctica- Vangelis
The Wedding- David Bowie
Mr. Eddie's Theme 1- Barry Adamson
Human Beings- Seal
Widows Weed- Laika
Goin Southbound- Stan Ridgway
Brownies- The Van Allen Belt
No Way to Paradise- 10 Seconds
Jocko Homo- Devo
Breakdown- Alan Parsons
Invisible Sun- The Police
At the End of the Line- Stan Ridgway
Night is Over- Marty Wilson Piper
Coming Up For Air- Cinema Recorded Music Library
The Magic Circus of Zeb- Flower Kings
Don't be Light- Air

[Davey]

That's one of the, yet unheard, purchases from my latest binge. Can't wait to find the time to give it a spin.

But remember, it's one of those CDs, at least for me, that needs some tender loving care, some patience, some sympathetic listening conditions, maybe enhanced by some Canadian spirits. But let it in ... and soon it'll become like a [friendly] ghost in the machine ... or maybe not

[Dave_G]

Shakary - Alya

Pendragon - Live 9:15

Jadis - Across the Water

Iluvatar - Children

Galahad - Year Zero and Sleepers

Pallas - Dreams of Men

Clepsydra - Alone

Yes - Magnification (I frikking love this album)

Styx - Pieces of Eight

Dave

[Jim Clark]

I've spent a lot of time with that Editors CD too, and I really like it. In the end I haven't ruled out a spot in the top 10 for myself but if it does show up, it will be near the bottom of that august and esteemed list. My conclusion was very similar to Davey's- a copy of a copy seems to me to be intrinsically wrong. It's just so much like Interpol I'm left wondering why they couldn't have brought anything at all to the party. If you haven't heard it, and if you are a fan of Interpol you should, it could easily pass as an Interpol album. That's a great thing if you're Interpol but I'm not sure how glowing a comment that is going to be for someone else. Bottom line is that for me it's an album that's a blast to listen to but when it's playing it feels a bit awkward.

Why doesn't anyone step up and try to sound like WOV? Oh, yeah. The Stars do on "He Lied About Death". What a killer song. Love that buzzsaw mutant Southwestern guitar that sounds like someone resurected Marc Moreland for one last gig combined with the quirky analog synth (sure sounds exactly like the Hanna Barbara machine that Chas would run). I need more of that stuff! Might be time to bust out some Clinic this afternoon.

jc

[3-LockBox]

I gotta stop this binge buying!

the new:

Fates Warning - FWX : Pretty good, but sounds a tad familiar in places, like track 5, 'Heal Me', which reminds of recent tooL. I admit, its been a while since I heard these guys. I just recently realized that they were somewhat an underground metal band back in the '80s. I think I remember a friend of mind had The Guardian (or something like that).

Coheed & Cambria - IV (that's all I care to type of the actual title)
Power pop with an '80s metal aestetic and slight prog leanings. No, they're not the second coming of Rush, but I did find this album to be a nice change of pace from what I've been listening to lately. And they're a blast of fresh air in this new cookie cutter world of revisionists' over-romanticized punk/acid pop that is mainstream rock these days.

Iced Earth - the blessed and the damned + Days Of Purgatory : Dusty Chalk was spot on when he said "If you like Iron Maiden...". If you didn't like Iron Maiden, you definately need not hear these guys. They're very good musicians, and write about as well as anyone in hardcore-metal (death, goth, black, etc), but they're terribly un-original. They are however, "more Maiden than Maiden is" now-a-days.

the not-so-new:

I can't get enough Ayreon

really liking Lacuna Coil more with every listen

liking APC's 13 Steps as well.

borrowed someone's Fear Factory; I can't remember which one, but it doesn't matter, I'll lump them in the same pile as Killswitch or Soilwork. In other words, they're not on my wishlist.

[ForeverAutumn]

Fates Warning - FWX : Pretty good, but sounds a tad familiar in places, like track 5, 'Heal Me', which reminds of recent tooL. I admit, its been a while since I heard these guys. I just recently realized that they were somewhat an underground metal band back in the '80s. I think I remember a friend of mind had The Guardian (or something like that).

Coheed & Cambria - IV (that's all I care to type of the actual title)
Power pop with an '80s metal aestetic and slight prog leanings. No, they're not the second coming of Rush, but I did find this album to be a nice change of pace from what I've been listening to lately. And they're a blast of fresh air in this new cookie cutter world of revisionists' over-romanticized punk/acid pop that is mainstream rock these days.

Fates Warning - Barry and I saw this band a few years ago, opening for Queensryche and Dream Theater. They were pretty good but not nearly as polished as the aforementioned bands. It was easy to see why they were the opener and not headlining.

Coheed & Cambria - Thanks for the comments. I like their first disk, but I find there's a lot of filler and it's too long. I've been unsure about purchasing this one. It's not the kind of music that you can put into a listening station and make a split decision. How does the this new disk compare the their last?

[Hyfi]

Unfortunately I have not had the time to listen to anything recently. What is worse is that aside from the couple classic rock bands listed above, I have not even heard of the rest of the bands listed.

Hey, anyone out there use Electronic Publishing Software like EZSubs or Coredossier?

[3-LockBox]

Coheed & Cambria - Thanks for the comments. I like their first disk, but I find there's a lot of filler and it's too long. I've been unsure about purchasing this one. It's not the kind of music that you can put into a listening station and make a split decision. How does the this new disk compare the their last?

I'm going to post a comprehensive review in the next day or so (or at least an attempt at one)

[Dusty Chalk]

the new Kate Bush -- sublime...and yet, a grower -- definitely a lyrics album, I'm going to have to put this on again when I can listen to it 100%
the new Madonna -- gone electroclash, might be her best album yet
LOTW: Tiefschwarz, Eat Books -- synthpoppy goodness, along the lines of Lost Boys, Kraftwerk (atmosphere, sparseness of notes, use of reverb, not teutonicness) and LCD Soundsystem...groovy

[Davey]

LOTW: Tiefschwarz, Eat Books

Whew, that's better. I was getting worried when I recognized some of the artists in your posts recently. Eat Books? Lunch of the Week?