Spinnage Salad...The Notorious Tuesday Thread

[Mr MidFi]

And, as usual, I can't remember most of what I listened to.

Radiohead - The Bends
Peter Gabriel (melting face - remaster)
The Cure Disintegration
1980s comp from iTunes downloads
Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret
This is the 5-disc rotation I put on "spiral play" (all the track 1's, then all the track 2's, etc.) on Saturday during all my football watching. Multi-tasking has never sounded so good.

Also...
Big Country - The Crossing (remaster)...Yet another 80s title for me. This is a disappointing remaster, with buried lead vocal on some tracks.

White Stripes - Elephant...I still like this one. I still like White Blood Cells beter.

Pink Floyd Remasters comp...The ultimate challenge, PF on one disc. Put a heavy strain on the software. I finally quit tweaking and reburning when there were only 2 glitches. Took so much work, I can't enjoy it now.

DVDs...I've been good about exercising regularly lately, which means plenty of good concert DVDs.
Cheap Trick - Music for Hangovers
Rush in Rio
Stones 4 flicks (small venue)
Blondie - Live (title?)
U2 at Slaine Castle (title?)
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

That's about it. You?

[Dave_G]

Foreginer - Live. Ya, I like this band. So shoot me.

Psychedelic Furs - Book of Days and World Outside. World Outside is a killer Furs title.

Yes - Magnification - except for that cheesy ass "Soft as a Dove", this is an excellent Yes cd.

Kansas - Power. Pretty weak Kansas title but still good, it has Steve Morse on it which brings an intrinsic decency to it.

The Stranglers - The Raven - grrrreat "new wave punk" if you will. Love this band, ya.

A Pearl Jam comp this dude made me at work. Pretty good.

Finchies RHCP comp. Good job there dood.

IQ - ForEver Live - excellent, IQ are killer. Can't wait for their next studio cd. If it's 1/2 as good as 7th House, then it will rawk.

Mr. HiFi, what are those cheap trick dvd's like? Do you have any others?

Dave

[Stone]

The Broken Family Band - Cold Water Songs

Mekons - Fear & Whiskey

Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack

Black Eyes - s/t

Tomahawk - Mit Gas

Johnny Cash - Unearthed (discs 1 and 3)

June Carter Cash - Wildwood Flower

Ornette Coleman - Beauty Is a Rare Thing (disc 1)

Orchestra Baobab - Specialist In all Styles

I don't have time to give descriptions, but these are some great records, with the exception of the Tomahawk album, and that one's still pretty good.

Stone

[Jim Clark]

Lots of new listens and most of them devastatingly good.

Legion Of Boom-The Crystal Method. Picked this up on Friday and it's available to mere mortals today. No it's not Vegas, but it's pretty darn good anyway. A few stumbles along the way but overall very enjoyable in a Blade dance club scene sort of way. Speaking of Chemical Brothers, if you enjoy that sort of thing you would probably like this. Probably not going to be a critical favorite of anyone since they have always been overshadowed the Chemical Brothers, and rightly so plus techno isn't exactly a burdgeoning scene. Not too many memorable guest stints. An underutilized Mila Jovavich and a tough to nail down Rahzel (human beatbox) and some ex Limp Biskit guitar player and a couple of others I've never heard of.

Care packages filled out the rest:

Wrens-Meadowland. Love it. Would have made my top 15 for sure

Shins-Chutes too Narrow. Like it and it's my first foray into the Shins but based on about 3 listens so far wouldn't threaten anything in my top 20

Twilight Singers-Blackberry Belle. An instant favorite that would have wreaked havoc on my top 10 list. Not what I was expecting at all, this puppy rocks and I was expecting some mopey alt. country schlock based on 1). The band name 2). The album title 3). The biggest proponent-Davey. Not that Davey doesn't like to rock but he is into the alt. country stuff and coupled with my first to misconceptions I wasn't expecting much at all.

Wheat-Per Second. When Davey was auctioning off a Wheat EP I listened to his description and listened to some samples and it didn't strike me as something I'd really appreciate. Well, this album, though it seems a bit inconsistent, is a winner with some killer toons.

Broken Social Scene-My first venture into BSS and it won't be my last.

Super Furry Animals-Phantom Power. Haven't really got too much into this title yet but that's only because my first listen wasn't as pleasureable as the with the rest. I'll give it some additional air time this week.

jc

[JDaniel]

And, as usual, I can't remember most of what I listened to.

You?

I had that problem back in the 70's & 80's.

I've listened to a ton of Lucinda Williams in the past two weeks, including World Without Tears, Essence, Sweet Old World, and my fav. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

Also, the new Sarah MacLachlan Afterglow. She never gets much/any mention around here. But IMHO she has a hauntingly beautiful voice - very unique - I can't think of anyone who sounds even remotely similar.

Joe Cocker Mad Dogs & Englishmen. A great album from way back.

Steely Dan Pretzel Logic

Live In The X-Lounge VI. Our local alternative station here in town does one album per year with bands coming to town for concerts. They are acoustic (MTV Unplugged type) sets performed in a small studio, and the station invites a select few listeners. The songs are compiled into a disc, and only 15,000 are made/sold. I have 3 or 4, including Vol. VI, the newest, which is pretty good. The lineup includes:
1) COLDPLAY - Yellow 2) MAROON 5 - Harder To Breathe 3) SEETHER - Broken4) SWITCHFOOT - Dare You To Move 5) REM - Losing My Religion 6) SALIVA - Always7) JASON MRAZ - Curbside Prophet 8) SISTER HAZEL - Your Mistake 9) SOUTH FM - Dear Claudia10) PETE YORN - For Nancy11) EVE 6 - Inside Out

Comps:
Tug's Grateful Dead set

Finchy's RHCP set - a very good comp if you like this music. Nice job FP.

Finchy's "Piece of Cake - 20 Years of Ryko". Quite a few unknowns to me, as well as some gems (Zappa, W. Zevon, Joe Jackson).

JD

[tentoze]

And, as usual, I can't remember most of what I listened to.

-----editedit-----

That's about it. You?

I spent all Saturday afternoon at the 2004 CES Extravaganza ogling gear I will never be able to afford, and we didn't even make it to THE Show or Alexis Park where the REALLY expensive stuff was. The big JM Labs Be (70K/pair) speaks looked gorgeous, as did the Sonus Faber top-o-the-lines at 40K (looked like vintage orchestral instruments). even the top Swans, resembling Carver Amazings, looked and sounded very fine.

Anyway, I came back to reality, and realized I don't mind listening to my "traveling" rig here, as minimal as it is:

EZ T, Goodbye Little Doll- I've harped on this one for a coupla weeks now. Pitchfork reviewed it yesterday with a 7.9. http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-rev...tle-doll.shtml

Okkervil River, Down The River of Golden Dreams- Keeps getting better.

Sun Kil Moon- Ditto

Twilight Singers, Blackberry Belle- Ditto

Mountain Goats' latest- an Unklebob disk, and very very good

Belle and Sebastian's latest- Ditto

Paul Simon, Hearts and Bones

J. Armatrading, Lovers Speak

Lyle Lovett, My Baby Don't Tolerate

Amalgamated Sons of Rest, S/T

Slosh's Jar of Slosh

Davey's Twilight, and Naked

My 2k3

And a bunch that I ferget.

In the mail this AM were JC's year-ender and a package fro Audiobill. Thanks, guys. Looking forward to both. Bill, I'll get something out to you this wk-end.

et

[tugmcmartin]

Not a whole heck of a lot. Most of it was weekend listening while my wife and i prepped our second bedroom for the baby (due in 11 weeks - now thats some scary sh!t) and commutes to work. Here's what was listened to.

Dave Matthews Band - Remember Two Things
Dave Matthews Band - Live from Folsom Field
Allman Bros. Band - First Set and Second Set
Grateful Dead - Reckoning
Led Zeppelin - my own "essentials" CD #1
Widespread Panic - Bombs and Butterflies
Edwin McCain - Honor Among Theives

I'm sure there were at least two others... but they escape my mind at the moment.

T-

[BarryL]

I've been spinning these three CDs for about a week now.

1. Safe by Collage. This is an outstanding neo-prog CD similar in style to IQ and Pendragon. It didn't do much for me on the first few listens, but now I can say I like it from start to finish. Very melodic. Doesn't break any new ground, and I prefer both IQ and Pendragon to Collage, but they are worth a listen.

2. This is Gracious - Gracious. This album came out in 1972 after the band broke up. It's early '70's prog pop, with no clear direction. There are horns on some songs giving them a Chicago or BS&T flavour, others have a more Canterbury feel. Side one of the album was four songs joined together into one 20 minute track, but each song could have been its own separate track.

3. Souvenirs - The Gathering. This is their latest release and it was on JC's top 10 of '03 list. Again, this one takes some time to get into, but it's highly enjoyable. Lead female vocalist carries the day with the band grinding it our a considerable distance behind her in the mix. It works well. The album has an industrial flavour, and crosses the lines between alternative guitar-based "rock" and alternative "progressive" rock. The songs do not jump out at you at first, but have a more subtle effect as they burn into recognition over repeated listens.

[Troy]

Those Vasarat discs are hilarious. Imagine Metallica crossed with a Bar Mitzvah band. Jewish wedding music performed by skin heads. Heavy guitar grind and oompa loompa accordions and trombones. Will be a hit with They Might Be Giants fans. I love it, but it's not for everybody.

I've become a huge RPWL fan. Just another modern band feeding off of a 70s sound (Like White Stripes or Decline of British Seapower or 100 other) except that this band gloms on to Pink Floyd's sound. I understand that they started out as a PF cover band. The singer is a dead ringer for Dave Gilmour and many of the keyboard timbres are right on the $. It's brighter and less depressing, but the roots are clear. Disc comes with second disc recorded in 5.1 and a DVD with a short history of the band.

[Mr MidFi]

Mr. HiFi, what are those cheap trick dvd's like? Do you have any others?

Dave

That's MidFi, mister!

Anyway, the Cheap Trick DVD is a single disc. It's the only DVD title of theirs I own. It was recorded in 1998 in Chicago, and all the tracks are from their first 4 releases. The audio/video production values are less than fabulous (actually, less than good). But the tune selection is outstanding, and the performances (especially Robin Zander's voice) are excellent.

[nobody]

Glad to hear some positive response for that Green on Red. I’ve always really liked that EP. I actually have been listening to it for around 20 years. Oddly enough, I never picked up Gas, Food, Lodging. I guess I just really liked the EP and didn’t want to be disappointed.

Anyway…here’s a few things I’ve been listening to…

My Own 2003 comp:
They’re in the mail now, for those who asked for one.

Some Jazz

Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection
Wonderful 2 disc compilation of his work. Covers a variety of labels and ranges from the mid forties through the mid fifties. I don’t know enough about Parker to know if this is the best set to pick up, but it sure satisfies me.

Sonny Meets Hawk – Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins
Two great tastes that taste great together. If you like sax, hard to go wrong with this one.

Lush Life: John Coltrane
Yeah, I hear all the stuff about Blue Train and others, but for me, the laid back character of Lush Life does it for me every time. My personal favorite Coletrane.

A little bit of Soul

La-La Means I Love You: The Delfonics
Another hits collection. This one is just so smooth and sweet. If you like Philly soul, you gotta listen to these guys. Of course, if you like Philly Soul, you probably already have.

Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite
Yeah, I guess Neo Soul’s been gone for a while now and all, but I can still go back and listen to this one ever and over. Similarly smooth vibe as the previous post. Lush and beautiful.

A little bit of Country

Through the Trees & Twilight: Handsome Family
OK…been listening to these two tons and tons these days. Excellent country gothic mood music. I gotta go grab their 2003 release soon before I explode.

16 Biggest Hits: Willie Nelson
Gotta love a guy who smoked a joint on top of the white house. Nice voice and incredible songs too.

some Rock

But, nothing I haven’t mentioned on here a lot recently, so I’ll just list Los Straightjackets, Jet, Kings of Leon, White Stripes (De Stijl, which is rawer than their last two, but kicks major ass) and some old punk stuff.

And , some electronic stuff I never quite know what to call.

But, now I’m getting tired of writing, so I’ll just mention Everything but the Girl, Lamb, ISAN, Mum, Four Tet, Tricky, and some others….

[skewiff]

These are most of the things that I've spun this week.

Grant Green ........ Live from the Lighthouse. Soulful.

Bob Dylan.........Highway 61. SACD. A geat version of a classic cd.

Gov't Mule.......The Deepest End. Everything about this package is excellent.

White Stripes......!st cd. The beginning of big things to come.

Ryan Adams......Rock and Roll. Guitary, loud.

Kings of Leon......Youth and Young Manhood. 2 plays, like it.

The Coral......1st album. Good stuff. New cd next week.

Flaming Lips......Yoshimi. Love this cd.

The Thrills.....To much for the City. One of my Faves from last year.(Thanks Mike)

Lee Fields.....Let's Get a groove On. Great sounding James Brown, very funky 80's cd. Thanks Brian.

Comp's.

Badfinger.......Best of. PPG's wonderful effort.

Mike's2003.....Best of, a sterling effort, from a fellow Englishman.

DVD's
El Mariachi.
Desperado. Getting ready for Once upon a time in Mexico.

The Guru......Very good Bollywood.

Fawlty Towers........Best ever? Probably.

The Italian Job....Micheal Caine version. I've loved this film for 30 years.

Alien.... The new dvd, excellent conversion still one scary movie.

Books

Just started to read De Vinci Code, so far so good.

This completes the voting from Michigan.

Tony

[BarryL]

I've become a huge RPWL fan. Just another modern band feeding off of a 70s sound (Like White Stripes or Decline of British Seapower or 100 other) except that this band gloms on to Pink Floyd's sound. I understand that they started out as a PF cover band. The singer is a dead ringer for Dave Gilmour and many of the keyboard timbres are right on the $. It's brighter and less depressing, but the roots are clear. Disc comes with second disc recorded in 5.1 and a DVD with a short history of the band.

That RPWL CD Stock is interesting. It's like they set out to create a concept album in the vein of The Wall, and then abandoned it half-way through, and Stock appears to be a collection of the pieces. It has the feel of an incomplete work to me, which makes me wonder whether the band continues to work on new material or has called it quits in some fashion.

[MindGoneHaywire]

My rave of the week is for two albums I borrowed from a friend--Aztec Camera's 'High Land, Hard Rain,' and Elvis Costello's 'Out Of Our Idiot.' I remember hearing Aztec Camera songs on the radio a long, long time ago & liking them a lot; but I never heard the album, never even saw it, and I looked for a long time. I came upon a copy of the followup record, Knife, nearly 15 years ago, but it was nowhere near as good & I never really got into it. Finally got my hands on a copy of the debut. Very Smiths-like, and in fact I'd say it compares favorably to quite a bit of Smiths stuff. I mean, I shouldn't say I think it's better, or anything like that, but it's in a similar vein & it's real, real good. What the Smiths recs have going for them this doesn't, of course, is the superior lyrics & the sheer oddness of Morrissey's voice & singing. Outside of that, musically, I do hear quite a bit of similarity. I haven't heard any of the songs on it for years & years...I wonder why it's so buried, so unknown? I think it sold a few copies in its day, and it's so much better than a lot of the 80s stuff that's been regurtitated in recent times by people who are starved for nostalgia...oh, well.

The Costello album, like 'Taking Liberties,' was a collection of rarities & outtakes. Came out in 1987. I noticed that the songs on 'Taking Liberties' ended up as bonus tracks on the Ryko reissues of the first few EC recs. It's possible that much of this was similarly released, but if so, I don't have the recs they've seen the light of day on, or at least most of 'em. (Didn't bother taking a look to see if 'Goodbye Cruel World' had any of this stuff) Like Get Happy!, there's nearly an hour of music squeezed onto two sides of crisp black vinyl. Most of the originals are pretty good, and there are oddball covers of stuff like 'Baby It's You' (a duet with Nick Lowe, every bit as good as the Beatles' version) & Yoko Ono's 'Walking On Thin Ice.' If, like me, you like most (or at least a lot) EC that you hear, this is for you.

Joe Strummer's Streetcore still in heavy rotation; absolutely, definitely the record of the year for me. Other stuff I've listened to in the past week or so:

NRBQ—At Yankee Stadium
My Morning Jacket—It Still Moves
Elton John’s Greatest Hits (yes)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds—Your Funeral My Trial, Tender Prey, From Her To Eternity
The Smiths—The Queen Is Dead
The Band—Music From Big Pink
Dylan & The Band—The Basement Tapes
The Best Of The Chocolate Watchband
The Clash—Give ‘Em Enough Rope
Iggy Pop—Skull Ring
The Best Of Love
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers—L.A.M.F. (The Lost ’77 mixes)
John Coltrane—Ascension
Bad Religion—How Could Hell Be Any Worse?
Anti-Nowhere League—We Are…The League

[Troy]

That RPWL CD Stock is interesting. It's like they set out to create a concept album in the vein of The Wall, and then abandoned it half-way through, and Stock appears to be a collection of the pieces. It has the feel of an incomplete work to me, which makes me wonder whether the band continues to work on new material or has called it quits in some fashion.

Ya know, I haven't really active listened to the whole thing all the way through in one shot yet. I kinda get the feeling with what you mean, but I tell ya, I'd much rather have them leaving me wanting more than to bombard me with 140 minutes of music with 25% filler like so many other bands do.

I like it this length.

[DPM]

...but I've yet to listen to a lot of it. My Cd player in my car has been seeing the most action.

1) Inside Out music sampler #2--This came with my latest issue of Progression magazine, and it is the best sampler I've ever heard. It features songs by OSI, The Jelly Jam, Threshold, Symphony X, Steve Hackett, Calif. Guitar Trio, Devin Townsend, Spock's Beard and several others.

2) Paths Less Travelled sampler--This came with my last issue of Progression. Though it's not as good as the Inside Out sampler, it does contain a few gems.

3) The Jelly Jam/The Jelly Jam--A power trio featuring Ty Tabor, Rod Morgenstein and John Myung. The music is heavy and has a bit of a King's X vibe going. I like King's X, so I like this. My score: 8 (out of 10)

4) OSI/Office of Strategic Influence--I've just started listening to this disk of prog metal (without many of the prog metal cliches). It's good, but it's not as good as The Jelly Jam. Still, I need to play this some more before passing final judgment. My score so far: 7

5) David Bowie/Lodger (remaster)--A strange, strange recording. I love the song Look Back In Anger. Overall, I think Lodger is just OK. It's certainly not one of Bowie's best. Thank God I bought it used. My score: 6

6) Television/Marquee Moon--This band is a bit off the beaten path for me. Still, I like this recording. The opening track is a killer. My score: 7

7) Jo Jo Gunne/Jo Jo Gunne--Jay Ferguson's early seventies boogie band. This has the hit Run Run Run plus several other gems. Still, there is some fodder mixed in with said gems. My score : again, a 7

8) Grand Funk/E Pluribus Funk (remaster)--A decent GF release. I bought this used for $8.00, so I don't feel so bad. The band plays with their usual gusto, but all-in-all, E Pluribus Funk contains fun music and forgetable music that lies in the shadow of We're An American Band. My score: 6 (WAAB score: 10)

Waiting on deck for their turn in the SACD or DVD player:

Alamaailman Vasarat/first recording (I forget the title)
Frogg Cafe/Creatures
Isildurs Bane/Mind Volume 4
Joe Satriani/Strange Beautiful Music (multi-channel SACD)
Space 1999 DVD volumes 1,2 and 3 (volumes 2 & 3 bought used for $10.00 each)
Babylon 5/Season 3 DVD (bought used for $40.00)

Dave M

[ForeverAutumn]

Live In The X-Lounge VI. Our local alternative station here in town does one album per year with bands coming to town for concerts. They are acoustic (MTV Unplugged type) sets performed in a small studio, and the station invites a select few listeners. The songs are compiled into a disc, and only 15,000 are made/sold. I have 3 or 4, including Vol. VI, the newest, which is pretty good. The lineup includes:
1) COLDPLAY - Yellow 2) MAROON 5 - Harder To Breathe 3) SEETHER - Broken4) SWITCHFOOT - Dare You To Move 5) REM - Losing My Religion 6) SALIVA - Always7) JASON MRAZ - Curbside Prophet 8) SISTER HAZEL - Your Mistake 9) SOUTH FM - Dear Claudia10) PETE YORN - For Nancy11) EVE 6 - Inside Out

JD

I really liked their 2nd and 3rd albums (I haven't heard their 1st). But I've never heard anything off of their most recent disc and it has never been released in Canada. I was a little surprised about that because I thought that they had some pretty good success here with their previous releases.

[JDaniel]

FA,

The Sister Hazel track is pretty good. I especially liked the Maroon5, Jason Mraz, and Eve 6 tracks. I love acoustic sets.

JD

[DarrenH]

Iluvatar - Children. Hey Geezer, if you don't have this already you should. This is right up your alley. Very, very good neo-prog from 1995.

Anathema - A Natural Disaster. Not nearly as good as A Fine Day To Exit. This has a totally different feel to it. A much slower, droning pace. Only one song had a quick pace that resembled anything from "Exit". Some femme vox. Some electronic voice gadgetry that really sucked. If you find this in the used bin (and you just may) go for it. Paying full price really hurts.

Gov't Mule - Live....With A Little Help From Our Friends. The 4 CD version. And yes, I listened to all 4 CD's in one sitting. This band is perhaps the best sounding live band I've ever heard. Has an excellent version of War Pigs.

King Crimson - B'Boom. I just love this live CD set of Belew era Krim music.

Barclay James Harvest. A comp I threw together featuring songs from their first release up to 1977's Gone To Earth.

Moody Blues - To Our Children's Children's Children

Uriah Heep - Salisbury and Look At Yourself

Tull - Minstrel In The Gallery, A and an excellent boot entitled "B" from the 1980 A tour.

Miles Davis - E.S.P., Nefertiti and On The Corner. Been on a bit of a Miles kick lately. I'm hooked.

I know there's more but I can't remember. Geez, I gotta start writing this stuff down.

Darren

[Troy]

Tull - A and an excellent boot entitled "B" from the 1980 A tour.
Darren

Isn't there a video of the "B" show? Will it be released?

[Dave_G]

I don't know about B getting out on video, but they are saying that that "slipstream" will be included in the next round of remasters.

Or is "B" the same thing as "Slipstream"?

I wish Tull would release some legit full length concert videos.

Regards,

Dave

[Dave_G]

Pretty good, yeth.

Howdidja come across them?

Didja get yer box of goodies yet?

Dave_G

[DarrenH]

Isn't there a video of the "B" show? Will it be released?

Yes, the video was entitled Slipstream and will be included as bonus material with the remastered version of "A". Incidently, this video was previously released on vhs format. In 1984 I think. From which concert the video was shot is unknown to me but it was taken from the 1980 tour. The "B" boot was recorded at the Los Angeles Sports Arena November 12, 1980. The last day of the North American Tour.

The remastered versions of Stormwatch, Bursting Out and A are all due out in February, I believe, unless things change.

Take care Troy,

Darren

[DarrenH]

Pretty good, yeth.

Howdidja come across them?

Didja get yer box of goodies yet?

Dave_G

Demetrio sent me comp that included the song "Late Of Conscience". I really liked that tune and I found out it was from their release Children. Went looking for it several months ago but couldn't find it anywhere. Laser's Edge just recently began to stock this title so I swooped on it. Turned out to be an excellent CD.

Yup, got the box of goodies yesterday. I will start listening to them today I thinks.

Thanks Dave,

Darren

[Troy]

Yes, the video was entitled Slipstream and will be included as bonus material with the remastered version of "A". Incidently, this video was previously released on vhs format. In 1984 I think. From which concert the video was shot is unknown to me but it was taken from the 1980 tour. The "B" boot was recorded at the Los Angeles Sports Arena November 12, 1980. The last day of the North American Tour.

The remastered versions of Stormwatch, Bursting Out and A are all due out in February, I believe, unless things change.

So the DVD is gonna be a second disc in the package? I wonder if they are gonna gouge on the price. That's one JT CD I don't have . . . yet. I saw them a couple nights before that LA show. Not exactly the band's heyday, but it'd still be great to see. Thanks for the info, bro.