Tunesday Thread - what you listening to?

[mad rhetorik]

Went out and bought my first Zappa CD. Hot Rats. Really enjoyed it too. Somewhat jazzy, somewhat fusiony. Great guitar bits. Whimsical sounding in the vein of the great "Canterbury" musics. I loved it. Gonna explore me some more FZ in the future.

Yeah, Hot Rats is excellent. It's Zappa's finest foray into fusion, and the place to start with FZ, IMO. Now go check out the following:

Waka/Jawaka: This is more instrumental Zappa, this time with a sort of "big band" arrangement.
One Size Fits All: Great all-around Zappa outing. It's got chops, eclecticism, and humor. "Inca Roads"'s guitar solo will make you salivate.
Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar: If you are an admirer of Zappa's guitar chops, you need this one. Basically an album of guitar solos, but this ain't Malmsteem-ish classical guitar wanking. You have to hear what Zappa can do on the axe.
Freak Out!: This is his first album, and he is with the Mothers Of Invention. Bold political satire, humor, and avant-garde sound collages that still sound ahead of their time despite being recorded on a limited budget in 1966.
Roxy And Elsewhere (LIVE): This, IMO, is his best live album. Basically a live take on what made One Size Fits All so great (it's the same lineup).
Yellow Shark: This is Frank's last album, and his take on modern (read: avant-garde) classical. Frank was really earnest about this one, and rightly so; this is difficult yet brilliantly composed stuff. I wouldn't start here, but this deserves at least a moment of your time.

Last Friday I was in the mood for some heavy stuff so the following got played:

Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down
Black Sabbath - Paranoid and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Dead Soul Tribe - S/T
Metallica - Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets. Both on DCC gold. I haven't spun any Metallica in a looooooong time. These blew me away. Really enjoyed hearing them again..

I haven't heard any Dead Soul Tribe, but you've got a solid list there. Katatonia, in particular, is a very good band. Have you checked out Brave Murder Day? It's one of their older albums, and it features vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. Be cautioned; it contains mostly growled vocals, unlike their more current releases.

It's also nice to see two of my metal faves together in the same sentence. Ride The Lightning or Master Of Puppets are the foundation on which all modern metal is based.

Other things worth mentioning:

Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsies

To me, Band Of Gypsys is the definitive Jimi live document, and a personal fave. "Who Knows" and "Machine Gun" are the two best Jimi jams ever, IMO. I also love bassist Billy Cox--he knows how to bring da funk, unlike The Experience's Noel Redding.