What, no Tuesday "whatcha been listneing to" thread? Heres one>>

[dld]

1) Gin Blossoms, New Miserable Experience

2) Bad Company, S/T

3) Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand The Weather

4) Tori Amos, Boys For Pele

5) Tori Amos, Under The Pink

6) Kate Bush, Sensual World

7) K.D. Lang, Angel With A Lariat

8) Sam Phillips, Omnipop, Its Just A Flesh Wound Lambchop and Cruel Intentions

9) Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels...

10) CSNY, Live at the Filmore East, 3CD Boot from Brad H. Quality is great.

11) North Miss. All Stars, Shake Hands With Shorty

12) Pass The Afrosheen, Vol. III

13) Mysitc Moods Orch., MOFI LP, Stormy Weekend

[ForeverAutumn]

That's wild. I also listened to Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience this week. And it was even before you mentioned that you were going to see them. Also listened to Congratulations, I'm Sorry.

For some reason Gin Blossoms always reminds me of The Rembrandts. I guess it was all coming out around the same time. So I also listened to The Rembrandts LP and S/T. I like Gin Blossoms much better.

After reading some of the Pink Floyd related posts last week, I decided to go through my Pink Floyd collection chronologically. So far....

Atom Heart Mother - Darren...did you say that this was your favourite PF? There are a few good moments on it, but generally I don't really think much of this disk. BTW, I received Piper yesterday. Haven't listened yet, but....Thanks!!! Nice cover copy too. Much appreciated.

Meddle - My favourite PF.

Obscured by Clouds

DSOTM

Wish You Were Here - Another fave of mine.

I know I missed Ummagumma. I don't have that one. I'll have to pick it up one day.

And, of course, I listened to some Yes.

[Jim Clark]

A few to mention quickly-

Lali Puna of course. Es muy muy bueno.

Joe Strummer-Streetcore. Finally got a chance to listen to this and it's pretty dang good. Too bad I didn't ever see a local copy of this. Better late than never

Four Tet-Rounds. Superlative although I've only listened in the gorgeous Dodge Caravan. This afternoon will offer some time before I head off to work.

The Orphins-Drowning Cupid. The Clarmont description: Atlanta's the Orphins combine dance grooves and indie rock for a sound that's less tribal than Pll (I think that's what it says) and less angular than The Rapture-the perfect post punk, funk and up-temp mix. Overall the description is a bit over generous methinks.

And some others as well.

jc

[-Jar-]

Meddle - My favourite PF.

Obscured by Clouds

DSOTM

Wish You Were Here - Another fave of mine.

I like MEDDLE a lot. it's not worn out for me at all, like, for example, WISH YOU WERE HERE. I could probably go a decade without hearing that record.. very very overplayed in my opinion, both on the radio and amongst my friends growing up. MEDDLE to me is still very fresh. After all these years, I still don't think I've heard OBSCURED BY CLOUDS. I'll have to look it up. Another one of my favorites is THE FINAL CUT. I avoided it for many years because I heard it was just not very good. But damn, side one is just one of the most perfect album sides ever. Yea, I found an awesome vg+ condition vinyl copy back in 1990 or so for a few bucks and it's served me well ever since..

I can't think of what I listened to last week except for Appleseed Cast LOW LEVEL OWL 1. Very sparse and disjointed. There's lots of instrumental bits between the "songs" and even the songs themselves don't have a whole lot of structure. I was working while listening so I probably need to give it a more concentrated listen, maybe with headphones or something. I got a lot of their texture, but I felt the weight was missing some, and I found myself hoping some more songlike material would emerge. But, that's just initial impression. I'll definately be returning to it. I haven't found time for the Blonde Redhead, but thanks for that too Davey.

-jar

[dld]

Agree about Meddle and Obscured is way underrated. Look it up. Some great tunes on there. I just bought Final Cut on vinyl, have it on CeeDee but have never spun it. May crank up the Phillips table tonight to some cool , never heard, Floyd.

[Toady]

today i've listened to:

Califone - Quicksand/Cradlesnakes

Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

Pinback - Blue Screen Life

Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost

Josh Crane - Dryland

www.joshcrane.com ... this kid is absolutely ridiculous. he's 19 and has a voice like Tom Waits. one of the saddest/wittiest records i've ever heard. i highly recommend ordering this record from his website (he's label-less). i picked it up in Northampton for $5 (he was opening for Califone).

[-Jar-]

Agree about Meddle and Obscured is way underrated. Look it up. Some great tunes on there. I just bought Final Cut on vinyl, have it on CeeDee but have never spun it. May crank up the Phillips table tonight to some cool , never heard, Floyd.

play it loud, I hope you get the chills like I do..

-jar

[-Jar-]

today i've listened to:

Califone - Quicksand/Cradlesnakes

Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

Pinback - Blue Screen Life

Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost

Josh Crane - Dryland

www.joshcrane.com ... this kid is absolutely ridiculous. he's 19 and has a voice like Tom Waits. one of the saddest/wittiest records i've ever heard. i highly recommend ordering this record from his website (he's label-less). i picked it up in Northampton for $5 (he was opening for Califone).

I've been wanting to hear Explosions in the Sky for a long time now. Looks like you listen to some cool stuff. Welcome to the board. Thanks for the rec on Josh Crane. Sounds very interesting.

-jar

[Pat D]

Mussorgsky, arr. Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition. Ansermet, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. On London Weekend Classics 421 019-2. Still my favorite.
Mussorgsky, arr. Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition. Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. On RCA 09026-61958-2.

Mozart, 6 Haydn Quartets. Melos Quartet. DG 415 870-2. These were inspired by Haydn’s Op. 33 quartets.

Rachmaninoff, Symphony no. 2. Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra. In Sony SBK 63257. This is one of the finest performances of this work, believe it or not.

Chopin, 4 Ballades, 4 Scherzos. Earl Wild, piano. Chesky CD44. Superb.

Mendelssohn and Bruch, Violin Concertos. Jean-Jacques Kantorow, violin; Ros-Marba, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Denon 38C37-7123. These are very nicely done.

Schumann, The Four Symphonies. Haitink, Concertgebouw Orchestra. Philips 416 126-2. I must say this sounds magnificent over the PSB Stratus Minis I am trying out.

Beethoven, Symphony no. 6; Brahms, Symphony no. 2. Boult and Pritchard, respectively, BBC Symphony Orchestra. BBC SM96 C. This came with the BBC Music magazine, I believe; I got it used.

Brahms, Symphony no. 1, Haydn Variations, Academic Festival Overture. Walter, Columbia Symphony. Sony SMK 64 470. One of the finest Brahms Firsts.

Wagner, Siegfried Idyll; Brahms, Serenade no. 1. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble. Philips 426 298-2.

Haydn, Symphonies 22, 29, and 60. Ward, Northern Chamber Orchestra. Naxos 8.550724.

Vanhal, Symphonies vol. 1. Uwe Grodd, Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia. Naxos 8.554341.

Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 23, Piano Sonata K. 333. Vladimir Horowitz, piano; Giulini, Orchestra del Teatro all Scala. DG 423 287-2.

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue. Columbia Legacy CK 64935. This is the Sony Super Bit Mapping Reissue.

Alex de Grassi, Southern Exposure. Alex de Grassi, guitar. Windham Hill WD-1030. An old favorite.

Enya, Watermarks.

[tentoze]

The new-to-me-ones are only 2:

Mountain Goats, We Shall All Be Healed- Other than a couple of random run-ins with single cuts, the only other Mt. Goats full release that I've heard is Tallahassee, and I've commented before how much I really like that cd. This new one mines much the same territory, musically and stylistically- so much so that I'm beginning to think that one Mt.Goats cd= all others. This one is a bit more polished, production-wise, than Tallahassee. But musically, it's still basically John Darnielle singing his fractured tales and accompanying himself with frantic attacks on an acoustic guitar. Not to say I don't like it, because I do. I just don't think I need any more of their cd's.

Magnetic Fields, i- only a couple of spins on this one yet, but it still isn't getting my attention as much as 69 Love Songs did when it was released.

A bunch of other stuff, but nobody's reading the dang thing anyway............

[newtrix1]

Shaggy: Boombastic
Talk Talk: Colour of Spring
Led Zepplelin: Presence
Cold Mountain soundtrack
Sundays: Static & Silence
System of a Down: Toxicty
Dr. Dre: The Chronic
Mos def & Talib Kweli: Blackstar

comps:
Pop! it's not a four letter word
PPG: Rockin' Acoustic
Mike H: Comfort in Sound

[Troy]

Obscured is one of my favorites and compares very nicely with Meddle. If you like Meddle, check it out for sure.

I got a new concert DVD this week:

The Bears. This is Adrian Belew's other band. They are the polar opposites to King Crimson. Super-tight technicolor-psychedelic Beatles/Kinks based 3 minute rock masterpieces. They made a couple of albums in the mid-80s and then disbanded for about 12 years only to reform and release a new album in 2002. They have a goofy kind of relaxed charm and are just amazing musicians. The DVD itself is decent quality and the set is a really top notch mix of the 80s material and the new stuff from last year. Their cover of KC's "Red" is amazing because it has a much looser feel. That number brought down the house. The bonus interviews with the band are very enjoyable as band interviews go. It's the first interview with Belew I've ever seen, so I enjoyed that a lot. He's an interesting guy with a unique style. Overall, a great DVD for Belew fans or fans of Beatles based rock.

Saw the remaster of Jethro Tull's "A" with the DVD at the store today. $28! Uhhhhhh. No.

[Davey]

A few new ones from the library....

The Best of Badfinger
Lots of gems on this 1995 Apple 21-song collection, mixed in with some fluff, but that's the way their albums always played for me too. Guess I'm not one of their biggest fans, but still enjoy them a lot.

Jason Falkner - Can You Still Feel?

The Best of Nina Simone - Pretty skimpy at only 12 songs?! Definitely better collections out there. This is a late 80s straight digital transfer of the 1970 collection, which is not nearly the best of Nina Simone, but that's why libraries are so nice

Shaver - Tramp On Your Street
Wanted to hear this for a long time, not the least because of that hot diggity dog comp that Whooptee did awhile back called No Remedy with the Shaver ending. Cool.

Elvis Costello - Girls Girls Girls
Most of my Costello is still on LP so this is a fun, albeit strangely arranged 2-disc collection from 1990.

And some regulars like....

The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Calexico - Feast of Wire

Roads Are Built To Wander: Ten Years of Giant Sand

Half Gone 2004 (actually it's really only about half a comp because I don't have enough stuff - maybe I should solicit contributions this year - skipped last year for the same reason)

Lali Puna - Faking The Books
Shaping up to be one of my favorites of this year.

The Notwist - Neon Golden
Classic. What more can be said. Nearly perfect Davey music.

Franz Ferdinand
Still really liking this one but according to chrisnz they may be getting close to their allotted 15 minutes...we'll see

Feelin' Good - This is one of Mike's recent comps and it's always a nice listen. One of the best of the year, no doubt.

Beach Boys - Smile
Wish I still had the link for where Brad downloaded this because I think they had artwork too and I can't even find the tracklist now, although I guess I pretty much know all the titles by now. Still would be nice but the stupid archive search here is worthless.

Post-Millenium Release - Another very good recent comp from Jar

Twilight Singers play Blackberry Belle - One of the best from last year, for sure. Always sounds good.

And PJ Harvey has her new album available for free download this week so I listened to some of that, but it's just .wma files.

[Dusty Chalk]

Buckethead - Population Override -- recommended if you like some of the instrumental sections of Pink Floyd (the middle part of "Echos", "Any Colour You Like", Rick Wright's "Funky Deux" etc.) -- shaping up to be my second favourite album of the year (Auf der Maur is still first). Quite different for him, very melodic, jammy, psychedelic, really nice recording. This guy has got to be the most prolific artist in a while. He released three albums in 2002, at least one in 2003, and three in 2004 so far, and those are just the ones under his own name (Cobra Strike, for example, is a very Buckethead-centric project, that G'n'R fiasco was not)...

Buckethead - Cuckoo Clocks of Hell more typical fare from the masked one.

Costanzo Festa, La Spagna (on SACD no less) -- hey, Pat, I think you were out when I brought this up the first time, but it's excellent Baroque music, highly recommended. On Harmonia Mundi, don't know if you can get it on vinyl, though. Some of the saddest music I've ever heard.

Lali Puna continues not to suck

Dykehouse, Midrange -- a surprise listen, recommended by one of my in-store friends, and turned out to be quite the gem. Very late 80's/early 90's shoegazer/brit-pop type stuff, very nice. I ended up liking it better than Magnetic Fields' i, and that's saying something, as I liked that one more than 69 Love Songs. Not to say 69 Love Songs doesn't still hold a special place in my heart for being some of the first Magnetic Fields I've heard. When I do my extreme metal side project, I'm going to do an album called 96 Hate Songs -- look for it...well, not in this lifetime.

Not sure what else.

[Troy]

Jason Falkner - Can You Still Feel?

Too glossy for ya?

[Davey]

Too glossy for ya?

Not really. Do you think it's glossy? The Eric Matthews stuff he's on is pretty glossy in the Burt Bacharach sense, but this is more along the lines of Richard Davies and those other pop/rock guys. Pretty good CD. Couple skippers, but mostly solid. I'd never heard the whole thing before so was glad to see it at the library. Do you think this is his best one?

Saw the Danny Elfman 2-disc Music for a Darkened Theater, Vol. 2: Film & Television Music collection and it looked pretty cool. Do you have that? I already had too much stuff so I'll have to check it out another time. Looks fun.

[Troy]

Not really. Do you think it's glossy? The Eric Matthews stuff he's on is pretty glossy in the Burt Bacharach sense, but this is more along the lines of Richard Davies and those other pop/rock guys. Pretty good CD. Couple skippers, but mostly solid. I'd never heard the whole thing before so was glad to see it at the library. Do you think this is his best one?

Saw the Danny Elfman 2-disc Music for a Darkened Theater, Vol. 2: Film & Television Music collection and it looked pretty cool. Do you have that? I already had too much stuff so I'll have to check it out another time. Looks fun.

No, I didn't think it was too glossy at all. But I like glossy. I see it as like the later Matthew Sweet albums like "Mars" that you didn't like, but I did. "Author Unknown" is a little bit stronger, I think. The b-sides disc sounds like a b-sides disc.

That Elfman disc . . . I dunno. A lot of his ST stuff has a sameyness to me. I had one of them (vol 1?) and ended up selling it to one of the hipsters at my old job. He loved it. It was a long time ago. I'd like to hear it again . . .

[ForeverAutumn]

Agree about Meddle and Obscured is way underrated. Look it up. Some great tunes on there. I just bought Final Cut on vinyl, have it on CeeDee but have never spun it. May crank up the Phillips table tonight to some cool , never heard, Floyd.

Hey dld, let me know what you think after you listen the The Final Cut -- I'm curious. This is another favourite of mine. If I had to rank the disks in order of favourites, this would probably rate second, after Meddle. I didn't mention it because I haven't gotten there yet in my chronological journey.

I agree with Jar. This disk needs to be played loud to get the full effect. It's probably one of the most musically powerful and intense disks that I've heard. The Gunner's Dream never ceases to send chills down my spine.

[JDaniel]

Just spent a week with the family on the beach. I gave some extended listens to:

Ryan Adams - Love is Hell Pt. 1

Cranberries - Best of (Thanks Mike for both of these)

The Band of Blacky Ranchette - Still Looking Good

Sarah MacLachlan - Afterglow


Also been listening to:
John Hiatt - Best of (it's outstanding)

Delaney & Bonnie - D&B Together Remaster (with Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Dave Mason, Tina Turner, Leon Russell etc.) Again - outstanding.

Lots of Guy Clark (thanks to tentoze)

Jay Farrar

Joe Cocker - The Anthology


JD

[dld]

[QUOTE=ForeverAutumn]Hey dld, let me know what you think after you listen the The Final Cut -- I'm curious. This is another favourite of mine. If I had to rank the disks in order of favourites, this would probably rate second, after Meddle. I didn't mention it because I haven't gotten there yet in my chronological journey.

I agree with Jar. This disk needs to be played loud to get the full effect. IQUOTE]

I put it on as soon as I got off the puter earlier this afternoon and , as suggested, played it loud, real loud on my "B" system. It was dang good, especially considering I had never heard it before. I'll be listneing to it regularly thru the week to get a better feel for it. Can't believe I never heard it before. just one of those things that slipped thru the cracks. Also spun Jennifer Warnes' Famous Blue Raincoat, the Leonard Cohen covers LP. It never ceases to amaze. Last song, side one, the duet w/Cohen, just builds and builds and builds....


GO SPURS!!!!!

[MindGoneHaywire]

Found a retro-postpunk band that I probably like a bit more than Interpol & Hot Hot Heat & Franz Ferdinand, and that's Stellastarr*. I've only had a chance to listen to the album once, but I definitely connected with it more than any of those other acts--though I do have to go back & give Franz Ferdinand another chance. It's been a little tough, though, since I've been so into the Asylum Street Spankers & also Big Sandy & The Fly-Rite Boys just put out a best-of & I listened to that a couple of times also. I saw Big Sandy a decade ago & didn't realize at the time that they were an amazing facsimile of Bill Haley & The Comets, but I did know that I dug 'em...actually I'd known that for a couple of years at that point. Great great great rockabilly & Western Swing, and of course my preference is for something like that over 2nd gen postpunk.

The thing about Stellastarr*...their singer sorta sounds like Dave Vanian, and that's something you don't hear every day, and bits & pieces reminded me of the last Grandaddy album, except I definitely liked this better. Also I liked the Snow Patrol album Final Straw, an Israeli rock band called Rockfour, and a singer-songwriter named Mark Lane. A hit & a miss from Six Degrees--The Outernationalists was pretty funky, if a bit dance-oriented for me personally, but Electric Gypsyland, DJ reworkings of Balkan music, just didn't ring my bell. I still totally dig the label, though, and I'll take their misses because when they hit, it brings electronica to me in a way I just don't get from most anyone else--namely, well-fused with world music. Oh, there was also a dance/electronica album (not on Six Degrees) that I thought was kinda cool--Horse Noodles. Definitely house-y, but with jazzy samples & enough interesting stuff to keep it from being in the techno/trance realm that I'm just not interested in--or acid jazz, for that matter, which I don't like, either. Considering it's not downtempo, I'd have to say it's the closest thing to house that I've heard that I actually liked. Well, I liked some of it, anyway.

Lastly, I finally had the chance to dig into Troy's Garageband sampler. I have to go back & look at the thread where everyone reviewed it; Troy didn't have my current address so I actually just got the thing a week or two ago. My impression is that Troy can make spacey prog stuff as well as anyone else, but I'm not a fan of that genre nor am I particularly knowledgeable about it & don't pretend to be. But some of the stuff that didn't sound Zappa-esque to me sounded much like some chillout recs I've heard. I see no reason why Troy couldn't immediately jump into putting together chillout recs, seriously & for real. But while that's probably not his first intention or desire...I do know what he was getting at, and it's probably as great a program for people who play instruments as for people who don't. As someone who does play an instrument, I always liked messing around with the four-track. I haven't touched it since I got sick, but I still do have Mike 'Sport' Murphy's ancient Tascam locked away in my office; I did some groovy things with that back in the day. With that, you can do cool stuff; with Garageband, I would imagine, the possibilities are pretty much limitless. I like the restrictions that a 4-track offers, partially because I think that music that you make with one of those is in some way more organic. But there are tons of people out there with good ideas that don't necessarily know how to play an instrument, and I think we're in an age where being a musician doesn't have to be a prerequisite to making good, or at least interesting, music (not in the manner of composers of standards; just to say that I don't think that samplers, DJs, & programmers are somehow 'not' music). While most of what's on the thing is obviously representative of what Troy's into, much of which is not my cup of tea, this comp is living proof of that.

[Troy]

Lastly, I finally had the chance to dig into Troy's Garageband sampler. I have to go back & look at the thread where everyone reviewed it;

Actually, there wasn't one . . . A few comments here and there is all. And that's fine. I didn't expect most people to like it (especially you J) or understand the process behind it. Mainly I maied 'em out to show it's capabilities (which I only scratched the surface of) and potential. Hell, If I can do it, anyone here can.

I agree with your observations. The thing about GB that I find so fascinating is that it is utterly transparent. J, in your hands, GB would be pumping out raw and gritty Ramones post punk. In JC's hands, trippy techno spacerock. In Dave G's hands, another "Satellite" or "IQ" album. In YECH or Chip's, roots style blues rock. I find the vast range of styles in the music made with the thing to be amazing. Surf here for a while, wade thru some crap and be occasionally amazed: http://www.macjams.com/ Check out the songs by "Bonka".

It can also reveal a tendency towards other musics that you didn't know you had, especially in people with no musical experience. Where the hell did that light jazz stuff I made come from? I sure don't listen to junk like that . . . It's like a giant zit on my brain finally got popped by GB and all this musical pus oozed out.

The other thing about it is that it has caused me to go on a hunt for more understanding of what music is and how it works. 3 months ago I couldn't tell you what a scale or inversion was. That's changed now. I can't tell you the last time I was so bowled over by a new way to make stuff. Photography? Maybe. But I think this is having a much bigger effect, much faster, on me.

I have no idea what "Chillout" is as a genre. I will AMG it when I'm done with this.

[Toady]

I've been wanting to hear Explosions in the Sky for a long time now. Looks like you listen to some cool stuff. Welcome to the board. Thanks for the rec on Josh Crane. Sounds very interesting.

-jar

sometimes i forget that explosions in the sky is my favorite band. i'm floored and reminded every time i listen to them. i'll stake my reputation from here on out on The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place. go get it!

and see them live (if they ever come back from europe). bring earplugs. possibly the loudest band in the world (mogwai levels).

and please give josh crane a try. it's a wonderful home-made amateur recording, if that's enticing at all...

[skewiff]

This weeks waxing's.

5 Guy's Walk into a Bar....................The Faces, almost the Holy Grail. Thank you J.

Focus ............................................Moving Waves. Kid Jenson ,Radio Luxumburg 1971
under the covers with my tranny till 3am.(memories)

Jethro Tull........................................Bursti ng Out(remaster)

Roy Buchannan................................Sweet dreams(anthology)

Stevie Wonder................................Where I'm Coming From (Brilliant and never Mentioned)

Junior Walker...................................Nothin' but Soul(anthology)

Isley Brothers...................................Giving it Back(All covers, excellent)

Wilson Pickett.................................A Man and a Half(anthology)

Lots of Soul Music.

PPG's Badfinger comp....................Best Badfinger release by anyone.

Chip's Tie dyed................................Still great. Where are you Chip?

Meddle is, and probably will be my all time fave Pink Floyd album.

It's nearly time to break out Jar's superb Reggae disc's.

Tony

[ToddB]

The Fire Theft - s/t
Low - Long Division
Before Braille - Cattle Punching On A Jack Rabbit
Elliott - Song In The Air
Teenage Fanclub - 4,766 Seconds
Paul van Dyk - Reflections; The Politics Of Dancing
The Dagons - Teeth For Pearls
The Go-Betweens - Tallulah
The Letterpress - Input/Output
Now It's Overhead - s/t; Fall Back Open
Nada Surf - Let Go
Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
The Wrens - The Meadowlands
Matthew Sweet - Kami Ga Suki
Colorstore - You're My Friend; Heavy Sleeps
Starflyer 59 - Everybody Makes Mistakes
Azure Ray - Hold On Love
Curve - Gift
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
Crooked Fingers - s/t; Bring On The Snakes
Okkervil River - Down The River Of Golden Dreams
BT - Emotional Technology
Archers Of Loaf - Icky Mettle

tentoze, you never know who might be reading...