I haven’t listen to their recent two records a whole lot, but I think there’s a lot of impressive, albeit imperfect songwriting on “Don’t Fall in Love With Everyone You Meet” and “Down the River of Golden Dreams”, and if you opted to merge “Black Sheep Boy” and it’s appendix, that’s practically a double album, and a good one at that.
So I've been listening to a bit of Blonde Redhead lately...
It’s fun to plot their musical trajectory from noise rock-y Sonic Youth impersonators with even worse lyrics (and some fits of screeching from Kazu Makino) to the more poppy fare they’re into now. The jump from “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons”, which was close to their earlier sound and only added a little bit of synth, to “Misery is a Butterfly”, which had string orchestrations and more plodding slow songs while almost entirely abandoning the jam aspect, was certainly a startling leap. There are a number of songs by Makino on “Misery” that I could listen to repeat because they’re atmospheric and at least somewhat interesting. My issue with it is that every other song, i.e. the ones sung and possibly written by Pace, were awful to the point of being nearly unlistenable. “23” tried to ease out these kinks by loading the work with Makino’s songs and putting in Pace almost as an afterthought. I’ve only listened to it a few times now, but one of the things I question about it is, as the band has moved towards more traditional musical arrangements (with their own variations) and less jamming around and making scratchy noises, it puts increasing attention on their lyrics, which as I’ve said, are bad, or at the very least quite weak. It ends up being an interesting study because the change in the band’s sound is not damning because the sound is inherently worse, but because it exposes other preexisting weakness.
Bands that I would say are kind of similar are Dirty Projectors and Department of Eagles, but to me they seems quite unique. I would love to find someone else similar as well, hopefully someone on here can help.
Great way to come home from the grocery store in the rain.
On a totally different tangent I just picked up a copy of the latest Melvins album, Nude With Boots – recorded with members of Murder City Devils and Big Business. It’s more-accessible Melvins, but it still sounds like the Melvins, it’s heavy and sludgy in spots, more straightforward in others. But like most Melvins albums, it rewards repeated listens. I forgot how much I loved the Melvins – I don’t listen to Melvinsesque music much any more, but it’s good stuff.
and I love the first album they did after eating Big Business (who are full touring and recording members of the Melvins, by the by) even more. It’s called (A) Senile Animal and if you like the Melvins you should definitely pick it up if you haven’t already.
Thanks to the Twitter account of my absolute favorite artist, I learned of Marco Polo ft. Masta Ace - Nostalgia. Works well since I’ve been going through some Masta Ace lately.
Something from the way back machine, a personal favorite: Slick Rick’s Children’s Story. Also, haven’t heard of J-Live? You’re missing out. He’s a stud. Here’s a track called Satisfied and of course one of my favorites (along with the incomparable DJ Jazzy Jeff) in which he samples the famous Allen Iverson press conference. It’s also a ridiculously good track.
Finally I can provide something to this conversation!
I love that Slick Rick song, and it always goes hand-in-hand with this Ice Cube song for me. It seems like the Ice Cube is the next step into the deep end, where the Slick Rick was about halfway down the pool, as it were. Both great songs.
Buy anyone into hip hop that’s all about lyrical meaning and beat innovation needs to listen to both Shabazz Palaces EPs. They are hard to track down on the Internet as the project has been pretty anonymous but the main MC is the genius behind the Digable Planets.
have you written off an album for years, thinking “wow, this isn’t a very good album”, and then revisited it years later to realize it’s actually a good record? I dug Elvis Costello’s Spike out this morning because I wanted to hear “”http://chirls.com/v/9Znn5a-88tY/240" target="new">Tramp The Dirt Down" (one of the best angry-at-my-government songs in recent memory), and then listened to the album in its entirety. It’s really quite good, it lacks the anger of early Elvis (except for Tramp The Dirt Down), but it also avoids the overly elaborate Elvis of the mid-to-late 90’s.
I wouldn’t say it’s his best album, but it’s a lot better than I’ve been giving it credit for.
I would put ready to die as one of the 5 best rap albums of all time, without question, right next to 3030, Life after Death, Chronic 2001 and the Marshall Mathers LP
But Graduation by Kanye, All Eyez on Me by 2Pac, and Stankonia by OutKast are up there too. Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool and The Blueprint 3 by Jay-z are two of the best newer rap albums.
From what I recall, there's actually a good deal of Del love around these parts.
With the exception of Blueprint 3 — which I thought was pretty mediocre — I like your list. All Eyez on Me probably got more plays during my childhood than any other album.
With regards to Stankonia, I like it, but I think it’s Outkast’s third- or fourth-best album. Which is no knock, because Outkast has a pretty incredible catalog, but I never really understood why Stankonia stood out to so many people. It was a lot more rock-heavy than their previous work, so maybe that helped them appeal to more fans? And Bombs Over Baghdad is a masterpiece for sure. But still, when I’m in a mood for Outkast, I reach for ATLiens or Aquemini — or Southernplayalistik if I’m feeling saucy.
I was the same way, only listened to the first 3 songs when it came out. Now I listen to it and realize how great it is. Make Yourself and Light Grenades are both great albums as well but I’d say SCIENCE is their best. Still not a big fan of A Crow Left of the Murder although Megalomaniac is one of my favorite songs by them
I’ve always hated them, and over the last couple years I’m realizing i actually kinda like them.
In a related note, I hate the Sound Opinions podcast. Why? Well, I really don’t, I actually really love it and everyone should listen to it, but in the last month or so they’ve had a couple guests on that I always thought were HUGE douchebags – Frank Black and Rivers Cuomo – who actually over the course of their Sound Opinions interviews ended up sounding like really cool normal-ish dudes, which has now forced me to re-examine both my Pixies and my Weezer hatred.
I just hope to all that is holy that they never have Morrissey on, or my entire world view might be irreparably damaged.
I never had much of an opinion about the Pixies but when I started listening to them a year or so ago, I loved them. I can’t figure out why they didn’t get more notice.
You should go listen to the Sound Opinions I linked to above
he comes off as a truly normal dude, not insane at all. When he found out Sound Opinions wanted to interview him and have him perform, he gave them two conditions: First, the hosts get to pick the songs that he performs, and second, they also get to pick the backup band he plays with. It turned out really cool. And he just seems so much more normal than I would have thought – I always thought he was the epitome of post-ironic detachment douchebaggery, with his cute/clever lyrics, but he’s really not. It’s a good interview.
I think that his normal-dude-ness is part of why he's crazy though, at least as an artist.
He was so crushed when Pinkerton flopped that he had a complete nervous breakdown and vowed never to make anything besides boring, lowest-common-denominator pop again.
The weezer output has been remarkably pedestrian, even cloying, but it seems he’s capable of releasing other types of music (setting aside the issue of whether those other styles are worth listening to or not).
Pinkerton is one of the best three albums of the 1990s.
Taken over their whole career, yeah, the Pixies are better (mainly because everything Weezer did after Pinkerton was abominable) but at their apex? Weezer blows them out of the water.
I probably agree… and appreciate that you recognize In Utero’s superiority to anything else in the Nirvana oeuvre. Counting 69 Love Songs as a single album might be cheating though. :)
I listened to some PJ Harvey a few years back. She’s not a bad vocalist, but I found most of her songs to be pretty similar lyrically, and not particularly well-crafted, and it got to the point where it drove me crazy and I couldn’t listen to it anymore.
I’ll have to get back to you on Bossanova though, it’s been a while since I’ve heard it.
I’m kinda with you on PJ Harvey, she’s very hard to listen to for a long time, but Rid Of Me is a really good album, probably because she’s bitter and angry and I love that.
Sort of how Cat Power has been a bit less interesting now that she’s relatively stable?
I don’t know if that’s the best comparison, but everything I’ve heard since “You Are Free” has failed to make any kind of impression on me. Still can sing, no doubt, but it lacks the gazing into the abyss aspect that made “What Would the Community Think?” so haunting at times, or the focused melancholy of “Moon Pix”, and I miss that.
I don't know that much about Cat Power to be honest
but I will say that PJ Harvey’s “happy” album (Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea) is pretty dull, except for the duet with Thom Yorke, which is pretty interesting. Especially since I’m not a big Radiohead fan.
to Rid of Me after I discovered that Steve Albini produced it and a lot of other albums/groups that I like.
It’s great to listen to just because she sounds so unrestrictedly crazy. Songs like 50 foot queenie and Rub Til It Bleeds are just flat out disturbing, and I enjoy that in music.
Steve Albini is one of my favorite working producers
in no small part because he works on a “pay-as-you-can” scale; if you’re a big band like the Pixies or Nirvana or something he will gladly take the dump truck full of money you drive up to his back door, but if you’re an unsigned band looking to self-release or do a demo and he likes your music, he’ll do it practically for free.
I recently dug up Okkervil River’s “Down the River of Golden Dreams” (I’m sure this will be a surprise to all of you) after many years of owning it and not listening to it and thought “hey, this is all right!”
I’ve had similar experiences recently with Sonic Youth’s “Murray Street”, which I mostly used to listen to for “Disconnection Notice”, the first Stone Roses album over the summer (curiously, I had liked the second one better, though I find “Ten-Storey Love Song” to be agonizing), and a number of Tom Waits albums since getting into him a few years ago, and most recently it was discovering that I really liked “The Black Rider”, but refuse to listen to it any time other than in the fall, and that there were some rather brilliant songs on “Foreign Affairs”, like “Muriel” and “Burma Shave”.
Really gloss over The Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food, preferring Fear of Music, 77, and Little Creatures. I heard one of the songs from the album on a podcast and thought it was a great Talking Heads song that I wasn’t familiar with.
Turns out it was on More Songs About Buildings and Food so I went and listened to the album in its entirety and now it’s my favorite Talking Heads album!
“Dummy” has that subtext if you want to read into it, but it wasn’t until the s/t that she really started to run with it. And boy did she ever. When I first listened to “Third” I had to put it aside for a few months afterward because listening to it had the effect of making me paranoid and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. I later decided this was awesome, but the album isn’t strong enough as a unit to make me list it as a response to pdb’s earlier question.
Also known as Bowie’s effort to throw a bunch of clashing and vaguely disturbing images into a single song just to see what the stupid Yanks read into it.
I’m not going to search things out on youtube, but scanning my iTunes library I come up with:
My Curse by the Afghan Whigs
Misery by Scrawl
Kerosene by Big Black
Damaged I by Black Flag
The Incest Trilogy (The Holiday Song, Nimrod’s Son, Broken Face) by The Pixies
Humor Me, Heart of Darkness, and 30 Seconds Over Tokyo by Pere Ubu (or anything else off their early albums, it’s all weird and disturbing)
She’s Like Heroin To Me by The Gun Club (or various songs off their last album)
Penetration by the Stooges, or Sixteen by Iggy Pop
Calculated and Terrorist by Heavens to Betsy
Diet Pill by L7
and Run by Liz Phair
Venus in Furs and/or Heroin by The Velvet Underground
Champions of Nothing by Matthew Good
CCKMP by Steve Earle
Via Chicago and She’s A Jar by Wilco
Dead Men Don’t Rape and MIA by 7 Year Bitch
Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana
Is The Decemberists – The Rake, I mean it’s all about killing your children because you want to go live the life of a bachelor again. Actually, a lot of their songs. I mean you think oh it’s a whimsical song about sailors and nautical adventures, but then it’s actually sad songs about sailors raping princesses or ladies of the evening.
Drive By Truckers – That Man I Shot, how a man deals with killing someone during war. It’s pretty haunting, and even more amazing and haunting live. I mean this verse right here kills me every time,
“That man I shot, I still can see him
When I should be sleeping, tossing and turning
He’s looking at me, eyes looking through me
Break out in cold sweats when I see him standing there”
I think Jumpers by Sleater-Kinney is pretty disturbing as well with some beautiful lyrics.
Ride The Wings Of Pestilence by From First To Last
Chorus:
“I’ll hide you in my walls
Your body will never be found
I’ll wear your skin as a suit
Pretend to be you
Your friends will like you more than they used to”
It can’t hurt to know about these things though. As a community, we’re a pretty solid music resource and there’s usually at least one of us that can provide suggestions for a certain taste.
But Temper Trap is a band I’ve recently gotten into and I think Drake is the best new rapper lately. But Hurt is my choice for best new badn of the last decade. Imagine Tool meets Live.
Wasn’t sure what to think of him but his ep was completely different. Weird to think he was on DeGrassi.
And Sweet Disposition was the first song I heard by them when I watched (500) Days of Summer. Love the Regina Spektor and Wolfmother songs in that movie as well.
As belated Valentines Day presents. On my mix was Japandroid’s song I Quit GIrls. I had never heard them before, but they’re fantastic! I’ve been listening to their album almost all week.
Ive also been listening to a lot of Miles Davis, specifically Bitches Brew.
I’ve also been going over The Replacements catalog because a friend said Tim is their best album, when it’s obviously Let It Be (this argument is just a bunch of hyperbole back and forth).
Lastly, I’ve been listening to Ryan Adam’s Love Is Hell, the albums I listen to would seem to suggest I’m hella depressed about girls. But, when that happens it’s The Modern Lovers all the time until I feel better.
They’re both fantastic albums, and I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t listen to both albums. Let It Be just happens to be my preferred of the two. Largely for Sixteen Blue, Answering Machine, and Unsatisfied.
Have you heard Sketches of Spain? I think it’s really underrated but he did a lot of great things with that album. I think he really captured the feel of Spanish music in, and while it lacks more of the free flowing improv of jazz, I think he created something really beautiful.
It occurred to me about a year ago that while everyone knows artists like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson, both musicians are really only known for a handful of songs each.
I picked up Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger & Shotgun Willie albums, as well as Cash albums from the ‘60s like Ride This Train and Blood Sweat and Tears. They were great & led me in the direction of Kris Kristeroffson, and from there the Highwaymen. I was surprised I had never heard of this band; it’s basically a country version of the Traveling Wilburys. Very good music.
From here I branched out into some of Elvis’s more country albums. I’ve never been an Elvis fan at all, but that said, his 1969 album From Elvis In Memphis is spectacular. It sounds nothing like the rubbish I knew him for.
Then I decided to give modern alt-country a try. The only artists of this genre I’ve really ever listened to have been Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams. I downloaded Phosphorescent’s recent album of Willie Nelson covers, and it was wonderful. I also finally got around to listening to Drive By Truckers, who I have mixed feelings on, but I suspect their music will grow on me.
I think their best work is Brighter Than Creations Dark, it’s insanely good. Give them time, it took me a little bit to really get into their stuff, but now they’re one of my favorites.
Other acts you might want to check out, Heartless Bastards and Neko Case.
How I missed mentioning Neko Case, I have no idea. Love her.
I’ll check out Heartless Bastards. Thanks.
I listened to A Blessing and a Curse and Southern Rock Opera. I have a few other albums of theirs I have yet to get to, though. I’ll give BTCD a listen today.
I think you’ll really enjoy Heartless Bastards, three piece country band with a breathy female lead singer. I actually like her singing better than Neko!
The Dirty South is another really good DBT album, I’m interested to hear what you think.
With each subsequent album they’ve gotten less blues-y and more country – but, we’re probably splitting unnecessary hairs. You’re definitely correct that you’ll probably like both genres.
When I was a freshman, Talib Kweli came to play a show at my school. He was opened for by RJD2. I thought RJD2 sucked.
Maybe I just didn’t have an appreciation for what he did or maybe it just isn’t meant to be done live, but I think the crowd was pretty close to booing RJD2. Fast forward several years and I discovered that I actually like his stuff, especially Loose Ends. Even if you aren’t into hip hop, there are some other artists on there and he does a brilliant job with it. Mos Def and Diverse, Cunninlynguists ft. Masta Ace (This track is amazing), Vast Aire , and if you are ok with the more aggressive Weathermen, have at that too. .
Anyway, has anyone else been first exposed to an artist live, disliked them strongly, and then later enjoyed them immensely?
Probably one of the best jazz albums I’ve purchased in a few years. It’s small-ensemble vocal stuff with some gorgeous chord changes throughout. The title track alone is worth the purchase.
Since there is a good appreciation for quality hip-hop here.
I’ll throw out the Crown City Rockers as an incredible act. Their album Earthtones is one of my favorites and I have yet to see a better live show. I don’t meet to many people who have heard of them.
Anybody ever seen an artist live before having heard any of their recordings, but then found out later that the band just doesn’t work for you at all unless they are live?
Additionally, ever been to a show where the opening act was so great that you became a fan on the spot?
I caught Incubus as an opening act for the Deftones on their White Pony tour ('99, I think?)
Incubus was excellent as a live act, and although I was (and still am) very lukewarm on their recorded material I still have them in high regard as a live band, at least back then. Also at that show was Taproot. Had not ever heard of them before, and they rocked my socks off during that show and I became a pretty solid fan
Experienced Coheed and Cambria for the very first time as an opener for Thursday many years back, and they’ve become one of my most favorite groups as well
Only good live:
Alexisonfire – Great energy, the crowd was into every song even though they weren’t an opener. Never could stand their records.
Sims – Opened for POS, was excellent, recorded stuff is meh.
Instant fan:
Westbound Train – Impeccable live performance.
A little different, I saw the Aggrolites live, and then after that I could never listen to their recorded material again.
I saw My Morning Jacket open for Doves back in 2002.
Doves were good in their own right, but My Morning Jacket completely blew them out of the water. I became a fan on the spot. For a while, they were one of those “only good when they’re live” bands for me, but I’ve since learned to really enjoy their albums.
This happens a lot – I have a great time at a show, buy a cd, listen to it, then never play it again. I often wonder if it’s that the ‘band is awesome live’ or ‘I was inebriated when they played.’
I saw them live twice last year and they put on an amazing show. I bought the album and it was pretty good, but whenever I listen to it it just makes me want to see them live because it’s so much better. They are playing at Neumos on April 13.
During the day went to see Botch at the Velvet Elvis with Scathed opened up, Kid Dynamite was suppose to be there but they had some problems with their van. But Botch brought the house down so much fun. That night made our way to Wallingford to a little hole in the wall theater to see Hangfire Disaster and Teen Cthulu play, that was even crazier the place was packed wall to wall full of people. Left With Nothing I think was suppose to play but canceled cus the place was very hard to find. That whole day was insanity of Music, Buses and record stores. Such a good day……the late 90’s were fun for music.
Clair De Lune means moonlight in French so that probably saves you a trip to google translate. It’s one of the more well known “classical” music pieces (I actually think it’s from the Romantic period but the average person doesn’t know the difference any way.) It’s easily recognized but the thing that bugs me is whenever I try to practice it, somebody says “ohhh that was from Twilight!”
Though if I were to recommend a starting place, it’d be "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood’, and that just barely beats out “Blacklisted”. I think “Blacklisted” is the better album, but “Fox Confessor…” is a little easier to get into.
Regardless, you should listen to “Deep Red Bells”, which is track 2 on “Blacklisted”. It’s pretty much the ultimate Neko song: incredible song writing, amazing vocals, and a fantastic outro.
Love that song
OlSalty - February 26, 2010
Love that band.
Craig Powers - February 26, 2010
I really love "The Stage Names," but don't care for much else.
SethGrandpa - February 26, 2010
That's a shame.
I haven’t listen to their recent two records a whole lot, but I think there’s a lot of impressive, albeit imperfect songwriting on “Don’t Fall in Love With Everyone You Meet” and “Down the River of Golden Dreams”, and if you opted to merge “Black Sheep Boy” and it’s appendix, that’s practically a double album, and a good one at that.
Here’s one example off Down the River that I had stuck in my head yesterday.
Maine Island Lovers (live)
And some their earliest stuff, which got me interested in the first place….
RedKansas City
I wanted to offset the slower stuff with some of their more “upbeat” fare, but couldn’t find a good quality copy of Lady Liberty.
JY - February 26, 2010
crap.
Linebreak need, Red and Kansas City are two different songs, two different links.
JY - February 26, 2010
So I've been listening to a bit of Blonde Redhead lately...
It’s fun to plot their musical trajectory from noise rock-y Sonic Youth impersonators with even worse lyrics (and some fits of screeching from Kazu Makino) to the more poppy fare they’re into now. The jump from “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons”, which was close to their earlier sound and only added a little bit of synth, to “Misery is a Butterfly”, which had string orchestrations and more plodding slow songs while almost entirely abandoning the jam aspect, was certainly a startling leap. There are a number of songs by Makino on “Misery” that I could listen to repeat because they’re atmospheric and at least somewhat interesting. My issue with it is that every other song, i.e. the ones sung and possibly written by Pace, were awful to the point of being nearly unlistenable. “23” tried to ease out these kinks by loading the work with Makino’s songs and putting in Pace almost as an afterthought. I’ve only listened to it a few times now, but one of the things I question about it is, as the band has moved towards more traditional musical arrangements (with their own variations) and less jamming around and making scratchy noises, it puts increasing attention on their lyrics, which as I’ve said, are bad, or at the very least quite weak. It ends up being an interesting study because the change in the band’s sound is not damning because the sound is inherently worse, but because it exposes other preexisting weakness.
Just something I’ve been thinking about.
JY - February 26, 2010
Did you know Charlie Morton of the Pirates plays music too?
He’s actually not too bad.
I Lick Squirrels - February 26, 2010
Good choice Jeff
Ive been listening to alot of sasquatch bands this week, just seeing how this year’s lineup stacks up against years past.
But the top 5 of the week would have to be:
Halo – Heiroglyphics
Reminder – Jay Z
Microphone – Royce
Got Hungry – Obie Trice
and of course, courtesy of 1993, Ole School Shit – Eazy E
E2ESQUARE - February 26, 2010
Anything Eazy E did was golden.
katal - February 26, 2010
Aint it the truth
RIP Eazy
E2ESQUARE - February 26, 2010
I got Visiter by the Dodos a week or so ago
Their songs are mad catchy and I really enjoy the odd variety of the album. Anyone know of some similar bands?
Dewey N - February 26, 2010
Excellent! Such a great band!
Bands that I would say are kind of similar are Dirty Projectors and Department of Eagles, but to me they seems quite unique. I would love to find someone else similar as well, hopefully someone on here can help.
Woodinville_12thMan - February 26, 2010 via mobile
I've heard a couple of their songs and really liked them, been meaning to track down the album.
Thanks for reminding me!
Torrid - February 27, 2010
Annuals are pretty good.
Steven was taken - February 27, 2010
Cheers!
Great way to come home from the grocery store in the rain.
On a totally different tangent I just picked up a copy of the latest Melvins album, Nude With Boots – recorded with members of Murder City Devils and Big Business. It’s more-accessible Melvins, but it still sounds like the Melvins, it’s heavy and sludgy in spots, more straightforward in others. But like most Melvins albums, it rewards repeated listens. I forgot how much I loved the Melvins – I don’t listen to Melvinsesque music much any more, but it’s good stuff.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Now I want to go home and listen to Stoner Witch
johnbai - February 26, 2010
Nude With Boots is great
and I love the first album they did after eating Big Business (who are full touring and recording members of the Melvins, by the by) even more. It’s called (A) Senile Animal and if you like the Melvins you should definitely pick it up if you haven’t already.
Aaron Campeau - February 26, 2010 via mobile
Just got it!
I’m only about three songs in but I really like it.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Ugh, I hate the fact that my headphones are messed up. They're much higher quality
than the sound from my laptop so I need ’em to listen to music. Sigh…
Coach Owens - February 26, 2010
This week I have mostly been listening to City of Echoes by Pelican.
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
In the deck this week: People Under the Stairs
San Francisco Knights
Teej - February 26, 2010
Let the mostly ignored rap portion begin.
Thanks to the Twitter account of my absolute favorite artist, I learned of Marco Polo ft. Masta Ace - Nostalgia. Works well since I’ve been going through some Masta Ace lately.
abender20 - February 26, 2010
Not ignored at all
I listen to a lot of the stuff that’s mentioned here but don’t know enough about rap to talk about it intelligently or put it in any sort of context.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Then we push bravely forward.
Something from the way back machine, a personal favorite: Slick Rick’s Children’s Story. Also, haven’t heard of J-Live? You’re missing out. He’s a stud. Here’s a track called Satisfied and of course one of my favorites (along with the incomparable DJ Jazzy Jeff) in which he samples the famous Allen Iverson press conference. It’s also a ridiculously good track.
abender20 - February 26, 2010
All I really know of J-Live is "Ships Pass" from Superrappin 2, but I LOVE the song.
Teej - February 26, 2010
I was actually introduced to him at Bumbershoot in high school when my sister took me to see Soul Live, where he guested for a few.
Ships Pass is sweet as hell.
abender20 - February 26, 2010
Finally I can provide something to this conversation!
I love that Slick Rick song, and it always goes hand-in-hand with this Ice Cube song for me. It seems like the Ice Cube is the next step into the deep end, where the Slick Rick was about halfway down the pool, as it were. Both great songs.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Love the Slick Rick song, too.
Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli) had a nice take on the song, too.
Teej - February 26, 2010
Love Black Star.
And yeah that Slick Rick song is a classic. That J-Live song is pretty good too.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
I have mentioned them before in these threads,
Buy anyone into hip hop that’s all about lyrical meaning and beat innovation needs to listen to both Shabazz Palaces EPs. They are hard to track down on the Internet as the project has been pretty anonymous but the main MC is the genius behind the Digable Planets.
Woodinville_12thMan - February 26, 2010 via mobile
I find his flow annoying, unfortunately.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
Also featured: Kweli and Styles P!
The Thrill Is Gone, from the new Statik Selectah album
Teej - February 26, 2010
Good song?
Gold Guns Girls – Metric
I’m enjoying it right now.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
I like it.
But they play it so so much on 107.7 The End. Reminded me why I don’t listen to the radio anymore.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
Yeah I heard it when I listened to the radio in Victoria
I didn’t know how mainstream it was but I guess that makes sense.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
Here's a question
have you written off an album for years, thinking “wow, this isn’t a very good album”, and then revisited it years later to realize it’s actually a good record? I dug Elvis Costello’s Spike out this morning because I wanted to hear “”http://chirls.com/v/9Znn5a-88tY/240" target="new">Tramp The Dirt Down" (one of the best angry-at-my-government songs in recent memory), and then listened to the album in its entirety. It’s really quite good, it lacks the anger of early Elvis (except for Tramp The Dirt Down), but it also avoids the overly elaborate Elvis of the mid-to-late 90’s.
I wouldn’t say it’s his best album, but it’s a lot better than I’ve been giving it credit for.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Wow link fail
Tramp The Dirt Down.
pdb - February 26, 2010
I bought Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die," listened to it once, then didn't listen to it again for two years.
It is now among my five or 10 favorite albums ever.
Teej - February 26, 2010
one of the greatest albums of all time
I would put ready to die as one of the 5 best rap albums of all time, without question, right next to 3030, Life after Death, Chronic 2001 and the Marshall Mathers LP
E2ESQUARE - February 26, 2010
Awesome to see someone else who loves Del.
But Graduation by Kanye, All Eyez on Me by 2Pac, and Stankonia by OutKast are up there too. Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool and The Blueprint 3 by Jay-z are two of the best newer rap albums.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
From what I recall, there's actually a good deal of Del love around these parts.
With the exception of Blueprint 3 — which I thought was pretty mediocre — I like your list. All Eyez on Me probably got more plays during my childhood than any other album.
With regards to Stankonia, I like it, but I think it’s Outkast’s third- or fourth-best album. Which is no knock, because Outkast has a pretty incredible catalog, but I never really understood why Stankonia stood out to so many people. It was a lot more rock-heavy than their previous work, so maybe that helped them appeal to more fans? And Bombs Over Baghdad is a masterpiece for sure. But still, when I’m in a mood for Outkast, I reach for ATLiens or Aquemini — or Southernplayalistik if I’m feeling saucy.
Teej - February 26, 2010
Yeah, Aquemini may actually be a better album.
But Stankonia has some nostalgiac value for me which means it trumps the rest of their albums. I guess that’s why these kind of lists are subjective.
Hopefulmsfan - February 27, 2010
There are a disproportionate number of Del lovers here.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
Why hello there!
marc w - February 28, 2010
My email isn't johnbai3030 for nothing!
johnbai - February 28, 2010
Incubus - Morning View
I only listened to the singles when it first came out but I listened to the whole thing last year and it’s quite good.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
great choice
Morning view is probably my favorite incubus CD. Light grenades and SCIENCE are both solid albums too
E2ESQUARE - February 26, 2010
Light Grenades was probably my least favorite of theirs.
Make Yourself or SCIENCE are up there.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
I agree.
I was the same way, only listened to the first 3 songs when it came out. Now I listen to it and realize how great it is. Make Yourself and Light Grenades are both great albums as well but I’d say SCIENCE is their best. Still not a big fan of A Crow Left of the Murder although Megalomaniac is one of my favorite songs by them
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
Herbie Hancock's "Sound System"
BrianL - February 26, 2010
Every now and then
I listen to The PIxies’ album Bossanova, and I think “this ain’t so bad…” I still like their earlier stuff better, but it’s still a decent album.
PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, too. I didn’t hate it, I just listened to it once and forgot about it. A few months ago I listened to it and I loved it.
abelard - February 26, 2010
I'm slowly coming around on the Pixies
I’ve always hated them, and over the last couple years I’m realizing i actually kinda like them.
In a related note, I hate the Sound Opinions podcast. Why? Well, I really don’t, I actually really love it and everyone should listen to it, but in the last month or so they’ve had a couple guests on that I always thought were HUGE douchebags – Frank Black and Rivers Cuomo – who actually over the course of their Sound Opinions interviews ended up sounding like really cool normal-ish dudes, which has now forced me to re-examine both my Pixies and my Weezer hatred.
I just hope to all that is holy that they never have Morrissey on, or my entire world view might be irreparably damaged.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Strange.
I never had much of an opinion about the Pixies but when I started listening to them a year or so ago, I loved them. I can’t figure out why they didn’t get more notice.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
I refuse to believe that you would hate Weezer's Pinkerton.
Other than that and the blue albu, yeah they are disappointing.
Woodinville_12thMan - February 26, 2010 via mobile
My hate for Weezer is almost solely based on my hate for Rivers Cuomo
and as I say I have to revisit that now that he doesn’t appear to be the douchebag I always thought he was. I’ll give Pinkerton another listen.
pdb - February 27, 2010
I think he's more fucking insane than a douchebag
which doesn’t mean he’s not a douchebag, just that he’s really, really insane.
Aaron Campeau - February 27, 2010
You should go listen to the Sound Opinions I linked to above
he comes off as a truly normal dude, not insane at all. When he found out Sound Opinions wanted to interview him and have him perform, he gave them two conditions: First, the hosts get to pick the songs that he performs, and second, they also get to pick the backup band he plays with. It turned out really cool. And he just seems so much more normal than I would have thought – I always thought he was the epitome of post-ironic detachment douchebaggery, with his cute/clever lyrics, but he’s really not. It’s a good interview.
pdb - February 27, 2010
I think that his normal-dude-ness is part of why he's crazy though, at least as an artist.
He was so crushed when Pinkerton flopped that he had a complete nervous breakdown and vowed never to make anything besides boring, lowest-common-denominator pop again.
Aaron Campeau - February 27, 2010
So why release two albums-worth of bedroom demos?
The weezer output has been remarkably pedestrian, even cloying, but it seems he’s capable of releasing other types of music (setting aside the issue of whether those other styles are worth listening to or not).
marc w - February 28, 2010
I get the impression that Weezer as a commercial success is very, very important to his self worth
while there’s nowhere near as much expectation and risk with the other stuff.
Aaron Campeau - February 28, 2010
Pixies >>>> Weezer
That Buddy Holly song is pretty cool, but… Doolittle, Doolittle, Doolittle.
Steven was taken - February 27, 2010
Pinkerton is one of the best three albums of the 1990s.
Taken over their whole career, yeah, the Pixies are better (mainly because everything Weezer did after Pinkerton was abominable) but at their apex? Weezer blows them out of the water.
Aaron Campeau - February 27, 2010
I'll bite.
What are the other two best albums?
katal - February 27, 2010
Nevermind and OK Computer.
Doggystyle and The Soft Bulletin.
Odelay and Slanted & Enchanted.
katal - February 27, 2010
In Utero is one, 69 Love Songs is the other
Aaron Campeau - February 27, 2010
Nice
I probably agree… and appreciate that you recognize In Utero’s superiority to anything else in the Nirvana oeuvre. Counting 69 Love Songs as a single album might be cheating though. :)
johnbai - February 28, 2010
Nice choices.
I haven’t listened to either one of those in a long while. Thanks for making it easy for me to decide what to play on my way to work this week!
katal - February 28, 2010
Muahahaha
royalcurve - February 28, 2010
Hmmmm...
I listened to some PJ Harvey a few years back. She’s not a bad vocalist, but I found most of her songs to be pretty similar lyrically, and not particularly well-crafted, and it got to the point where it drove me crazy and I couldn’t listen to it anymore.
I’ll have to get back to you on Bossanova though, it’s been a while since I’ve heard it.
JY - February 26, 2010
Rid of Me is probably her best
I’m kinda with you on PJ Harvey, she’s very hard to listen to for a long time, but Rid Of Me is a really good album, probably because she’s bitter and angry and I love that.
pdb - February 26, 2010
Bitter and angry, eh?
Sort of how Cat Power has been a bit less interesting now that she’s relatively stable?
I don’t know if that’s the best comparison, but everything I’ve heard since “You Are Free” has failed to make any kind of impression on me. Still can sing, no doubt, but it lacks the gazing into the abyss aspect that made “What Would the Community Think?” so haunting at times, or the focused melancholy of “Moon Pix”, and I miss that.
End tangent!
JY - February 26, 2010
I don't know that much about Cat Power to be honest
but I will say that PJ Harvey’s “happy” album (Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea) is pretty dull, except for the duet with Thom Yorke, which is pretty interesting. Especially since I’m not a big Radiohead fan.
pdb - February 26, 2010
That's the album of her's that I'm probably most familiar with.
I found that one to be especially tedious.
JY - February 26, 2010
Yeah, it's really not that great
I would say Rid Of Me is her best, and then To Bring You My Love (which features one of the creepiest songs that I have in my library), and the rest is really kinda not up to that level.
pdb - February 26, 2010
I like her on Mark Lanegan songs.
Hit the City
Come to Me (with 90 seconds of silence for some reason)
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
I only relistened
to Rid of Me after I discovered that Steve Albini produced it and a lot of other albums/groups that I like.
It’s great to listen to just because she sounds so unrestrictedly crazy. Songs like 50 foot queenie and Rub Til It Bleeds are just flat out disturbing, and I enjoy that in music.
abelard - February 26, 2010
Steve Albini is one of my favorite working producers
in no small part because he works on a “pay-as-you-can” scale; if you’re a big band like the Pixies or Nirvana or something he will gladly take the dump truck full of money you drive up to his back door, but if you’re an unsigned band looking to self-release or do a demo and he likes your music, he’ll do it practically for free.
Aaron Campeau - February 26, 2010
Yes, somewhat frequently.
I recently dug up Okkervil River’s “Down the River of Golden Dreams” (I’m sure this will be a surprise to all of you) after many years of owning it and not listening to it and thought “hey, this is all right!”
I’ve had similar experiences recently with Sonic Youth’s “Murray Street”, which I mostly used to listen to for “Disconnection Notice”, the first Stone Roses album over the summer (curiously, I had liked the second one better, though I find “Ten-Storey Love Song” to be agonizing), and a number of Tom Waits albums since getting into him a few years ago, and most recently it was discovering that I really liked “The Black Rider”, but refuse to listen to it any time other than in the fall, and that there were some rather brilliant songs on “Foreign Affairs”, like “Muriel” and “Burma Shave”.
JY - February 26, 2010
Hahaha
I do this with Daisies of the Galaxy by Eels. In the summer, I mean.
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
Oh god I love Murray Street
an amazing return to form for a band that I used to love and then got all wanky.
pdb - February 26, 2010
I used to
Really gloss over The Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food, preferring Fear of Music, 77, and Little Creatures. I heard one of the songs from the album on a podcast and thought it was a great Talking Heads song that I wasn’t familiar with.
Turns out it was on More Songs About Buildings and Food so I went and listened to the album in its entirety and now it’s my favorite Talking Heads album!
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
Theres a lot to like on Spike.
msb - February 27, 2010
Are there any LLers in to drum and bass?
I’m looking for new DnB.
Kirk - February 26, 2010 via mobile
I'm not into it myself
but a friend of mine is so I get the occasional track pop up on my facebook news feed.
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
So let's talk about creepy and disturbing songs
The PJ Harvey comment I made above made me think about all the disturbing songs I have in my library.
There’s the aforementioned Down By The Water
There’s The Boiler (the single is waaaaaaay more disturbing than this version, which is saying something)
There’s Where The Wild Roses Grow
There’s Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
I’m sure there’s a ton more but that’s all the depression I can handle right now. Whaddaya got?
pdb - February 26, 2010
First track that springs to mind is
Climbing up the Walls by Radiohead.
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
Creepy in a different way:
Army Ants
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
The army ants will leave nothing but your bones.
JY - February 26, 2010
Hmmmm...
This is mostly off the top of my head, but….
Cat Power – Nude as the News (with music video!, which is one of the reason why it makes it over other songs on the same album)
The National – Brainy (mostly for its lyrics)
Portishead – Seven Months (don’t fuck around with Beth Gibbons because she is scary)
JY - February 26, 2010
I'd say anything by Portishead is somewhat creepy but aesthetic.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
They're going with her strengths, I'd say.
“Dummy” has that subtext if you want to read into it, but it wasn’t until the s/t that she really started to run with it. And boy did she ever. When I first listened to “Third” I had to put it aside for a few months afterward because listening to it had the effect of making me paranoid and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. I later decided this was awesome, but the album isn’t strong enough as a unit to make me list it as a response to pdb’s earlier question.
JY - February 26, 2010
Here's another obvious one.
David Bowie – The Bewlay Brothers
Also known as Bowie’s effort to throw a bunch of clashing and vaguely disturbing images into a single song just to see what the stupid Yanks read into it.
JY - February 26, 2010
+/-
No One Sees You Like I Do
Eyebrows - February 26, 2010
Ah, this is in my wheelhouse
I’m not going to search things out on youtube, but scanning my iTunes library I come up with:
My Curse by the Afghan Whigs
Misery by Scrawl
Kerosene by Big Black
Damaged I by Black Flag
The Incest Trilogy (The Holiday Song, Nimrod’s Son, Broken Face) by The Pixies
Humor Me, Heart of Darkness, and 30 Seconds Over Tokyo by Pere Ubu (or anything else off their early albums, it’s all weird and disturbing)
She’s Like Heroin To Me by The Gun Club (or various songs off their last album)
Penetration by the Stooges, or Sixteen by Iggy Pop
Calculated and Terrorist by Heavens to Betsy
Diet Pill by L7
Venus in Furs and/or Heroin by The Velvet Underground
Champions of Nothing by Matthew Good
CCKMP by Steve Earle
Via Chicago and She’s A Jar by Wilco
Dead Men Don’t Rape and MIA by 7 Year Bitch
Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana
abelard - February 26, 2010
I'd think pretty much anything by Big Black would qualify
Aaron Campeau - February 26, 2010
Are you from Chicago or something?
johnbai - February 28, 2010
Oh man I wish
Aaron Campeau - February 28, 2010
Not really popular 'round these parts but:
The Rake’s Song by The Decemberists
(More popular and well known but still creepy) Polly by Nirvana
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
There is only one choice.
Flower by Liz Phair.
SethGrandpa - February 26, 2010
I always found that song much less creepy and much more overtly slutty
pdb - February 27, 2010
"Hot Dogs" by Hasil Adkins
Aaron Campeau - February 26, 2010
The video sure helps.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
What immediately pops into my head
Is The Decemberists – The Rake, I mean it’s all about killing your children because you want to go live the life of a bachelor again. Actually, a lot of their songs. I mean you think oh it’s a whimsical song about sailors and nautical adventures, but then it’s actually sad songs about sailors raping princesses or ladies of the evening.
Drive By Truckers – That Man I Shot, how a man deals with killing someone during war. It’s pretty haunting, and even more amazing and haunting live. I mean this verse right here kills me every time,
“That man I shot, I still can see him
When I should be sleeping, tossing and turning
He’s looking at me, eyes looking through me
Break out in cold sweats when I see him standing there”
I think Jumpers by Sleater-Kinney is pretty disturbing as well with some beautiful lyrics.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
One that immediately comes to mind for me
Ride The Wings Of Pestilence by From First To Last
Chorus:
“I’ll hide you in my walls
Your body will never be found
I’ll wear your skin as a suit
Pretend to be you
Your friends will like you more than they used to”
tootthekazoo - February 27, 2010
Am I the only LLer that listens to mainstream stuff like Breaking Benjamin/Three Days Grace?
Griffin Cooper - February 26, 2010
You'll get over it.
JY - February 26, 2010
I listen to plenty of mainstream stuff
I thought these threads were more about exposing some of the lesser-known stuff people listen to.
Eyeball Kid - February 26, 2010
Ah. Well that makes sense.
Griffin Cooper - February 26, 2010
I listen to mainstream stuff that was written way before my time.
BrianL - February 26, 2010
If it makes you feel any better, I've never heard of either of those bands.
Teej - February 26, 2010
I've never listened to either of them.
And were they not mentioned here, I would probably not remember that they exist.
JY - February 26, 2010
I've never heard of a single band in this thread
Griffin Cooper - February 26, 2010
Except Nirvana
Griffin Cooper - February 26, 2010
It's a learning opportunity!
pdb - February 26, 2010
I didn't know we were trying that hard?
It can’t hurt to know about these things though. As a community, we’re a pretty solid music resource and there’s usually at least one of us that can provide suggestions for a certain taste.
JY - February 26, 2010
I agree completely
This kind of thread just confirmed my suspicion that I don’t know jack shit about music in general.
Griffin Cooper - February 27, 2010
Me either. But that's not saying much.
royalcurve - February 28, 2010
I love BB's 2nd and 3rd albums.
Ann 3 Days Grace is fun but their lyrics aren’t exactly great. I do enjoy them though.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
WANA and Phobia are both awesome
I like Dear Agony better than either, though. And yeah, BB definitely does have better lyrics and depends less on catchy choruses.
Griffin Cooper - February 27, 2010
In the song "Diary of Jane" it sounds like the lead singer is saying "diarrhea Jane"
Phil Hatzenbuehler - February 27, 2010
I have more mainstream tastes than a lot here.
But I don’t really like either of those bands much anymore. They aren’t TERRIBLE but they are decidedly average.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
I've been listening to so much music lately.
But Temper Trap is a band I’ve recently gotten into and I think Drake is the best new rapper lately. But Hurt is my choice for best new badn of the last decade. Imagine Tool meets Live.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
Dammit.
*band.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
Sweet Disposition is good by Temper Trap.
And Drake seems less terrible than most mainstream rap.
Mariner John - February 26, 2010
I first heard him on that Best I Ever Had song.
Wasn’t sure what to think of him but his ep was completely different. Weird to think he was on DeGrassi.
And Sweet Disposition was the first song I heard by them when I watched (500) Days of Summer. Love the Regina Spektor and Wolfmother songs in that movie as well.
Hopefulmsfan - February 26, 2010
The line about the Andy Griffith theme song made me love him
Dewey N - February 27, 2010
The Temper Trap's album is pretty shitty, but wow that guy can sing.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - February 27, 2010
Anyone a fan of the Shout Out Louds?
They came out with an album in the last week and I’m hoping it’s as good as their first two albums.
Scrupio - February 26, 2010
I have Our Ill Wills and like it pretty well but don't have anything else
pdb - February 27, 2010
It's....different.
Not a lot of real singles, which isn’t necessarily bad, but not sure that its brand of ‘different’ is as good.
I thought ‘Our Ill Wills’ was really up and down, so who knows….
marc w - February 28, 2010
My buddy and I made breakup mixes for each other
As belated Valentines Day presents. On my mix was Japandroid’s song I Quit GIrls. I had never heard them before, but they’re fantastic! I’ve been listening to their album almost all week.
Ive also been listening to a lot of Miles Davis, specifically Bitches Brew.
I’ve also been going over The Replacements catalog because a friend said Tim is their best album, when it’s obviously Let It Be (this argument is just a bunch of hyperbole back and forth).
Lastly, I’ve been listening to Ryan Adam’s Love Is Hell, the albums I listen to would seem to suggest I’m hella depressed about girls. But, when that happens it’s The Modern Lovers all the time until I feel better.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
Choosing between Let It Be and Tim is like choosing between having a million dollars and having two million dollars
they’re both great choices.
pdb - February 27, 2010
I'll take the two.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
Right, this makes it seem that the decision is not in fact difficult, but is patently obvious.
LL needs to know: what album is self-evidently twice as good?
pbd? Need I remind you that you’re under oath?
marc w - February 28, 2010
Oh I agree
They’re both fantastic albums, and I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t listen to both albums. Let It Be just happens to be my preferred of the two. Largely for Sixteen Blue, Answering Machine, and Unsatisfied.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
Bitches Brew is excellent.
I need to revisit it soon.
JY - February 27, 2010
It's absolutely outsanding
Have you heard Sketches of Spain? I think it’s really underrated but he did a lot of great things with that album. I think he really captured the feel of Spanish music in, and while it lacks more of the free flowing improv of jazz, I think he created something really beautiful.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
No, I haven't.
But I remember being one of those weirdos who was more receptive to Bitches Brew than Kind of Blue. I’ll look into it, perhaps.
JY - February 27, 2010
You're not alone.
I like Kind of Blue, but I much prefer Bitches Brew.
BrianL - February 27, 2010
I really need to listen to that again as well.
One of my favorite jazz albums.
BrianL - February 27, 2010
I've never been a really big jazz fan, and I definitely know diddly about it.
That said, of the Miles Davis I’ve heard, I have always loved Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud.
royalcurve - February 28, 2010
I've been listening to a lot of country lately.
It occurred to me about a year ago that while everyone knows artists like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson, both musicians are really only known for a handful of songs each.
I picked up Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger & Shotgun Willie albums, as well as Cash albums from the ‘60s like Ride This Train and Blood Sweat and Tears. They were great & led me in the direction of Kris Kristeroffson, and from there the Highwaymen. I was surprised I had never heard of this band; it’s basically a country version of the Traveling Wilburys. Very good music.
From here I branched out into some of Elvis’s more country albums. I’ve never been an Elvis fan at all, but that said, his 1969 album From Elvis In Memphis is spectacular. It sounds nothing like the rubbish I knew him for.
Then I decided to give modern alt-country a try. The only artists of this genre I’ve really ever listened to have been Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams. I downloaded Phosphorescent’s recent album of Willie Nelson covers, and it was wonderful. I also finally got around to listening to Drive By Truckers, who I have mixed feelings on, but I suspect their music will grow on me.
katal - February 27, 2010
What Drive By Truckers album did you get?
I think their best work is Brighter Than Creations Dark, it’s insanely good. Give them time, it took me a little bit to really get into their stuff, but now they’re one of my favorites.
Other acts you might want to check out, Heartless Bastards and Neko Case.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
How I missed mentioning Neko Case, I have no idea. Love her.
I’ll check out Heartless Bastards. Thanks.
I listened to A Blessing and a Curse and Southern Rock Opera. I have a few other albums of theirs I have yet to get to, though. I’ll give BTCD a listen today.
katal - February 27, 2010
If you already love Neko
I think you’ll really enjoy Heartless Bastards, three piece country band with a breathy female lead singer. I actually like her singing better than Neko!
The Dirty South is another really good DBT album, I’m interested to hear what you think.
ungoreatstefan - February 27, 2010
Not sure I'd call Heartless Bastards 'alt country' - but they're pretty damn cool.
Blues /= country, but yeah, if you like a lot of that one thing, you might like a lot of the other.
marc w - February 28, 2010
I think
With each subsequent album they’ve gotten less blues-y and more country – but, we’re probably splitting unnecessary hairs. You’re definitely correct that you’ll probably like both genres.
ungoreatstefan - February 28, 2010
Hem
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
Son Volt
Richard Buckner
Old ’97s
Phil Hatzenbuehler - February 27, 2010
I never listened to anything beyond Trace by Son Volt
but every 3rd track on there is amazingly hummable.
johnbai - February 28, 2010
I also forgot to mention Townes van Zandt.
What a wonderful writer he was.
katal - February 27, 2010
The Pernice Brothers
released a double album under the name Scud Mountain Boys that is absolutely fucking beautiful. I guarantee that you’ll love it Katal.
johnbai - February 28, 2010
Here's a sample
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=524cGU-FSlc
johnbai - February 28, 2010
I really liked that.
Thank you. I just ordered Live A Little and Overcome by Happiness from the library. I’m looking forward to giving them a listen!
katal - February 28, 2010
YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES
royalcurve - February 28, 2010
When I was a freshman, Talib Kweli came to play a show at my school. He was opened for by RJD2. I thought RJD2 sucked.
Maybe I just didn’t have an appreciation for what he did or maybe it just isn’t meant to be done live, but I think the crowd was pretty close to booing RJD2. Fast forward several years and I discovered that I actually like his stuff, especially Loose Ends. Even if you aren’t into hip hop, there are some other artists on there and he does a brilliant job with it. Mos Def and Diverse, Cunninlynguists ft. Masta Ace (This track is amazing), Vast Aire , and if you are ok with the more aggressive Weathermen, have at that too. .
Anyway, has anyone else been first exposed to an artist live, disliked them strongly, and then later enjoyed them immensely?
abender20 - February 27, 2010
I forgot a good track off of that.
If you’ve heard The F Word, a Cannibal Ox song, RJD2 pairs it with much more appropriate production.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
I love RJD2, but he doesn't strike me as someone I'd have any interest in seeing live.
What does he do on stage? I’m assuming it’s not like a Girl Talk show with a bunch of underage girls rubbing him while he plays with his mp3 player.
RJD2 has always been chill-out/driving/cleaning the house music for me.
The Horror!
Teej - February 27, 2010
He stands there and mixes and whatnot with a screen behind him playing a weird montage of videos.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
Oh, and I discovered that he and Cool Calm Pete made something together.
Black Friday.
abender20 - February 27, 2010
For jazz fans
I recently bought a copy of Sachal Vasandani’s newest album We Move.
Probably one of the best jazz albums I’ve purchased in a few years. It’s small-ensemble vocal stuff with some gorgeous chord changes throughout. The title track alone is worth the purchase.
BrianL - February 27, 2010
Since there is a good appreciation for quality hip-hop here.
I’ll throw out the Crown City Rockers as an incredible act. Their album Earthtones is one of my favorites and I have yet to see a better live show. I don’t meet to many people who have heard of them.
ABQmsFan - February 27, 2010
Playing off of abender's idea from above
Anybody ever seen an artist live before having heard any of their recordings, but then found out later that the band just doesn’t work for you at all unless they are live?
Additionally, ever been to a show where the opening act was so great that you became a fan on the spot?
tootthekazoo - February 27, 2010
I caught Incubus as an opening act for the Deftones on their White Pony tour ('99, I think?)
Incubus was excellent as a live act, and although I was (and still am) very lukewarm on their recorded material I still have them in high regard as a live band, at least back then. Also at that show was Taproot. Had not ever heard of them before, and they rocked my socks off during that show and I became a pretty solid fan
Experienced Coheed and Cambria for the very first time as an opener for Thursday many years back, and they’ve become one of my most favorite groups as well
tootthekazoo - February 27, 2010
I have at least a few...
Only good live:
Alexisonfire – Great energy, the crowd was into every song even though they weren’t an opener. Never could stand their records.
Sims – Opened for POS, was excellent, recorded stuff is meh.
Instant fan:
Westbound Train – Impeccable live performance.
A little different, I saw the Aggrolites live, and then after that I could never listen to their recorded material again.
lailaihei - February 27, 2010
I saw My Morning Jacket open for Doves back in 2002.
Doves were good in their own right, but My Morning Jacket completely blew them out of the water. I became a fan on the spot. For a while, they were one of those “only good when they’re live” bands for me, but I’ve since learned to really enjoy their albums.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - February 27, 2010
Melt Banana, kind of.
I like their records okay, but seeing them live is one of the most mind-blowing experiences I’ve ever had.
Aaron Campeau - February 27, 2010
sweet
I love Melt Banana so good!
xxtinynickxx - February 27, 2010
Any number of anonymous punk bands
This happens a lot – I have a great time at a show, buy a cd, listen to it, then never play it again. I often wonder if it’s that the ‘band is awesome live’ or ‘I was inebriated when they played.’
marc w - February 28, 2010
King Khan and the Shrines last year at SXSW.
I saw them live twice last year and they put on an amazing show. I bought the album and it was pretty good, but whenever I listen to it it just makes me want to see them live because it’s so much better. They are playing at Neumos on April 13.
SFGraham - February 28, 2010
One of the crazies days ever in Seattle
During the day went to see Botch at the Velvet Elvis with Scathed opened up, Kid Dynamite was suppose to be there but they had some problems with their van. But Botch brought the house down so much fun. That night made our way to Wallingford to a little hole in the wall theater to see Hangfire Disaster and Teen Cthulu play, that was even crazier the place was packed wall to wall full of people. Left With Nothing I think was suppose to play but canceled cus the place was very hard to find. That whole day was insanity of Music, Buses and record stores. Such a good day……the late 90’s were fun for music.
xxtinynickxx - February 27, 2010
Well this piece just relaxes me everytime I hear it and I've been trying to learn it on the piano.
Clair de Lune – Claude Debussey
Clair De Lune means moonlight in French so that probably saves you a trip to google translate. It’s one of the more well known “classical” music pieces (I actually think it’s from the Romantic period but the average person doesn’t know the difference any way.) It’s easily recognized but the thing that bugs me is whenever I try to practice it, somebody says “ohhh that was from Twilight!”
Slurvey - February 27, 2010
I don't have much classical music on my MP3 player
but Debussy’s Nocturnes are there.
Eyeball Kid - February 27, 2010
It is indeed a fantastic piano piece.
I wrote about it as part of a paper for a music class once. Good times.
JY - February 27, 2010
...about its role in the Twilight world, I hope.
marc w - February 28, 2010
Nah, I had tens of classmates whom I could expect to do that for me.
JY - February 28, 2010
I've never really listened to Neko Case, but I've seen her mentioned here a few times so I decided to see what the fuss is about.
And, I really like what I’m hearing. Can anyone offer me album recommendations to start out with?
Torrid - February 28, 2010
Really, you can't go wrong with any of them.
Though if I were to recommend a starting place, it’d be "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood’, and that just barely beats out “Blacklisted”. I think “Blacklisted” is the better album, but “Fox Confessor…” is a little easier to get into.
Regardless, you should listen to “Deep Red Bells”, which is track 2 on “Blacklisted”. It’s pretty much the ultimate Neko song: incredible song writing, amazing vocals, and a fantastic outro.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - February 28, 2010
Furnace Room Lullaby
Deep Red Bells is close to the ultimate Neko song, but I might go for “Furnace Room Lullaby”
marc w - March 1, 2010
So anyone here listen to metal?
And if not, why don’t you?
lailaihei - March 1, 2010
For the same reason I don't like amphetamines.
johnbai - March 1, 2010
Depends on the metal.
I love stuff like Agalloch, but can’t stand stuff like Lamb of God.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - March 1, 2010
Metal is an incredibly diverse genre, which is why I think many music fans that don't give it a chance can enjoy it.
Agalloch is much different from Týr who sounds nothing like ChthoniC.
lailaihei - March 1, 2010
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