Lifehouse's "Broken", "Storm" and "Everything" - can't get enough of listening to those songs over and over again
Nickelback's "Gotta Be Somebody" is my current "can't get that outta my head" song
Posted by cleome on :
Barbara Lynn's versions of "Misty Blue" and "What'd I Say ?" (Yay, youtube !)
The only thing better than fabulous R&B is fabulous R&B played by lefty guitarists.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Okay, to our music experts...
I have just watched EDtv for the umpteenth time and the scene where he and the english chick are on the table about to have sex...there is a score of two songs there. I have finally found the first one, Dirty Water, but not by the artist that did it for the movie. I am looking for the second portion. It sounds like it is done by someone with a foreign accent or it actually is foreign language.
I cannot find it and i have looked for it for years. IF anyone knows, please drop me a line and tell me. Thanks, Rick.
By the way, right now i am listening to cobrastrike by the Teddybears. Heard it on the benchwarmers and looked it up. For some reason, i dig it.
Posted by Pov on :
Ozzy Osbourne, Let It Die. Great first track on his new album, Scream. Probably his best album since No Rest/No More Tears. The band line-up's all new to me, but Ozzy seems to attract stellar musicians. Other standout tracks are the first single, Let Me Hear You Scream and Time Won't Wait but I'm digging the whole album. Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
"Wake Up Everybody" by John Legend is a phenominal song I've quickly grown to love. I don't know who the female is dueting with him but she's terrific too. The Roots back him and Common, who has basically emerged as my favorite rapper, adds in a solid verse.
Posted by profh0011 on :
The Monkees -- CHANGES (1970)
"Oh My My" is STILL one of my favorite songs of all time!
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
Grizzly Bear's _Veckatimest_ CD seems to keep finding its way back into my player. Man, this is a beautiful record.
Posted by profh0011 on :
KPM 1014: ALL THAT JAZZ -- David Lee (1967)
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: "Wake Up Everybody" by John Legend is a phenominal song I've quickly grown to love. I don't know who the female is dueting with him but she's terrific too. The Roots back him and Common, who has basically emerged as my favorite rapper, adds in a solid verse.
Wake Up Everybody was originally written and recorded in the 70s, in my home town of Philadelphia, by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. The Legend/Roots version is part of an all-covers album.
Posted by profh0011 on :
The big deal at the Spidey-Jazz Yahoo Group over the last 2 days was that a particularly MOST-SOUGHT track used in the cartoons was FINALLY identified! It's the loud, blaring piece heard when Spidey is "Swinging To the Zoo" in the 2nd season episode DIAMOND DUST. As it turns out, it's called "POWER DRIVE" by Johnny Pearson, and was used as the theme song of the Australian cop show, DIVISION 4.
Trying to find this one track has been driving members of the group crazy for the last several years...
Posted by cleome on :
An old Gil Evans recording, There Comes A Time. I'm actually a huge Evans fan, but I don't think it's one of his better works overall. As the cliche' goes, there are some sparks of brilliance, but it's generally a mish-mash.
I have unholy amounts of love for Into The Hot, though. One of the first jazz LPs I ever bought. Really should get the stereo fixed one of these days. Not being able to hear my vinyl the right way kinda' bites. Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by Ramble Damsel:
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: "Wake Up Everybody" by John Legend is a phenominal song I've quickly grown to love. I don't know who the female is dueting with him but she's terrific too. The Roots back him and Common, who has basically emerged as my favorite rapper, adds in a solid verse.
Wake Up Everybody was originally written and recorded in the 70s, in my home town of Philadelphia, by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. The Legend/Roots version is part of an all-covers album.
I had no idea it was a cover! I'm really loving their version of it! I'll def have to check out the original now.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Hope you enjoy it; Blue Notes' lead singer Teddy Pendergrass had some powerful pipes.
And I should make an addendum -- I think my previous post made it sound like the Blue Notes authored the song. They didn't -- it was written by John Whitehead, Gene McPhadden, and Victor Carstarphen, and produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff.
Posted by profh0011 on :
Jethro Tull -- LIVE BURSTING OUT (1978)
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
Funny that - I just finished listening to Tull's _STAND UP_ from 1969.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Speaking of Tull, I'm kind of digging The Fancy Toys, featuring Ian Anderson's son, James Duncan.
Posted by cleome on :
Red Heaven, the 1992 Throwing Muses masterpiece. Everything about it is perfect, so far as I'm concerned.
(And let the record state: TM was never "grunge" or "alternative." They've always done their own damn thing, though they flirted with the stereotypical "college sound" on 1989's hunkpapa. Which wasn't bad, but kind of diluted what I think of as their distinctive sound.)
[ September 05, 2010, 02:24 PM: Message edited by: cleome ]
Posted by Power Boy on :
band of horses
they're kinda 80s power ballad/90s depressing.
Posted by lychanthrope on :
David Garrett - Rock Symphonies
Posted by profh0011 on :
Stalk-Forest Group -- ST. CECILIA
Posted by cleome on :
Today it's Peter Case's second solo album: The Man With The Blue Postmodern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar (1989).
Most reviewers just called it Blue Guitar.
Case was taking a break from the rawer, "power-pop" sounds of his work with The Plimsouls and going more into folk-rock mode, as with his previous solo record.
I guess to a lot of people, the arrangements are dated, but to me it holds up beautifully. I also remember people made fun of him for supposedly ripping off Springsteen, which just made me roll my eyes. I've always found Springsteen to be overrated, and the idea that nobody had the right to sing about the down-and-out without getting Bruce's permission first was pretty damn stupid.
Posted by Chief Taylor on :
Anyone who really knows me knows what a huge fan of System of a Down I am. Well, they've been on "hiatus" since 2005, but I've loyally supported the interim projects of its lead singer Serj Tankian as a solo artist and its guitarist & drummer performing as Scars on Broadway. Both first albums were very good and helped fill the void SOAD has left pretty admirably.
Serj released his second solo album Imperfect Harmonies last month, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit despite (or perhaps because?) it's quite a departure from his solo debut and especially from anything SOAD ever did.
Serj has a really unusual voice to say the least. It's very rangy and he frequently explores his range with some pretty dissonant and unpredictable notes. I don't think his is a voice that everyone would automatically enjoy. It's kind of nasal at times, and he enjoys using it in unconventional manners. But to me it's haunting at times, often beautiful and just unique and exciting.
In Imperfect Harmonies, he moves pretty much completely away from electric guitar and instead heavily favors orchestration as his primary music. There's not a single one of its eleven tracks that doesn't feature a good deal of orchestral backup. Yet he uses it in such a way that it still feels like a rock album and most of the tracks are fairly up-tempo, so it's not a snoozefest full of sappy love songs. In fact maybe one or two of the tracks can be possibly classified as such.
If there's a downside to Serj's lyrics, it's that there's a tendency to at times to be overly verbose. Witness a sample of his lyrics to "Borders Are":
fear is the cause of separation backed with illicit conversations procured by constant condemnations national blood-painted persuasions
here's my song for the free no it's not about praise and publicity corporatocracy what a hypocrisy aristocracy versus democracy
fear is the cause of separation backed with illicit conversations procured by constant condemnations national blood-painted persuasions
If those read kinda verbose, you can see that the lyrics sound awkward and crowded at times. Also obvious, like with System, Serj tends to have a heapin' helping of politically-skewed songs which can turn some off. There's also a good share of relationship and otherwise non-political songs as well.
The more I listen to this album, the more and more I'm enjoying it. I was skeptical about buying it as the pub made it clear this was orchestra-heavy. Normally, I don't go for that sort of thing in large doses; I'm definitely a lover of the electric guitar. But if the execution can be this entertaining and multi-dimensional, then I'd definitely be game for more of the same. A solid effort through and through.
If you're curious at all, here's a link to two videos from the album:
If you decide to check them out or have already listened to the album yourself, please post some comments.
[ October 07, 2010, 07:10 PM: Message edited by: Chief Taylor ]
Posted by cleome on :
Today it's Marilyn Mazur's Future Song, from 1992. (Recorded in 1990.)
Mostly instrumental jazz-rock. Aina Kemanis provides some vocals, but they're usually abstract and meant to blend in with percussionist Mazur's soundscapes, rather than to draw attention to themselves.
It's a big sound for a small group (Most tracks are just Mazur and another drummer/percussionist, Kemanis' vocals, and alternating electric/acoustic bass and guitar. Occasionally there's a horn or two added.) I'm always freshly surprised to be reminded that the ensemble is so small.
The tone veers violently between sunny and stormy. So to me it's very Autumnal and appropriate to where I live. The first track in particular ("First Dream") has some nightmarish passages that seem right for the day, as well. A lot of Mazur's work veers more into New Agey or minimalist territory, but I find this side of her much more satisfying to listen to.
You can find her on youtube, if you feel so inclined.
Posted by Chief Taylor on :
^I'll listen to yours if ya listen ta mine, clee! Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
A compilation of bands labeled "Dream Pop". Sigur Ros, Cocteau Twins, Beach House, and others. Some of these seem to be to in thrall to their effects pedals, but there's some nice stuff here.
Posted by Exnihil on :
Just got back from spending Halloween weekend down in Asheville, North Carolina for Moogfest 2010. Ostensibly a celebration of Robert Moog and his famed synthesizer, I only actually saw one band using one. That being said... awesome time!
It was really more my wife's genre of music than my own, but I still had a blast. We saw Mountain Man (sort of an acapella old-timey folk group), School of Seven Bells (fantastic guitar), my wife's favorite singer, Jonsi (the lead from Sigur Ros - billed solo, but backed up by the rest of Sigur Ros anyway ), Massive Attack, and my absolute favorite show of the weekend, Thievery Corporation.
Thievery Corporation was just sooooo good! I can't pin them down to a specific genre if you're not familiar with them, but it's sort of world beat meets trance. The energy at their show was just so positive, I'm an immediate convert.
The fact that almost everyone at the show was in costume made for a surreal experience... especially when, after having seen about my 20th girl dressed as Ramona Flowers, I did a double take when I saw a guy in the same costume in the men's room!
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Recently, songs from Gliss, Phantogram, The Twang, Micachu & The Shapes are getting a lot of play.
Posted by cleome on :
quote:Originally posted by Chief Taylor: ^I'll listen to yours if ya listen ta mine, clee!
Dude, that's actually a good review. I may take you up on it if I can just focus a little.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
I almost posted this in my Fantabulous World of Eighties Enchantment thread in MMB, but I've started feeling a little funny about posting about music on MMB when all the musical action is going on in The Anywhere Machine.
Anyhow, lately Side Two of my old Go-Gos Greatest cassette -- originally released two decades ago;how time flies! -- has been getting played and re-played. Much as I love the pop hits on Side One, it's the more obscure songs on Side Two that I keep coming back to recently. They're darker, spunkier, harder, and punkier than people might expect if they only know the hits.
Long as I'm posting about it, I might as well run down the tracklist of Side Two and hopefully inspire some people to either fulfill their curiousity or have a nice trip down memory lane:
"You Thought"
"I'm the Only One"
"This Town"
"Lust to Love"
"Mercenary"
"How Much More"
"Turn to You"
...and just for good measure, Side One's "Get Up and Go" kicks up some dust as well, using the reliable old Bo Diddley beat.
Posted by ActorLad on :
Mark Salling's (Puck from Glee) new album "Pipe Dreams", it's really well-done!
Posted by IMALASHFAN2 on :
Totally fawning over Finn Andrews of The Veils right now and a video I'd missed of "Calliope" Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
I'm revisiting Low's The Great Destroyer disc now that Robert Plant's been covering songs from it.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
For Christmas my wife got me the huge Beatles package that has every single Beatles album & single. I've listened to the Beatles all my life but most of those CD's were actually my parents, so now I have my own.
First up, the album I now consider to be my absolute favorite by them: Help!.
When I tell you I love this album, I can't overstate it. I'm listening to it like a pre-teen who just discovered music for the first time.
Man, what a solid album. I love, love, love the Beatles 'middle era' of their career (my parents favorite period of their music).
Just about every song on the album is an absolute classic. "Help!", the title song (and opener) is one of their best, catchiest tunes ever. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" has long been one of my favorite songs ever (and if I could play guitar the one I would learn immediately), "You're Going to Lose That Girl" and "It's Only Love" are quintessential Beatles classics.
But my favorite right now (and it wasn't always) is "I've Just Seen a Face". What an incredible song! After all these years, it still feels so fresh and new to me. It's quick tempo and the breezy way Paul sings it make me remember the first time I realized I really had serious feelings for a girl and how happy that made me feel. It totally captures that feeling.
Great album--one of the best ever.
Posted by Chief Lardy on :
"Help!" itself is one of the greatest Beatles songs ever! As much as I love the chorus, the verses are just special with how the lead and background vocals interact. LOVE that song!
Personally, I'm more a fan of the Sgt. Pepper/White Album/Abbey Road era, but I admit that I haven't focused as much on the albums pre-Sgt. Peppers. Only a couple of years ago did I purchase Revolver and Rubber Soul and experienced them as their own things. I enjoyed both a lot and pledged to get all of their albums at some point, but I still haven't done so as yet. Maybe soon.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Rubber Soul is my favorite Beatles album.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Rubber Soul is my favorite Beatles album.
Traditionally, Rubber Soul has always been my favorite, but just now (within the last 48 hours) I think I'm ready to proclaim Help! as my all-time favorite. Of course, that's a tongue in check comparison because they are both utterly fantastic.
One album I've never given a chance before but I'm also listening to (rotating with Help) is Magical Mystery Tour. Mainly, the end sequence in Across the Universe with "All You Need is Love" was so damn AMAZING that I've just been obssessed by the song (see: thread I started several months ago where FL harmonized for me ).
I plan to give each album a solid listen to over the next few months, as well as all the singles. I'll be doing it all out of order though to keep things as fresh as possible.
Posted by Pov on :
Been listening to My Chem's DANGERDAYS: the true lives of the Fabulous Killjoys pretty much nonstop since I got it for X-Mas. I love how it's so different from Black Parade yet still so good. I could see LASH clubbing to Planetary (GO), and the first two singles, Na Na Na and Sing are great songs-- love the videos, especially in that they're opposites, with the upbeat feel of NNN and the downbeat vibe to Sing. My current fave is the final track Vampire Money, a punked-out old-school rocker taking a jab at the current Twilight ( ) craze-- "Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun" is a direct jab at Pattinson's twinkletoes Lestat wannabe. Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid:
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Rubber Soul is my favorite Beatles album.
Traditionally, Rubber Soul has always been my favorite, but just now (within the last 48 hours) I think I'm ready to proclaim Help! as my all-time favorite. Of course, that's a tongue in check comparison because they are both utterly fantastic.
One album I've never given a chance before but I'm also listening to (rotating with Help) is Magical Mystery Tour. Mainly, the end sequence in Across the Universe with "All You Need is Love" was so damn AMAZING that I've just been obssessed by the song (see: thread I started several months ago where FL harmonized for me ).
I plan to give each album a solid listen to over the next few months, as well as all the singles. I'll be doing it all out of order though to keep things as fresh as possible.
Interesting. I haven't listened to the pre-Rubber Soul albums in years, as I'd rather snobbishly dismissed them as a bit lightweight. You've inspired me to go back for another listen.
ATM, though, I'm listening to XTC's "Skylarking", the band at its most Beatles-esque thanks to Todd Rundgren's amazing production. (I think if John had still been alive in 1986, he'd probably have loved "Dear God.")
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Mitzi Dodge, Betsy Todd & Palmyra Delran!
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
So I listened to two of the Singles compilations over the weekend, which was cool, but now I want to move onto a new Beatles album. Since I'm purposely not doing in any sort of order, I went next to SGT Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said--and I've always enjoyed the album--but I plan to at least try to give it a fresh listen this week.
One thing I've noticed is I'm actually enjoying the Beatles "With a Little Help from my Friends", where I usually skipped over it since Joe Cocker has the definitive, awesome version of that song.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Nothing lately. Life's been crazy.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Trawling through YouTube, I recently came across a few songs from the early 70's by a singer named Emily Bindiger. It was sort of a psychedelic-folky sound (sort of early Grace Slick crossed with Natalie Merchant). Here's a few samples:
I tracked down the rest of the album, just called "Emily" and the whole thing was just phenomenal. It seems it was her only solo album, recorded when she was just 16, backed by the French psych band Dynastie Crisis. It was so good, though, I wondered how why I had never heard her before.
Well, a bit of googling later and it turns out that I have heard her... obscurely... in every decade of my life. It seems that after this album, she toured with Leonard Cohen, and later recorded with him, being the female half of the duet on "Who by Fire," which was one of my favorite songs as a teen. A few years later, she was cast in the children's program, "The Great Space Coaster," which I watched every morning before school as a little kid. She later got into voicing TV jingles, being the voice behind, "Wait'll we get our Hanes on you..." and "Trust Sleepy's... for the rest of your life." More recently, she's been performing with an a capella group who, somewhat notably, sang the "Spider Pig" song from the Simpsons Movie.
What an absolutely bizarre career!
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
Do you think she may be stalking you, Exnihil?
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
I've been listening to the Oxford American's latest Southern Music CD. Alabama (the state, not the band) is the focus this year. Some great stuff you've probably never heard before.
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
Amos Lee, my new favorite. Started with his newest, Mission Bell, and also his self-titled album.
Posted by profh0011 on :
Rick Wakeman: THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE NO EARTHLY CONNECTION WHITE ROCK CRIMINAL RECORD RHAPSODIES ROCK N ROLL PROPHET 1984 G'OLE COST OF LIVING CRIMES OF PASSION SILENT NIGHTS
(The early-80's albums tend to be a low point, sadly... but he got much better again in the mid-late 80's... at least for awhile.)
Posted by profh0011 on :
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: since Joe Cocker has the definitive, awesome version of that song.
BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!
Posted by Dev Em on :
^I'm with Prof on this one Cobie.
Posted by profh0011 on :
On the other hand, I dig BIG DADDY'S album "SGT. PEPPER'S". They redid the entire album in the style of various 50's rock & roll artists.
"With A Little Help..." in the style of Johnny Mathis' "It's Not For me To Say"
"Lucy In The Sky..." in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
"Within You Without You" done as a spoken-word poem recited by a Greenwich Village coffee house beatnik
...and the kicker...
"A Day In The Life" as a Buddy Holly tribute. The "John" section in the style of "Peggy Sue", the "Paul" section in the style of the flip side, "Everyday", the finale as a tribute to "Heartbeat", and the END, as the sound of a plane crash followed by the news report of Buddy Holly's death.
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
quote:Originally posted by profh0011: [QB]Rick Wakeman:
/QB]
He hasn;t crossed my mind in years. What a jolt!
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Wakeman went thru what I'd consider a rough period in the early 80's. Then from about 1986-93, he seemed to get more inspired than ever. Not only was he doing some of his best albums ever, but he was also knocking about about 4 albums PER YEAR.
But about 1994 the inspiration seemed to fade... and sadly, the number of albums didn't. So he was continuing to knock out dozens of albums which just weren't grabbing me, and a lot of these were hard to track down or expensive, or both.
then I read how due to mind-numbingly bad business management, he was somehow-- incredibly-- NOT getting any royalties at all for ANYTHING he wrote before 1996... (It's no wonder he kept knocking out so much new stuff.)
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
Dave Matthews' 2010 concert in Atlanta...right now.
Posted by Ram Boy on :
"Electro-cute" by Babamars.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Rev Theory:
Hell Yeah and Light it up.
Hey, sometimes this old dude likes to listen to the hard stuff, lol.
Posted by DrakeB3004 on :
Uhh, *cough* "Firework" by Katy Perry *cough* ...
But then I rock out super-hard with slipknot right after!
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
The Down 'n Outz, "My Regeneration."
This is a side project of Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliot, a highly knowledgable fan of the obscure (to Americans) British rock of his 70s adolescence. Here he sings on a collection of covers of the various offshoots of his all-time favorite band, Mott the Hoople. Kudos to Elliot, especially for unearthing the title track of Ian Hunter's "Overnight Angels." That album was considered a disaster at the time, and even most Hunter fans (as well as Hunter himself) haven't a kind word to say about it; I've never heard the album (it was never officially released in the States), but this song, at least as interpreted by Elliot & company, is awesome.
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
Have to admit it, Glee. Every song they've done on the show is on rotation on my iPhone's iPod.
Posted by profh0011 on :
My entire BILLY PRESTON collection. A lot of what I have is out-of-print or very expensive, and I transferred everything I had to CDs last year.
PRESSIN' ON (1982) has the distinction of being my favorite disco album!
Posted by SharkLad on :
Some old religious stuff of Amy Grant's... seeing her in concert tonight in NYC...
Posted by profh0011 on :
Hey, my overpriced CD from Italy arrived today. In perfect shape-- a miracle, the guy wrapped it in a thin plastic store bag with some tape, and only put some bubble-wrap on one side. Amazing the jewel case wasn't cracked. Cheapest mail-order packaging I've ever seen anybody do.
The Brotherhood Of Man was a "studio group" put together by a producer, and presumably its members were all unknown and anonymous to the public back in 1969-71 when this stuff was done. Someone online made the sarcastic (and somewhat funny) comment that "Nobody between the ages of 12 and 30 would be taken in by this". At the time, I was 13, my Dad was 53. HE bought the 45, not me!
I'm guessing at one of his weekend playing jobs, someone asked him about the song, "California Sunday Morning", the next day he went out and bought the record, played it, learned it, and the next weekend, was able to play it on the job. He did that sometimes! It's just funny, considering he was so "out of it" when it came to "popular" music, and as it turns out, this song was never on an album, and the single NEVER charted in any country! Wow. Great song, though. You'd never know it was by a group from England.
Posted by cleome on :
(Just a little shout-out to all those fans of a certian comic strip. Also, eff the haters on YouTube's comments. It's a splendid cover version. Somebody save me from old fogies, especially the ones half my freakin' age.)
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
quote:Originally posted by DrakeB3004: Uhh, *cough* "Firework" by Katy Perry *cough* ...
But then I rock out super-hard with slipknot right after!
It's okay, Drake. I think they make a patch for that.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
When I feel melancholy, nothing soothes me like the Latin ballads of my childhood.
Tempted, saw a link here on legionworld somewhere and now its stuck in my head.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Gnarles Barkley
'sall good.
Posted by Set on :
Apocalyptica is my flavor du jour.
I Don't Care is awesome. End of Me, S.O.S. and I'm Not Jesus are also cool.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Lately, Elvis Crespo. My best friend from college was half-Ecuadorian and I used to listen to Elvis Crespo a lot then; lately just been feeling it.
Also, the T-Pain / Pitbull song. I know in my heart its not good...but I can't help but jam to it in my car.
Posted by Exo-Lardy on :
Master of Puppets by Metallica for about a week. On to Ride the Lightning!
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
At the moment...Prince's "Valentina."
"Hey, Valentina, tell your mama she should give me a call."
Uh huh.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
So as I mentioned a few months ago, I’ve been cycling through several Beatles albums while also taking breaks in between to listen to other things. As I mentioned, I listened to my two favorites albums, Rubber Soul and Help for quite awhile, and hear are some random thoughts on others. Of course, take any comments within the context of me being a huge Beatles fan, which is something I inherited from my parents.
I listened to Revolver for several weeks, and its an album I still like. I don’t like as much as the previous two albums, though it’s still a good listen. I’ve found over the years that “Eleanor Rigby” has just been too over-exposed for me on the radio and television shows and such that I end up skipping it more than listening to it. Being a big George fan, I like this two songs on the album “Love You To” and “I Want to Tell You”, but I know this is George just starting to show his stuff, and his best is still to come.
I jumped ahead then to Magical Mystery Tour, since I didn’t want to do them in order. Traditionally this album would get a pass from me in my listening for really no reason, so I really wanted to give it a listen. You know what? It’s quickly become one of my favorites. I have the release with all of the B-sides as well (I know its an EP based on the tv film, etc.). When listening to it like that, with the first 6 EP songs followed by the B-sides, it really kicks into high gear around the sixth song, “I am the Walrus”. I used to pass that song off as a bit of nonsense but it really grew on me in the “Across the Universe” film as done by Bono with the visual background to the scene. “Hello Goodbye” is next and that remains a powerhouse pop-song that is yet another example of why Paul is such a dynamic musical force. “Strawberry Fields are Forever” is another favorite which I interrupt as a Viet Nam song (caring little if that was the original intent). One song I still don’t love is “Penny Lane” for whatever reason, feeling its too poppy without the punch I like. Yet, I love, love, love “All You Need is Love” at the end, which I always have.
I then jumped back to SGT Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band, and my thoughts verge on the blasphemous. You know, its really not one of my favorites. I like it, don’t get me wrong, and don’t dislike it, but I kind of feel it’s a bit ‘meh’. It does contain one of absolute favorite songs, and a contender for favorite Beatle’s song, “A Day in the Life”, which I can listen to literally 20 times in a row and not get sick of (and talk about a song just holding up over time). But the rest of the album is a lot of ‘take it or leave it’ for me. I like “Lucy” and as I mentioned sometime earlier in the thread I enjoyed the Beatles version of “A Little Help from my Friends” more now than I used to (but still disagree with Prof and Dev, believing Joe Cocker still dominates that song as the quintessential performer of it). When I was younger, I feel like it I liked it a lot more than I do now.
Being surprised at this turn of tastes, I then jumped ahead to Abbey Road, which I believe is the last real recorded album chronologically, as the Let it Be album was recorded before Abbey but released after. And I’ve been listening to it for basically an entire month at this point. Because what really surprised me is just how damn much I LOVE THIS ALBUM. I always liked it but never really dove into it before as I did with some others. Its good enough to deserve bullet points:
- the album starts with a juggernaut of a song, “Come Together”. It’s perhaps the greatest Beatles song for working out, driving, getting into a gang fight, etc. You can just feel the edge to it in every chord.
- As I said, I’m a fan of George so his two best songs “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun” are songs I absolutely love. George was my Mom’s favorite Beatle. To me, “Something” is one of the greatest love songs ever. Frank Sinatra does a magnificent version which I’ve always loved but George has the quintessential version. Like Frank says, it’s the greatest love song in the latter half of the 21st century. It is just so full of emotion and yet so unique.
- “Oh Darling!” is another favorite. It’s got that gritty sound they had at the end of their career and just so musically appealing in the background with the guitar. I’ve been singing it on and off for a month now, annoying my wife to no end. I listen to this song almost every day.
- “I want You (She’s so heavy)” is another song that is just a freaking monster. I really like it now after seeing it done so well in “Across the Universe”, where I can really dig the ominous portion of the song when it switches back and forth. Its really just a fantastic song that is two really good songs combined into one.
- And then at the end, the final series of songs just runs together so well it feels like its one long, groovy song to just take in all at once. From “Mean Mr. Mustard” to “Carry that Weight” I can almost get lost in the music, making me wish I was laying in the grass high on all kinds of drugs. “She Came Through the Bathroom Window” is in the middle there and it’s a great, great song.
I think Abbey Road has emerged as my other new favorite along with Help! Magical Mystery Tour (whatever you want to call it, album or whatever) is up there too, maybe not quite at Rubber Soul’s level but close.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
^ The first time I ever heard Abbey Road, I was blown away by "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"! It's such a peppy song with such a dark theme, that I couldn't help but love it!
And that last run of songs bleeding into each other is quite a fun ride! And don't overlook "Because", Des! Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I shall listen to it on the ride home to give it my full attention! Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Listened to it more carefully.
It's a great song, perhaps too easily skipped by me still reeling from the power of "I Want You (She's so Heavy)" and then relaxed by "Here Comes the Sun".
I do appreciate it's brevity like the last half of the album. (Maybe I should think of it as the first part of the album?)
Anyway, that's a good amount of over-analysis. Posted by Dev Em on :
Been listening to Queens greatest hits. Since I have a vehicle with a CD player at the moment.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
Been listening to Metallica's Re-Load as I've recently been filling out my collection of their CD's. This one isn't really bad at all, though it lacks as many memorable songs as their best albums. It's definitely better than Load.
And "The Unforgiven II" is just a freaking TERRIFIC song! Would it be heresy to suggest it may be better than the original "Unforgiven" song it's a sequel to?
Posted by Dev Em on :
Now I have to listen to that...
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Yes.
Re-Load isn't bad at all, and IMO neither is Load, which has several great songs (like "Ronnie").
When Load and Re-Load came out I was totally the teenage fan who was devastated at the time. Metallica was my FAVORITE band in my youth. I eventually came to really dig Load a lot, though prob have never given Re-Load the same attention.
Posted by Dev Em on :
I love Metallica pre black album, and mostly like them since.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I always keep at least one album in my car. 'Puppets' is my favorite but all of the first 5 are great.
Right now it's Kill 'Em All, their most under-rated album. It's still killer.
Explaining a little more about my teenage / pre-teen obsessive tastes, my favorite bands were the four slash metal bands (though more Metallica & Megadeth than Slayer and Anthrax), Pantera (first four albums) and Iron Maiden, which came slightly later (mid-teens). From age 12-17, they rules my CD player.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
Confession time: I didn't ever give Metallica a listen until the release of the Black Album. I was in college and only started getting into metal during the latter half of my four years there. Guns n' Roses was my "doorway" into metal mania. My friends got into GnR and the Black Album, and gradually so did I. From there, I started getting into Van Halen and a number of other metal standards.
Sonce my friends weren't into exploring earlier Metallica stuff, neither was I. I bought "...And Justice for All", but frankly it didn't please my ears the way the Black Album did. It's not hard to see why because the Black Album was their most commercial release to date. So it was a "gateway" album to get people to try metal, but the previous albums might not automatically thrill people who liked the Black Album...especially "Justice" which is their most 'Death Metal'-esque contribution, IMO.
When "Load" came out, it was a big disappointment for me because of it's fairly big departure in style from the Black Album. So I kinda checked out from Metallica fandom for a long time.
In the age of music downloads, I started to reconnect with them, discovering the awesomeness of their catalogue in the process. "Death Magnetic" also helped. I bought it and found it to be a pretty strong release overall that was a fairly successful effort to recapture the sound and feeling of some of there earlier albums.
Eventually, that lead to me making an effort to physically get all of their CD's, so I could play them in my car (during my long ride to work) and listen to all of them in their entirety without cherry-picking songs from downloads.
I'm glad I did! To me downloading songs can never compare to owning and playing an album. Metallica's albums are great listens front-to-back and deserve to be experienced as such. I now have CDs pf all except "St. Anger" (which I'm tempted to skip based on mostly poor reviews). I'll be giving "Load" its first re-listen since I first bought it after I give "Re-Load" a couple more.
"Master of Puppets" and "Ride the Lightning" are definitely the best! I waver between both as to which is my favorite. "Kill 'em All" is raw but definitely rocks really hard. "...And Justice for All" probably has Lars' most technical, pervasive and powerful drumming of all their albums.
Honestly, the Black Album suffers a bit over time by comparison. It feels like their most commercial work. The songs on it tend to get boring after a while, which is not true of their other albums. "Unforgiven" and "Wherever I May Roam" particularly just seem overblown and repetitive.
What's great, though, is seeing my kids get into them! They're loving "One", "Sanitarium", "Master of Puppets", "Ride the Lightning", "Seek and Destroy" and lots of others. I'm raising Metallica fans!!!! Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I love that. I shall do the same!
Youre totally right about downloading losing a big part of the listening experience through the cherry picking of songs rather than listening to full albums. Definitely for a band like Metallica! That's also why I asked for the Beatles box set of CDs for Christmas.
'Ride' is my second favorite and my brothers favorite.
Totally agree on Death Magnetic, which was a huge surprise! IIRC, you're the one who told me to finally check it out.
I'd say pass St. Anger. I have it as a completist but after the initial listen when I bought it, I've never re-listened. Its their weakest effort by far.
Also, you're right on the Black Album. It's still a great, great album but it's a little too commercial when compared tithe first four. It's the less popular songs that I've come to love the most: "Of Wolf and Man", "My Friend of Misery", "Dont Tread on Me" and "The God that Failed". All of these songs are awesome live.
I own a ton of bootleg live CDs which are even better than the studio recordings. I used to collect them when I was a teenager.
You know, in the reverse way of you, I became interested in GnR through Metallica. I'd originally passed them over prob b/c they were too popular, but eventually got into them after listening to a bootleg copy of their concert with Metallica in 1992 in New Haven.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
I've always LOVED "Don't Tread on Me"! A lot of people who reviewed that album cite it as their weakest track. They think it's overtly patriotic and refutes everything they said on "...And Justice for All". To me, it was always meant to be taken ironically. After all, the "snake" analogy doesn't strike me as particularly flattering! I also love "Sad But True" and "The God That Failed". They play "Sad But True" live a lot still, but those others rarely get played anymore.
What do you think of the latter two Unforgivens?
Ironically, I rarely listen to GnR anymore. "Appetite" is awesome, but everything else (what little there is) is downhill. "Chinese Democracy" is actually pretty listenable, but without Slash and the gang, I consider it more of an Axl solo album. It's a shame that GnR didn't do more. It's mostly Axl's fault but still a shame.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
quote:Originally posted by Dev Em: Now I have to listen to that...
Oh, and Dev...."The Unforgiven II" has kind of emerged as my soundtrack for Lon and Kalla. Many of the lyrics (and the overall tone) really seem to fit their relationship:
Lay beside me, tell me what they've done Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true If you can understand the me, than I can understand the you.
Lay beside me, under wicked sky Through black of day, dark of night, we share this pair of lives The door cracks open, but there's no sun shining through Black heart scarring darker still, but there's no sun shining through No, there's no sun shining through No, there's no sun shining
What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you?
What I've felt, what I've known Sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there?, 'cause I'm the one who waits for you Or are you unforgiven too?
Come lay beside me, this won't hurt I swear She loves me not, she loves me still, but she'll never love again She lay beside me, but she'll be there when I'm gone Black heart scarring darker still, yes she'll be there when I'm gone Yes, she'll be there when I'm gone Dead sure she'll be there!
What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you?
What I've felt, what I've known Sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there?, 'cause I'm the one who waits for you Or are you unforgiven too?
(Solo)
Lay beside me, tell me what I've done The door is closed, so are your eyes But now I see the sun, now I see the sun Yes now I see it!
What I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you?
What I've felt, what I've known So sick and tired, I stand alone Could you be there?, 'cause I'm the one who waits, The one who waits for you
Oh what I've felt, what I've known Turn the pages, turn the stone Behind the door, should I open it for you? (So I dub thee unforgiven)
Oh, what I've felt Oh, what I've known!
I take this key (never free) And I bury it (never me) in you Because you're unforgiven too
Never free Never me 'Cause you're unforgiven too! Posted by Jerry on :
Stevie Nicks latest album "In Your Dreams" is my most recent musical purchase. It's infectious. The reviews have been positive. Some saying that is the best that she's done in years. I even read one that called it the best of her career. I don't know if I would go that far -- but it is really, really good. It's just feels good to have her voice back in my life on fresh and new music.
Posted by lil'rhino on :
I just discovered Iceage-a Danish punk band. Very loud & loads of fun!
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Naked Eyes - Promises Promises. My wife had it on in the car yesterday.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Adele- Rolling in the Deep.
Oh god, soooo much better than todays standard disney pop princess'. Gorgeous lady with a gorgeous voice.
Wow.
Posted by future king on :
"Stand And Deliver" by Adam and the Ants. One of my favourite songs of all time from one of the coolest bands to ever hit the the scene!
Posted by Jerry on :
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals -- This is the hottest music I've discovered in a long while.
Posted by Emily Sivana on :
I've been listening to "In Italia" by Fabri Fibra. It's really fast-paced, powerful, and optimistic cynical.
Posted by Invisible Brainiac on :
When my last girlfriend and I were going through a rough time, this became my favorite song:
Perfect by Marianas Trench
Please sing to me, I can see you open up to breathe. Fast words make it easier on me, If the points to never disappoint you, Somebody's got to tell me what to do I just wish you could have seen me When it used to come so easy. I'd like to say that it's easy to stay But it's not for me, Cause I'm barely here at all.
Slow down now, the secrets out And I swear now I can make this perfect. What you want, what you need has been killing me. Trying to be everything that you want me to be. I'll say yes, I'll undress, I've done more for less and I will change everything till it's perfect again.
or any of their music actually.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Man, just clicking back through this thread brings up some great stuff. Still love me some Orleans.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Went bombin' round youtube and started making a list of songs just for fits and spickle.
Rock kills kid- Paralyzed Foster the People- Pumped up kicks Adelle- Rolling in the deep Sixx AM- this is gonna hurt Rev Theory- Hell yeah The Racontuers- Steady as she goes Seether- Remedy Ugly Kid Joe- I hate everything about you Godsmack- Voodoo The killers- somebody told me Wolfmother- woman Wolfmother- Joker and the thief Danzig- Mother The Cult- Soul Asylum Tantric- breakdown Keane- somewhere only we know
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
I've decided to try to keep track of everything I listen to this year. Here's the CDs I've spun so far today, in no particular order, with commentary:
The Church, "Starfish" - The biggest-selling album by the Australian proto-goths is often criticized for its slick Hollywood production, but I find the sound to be a timeless tonic.
The Cure, "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" - Second only to its predecessor, "The Head on the Door" as my favorite album by the English proto-goths. It goes down like ice cream...or just like heaven.
Morrissey, "Kill Uncle" - The Morrissey album that it's always been hip to badmouth, and even my usually contrary self has to partly agree that it's not one of his better ones, although there's only a couple tracks that I find outright bad (I always skip over them, of course.) If the mix weren't so sterile, it would be a better listen. And for what it's worth, his hair never looked better than on this album.
Right now I'm listening to:
Julian Cope, "Saint Julian." Cope's first of two back to back "sell out to the mainstream" albums, and by far the better of the two, although his gift for melodic hooks deserts him on some of the album tracks, and "Planet Ride" sounds like a bad imitation of Peter Gabriel's more commercial stuff. But "Trampolene," "World Shut Your Mouth," "Spacehopper," "Eve's Volcano," and "Shot Down" all rock hard and true.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Currently listening to another Cope album, "Peggy Suicide," which I hadn't played for a while, because while his 90s albums are arguably the ones where he found his own voice, I now find that I much prefer Cope as a quirky 80s popster than a grumpy 90s hippie. Still, "Peggy Suicide" has some of the best psychedelic music recorded since the 60s.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
So far today...
The Cars, "Heartbeat City" - My Anglophiliac listening tendencies make it only natural that I'd like the Cars, as they had far more left-field influences than most American bands of their generation (Ric Ocasek's vocal stylings owe as much to Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry as they do to Buddy Holly.) That said, "Heartbeat City" is the only one of their albums that I can listen to from beginning to end, and it's tempting to give the credit to super-producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, arguably the greatest producer in rock music from 1979 (AC/DC's "Highway to Hell") to 1987 (Def Leppard's "Hysteria.") It's as 80s slick as 80s slick comes, but sometimes that's a good thing.
The Cars, "Door to Door" - Originally intended as a back to basics album after the painstaking approach of Mutt Lange, there is no small irony that the worst tracks are the ones that sound most like the early Cars albums, and the best are those most in the same vein as "Heartbeat City."
Morrissey, "Your Arsenal" - To my mind, this is Morrissey's masterpiece. Produced by guitar hero Mick Ronson (David Bowie, Ian Hunter, Bob Dylan), the album has a thick, muscular sound that nonetheless gives the songs plenty of room to breathe. And, oh, what songs! Kicking off with the brisk "You're Gonna Need Someone By Your Side," we then stomp along with "Glamorous Glue," where Morrissey laments globalization (in 1992!) The next two tracks are among Morrissey's most controversial -- the softly menacing "We'll Let You Know" refuses to flinch from the insular ugliness of hooligan culture, leading many to believe he was glorifying it; "The National Front Disco" is a bucking stallion of a rocker which again refuses easy answers to the queasy topic it broaches, in this case lost and confused youths who are easily led down the road of right-wing extremism. And just when the album threatens to become oppresively grim, we get a triad of frisky pop songs: "Certain People I Know" (an affectionately bitchy appraisal of Morrissey's circle of friends), "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" (a venomously bitchy swipe at Morrissey's rivals), and "You're the One for Me, Fatty" (self-explanatory.) Then, once again, before the album seems like it's going too far in one direction, comes another shift: the acoustic dirge "Seasick, Yet Still Docked", the most "typical" Morrissey song on the album, but a lovely number nonetheless. The album climaxes with the one-two punch of "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday" (a string-laden ballad featuring an unusually hopeful lyric) and "Tomorrow" (which seamlessly alternates between power chords and a steady chug-chug.) This, to me, is what should have been the future of rock and roll, not the thud and blunder of grunge. Still, I can take comfort in knowing that this album holds up much better than other, better selling and more influential albums of its time.
Morrissey, "Vauxhall and I" - The follow-up to "Your Arsenal", recorded after the death of Ronson and two other members of Morrissey's circle, does a 180-degree stylistic turn towards an ambient softness. The mourning singer wrote some of his best, most clear-eyed lyrics for this album. The only problem I have with it is the uniform sweetness of Steve Lillywhite's production, which works beautifully on the ballads but gums up the rockers with sticky aural caramelization. Still a remarkable album, a favorite of many Morrissey fans, and the singer's own favorite of his solo albums.
Currently playing...
Bob Dylan, "Live 1975" - Documenting the tour known as The Rolling Thunder Revue, on which the lead guitarist was the great Mick Ronson, this double-CD set makes a good case for Dylan as a still-vital writer and performer in the decade immediately following the one with which he is most associated.
Posted by Ram Boy on :
At this moment, Treble Charger's "Brand New Low".
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Today's theme has been (allegedly) lesser albums by great artists...
Morrissey, "Southpaw Grammar" - The follow-up to "Vauxhall and I" seems to have started out as a return to rockier territory, but something went awry. What we ended up with was a bunch of rather samey-sounding rock songs bookended by two overlong monstrosities, although at least the first monster, "The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils" works as a sort of post-punk update of pomp-rock. "The Boy Racer" and "Reader Meet Author" stand out among the shorter tracks, while the middle track, "The Operation", would be the catchiest thing on the album if it weren't for the gratuitous drum solo and guitar wig-out. A hard album to love, but there's something perversely compelling about it.
Morrissey, "Maladjusted" - I think this one is underrated, and that the problem most people have with the album is that the mellow and/or frivoulous tracks are much better than the ones where Morrissey bares his teeth. Lead single "Alma Matters" has a lovely melody, "Trouble Loves Me" is a beautiful ballad that should have been a single, "Roy's Keen" is a camp delight, and "Papa Jack" is a sort of refinement of the previous album's sound. "Ammunition", "He Cried", and "Wide to Receive" are all pleasant enough. Overall, the album seems to anticipate the relocation to sunshiny, easy-going Los Angeles that Morrissey embarked on soon after its release.
Julian Cope, "My Nation Underground" - This is the one where he pretty much just gave up and tried to be a compliant little pop star. Thankfully, he shook off that malaise and has never looked back. And the album's not uniformly terrible -- the oldies covers are fun, "I'm Not Losing Sleep" is decent, and "Charlotte Anne" (charlatan, get it?) is a standout; even Cope admits, in hindsight, that "Charlotte Anne" was the one song on this album that he got just right.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
It may come as a surprise that I like some of R.E.M.'s albums, even though they were the godfathers of mall-ternative rock. But they did it first, and they did it best.
"Life's Rich Pageant" - As I just don't "get" their first three albums, their fourth is my personal number one. Teaming up R.E.M. with John Melonhead's producer, Don Gehman, must have seemed a recipe for disaster, but the proof is in the pudding. The beautiful "Fall on Me" should have been a much bigger hit than it was, "Flowers of Guatemala," "Swan Swan H", "Cuyahoga," and "Why Don't We Give It Away" are all lovely, and most of the uptempo ones are both fun and thoughful. "Superman" (a cover of a sixties obscurity) and "Underneath the Bunker" are just plain fun.
I don't own the fifth album, "Document," because I think the only decent thing on it is the cover of Wire's "Strange," and otherwise it's a dreary and colorless attempt at a "rawk" album.
"Green" - A nice variety of styles on display on their sixth album and first for a major label, my favorite being the hit single "Stand."
"Out of Time" - Another grab-bag of styles, this one is more uneven than "Green", but it has two of my favorite songs of theirs, "Shiny Happy People" (yes, I like it, and I make no excuses) and "Losing My Religion." The only dud on it is the churlish opener, "Radio Song."
"Automatic for the People" - A masterpiece of contemplative ambience, comparable to Morrissey's "Vauxhall and I" from two years later. Not a bad track on this one, and if "Life's Rich Pageant" is their Saturday night album, then "Automatic for the People" is their Sunday morning album.
Posted by Legion Tracker on :
The whoosh through the furnace's air return vent.
Posted by Probability Pete on :
wye oak
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Felt sick, stayed in, listened to a lot of music:
Madness, "Madness" - A band that is not to blame for its load of bad American imitators, these Londoners playfully blended English music hall, Jamaican rhythms, and universal carnival keyboards, while adding enough substance and melancholy to avoid being purely whimsical. This compilation, which introduced the band to Americans, is a combination of UK hit singles with selected tracks from what is generally considered their best album, "The Rise and Fall."
Madness, "Total Madness" - A later compilation notable for including six of their later, less successful singles, which in hindsight are just as good as their earlier ones.
Nick Lowe, "Labour of Lust" - One of the best albums to come out of the New Wave movement, it was recently reissued with the proper amount of tracks and sequencing. Playing the role of irrepresible but nonetheless lovable rock & roll rascal, Lowe unleashed a dozen melodic tales from the road, including his biggest hit, "Cruel to Be Kind."
Elvis Costello, "The Very Best of..." - The only two Elvis C. albums I own are this compilation and the covers collection "Kojak Variety." I think the guy has a facility for the clever turn of phrase, an exquisite taste in music, and is great at talking and writing about music (his liner notes are often more entertaining than the albums,) but he's just not much of a composer or singer (although I find his much-mocked voice to be more endearing than annoying.) This compilation gathers most of the highlights from the first decade of his career. IMO, it peaks early with the peerless UK #2 "Oliver's Army" (sometimes the charts don't lie.)
Squeeze, "Singles 45 & Under" - At their best, bandleaders/singers Glenn Tilbrook & Chris Difford blended their contrasting voices and lyrical outlooks to make some terrific pop songs...and one terrfic album (see below.)
Squeeze, "East Side Story" - Another of the best albums to come out of the New Wave movement, this is a delightful assortment of tunes and styles from start to finish, and includes the band's career high, "Tempted," (sung not by Tilbrook or Difford, but by Paul Carrack, who has a richer, fuller white-soul voice that made all the difference -- if only Carrack had stayed with the band longer.)
More to come later.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Lily Allen, "It's Not Me, It's You" - Proving she was much more than a celebrity for its own sake, her second (and possibly final) album revealed her to be a sly social commentator while showing a greater emotional range than her relentlessly sweary and sarcastic earlier work; oh, she can still spit venom with the best of them (one track is titled "F*** You" -- maybe that's where Cee-Lo Green got the idea), but the most affecting moments are the confessional ones, my personal favorite being her ode to her complicated relationship with her mother, "Chinese" (as in, "We'll get a Choinese an' wotch TV.")
The Style Council, "The Singular Adventures of the Style Council" - My Anglophilia has, surprisingly, never translated into a real appreciation of Paul Weller. But of his three phases -- the angry young New Waver of the Jam, the pseudo-continental white soul crooner of the Style Council, and the gruff confessional singer/songwriter of his solo career -- I prefer the Style Council by far. It doesn't all hold up, especially the later songs, but the sincerity of Weller's love of black music puts it head and shoulders above the majority of his 80s peers.
Heaven 17, "Higher and Higher, the Best of..." Human League offshoot whose songs hold up better than those of their sister group, maybe because they weren't as popular in America and so didn't get overplayed on the radio and reduced to fodder for ironists with nothing better to do. Having said that, my favorite is their only US Hot 100 entry, "Let Me Go."
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Have spent most of the day sick in bed, will get back in bed soon. Hopefully more music tomorrow.
Posted by cleome45 on :
My favorite period for The Black Watch was during the time that J'Ana Jacoby was in the band. Their later stuff seems good, I grant you. But it somehow lacks the push-and-pull that John Andrew Frederick seemed to have with Jacoby when they were working together.
Anyway, if you have 77 cents plus postage that you're not doing anything with, you could do a lot worse than this mini CD. It's got Cure-ish flourishes and sugar-sweet strings (used more for irony than for real sentiment), and Frederick and Jacoby both sing like SoCalifornia angels with English degrees (or maybe just plain old Anglophilia) and snarky little horns visible just below their halos.
[ January 15, 2012, 12:26 PM: Message edited by: cleome45 ]
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Hmmm...ironic use of strings could be a turn-off for me.
I'll listen to yours if you listen to one of mine.
(And hopefully Lardy won't sue me for stealing that line from him.)
Posted by cleome45 on :
Poor Lardy. I never did remember to follow through on that.
And if you want un-ironic strings, there's always XTC's Apple Venus (I only own the stringless demos: Homegrown and Homespun, at present.) Or anything by Ralph Vaughn Williams.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Cleome, you've given me the idea to play some XTC later. Thanks.
Funnily enough, my favorite albums of theirs are the two they recorded with outside producers -- "Skylarking" (Todd Rundgren), and the ever-underrated "Nonsuch" (Gus Dudgeon, who, unlike Rundgren, didn't see the album through to completion.)
Posted by cleome45 on :
Nonsuch had the bad luck to come out at the ascendancy of the Mallternative Grunge era.
So did the Throwing Muses' Red Heaven, which I think of as being one of the best rock albums ever. TM and XTC don't have much else in common apart from doggedly doing whatever the frak they feel like doing, and to blazes with what's popular. That's why I love them both so much.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Another album that got buried in the early 90s youthquake was the Psychedelic Furs' "World Outside," which was their best since "Forever Now." The Butler brothers then tried to jump on a bandwagon with their next band Love Spit Love, which has been lost to the tides while the best of the Furs endures. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Posted by cleome45 on :
I like the Furs but could never have admitted that in the Eighties. I was too big a snob. Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Donald Fagen, "The Nightfly" - One half of the Steely Dan braintrust retains the smooth sounds of L.A.'s finest sessioneers, but tones down the irony considerably. The result is a surprsingly warm and clear-eyed album, Fagen looking back at his formative years -- specifically the late 50s/early 60s -- affectionately but lucidly, avoiding the soppy nostalgia that most of the rest of his generation fell prey to (although that didn't stop Howard Jones from taking the lyrics to "I.G.Y." at face value and doing a clueless cover version.)
Posted by Harbinger on :
Lately I've been relistening to Simon and Garfunkels Bridge over troubled water. The only living boy in New York always reminds me of Oliver's dad. Things may not have worked out with him but I still love that song.
After reading the posts above I'm going to dig out some Madness and Psychodelic Furs and relive my twenties Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Have fun, Harbi.
I like Simon & Garfunkel a lot, their solo careers not so much, especially not Simon's. I think that, like a lot of rock stars, he lost touch with the everyday world at some point, and his lyrics became patronizing and pretentious. Just my opinion.
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
Had a road trip to Dartmouth just before Christmas so I took the opportunity to switch out the CDs in the car. This is what's now been in rotation since then:
Led Zeppelin - Box Set Disc 2
Sloan - One Chord to Another
White Stripes - Elephant
Beck - Mellow Gold
Cure - Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me
Pure Funk (Various Artists)
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
I've been listening to a lot of 60s stuff lately. Right now I'm going through a Byrds phase. Their first half-dozen albums are rarely less than interesting. The one I have on right now is The Notorious Byrd Brothers, whose opening track, the brass-driven "Artificial Energy", just had to have influenced the first Teardrop Explodes album!
Posted by cleome45 on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Have fun, Harbi.
I like Simon & Garfunkel a lot, their solo careers not so much, especially not Simon's. I think that, like a lot of rock stars, he lost touch with the everyday world at some point, and his lyrics became patronizing and pretentious. Just my opinion.
FWIW, Art Garfunkel's Scissors Cut is mostly a sweet, unassuming record that probably would've been heavily played on "Adult Contemporary" stations or on VH1 if either had existed at the time. Some of the songs cry out for full-blown cheese-laden arrangements that they sadly didn't get. Which makes sense, given that most or all of them were written by the dude who wrote "MacArthur Park."
Case in point. (The YouTube poster not only gets the title wrong, they attribute it to the wrong LP. "Watermark" isn't bad, but its arrangements sound even more dated now than the SC ones do.)
I'd love to hear this one again. Maybe it's about to cycle around into "so-bad-it's-good" territory, whereupon billions of irony-loving hipsters will pounce on the vinyl version and drive its price up into the triple digits. (Not that anyone should pay that much, but... )
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Garfunkel sings songs by Jimmy Webb? How could I refuse? Thanks for the heads-up and for the sample track, Cleome.
Maybe it'll help me forgive Garfunkel for doing that smugly deadpan cover of Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."
Posted by cleome45 on :
I missed that one, FL. I knew the poor man was on a slippery slope when he started making records with Amy Grant, though.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
The saddest thing is that most of the current country-pop princesses actually make Amy Grant look good!
Funnily enough, one of the very few that I like is American Idol alum Carrie Underwood. Especially her first album, "Some Hearts."
Even funnier, one of the songs she sang on AI was..."MacArthur Park."
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Been listening to mostly hard rock stuff. Old AC/DC, zep. And some country. Older stuff from the 90's somewhat.
Posted by Harbinger on :
Medusa by Annie Lennox, her version of the clash song Train in Vain is fantastic!
Posted by Jerry on :
Love that album, Harbinger. You inspired me to post a Youtube link on the Amazing Covers thread. She also does the most haunting cover of "Whiter Shade of Pale" on Medusa.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: I've been listening to a lot of 60s stuff lately. Right now I'm going through a Byrds phase. Their first half-dozen albums are rarely less than interesting. The one I have on right now is The Notorious Byrd Brothers, whose opening track, the brass-driven "Artificial Energy", just had to have influenced the first Teardrop Explodes album!
The early Byrds albums are terrific! They not only had solid hits but put together nice broad perspective albums. They get tons of praise for their harmonizing--and rightly so--but u think sometimes they're underrated for their talent as musicians beyond that. Great array of instruments, grew lead vocals, the occasional off the beaten path arrangement...all groovy stuff!
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
I agree 100%, Cobie.
In fact, you've inspired me to give their "Mr. Tambourine Man" album yet another spin right now. Thanks.
Then, as an added bonus, I'll put on the Turtles' "You Showed Me", which was written by the Byrds' Clark & McGuinn, but abandoned at the demo stage.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
3 days on repeat in the car and it hasn't gotten old yet.
When the kids are in the car though, we're listening to The White Stripes' Icky Thump. My son loves "Conquest", and my daughter likes "Prickly Thorn"
Posted by Anita Cocktail on :
I'm currently hooked on 3 divas: Rumer, Lana Del Rey & Imelda May. Also recently discovered Dum Dum Girls & Those Darlins, two pop/punk girl bands.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Wow, lotta love for the White Stripes upthread. They too are a one-hit wonder for me. I love Seven Nation Army, but the rest of their music does nothing for me.
Ditto Finger Eleven and Paralyzer, or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Weapon of Choice, one hit wonders, the lot of them!
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
He was my favorite Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
"Desolation Row" by My Chemical Romance.
Posted by cleome45 on :
Enjoying the hell out of Lea DeLaria's Bulldyke in a China Shop CD (1992). I actually had a chance to pick it up years ago at a women's bookstore, and passed. Then hated myself, because I didn't see it again until two weeks ago-- in the marked-down bin at a record store in Seattle. Woo!
Since I loved mid-90s Comedy Central stuff (when they still had tons of stand-up) AND great jazz vocals, this is pretty much the best of all possible worlds for me. I love love love that Lea remembers Mary Lou Williams' "In The Land of Oobla Dee," which almost nobody on the planet ever plays or sings.
Posted by Power Boy on :
After coming across an article talking about a recent reissue, I decided to listen to an album I'd heard referenced a lot over the years, but never got around to checking out, the prototypical shoegaze album, My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless":
So angry, cynical and powerful.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
I'm halfway through the Lightning Seeds "Cloudcuckooland," listening to it for the first time. So far, it's a wonderful collection of pure pop (rather appropriately, there's a song on it called "Pure".) It's so wonderful, I had to post about it right away.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
^^Loved the whole thing, I'm about to give it a second spin.
Borrow it, rip it, burn it, buy it, but however you do it, please give a listen to the Lightning Seeds' "Cloudcuckooland."
I guess it's rather sad that the most excitement I've felt for a CD since Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster" EP is for a 22-year-old album. Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Now I'm listening to a Church compilation -- I've never heard anything of theirs other than the brilliant "Starfish" album. The compilation is titled after their biggest hit, "Under the Milky Way", and has great liner notes.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
^^The Church compilation turned out to be two-thirds excellent. Loved all the 10 pre-Starfish tracks, indifferent about the 5 post-Starfish tracks.
Will definitely try to track down all their pre-Starfish albums, especially Heyday, which was produced by Peter Walsh, who also produced Simple Minds' New Gold Dream, one of my favorite albums of all time.
In the meantime, I'm spinning Starfish for the first time since the beginning of this year, which I noted earlier in this thread. Still love it.
And up next: Bauhaus, 1979-83 Volume One and 1979-83 Volume Two.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Holy $&*(&(!!
I've long been familiar with Bauhaus' cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust", but not their cover of T-Rex's "Telegram Sam."
Just heard it for the first time -- it's AWESOME!!
My re-reading of the Bronze Age Defenders (see the Gy'mll's forum) has inspired me to spin some of my favorite weird 70s rock music. So far, I've listened to two albums by T-Rex (Electric Warrior & The Slider) and one by David Bowie (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.)
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
I'm complete and total crap on the guitar right now, beginner would be generous to categorize it. But I'd love to be able to play like that.
Posted by matlock on :
I've been listening to "Life's Rich Pageant" by R.E.M. like I was a high school junior again. It's never fallen out of my top ten albums in what, 25 years? It's never sunk to just nostalgia, it sounds better now than it did when it came out. A song like "Hyena" is maybe not a classic but they beat the tar out of it and made it better than it had any right to.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Matlock, I love "Life's Rich Pageant." It's quite possibly my favorite R.E.M. album. My favorite songs on it are "Flowers of Guatemala", "Cuyahoga," and "Fall on Me."
Posted by matlock on :
I think "Flowers of Guatemala" is a pretty under rated track and kind of a turning point toward a more direct political theme. "These Days" has sort of been my personal anthem lately. I could ramble on about R.E.M. for a long time - they really were the band I grew up with.
Posted by cleome45 on :
I'm marathoning all my Was (Not Was) LPs and discs. Hence the new subheading under my icon.
Posted by Dev - Em on :
Focusing on Weird Al for some reason lately.
INXS Kick as well.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
so I picked up Slash's apocolyptic love cd and decided that while I liked the song linked above, you're a lie, i like Bad Rain much better. Think its a song I could come closer to learning to play, simple, basic, powerful. that's how I like my hard rock.
Posted by Set on :
On the subject of ex-Guns and Roses folk (like Slash), I'm loving Nikki Sixx's Life is Beautiful.
Steady as she goes by the Raconteurs
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Def Leppard's "Hysteria."
Love it so much.
Hard to believe it's been a quarter century since its release.
Posted by Dev - Em on :
Now I feel old.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Def Leppard's "Hysteria."
Love it so much.
Hard to believe it's been a quarter century since its release.
Love 'em, but thank GOD for lyric sheets! Posted by Dev - Em on :
This and Pyromania are tops of my albums to listen to almost daily at work.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
quote:Originally posted by Lard Lad:
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: Def Leppard's "Hysteria."
Love it so much.
Hard to believe it's been a quarter century since its release.
Love 'em, but thank GOD for lyric sheets!
Yeah, it IS a bit hard to make out what Joe is singing through all the sound effects.
Posted by Dev - Em on :
The Foo Fighters Greatest Hits. Never realized how many songs I actually liked by them. As I listened to the cd the first time, I realized I knew pretty much every song on it.
It's not groundbreaking music, but good fun Rock and Roll.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Now I've moved on to the "other side" of 1987 in music: The Smiths' "Strangeways, Here We Come." Although there's not a huge gap between Lep and the Smiths on songs like the former's "Armageddon It" and the latter's "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before," as both bands were heavily inspired by 70s glam in general and T-Rex in particular.
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
"With the Lights Out", the Nirvana Box set of early recordings, later demos and rarities. It's pretty crazy stuff, including some awesome covers from house parties before they were signed, and a pretty cool rough cut of "Teen Spirit" with a different set of lyrics.
Posted by Power Boy on :
I have been listening to Lana Del Rey and Florence and the Machine's latest effort non stop ... for lack of anything better to listen while I work.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
^LOVE Lana Del Rey.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Concrete Blonde The Bloodletting I think it is. That's the biggest problem with me, I know what I like, I almost never know who it's by, lol.
Posted by Viridis Lament on :
Two new to me bands... Orange Goblin, who have that classic 80's heavy/trash metal sound Battlecross, fall into the Nu-Metal genre for sure but in line with the better bands of that sound
Posted by Power Boy on :
Slade: the Collection, '79-'87. Great as their rough-and-ready 70s songs are, in my opinion the quality of their output didn't decrease one bit during their slightly glossier 80s comeback. They were always one of the greatest good-time, good-humored rock and roll bands, and this is the rare two-disc anthology that is worth the extra disc.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
^"I like rockin' wild, Run runaway."
I watched the video of "Run Runaway" just a few days ago, and it reminded me of a friend who looked like Noddy Holder! Unfortunately, he took offense when I told him that. Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
He took offense? How dare he? What guy wouldn't want to look like this?
Posted by cleome46 on :
He's aged a lot better than anyone in the Stones. Then again, who hasn't?
Posted by cleome46 on :
Speaking of good-time sounds:
Marcia Ball's Let Me Play With Your Poodle (1997)
Now it always makes me think fondly of my pal, C... who was devoted to his cats and his standard-size poodle. He was also the guy who insisted on getting me so drunk on my 30th birthday that I literally could not stand up.
He passed away 12 years ago. I still miss him.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
quote:Originally posted by cleome46: He's aged a lot better than anyone in the Stones. Then again, who hasn't?
Believe it or not, THESE guys are young enough to be the Rolling Stones' children!
Posted by cleome46 on :
Each response I try and type out here sounds worse than the last, so never mind.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
But wasn't the whole point of posting that unflattering photo to make fun of them?
Go on, post!
And by the way, this thread is still technically on topic, because I listened to their first album recently for the first time in years. It sounds very dated.
Posted by cleome46 on :
I can't. I used up all my free-floating hostility against Nickelback last week.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lady: He took offense? How dare he? What guy wouldn't want to look like this?
He might have been reacting to Holder's goofy antics in the "Run Runaway" video. In my view, Holder and the rest are having such a good time, who cares if they're goofy or not?
Posted by Set on :
I love lots of Apocalyptica songs, but my current favorite is Not Strong Enough.
There are two versions, one by Brent Smith of Shinedown, and one by Doug Robb of Hoobastank. I like the Doug Robb version better.
I Don't Care, S.O.S. and I'm Not Jesus are also pretty awesome. Who knew cellos could rock so hard?
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
I've been busy and tired lately so I've also been lazy as hell when it comes to the cd's i've got in the truck.
for the last month it's been Slash, Apocolyptic love, Rick James greatest hits, and Concrete Blond, the Bloodletting.
I gotta break out some other stuff, like spacehog or the rippingtons or Vanessa Dao (if I'm remembering the correct spelling of her name.)
I could also go for some outlaws or BTO, or really go for some ELO.
Posted by Set on :
quote:Originally posted by rickshaw1: for the last month it's been Slash, Apocolyptic love, Rick James greatest hits, and Concrete Blond, the Bloodletting.
quote:I could also go for some outlaws or BTO, or really go for some ELO.
Lots of good stuff on the Time album. My favorite is Twilight. Rain is Falling, Yours Truly 2095, etc. are also awesome.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
hard to go wrong with that, Set.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
I seem to have misplaced a lot of my old cd's, cause some of the things I wanna listen too, I can only find the cd case for. Rick James' Icon album has been in the cd player for over a month now.
Posted by Lard Lad on :
I listened to the Beatles' White Album on the way home from Charlotte today. I never gets old!
I think today, for the first time, I realized that it wasn't chock full of their biggest, signature hits like their other albums. In a way the White Album is all the better for that, I believe.
Posted by Viridis Lament on :
I'm preparing for a Kataklysm concert in Edmonton next week, so I've been getting pumped up on their music for the past few days
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
quote:Originally posted by Lard Lad: I listened to the Beatles' White Album on the way home from Charlotte today. I never gets old!
I think today, for the first time, I realized that it wasn't chock full of their biggest, signature hits like their other albums. In a way the White Album is all the better for that, I believe.
Good observation, Lardy. You've helped me finally figure out just what that certain je nes sais quoi about the White Album actually is. Thank you.
Posted by matlock on :
I agree about the White Album too. George Martin has stated he'd have preferred to pare it down to one album of just the "best" tracks more along the lines of "Rubber Soul" or "Revolver." I'm glad the band had the clout to put the whole thing out. I'm sure we would've lost at least two George Harrison songs and they rarely went back to songs they'd discarded after earlier sessions. Personally I've tried to figure out my own one-disc White Album and I can't do it.
As to what I listened to today: two Blake Babies albums, "Earwig" and "Sunburn." Even the throwaway tracks are steeped in that late 80's "college rock" sound that I'm still a sucker for.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Lately, I've been frequently spinning Kate Bush's debut album, "The Kick Inside." It's a testament to her talent that, while she has followed it up with even greater albums, the debut still sounds as fresh and frisky and bursting with potential as I imagine it must have back in 1978.
This is part of my chronological revisiting of Kate's complete discography. The IMO underrated "Lionheart" is up next.
Posted by Dev - Em on :
Got my mother the Ultimate Bee Gees 2 disc set, so of course I finally ripped it to my MP3 player and have listened to it every day for the last week or so.
Even watched a documentary on them a few days ago. A truly talented group of brothers who are unfairly considered the Disco guys by way too many people.
They had a long career before and after that period. So sad that only Barry is left.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
What Dev said. Posted by Dev - Em on :
There are few things that surprise me anymore about our shared taste in music Fanfie.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Posted by cleome46 on :
Getting into mega-obscure territory here, but:
Tops of Trees, by harpist Carol Emanuel (1992). She's somewhat well-known to jazz fans for working in improv groups with free/noisy jazz musicians like John Zorn. But here she's mostly in duos or trios, playing modern-day pieces with a half-classical, half-jazz feel.
There's some atonality, but also strong melodic sensations coming through most of the pieces. My favorite is "How Long is the Coast of Brittany?" I guess it's kind of dated now, but Emanuel's playing is energetic and atmospheric without lapsing into New Age noodling, while a group of female singers provide wordless "siren" vocals to punctuate the strings. "Listening to Robin" and "Singing Sands" are the most listener friendly pieces: good to wake up to on a Sunday morning.
I know she's made at least one other disc since this one came out, but I haven't bought much new music in the last few years.
[ETA- Just had a chance to hear the newer one, called Allow It To Happen (2010). So far, not impressed. There's way too much emphasis on New-Agey lyrics and "lite" classical arrangements this time around for my taste. Though technically the playing is good.]
[ September 16, 2012, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: cleome46 ]
Posted by Set on :
Listening to the Proclaimers, not something I'd admit to everyone but I just love them
500 Miles!
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Well, I've got a new stereo in my old truck, one that will take cd's and has a usb port. So, Carol's gonna take a look at my gear, and see if we can take all my old albums on cd and copy them to a flashdrive. Then see if I can plug it in and listen to it in the truck. If I do, I can listen to about 100 different albums.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Lately I find myself really getting into strong guitar songs and adult voices. Thin, reedy voices... I get that they appeal to some folk, but I've always liked powerful tastes in food, powerful colors in art and powerful sound. Perhaps its because i'm trying to learn guitar (Well, I say I am, but Im usually too damn tired or dirty to do much lately. Ain't life a bitch.) so, I'll be posting some things I like that keep to the strength theme.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
They Might Be Giants - Join Us Tragically Hip - Fully Completely (honestly I didn't switch off of this disc for a good week or more). Jimmy Fallon - Blow Your Pants Off Ramones - Adios Amigos! Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live! Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
Today I listened to selected songs from Morrissey's 2004 comeback album "You Are the Quarry." The album is half-brilliant, with some of the best songs of his career...
"Follow You, Follow Me" was the first Genesis song I ever heard. It still pulls at the heart strings.
(And they look so young . . .)
My favorite Genesis song is Land of Confusion, in part because of the irresistible Splitting Image video but also because the song expresses the frustrations of the Reagan era/Cold War wind-down.
I love the lines, "I won't be home tonight/Our generation will put it right." They sound almost hopelessly naive but also optimistic for the future.
Posted by Fanfic Lady on :
He Who, I love Land of Confusion, too. I think it's one of the hardest-rocking songs of the Collins era.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Agreed.
Even when Genesis wasn't rocking hard, they packed a lot of emotion, inventiveness, and even silliness into their music.
Here's another favorite, Abacab. The title comes from the chords of the song!
Posted by Set on :
I Can't Dance is just awesomely catchy for me, it gets stuck in my head all the time.
Home by the Sea is another favorite. I have no idea what it's about, but I was reading a lot of Poe (Annabelle Lee, in her sepulchre by the sea...) and Lovecraft when it came out, and the song creeped me out with lines like 'shadows with no substance, in the shape of men.'
I liked Tonight, Tonight, Tonight until it became a beer jingle... Posted by Dev - Em on :
Ah...Genesis. Back when I liked Phil Collins enough to listen. Then he just became a...oh never mind.
I like Genesis. With Phil and Peter.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Those are great songs, too, Set.
Tonight's excusion into Youtube began with Genesis and to Murray Head's One Night in Bangkok. This song was part of a Broadway musical called "Chess," and was composed by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderssen (better known as the male half of Abba) and Tim Rice (lyricist of "Jesus Christ Superstar" fame).
The lyrics are a little hard to understand at first, so here's a transcript.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
quote:Originally posted by Set: Home by the Sea is another favorite. I have no idea what it's about, but I was reading a lot of Poe (Annabelle Lee, in her sepulchre by the sea...) and Lovecraft when it came out, and the song creeped me out with lines like 'shadows with no substance, in the shape of men.'
It's basically about a burglar breaking into a haunted house.
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders:
I love the lines, "I won't be home tonight/Our generation will put it right." They sound almost hopelessly naive but also optimistic for the future.
That's actually what's always bothered me about the song. Rutherford's lyrics just seem so hopelessly naive. It just always feels like there should be some sort of ironic twist in the song that never comes. I've always preferred the much-less-catchy but much-more-introspective Feeding the Fire which covers similar Cold War themes.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
It was announced today that Michael Dunford, guitarist and main composer of Renaissance, passed away yesterday.
So, I've been listening to a lot of their stuff today.
I'd never heard "Feed the Fire" before. Thanks for posting it. It's a much more sophisticated treatment of the same themes.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Sorry to hear about Dunford's passing.
Renaissance never really grabbed me. I was only interested in them as a peripheral connection to the Yardbirds (Keith Relf and Jim McCarty were original members of Renaissance), but their music was very haunting and beautiful.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
A few more thoughts on "Land of Confusion":
The song's naivete harkens back to the '60s, when bands of that era thought they could change the world with their music. Naive, yes, but I find it hopeful that every generation thinks it can make a positive difference.
I still admire the lyrics, "There's too many men, too many people/making too many problems/And not much love to go round. . . . This is the world we live in/And these are the hands we're given/Use them and let's start trying/To make it a place worth living in." It's not the most profound statement, but in plain language they urge the listener to take action with whatever talents and skills are at his or her disposal to bring more love into the world. Not a bad goal, indeed.
Posted by Set on :
There was definitely a surge in 'musical activism' with things like Farm Aid and 'We Are the World' and various bands making a commitment to not play Sun City (in South Africa) as a protest against Apartheid, etc. Suddenly rich and popular people with tons of money and tons of fans, asking themselves, 'is there something I should be doing with all this other than blowing it all on parties and coke?'
Various bands and artists touched on the Cold War / Soviet theme, the Scorpions singing 'only love can bring down the wall, someday', Sting singing that Russians 'love their children too,' even Elton John singing about a forbidden romance with someone named Nikita 'with eyes like ice on fire,' etc. (back when he wasn't 'officially' gay yet, and people could poke fun that he'd 'accidentally' used a Russian man's name for the woman he was expected to be singing about...).
And Billy Joel, with 'We Didn't Start the Fire,' trying to wrap his head around how strange the world had gotten in his generation.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Don't forget Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun," about child molestation. (Or, better yet, maybe we should forget it.)
Some of these songs probably genuinely attempted to address wrongs; others may have been bandwagon jumpers: "So-and-so wrote a socially relevant hit; let's see what we can come up with."
Back in the '60s, songs with socially relevant or political protest lyrics were new enough that they seemed more genuine, particularly when they were obviously not intended for radio airplay ("I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" by Country Joe & The Fish). Even popular artists like John Lennon risked being laughed at for using their fame as a bully pulpit to express their views.
In the era of MTV, though, there was nothing controversial (from an American standpoint, at least) about "Sun City," "We Are the World" or "Russians". Those songs merely confirmed sentiments already agreed upon most listeners. A bit more controversial and more clumsily genuine was "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid (the song that kicked off the charity movement of the '80s)--clumsy because, as someone on TV pointed out a few years ago, it was condescending to people in Africa (of course they knew it was Christmas), but at least the song's heart was in the right place.
Social relevance and rock 'n' roll is always an awkward marriage. Many rockers simply don't know what they are talking about, but they have the clout to get their message across, and they have the means to motivate young people. On the other hand, simplistic views of complex social issues (such as the "our generation will put it right" mentality of "Land of Confusion") can do more harm than good. Young people who try to make change and find out it's not so simple may give up or retreat into cynicism and selfishness. Some argue that's what happened to the Woodstock generation in the '70s.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Part of the difference between the 60s and the 80s is that rock bands of the 60s were typically young people from solidly working class backgrounds, and so "socially relevant" songs often reflected more directly their experiences. A band like Genesis (and I think this generalizes to a lot of 80s "rock stars"), by contrast, were from a mostly upper middle class background (they were formed at an exclusive private school), and were well in their thirties and quite wealthy by the mid-80s, and so their attempts to come off as "socially relevant" tend to come off much more artificial.
With regards to the "naivete" of "Land of Confusion", part of what's frustrating to me is that typically they tend to be a much more cerebral band, and that there tends to be a theme running through a number of their songs that one should distrust the hubris of anyone who claims that they're going to suddenly make the world better. So LoC kind of generates a reaction of "haven't you guys listened to your own songs?" whenever I hear it.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Good points, Eryk.
As I recall, Phil Collins came from a working class background whereas Rutherford and Banks had been students at Charterhouse. But, as you point out, Collins was in his 30s and quite well off (and extremely popular as a solo artist) by the time of "Land of Confusion" -- the lyrics of which were written by Rutherford, in any case.
In the '50s and '60s, rock 'n' roll was by its very nature controversial, socially relevant, and a form of protest. By the '80s, this was no longer the case, and so attempts by artists of that era to come off as such do seem to fall flat if not come off as hypocritical.
Posted by DrakeB3004 on :
I wouldn't say that the activism of the 80's fell flat. An event like Live Aid was unheard of at the time in terms of its scope and benefitted a lot more people than Woodstock ever did. Yes, they were very different things, but while the pop musicians of the 80's did not represent the counter-culture, they represented a segment of the "haves" that made sure to remind us of the "have-nots", which in the "me" decade, perhaps was a bit counter-culture.
Artists like U2 were certainly protesting. Springsteen was certainly protesting. (despite what Reagan might have thought) Just because they didn't represent a counter-culture didn't make their message less relevant. Personally, a lot of the people in that overly-romanticised counter-culture of the 60's weren't doing much more than being self-indulgent - especially in rock. Folk was the more socially-minded music of the time anyway.
IMO.... \m/ \m/
Posted by cleome46 on :
Drake, welcome back!
I agree with you, up to a point. There is romanticizing of the Sixties, but it comes from both sides: the worshipers and the detractors.
Over the last year, I've done some reading on the history of People's Park, for instance. It's not something that was ever mentioned in the mass media nostalgia trips that took place in the Eighties when the Sixties were being discussed. I think one reason it wasn't mentioned is because it flew in the face of many myths about the era: both pro and con.
I have mixed feelings about events like Live Aid. Yes, they pointed towards the generosity of some very wealthy, influential people. But they also pushed a notion that it was no longer realistic for we, the "commoners" to expect economic and social justice from our own elected leaders. Our main hope was random largesse from celebrities. (I feel the same way about events like Comic Relief, which grew against a backdrop of social programs being slashed all over the place during the Reagan Era.)
Posted by cleome46 on :
Trying desperately to jump-start my day here. I started with the Traditional Jazz show on KMHD. Now I've moved on to a mix of Black Watch songs. (The California pop band I've plugged here before, not the Scots with bagpipes.)
Though if I can't pull myself together soon, I might need some bagpipes. Or else a collection of Viridis Lament's Greatest Hits.
"Maybe maybe maybe you just haven't met The Wrong People yet..."
![[tease]](graemlins/tease.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Yes]](graemlins/nod.gif)
![[No]](graemlins/shake.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
), Massive Attack, and my absolute favorite show of the weekend, Thievery Corporation.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
).![[Disgusting]](graemlins/puke.gif)
) craze-- "Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun" is a direct jab at Pattinson's twinkletoes Lestat wannabe. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[LOL]](graemlins/lol.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Poke Joke]](graemlins/poke.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[sigh]](graemlins/sigh.gif)
![[Love]](graemlins/love.gif)
love ![[shrug]](graemlins/shrug.gif)
![[TimeTrapper]](graemlins/TimeTrapper.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)