Music: Rate and Discuss

[Samon]

We are rejuvenating the “Rate and Discuss” threads, with the intent of generating discussion and debate, in regard to your recent watch, playthrough, or read. For the music forum, this could be the last gig you attended or the latest albums you have been listening to. As a prerequisite of posting in this thread, you must expand upon your rating with, at the very least, a brief paragraph as to why you delegated it said rating. You must discuss, analyse, and critique – “I liked it” is not sufficient, and any posts that do not meet this criteria will be deleted.

There can, of course, be discussion and argument - but in the same way that "I liked it" does not constitute a post, neither does - and it pains me to say this - "You're stupid, shut up" though some of you clearly are.

An example of a suitable post:

Pinocchio - 4/5
With the Disney movies, it takes me a while to work out whether I've seen them before in my childhood. I'm still none the wiser here, since I'm pretty sure I would have repressed memories of seeing this if I was a child... but then, as an adult there's a whole extra dimension of sinister to it. Some of it's probably not intentional (why does Gepetto want a real boy in his house anyway, huh?) but some of it must be (the coachman who takes young boys to pleasure island, and they 'don't come back as boys'?!), and it's just generally as far from a stereotype of Disney as simple, tedious good versus evil as you're likely to find.

Anyone who has problem with this, I suggest you pm me; your post will only be deleted here.

[TheAntipop]

Good call. This thread is far too spammy and mindless when compared to the other two threads (Films and Games) and I've been trying to make my own posts a little more interesting for a while. Hope others feel the same from now on - it's a great way to get into more music if you see someone putting a little description of what it is they are listening to.

Old Man Gloom - Seminar III: Zozobra

27 minutes of feedback, fuzz, ambient noise, voice samples, ''a gigantic ape?!'', monotonous and plodding strokes of downtuned guitars and the heavy rumble of the thunderous behemoth like bass in the background. It's the music of a secret underground missile base slowly left to rot amongst a jungle of dead weeds, spider like branches and uprooted tree trunks. This is the image in my head, anyay. Doom-y stoner experimental metal at it's finest, but what more can you expect from yet another project by Aaron Turner?

Stunning. Vinyl too, which just adds to the fantastic selection of textured layers of noise and sound that are currently slowly lining the walls around me in the middle of a thunder storm. Perfect.

[L3N!N]

Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue - 4/5

Album Art (http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/P12062429.jpg)

Genre: electronica, "folktronica"

Release Date: ~June

Note: I have started listening to Bibio within the past 6 months, so veterans of Bibio, excuse me if some of my statements aren't exactly valid.

____________________


Bibio's latest album, Ambivalence Avenue, is a medley of catchy songs and mellow beats. Released by Warp Records, Ambivalence Avenue seems to be a far cry from Bibio's original ambient and pastoral style. Fear not, as Bibio dresses to impress with Ambivalence Avenue, and Bibio sure as hell impresses. Each of the twelve tracks included in Ambivalence Avenue are unique, with memorable beats and lyrics, provided there are lyrics.

Bibio's style in Ambivalence Avenue is radically different from past works. Vocals are a major part of some songs now, and are strong and confident. The title track combines good vocals, which are further accentuated by a good beat and some excellent use of [guitar?]. "Jealous of Roses," the second song, provides a psychedelic feeling with, again, a good, solid beat. "All the Flowers" is a nice transition to "Fire Ant," a majestic song in it's own right. While "Fire Ant" is indeed a good, strong song, it drags on for quite a while. But that's just me.

"Haikuesque (When She Laughs)" is a song embodied by a bold beat and, once again, good vocals. "Lover's Carvings," exemplifies a good use of guitar, vocals, and a steady beat. While pace is changed midway through "Lover's Carvings," nothing is lost. It's actually better than the instruments-only introduction.

Alltogether, Ambivalence Avenue is an excellent album. Why? Because Bibio utilizes a new style that suits them perfectly. And while that style might not be so original, but I'd rather have a great album than a lackluster piece of "art." Ambivalence Avenue delivers on a silver platter.



1. Ambivalence Avenue
2. Jealous of Roses
3. All the Flowers
4. Fire Ant
5. Haikuesque (When She Laughs)
6. Sugarette
7. Lover’s Carvings
8. Abrasion
9. S’vive
10. The Palm of Your Wave
11. Cry! Baby!
12. Dwrcan



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgGsnYpT3zg

Why is the image not working?

[Van_Halen]

Alice in Chains: Jar of Flies (Album)

5/5

An all acoustic album from a Grunge band (Unless it's live) may seem odd, but Alice in Chains pulled it off quite well with 1994's Jar of Flies. The album opens up with the chilling bass line of Rotten Apple, dubbed over with a heavily synthesized guitar solo, followed by some of the most chilling harmonies Alice in Chains has ever come up with. When listening to this song, one can almost completely feel the pain Staley sing with. This song in particular has been interpreted many different ways, such as a story about a young girl losing her virginity to rape, Losing innocence through growing older, or any sort of tragedy that may disturb a child from early on. "Eat of the apple so young, I'm crawling back to start."

The next song, Nutshell, opens with one of the only riffs I've ever personally heard that pulled tears from my eyes. The song alone is enough to make one feel secluded, and depressed. (I would recommend not listening to this song if you're having a good day. It may depress you. Not that this is a bad thing, just saying.) It is apparent that Staley feels alone in the world in this song, not wanted by his own family, no love while he's on the road, and the truly bone chilling vocals couldn't do more to bring the sad lyrics to life. At the end of each verse, a sad harmony with a backing guitar fill bring out the true nature of the song.

It may seem strange, though, that such a sad song is followed by something semi-uplifting, as I Stay Away's beautiful intro rolls the record on forward, and Staley's voice comes barreling over it, in yet another chilling harmony. The chorus, seemingly compiled to sound like chaos, and uneasiness, turns the song on it's belly, making it a true Alice in Chains song.

And the album gets happier yet, with the title "No Excuses." Opening with an elegant pattern by Sean Kinney on the Drums, it is quickly followed by an uplifting guitar riff, and soothing vocals. My personal favorite line: "It's okay, had a bad day. Hands are bruised from breaking rocks all day." followed by the chorus: "Every day something it's me, oh so cold. you'll find me sitting by myself, no excuses that I know." The song, written solely by Jerry Cantrell, puts a happier spin on the album, telling himself to stop making excuses, or admitting that he has no excuse.

As the next track quickly picks up, one may be slightly disturbed from happy listening at first by the whale-like guitar riff that opens the song, Whale & Wasp. The listener can almost visualize whales swimming through the ocean, singing, as the part that may describe "Wasp" follows the riff. A rather interesting instrumental.

The next two songs, Don't Follow, and swing on this take a much more uplifting flavor to the album, the former utilizing a clarinet (You can clarify, I'm not sure.) to follow each line of lyrics in the verses, while Swing on This is more of a somewhat humorous, less serious poke in the eye to family and friends at home, asking Staley to come home, to which he tells them "Let me be, I'm alright, can't you see? I'm just fine."

You're goddamn right, I reviewed every single song. I love this album.

[gFrohman]

311 - Uplifter : 4/5

A fun, catchy album overall. The first song Hey You has lots of energy & positive lyrics. SA is becoming a much more solid singer, and this album shows that. Mix It Up & It's Alright are also very catchy, but they start to sound a little more main-stream-rock-ish than some of their previous work. Some lyrics in a few songs are a little off IMO (Jackpot, Too Much Too Fast), but overall another energetic, positive album. Tim Mahoney's guitar solos are brilliant, and the drum work from Sexton is solid. I'd still say it's not as strong of an album as Evolver, but I personally enjoyed this album a bit more than Don't Tread On Me - it seems to have caught me more.

[KineticAesthetic]

Not his best track, but beautiful and mellow. Great use of vocal samples. I was discussing last night with a friend that The Field really needs to learn to introduce basslines a bit earlier. Glitchy, skittery, yet very smooth.

[TheAntipop]

ISIS - Hive Destruction

Just... watch the video. The song is so ridiculously heavy that it pretty much totals and borks the **** out of this guys camera/phone, which obviously won't need too much considering it's low quality tech but still, it's just silly. And I love it. I would KILL to see this song played live. A real neck breaker if I ever heard one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jX5ApfijDg&feature=related

From the fantastic Mosquito Control EP, a record I hadn't given as much attention to over the last few years as I was always more into the 'newer' post-Oceanic ISIS but man, it's a ****ing great record. Drenched in distortion, it almost feels like I have to wade through the music to get a proper ear to the ground.

[The Monkey]

My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow

The first track to MBV's second (and best) album, Loveless. It blows my mind away more than any other song. After a short drum opening, the sound of numerous loud guitar overdubs explodes and overflows your mind, creating a highly complex sound. Then the indistinguishable vocals of Bilinda Butcher comes in; the lyrics are irrelevant, they're rather acting like another instrument. A brilliant song from start to finish, the acme of the shoegazing genre.

[TheAntipop]

My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow

The first track to MBV's second (and best) album, Loveless. It blows my mind away more than any other song. After a short drum opening, the sound of numerous loud guitar overdubs explodes and overflows your mind, creating a highly complex sound. Then the indistinguishable vocals of Bilinda Butcher comes in; the lyrics are irrelevant, they're rather acting like another instrument. A brilliant song from start to finish, the acme of the shoegazing genre.

Mm, I've the latest My Bloody Valentine, Honey Power, and it's a little hit and miss for me. I'm a big fan of what MBV have paved the way for but I've never really taken the time to through their back cat. because I recall it to be quite extensive. Recommendations?

Maybeshewill - Co-Conspirators

Pretty good instrumental post-rock with a tinge of God Is An Astronaut style electronics and piano thrown in for good measure. Instrumental to the point that vocal come in the form of audio samples of speeches and quotes which are quite interesting, maybe a little overdone, though. Very riff based, quite a metal influence to their sound, but jaunty and bounding enough to keep me interested throughout. Only got this album, Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony today but overall, it's solid.

[TollBooth Willie]

Zero 7 - Futures

Mmm sweet song. Can't sing along to it for shit though, always making me yawn. The vocals are great in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuIyTJpUS28

[Ennui]

My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow

The first track to MBV's second (and best) album, Loveless. It blows my mind away more than any other song. After a short drum opening, the sound of numerous loud guitar overdubs explodes and overflows your mind, creating a highly complex sound. Then the indistinguishable vocals of Bilinda Butcher comes in; the lyrics are irrelevant, they're rather acting like another instrument. A brilliant song from start to finish, the acme of the shoegazing genre.
Ah, Loveless is such an excellent album. I'm listening to Come In Alone right now, which is by far my favorite track on this album. I love the thick, layered guitar noise - you can see where TV on the Radio gets their inspiration from - and the vocals are goddamn excellent (although christ only knows what the hell is being said).

[VirusType2]

Queen - Another One Bites The Dust

I absolutely love this song. When I was about 8, for Christmas I asked for this song and a portable tape player. So the first tape I ever got was this single. I still love this song more than 15 years later.

Incidentally, Michael Jackson was the person who insisted Queen release this song as their first single. He was certain that it would be a huge success. He was definitely right about that.

The similarities between this song and some of M. Jackson's early solo career work is striking. I wish I knew who influenced who.

[Ennui]

Queen is epic. The first tape I ever got when I was like 6 was a Queen Greatest Hits tape and I still love them to death. I think my favorite songs are probably My Best Friend, Don't Stop Me Now and of course We Will Rock You because when I was little I would jump up and down on my bed and air guitar along to the solo in that song... it absolute defined "rock and roll" at the time for me.

[VirusType2]

^ Lol. when I was a little kid, I used to sneak into my brother's room while he was at work and crank up his 200 watt Hi-Fi stereo system and jump on the bed while I listened to Van Halen 'Jump' and 'Panama'.


John Lennon - Imagine (album)

I haven't listened to this whole album yet as I found it in a box recently and don't know where the CD came from.

Obviously, the title track 'Imagine' got a lot of airplay and was a monstrous hit. It's beautiful. The second song, 'Crippled Inside' is pretty good, I like it. A bit folksy but has great rhythm. The third track was also a radio single, 'Jealous Guy'. It's beautiful as well. The next track 'It's So Hard' has a strong blues influence. I never cared too much for most blues music, but this is good.

Skimming through the rest of the tracks, there's another gem on here, called 'Oh My Love'. The rest of the tracks aren't my thing, but they aren't too bad.

[TollBooth Willie]

My dad made me listen to a lot of Queen up until this point. **** yeah dad thanks.

Amon Tobin - Hokkaido

I love his work on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's soundtrack. All of the music from being detected, working through the level, and suspense all integrated so perfectly. Lighthouse, Ruthless (and the Reprise), and El Cargo are among the best off the ost.

[The Monkey]

Mm, I've the latest My Bloody Valentine, Honey Power, and it's a little hit and miss for me. I'm a big fan of what MBV have paved the way for but I've never really taken the time to through their back cat. because I recall it to be quite extensive. Recommendations?
No, it's not extensive at all, they only released two albums. I would start with the second one, "Loveless", and if you liked that get the first one too, "Isn't Anything".

Ah, Loveless is such an excellent album. I'm listening to Come In Alone right now, which is by far my favorite track on this album. I love the thick, layered guitar noise - you can see where TV on the Radio gets their inspiration from - and the vocals are goddamn excellent (although christ only knows what the hell is being said).
I'm gonna see them live on a festival in August :E

[SimpleAssassin]

The Cure- Join the Dots

A fantastic collection of B-sides and rarities throughout the 30 years of The Cure, i was really suprised at how beautiful some of these songs are.There are 70 in total and i havent listened to all of them yet but this is a brilliant collection of songs that people would have otherwise missed out on.

[Kadayi]

Amon Tobin - Hokkaido

I love his work on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's soundtrack. All of the music from being detected, working through the level, and suspense all integrated so perfectly. Lighthouse, Ruthless (and the Reprise), and El Cargo are among the best off the ost.

That is a cracking album tbh. I often listen to it when I'm in deep work mode.

Talking of deep:-

Susumu Yokota - Acid Mt Fuji 8.5/10

An extremely rare ambient techno album by the versatile musical force of nature that is Susumu Yokota. This is a very stripped down affair compared to his later works (which are more layered) but still worth listening to (Kinoko is a blinder of a tune, that gradually builds up in intensity)

http://acrocosm.blogspot.com/2008/08/susumu-yokota-acid-mt-fuji.html

link included simply because its long since out of circulation (1994) and a second hand copy will set you back about $70. If you like it, I recommend you check out his later works, esp Grinning Cat, The Boy and the Tree & Symbol, all worthwhile purchases.

[KineticAesthetic]

Woah, thanks for that link man. I only have Sakura, and I've been meaning to get more.

This song is an interesting feel for Burial, as he puts potentially heavy drums into an otherwise lush, ambient track. It's still got that lingering sense of dread, though, so it's all good. Unfortunately this is also a radio rip so it's not the full track.

[Kadayi]

Woah, thanks for that link man. I only have Sakura, and I've been meaning to get more.

Oh Sakura is a great album as well. I'd forgotten about that one in my list. What I like about Susumu is that he's constantly moving in different directions with each album, rather than repeating himself. I'll admit I'm not so much a fan of some of the more recent works, but there is gold in the back catalogue.

[Stigmata]

Clark - Look Into The Heart Now

Totems Flare is an interesting album. It sounds like Clark, but it also sounds at times like Justice, and if I listened to a wider range of electronica I could probably name a lot more similar-sounding artists. Probably the most striking difference with his older work is the addition of vocals, which when combined with a four-on-the-floor beat gives a lot of the songs a somewhat esoteric clubby feel. I don't know if I like the album yet, but it's definitely interesting, and Growls Garden is a menacingly cool song. As a bonus, the cover art is great too. I could see myself picking this up in the stores if I still like it when I've paid off my rent.

[TheAntipop]

Did I get a post deleted? Far as I remember I was discussing music with someone... that or I closed the tab before I posted. I forget.

No, it's not extensive at all, they only released two albums. I would start with the second one, "Loveless", and if you liked that get the first one too, "Isn't Anything".



It is quite extensive - they've quite a few EP's and singles and I don't feel too happy unless I own everything, but I'll check it out. That said, I had no idea they had only released two albums and when I went to Wiki to have a look, I saw no mention of Honey Power. I'm not sure what this release is now when I think about it as the tracklisting isn't anywhere...

Manatees - The Pulp Cut

I remember I ****ing hated this band when I listened to this track one or two years ago - I recall naming it 'hobo sludge' as the vocals on this track consist of few multitracked cuts of Oxbow's lead singer Eugene Robinson whining and wailing to himself over some pretty slow droning metal. Loathed it, I did, and now it's one of my favourite tracks simply for how paranoid and downright horrifying it sounds. Metal to be heard from a wooden shack in the middle of a swampy valley by hillfolk. Awesome.

[Kadayi]

No, it's not extensive at all, they only released two albums. I would start with the second one, "Loveless", and if you liked that get the first one too, "Isn't Anything".

I'd actually say that 'Isn't Anything' is a poor relation Say 'Loveless' and tbh your much better off avoiding it.

Talking of Shoegazers if you like MBV, I strongly recommend 'Just for a day' & 'Souvlaki' by Slowdive

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Day-Slowdive/dp/B000BJRJAO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246383579&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Souvlaki-Slowdive/dp/B000BJRJAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246383579&sr=8-1

Wonderful sound, stand out track being 'When the sun hits'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF96gNl7O5A&feature=related

[Viperidae]

Pogo - Scrumdiddlyumptious

Well, that pretty much seals it for me. He's basically a one trick pony.

Every recent track has been the same--very quick sample slices of a movie, square or sine arpeggiated bass, sampled drums from a non-movie source, and sampled pads from the movie. So far so good, except in his latest creations the samples are so short they don't really form any sounds, just little snips of voices. Whereas his most famous Alice sang in a sense when he used the voice samples, his latest are just too choppy, and thus lose any conception of melody.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1jmhbw3JHw

Then again, he made SplurgenShitter, which shows an excellent use of canned samples that work amazingly together. So at this point I don't know if he's trapped himself in his own style or is trying to cater to it because of its popularity. I guess my main complaint is the shortness of his recent sampling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2-gHbSh2AY

So, I'll have to wait and hope that he can pull himself to his older style. Or try something new altogether.

[Qonfused]

I have a feeling he'll do something more like his past work soon. Though, if you listen to most of his tracks, they are mostly the same; the only difference being the movie from where he took samples from. It doesn't really bother me, though; the combination is really intriguing. And even when the novelty has worn off, I still enjoy the tracks.

[Corp. Sheepo]

CAKE is making a new album you guuuuuuuys.

[Ennui]

Damn I gotta say that this thread is owning the **** out of the old Mandatory thread so far. Good discussion :D The music subforum here has always been my favorite because we've all influenced each others tastes to the point where we're all AWESOME.

Bluetech - Swimming in a Feverdream

This is off of Bluetech's latest album (a few months old) called The Divine Invasion. This song in particular is great, has a kind of Mum/BOC feel going on in addition to the usual Bluetech psybient sound. The whole album is well worth some serious time devoted to it, I've been absolutely loving it so far, probably more than any other Bluetech album but Prima Materia. It's still centered in ambient/psybient but this album has heavier IDM influences than the rest I would say, and there's not as much dub stuff going on as usual either.

[Qonfused]

Grizzly Bear - All We Ask

from: Veckatimest

I saw that they were on Warp (Boards of Canada, etc.) so I was curious, but then I saw that a douchebag-about-music I know listens to them, so I wrote it off. He's seriously that big of a douche. Well, tonight I decided to hop down off from my own high horse and give 'em a try. I'm only three songs in, but if the rest of the album is like this, I'm probably not going to keep the MP3s on my hard drive. I'm not really caring for the sound too much--that being said I jumped into this band not even knowing what their sound was or knew any like-artists.

edit: Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader

This song is really good. The album is slowly getting better.

edit 2: The album is okay. I'll give it another listen some time.

[TheAntipop]

ISIS - The Beginning and The End

The very first ISIS track I heard, taken from the stunning Oceanic record. As far as ''concept'' albums go, this is by far the most in-depth, interesting and well written releases I've ever heard.

A man at the brink of emotional numbness finds a female counterpart who completes him ("The Beginning and the End"). However, he soon finds that she has had a long-term incest relationship ("False Light", "Weight") with her brother ("Hym," "The Other"). This drives him to lose all hope, and he commits suicide through drowning ("from sinking sands, he stepped into light's embrace").

That's a very loose sum up of the album as the writer, Aaron Turner, is often hesitant to go into too much detail about his work but from listening to the bleak, jarring and desolate sounds of atmospheric keys, melodic and crushing blending guitars, throbbing basslines, muted and panned percussion and the strained shouting and hoarse screaming of the vocals really - and I mean really - brings the album to life. Phenomenal.

now listening to ISIS - Carry, which ends in possibly my favourite line ever;
''He sees like he's never seen before
He is light in water''

The end of this video really emphsizes the power put into this songs finale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYYXiBDoIio&e

I urge everyone to listen to this album even if you don't like metal, and if you do - even better. I got into ISIS after a few years of standing back from metal and coming to terms with just how ****ing dull alot of what I was listening to was, and then I picked up Oceanic and it changed my life. Seriously.

[TollBooth Willie]

Elbow - Fallen Angel

Had this stuck in my head for a while now. Something about the vocalist's voice is kinda comforting.

[Vegeta897]

Venetian Snares - Circle Pit

Probably my favorite song from the album (Detrimentalist) if not only for the beginning. The voice clip "Watch this!" is just so perfect for the super hectic funky vibe, and then comes in the punchy amen break slamming every beat in the 7/4 rhythm, with an absolutely sick pair of pitch-enveloped buzzy hoover type bass hits that just compliment the vibe and hectic-ness perfectly.

Then after some 4 minutes you reach the ending which returns to an even more relentless and repetitive loop of the amen, and as if that wasn't enough, it keeps doubling in speed until reaching a wall of noise which abruptly ends with an old sound clip from a movie or show of a phone being slammed down followed by "damn!"

9/10

[Stigmata]

Our Lady Peace - One Man Army

I always liked Our Lady Peace. Not their new stuff so much, but their first few albums are fairly classic up here in Canada. Good melodies and songwriting, great musicianship, GREAT vocals. I love falsetto.

[TollBooth Willie]

Steve Miller Band - Rock'N Me

This song makes me want to hop in the car and drive up the country alone with nothing but this looping. It gives off a good vibe.

[dfc05]

The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters - 8/10

I've never been a huge fan of shoegaze or "noisy" music or whatever genre this falls into (I am really awful at figuring out genres :o), but this is one of the few albums where the "wall of noise" thing makes sense to me. They do it nicely and I actually look forward to the parts where all the noise comes in. The vocals are also nice although it took a little while to get used to their Scottish accent.

The only things I dislike are that some of the songs are all fairly similar, some of them seem to end weakly (I'll love the first part of the song, then find that I've stopped listening halfway through), and a few of them have genuinely annoying tunes ("Last Year's Rain..." in particular is strangely reminiscent of those jeering chants kids do on the playground to make fun of other kids, especially since the same line is repeated over and over again).

My favorite songs are "That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy" and "I'm Taking The Train Home."

[TollBooth Willie]

Danny Elfman - The Little Things (UNKLE Surrender Sounds Session 13)

Quite possibly one of the best songs I've heard in a game's soundtrack that isn't instrumental. After finishing Wanted: Weapons of Fate this little beauty played through the credits. Fit the game imo. Awesome to listen to. Danny's voice is still as sexy as it was 20 years ago when he was in Oingo Boingo. This mix actually sounds a lot better than the original version composed for the Wanted movie. **** yeah UNKLE.

Youtubed version sounds a bit shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbpqWlLtEw

[Ennui]

Sheepo, if you're wondering why your post was deleted it's because you didn't try hard enough. Next time there will be an infraction with it, and be glad that Samon didn't take care of it before I did.

I spent the four hour car ride to the mountains today listening to Ween. I acquired much of their discography a few months ago, half due to a particular female (who is no longer relevant) and half because my friend Sam is a massive fan. Since I hadn't really spent any time getting into them I listened to a few albums on the car ride, most notably Chocolate and Cheese, which I really enjoyed. I have no idea how to classify them as a band, other than they are refreshingly wacky and extremely diverse from track to track, with a lot of different tacks insofar as their musical direction is ocncerned. It's too early yet to tell, but I tentatively recommend them.

[TheAntipop]

Man, I think Ween might actually be unique to me as a band who I respect for being totally out-there, but utterly loathe for how out-there they are. Cannot tolerate that band at all. :P

Grails - Reincarnation Blues

Stoners rejoice, for this is the music conjured up in the mists and swirls of a bong. Or a palace in Arabia. Wicked sweet instrumental rock/metal with some cool-as grooves and vibes to bound along to the licks and fantastically melodic bass playing. If Kyuss is the stoner rock of the desert, then Grails are the humid and sweltering tokes from beneath some great palace above a labyrinth like maze of... something. Go listen.

[Qonfused]

That track you posted is rather different, haha. I guess I hear some stoner influence but not outstandingly so.

Hymie's Basement - Hymie's Basement (album)

Another anticon. group made roughly of the members of Why? And yet another success. Admittedly, the first half of the album is merely okay in terms of quality and enjoyment. Even with that, the second half more than makes up for it. Starting at Pretty Colors (Smile Your Brains Out), it turns into a melody driven poetic masterpiece. Pretty Colors features a rather addictive deep voice off beat with the percussion which makes for an awesome combo. The last three tracks on the album are very memorable, often earning multiple plays from me in one sitting, Lightning Bolts and Man Hands being one of those three: you can almost feel the tears coming from his face.

[TheAntipop]

Well that description sure got me interested.

That track you posted is rather different, haha. I guess I see some stoner influence (I'm a huge fan of stoner music, usually some of the best stuff) but not outstandingly so.

They've some really drawn out stuff, such as on the Take Refuge In Clean Living release but the album that was from, Doomsdayer's Holiday, is more stoner like as a whole. Really it just reminds me of the little cafes in Paris with the elborate bongs in a seated area - I forget their name - as one of the 'hosts' was playing Grails at the time and it sounded sublime in that state of mind. :D

[Qonfused]

Phil Collins - Take Me Home

Goddamn I love his music. So nostalgic in a way. Rich and beautiful.

I've never wandered far from his greatest hit CD, but I'm thinking the best is here.

[nipples]

Grails - Reincarnation Blues

Stoners rejoice, for this is the music conjured up in the mists and swirls of a bong. Or a palace in Arabia. Wicked sweet instrumental rock/metal with some cool-as grooves and vibes to bound along to the licks and fantastically melodic bass playing. If Kyuss is the stoner rock of the desert, then Grails are the humid and sweltering tokes from beneath some great palace above a labyrinth like maze of... something. Go listen.

That's a pretty sweet track. I'm definitely going to look more into them.

[Stigmata]

Radiohead - Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.)

Hail to the Thief at times feels depressingly low-fi and downtrodden, and other times it's energetic and complex. It really depends on my mood. But there are some great, great songs on this album. Go to Sleep, 2+2=5, Backdrifts, There There, Myxomatosis, A Punchup at a Wedding, and A Wolf at the Door are probably my favourites, in no particular order. We Suck Young Blood is just plain awful, though, and The Gloaming isn't much better. If it weren't for Pablo Honey I would say Hail to the Thief was their least consistent album.

[FrostedxB]

Hilltop Hoods - Parade Of The Dead

Hilltop Hoods have been around for a few years and just put out their fourth album, State of the Art. Their music is very upbeat, even though they mainly rap about their past and the "smoke and mirrors" of mainstream hip-hop. This song is really just a tribute to zombie flicks though, still good.

[Zephos]

Radiohead - Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.)

Hail to the Thief at times feels depressingly low-fi and downtrodden, and other times it's energetic and complex. It really depends on my mood. But there are some great, great songs on this album. Go to Sleep, 2+2=5, Backdrifts, There There, Myxomatosis, A Punchup at a Wedding, and A Wolf at the Door are probably my favourites, in no particular order. We Suck Young Blood is just plain awful, though, and The Gloaming isn't much better. If it weren't for Pablo Honey I would say Hail to the Thief was their least consistent album.

I would thoroughly agree. I'd like to say that Sit Down, Stand Up is also a standout on HttT, and There There is probably my favourite Radiohead song ever. You're right, though, it's far too scattershot (scatterbrain? Oh ho... ho :() compared to their previous albums.

Radiohead - Gagging Order

Absolutely, hauntingly beautiful B-Side (edit: coincidentally Go to Sleep's B-Side!), one of their best acoustic songs. Certainly one of their saddest as well, Yorke's lyrics lacking their usual cryptic nature and its all the better for it.

"A couple more for breakfast
A little more for tea
Just to take the edge off
Just to take the edge off

Move along, there's nothing left to see
Just a body, pouring down the street"

:(

[brad92]

Great thread! I'm going to rate and discuss the single most important musical album in my life. Enjoy. Its lengthy.



Pink Floyd - "The Division Bell"



Album Art (http://web.adminsites.com/4482U7T2/web/pinkfloyd/images/PFDivisionBellCover.jpg)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Release Date: 30 March 1994


Everybody has a position on the departure of bassist and songwriter Roger Waters, and these opinions can become rather divisive - frequently to a degree that is downright silly. I will spare you the majority of that particular diatribe except to make clear that, wishful thinking aside, post-Waters Pink Floyd is not the genuine article, so much as a fractured band groping to find that ineffable quality that made the Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here so great (and the same goes for Roger's solo career, which has been spotty at best). That aside, the Division Bell is a fine album by its own rights and it definitely has the "Pink Floyd spirit" pervading it - a hard-to-define quality that saves it from mediocrity on more than one occasion. Making a triumphant return are, among other things, Richard Wright's languorous, deliciously retro keyboard work. And though the songs tend to focus more on texture and on layers of melody, Nick Mason occasionally drops in with his reliable, competent drumming. Beautiful guitar abounds on this album. Gilmour has an ear for tone that remains unmatched, and it is hard to grow tired of the beautiful, soaring solos he effortlessly spins.

The Division Bell also signifies a kind of return to form, in terms of song writing. The first album to have a definite theme in quite some time, the Division Bell tackles the thorny and also very relevant theme of communication breakdown. On occasion the verse is clumsy, but Gilmour's brilliant sense of melody unfailingly saves it. The album explores the themes of miscommunication, the loss of a friend, the loss of love, and essentially everything at the same time. There are some moments in here. "Marooned" should be included among the band's greatest instrumental works - before and after the departure of Waters. "Lost for Words" showcases some of the best song lyrics on the album, especially the final verse in which Gilmour gives voice to a startlingly heartfelt, "You know you just can't win." In that instant, the listener can almost feel the frustration of trying to make amends to the unforgiving. "High Hopes" is a beautiful closing statement, a remembrance of times past and deeds done.

The album opens with the instrumental "Cluster One," featuring the sounds of Mother Earth herself. The music is quiet, thoughtful, an introspective introduction that provides a flavour of things to come, and perhaps reminds you that this CD is a Pink Floyd CD; you can expect art, a touch of this, a touch of that, and it will be tinged with progressive elements.

The stronger elements of "What Do You Want from Me" contrast nicely with the opening piece. The song has elements that date back to "Wish You Were Here" and "Dark Side of the Moon." While the work breaks little new ground for Floyd, it is the reliability and quality of the music and lyrics that make it so addictive. This music is the same while being different. Those contrasting guitar chords are so Floyd. "Poles Apart" follows in a similar vein. However, the power of the lyrics of "Poles Apart" pulls you into the imagery painted by the combination of the music and lyrics. Once again the keyboards reminded me of "Dark Side of the Moon."

The fourth track, "Marooned," is pure brilliance. "Marooned", of course, is VERY oceanic. The image in my mind has always been of a stark, rocky, New England coastline--dark, ominous clouds threaten a nor'easter that may or may not materialise...but a warning just the same. Mr. Gilmour deserves credit here as well, for a guitar solo that to me sounds like the anguish of a soul in pain. Some parts even seem like racking sobs. Yet as the song goes on, it almost seems to gather strength...all hope is not gone. Out of this pain comes renewal.

I have allowed myself to be influenced by another reviewer who stated that David Gilmour took the opportunity to get a few digs at Roger Waters in this CD. At first I heard the lyrics of "A Great Day for Freedom" as relating to the breaking down of barriers between East and West at the end of the cold war. Multiple listening now convinces me that the song has more to do with the departure of Roger Waters than anything else. The music is mellow and good, but to use the lyrics as may have been done distracts from my enjoyment of a musically good song.

While the music of "Wearing the Inside Out" starts with a jazz flavour, or may even remind a listener of Vangelis' "Blade Runner" music, the lyrics are surreal and hint at paranoia and being left out. Richard Wright's music retains only a hint of Pink Floyd's usual musical style and while the change in flavour may provide some needed variation, the variation is also noticeable to a focused listener. This track is one of my less favourite on this CD.

I like the music and the lyrics of "Take It Back." There is a strong pop beat to this song, but it is so listenable and the lyrics are complex so that it is an enjoyable song. My only objection is the pop-like repetitive lyric at the end of the song. The harmony is well done, but the repetition is annoying.

The lyrics of "Coming Back to Life" are evocative. The song is a lament, and a seeking, and a journey, and a vision, an ending and a new beginning. It is amazing that David Gilmour managed to squeeze so much into the sparse lyrics of this song. While this song retains some of the pop flavour of "Take It Back," the lyrics will challenge an analytical listener and turns what could have been a mundane song into a good listen. I think "Coming Back to Life" is notable for Mr. Gilmour's second-most impressive singing job. Only "So Far Away" from his self-named solo album outdoes it. The beautiful, even, rapid note changes are absolutely impressive...the studio effects chosen here are very effective, in my opinion, to accentuate it.

"Keep Talking" uses a bit of a gimmick with the synthesized voice of physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking used at several places in the song. I like this song with its Pink Floyd style. However, I keep thinking that this song sounds similar in places to another song I heard on an early Pink Floyd album; I am just unable to pinpoint the song. Perhaps the style is so strongly similar to early Pink Floyd that I keep thinking this is a song from "Wish You Were Here."

The song "Lost for Words" is a song of frustration. How can you help overcome the differences between you and those who may be your enemies? This song really has no answer to the question, but how many songs of any genre use the words "doldrums" and "cauldron," particularly in the same song? For a while the vocals have a bit of a Bob Dylan feel to them, particularly in the opening stanza. Later we hear the sound of a boxing match in the bridge leading into a stronger, more Floyd style vocal. This song also contains a four-letter word that I am unable to recall having seen in a Pink Floyd song. I was a bit surprised by the inclusion, though it fits well with the theme.

The last track, "High Hopes," is my favourite on this CD. It is progressive and strong and a wonderful way to finish off a CD. My opinion of this CD was strongly flavoured by this last track that contains so many musical elements. The song in introduced with bells and a haunting piano. The initial vocals are dark and plaintive. The lyrics are full of unrealized futures and lost pasts, a feeling that we are coming to the end. The tolling of bells and the heavy bass are sad and nostalgic, and while it would be easy to accept the end as depressing, it is the well-executed artistry of this song that makes me happy rather than the sadness of the song.

The Division Bell was a refreshingly exciting work from a band that had gone through many things in some 35 odd years. I find it soulful and moving and it does what a great album should do by evoking many moods and feelings.

[KineticAesthetic]

1983 is probably the best song off 1983, and this re-working (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/1983_Daedelus_s_Odd_Dance_Party_Remix_/660657) is... Impressive. Totally out of time and stuttered, with little pauses between bars, this song just sounds weird until it begins to build up to a double time segment, with a scratchy little synth doing rapid glissandos and a driving beat with lots of open hats. An excellent take on 1983, truly original and using elements of the song as well as Daedelus' trademark vocoded speech synths to make something totally new and fresh. Good luck mixing it, though.

[TollBooth Willie]

Saul Williams - Sunday Bloody Sunday

Didn't realize until about a week ago this song even existed on The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! since I usually skim over songs. So glad I gave it a listen. Compared the to original version by U2 (which I didn't hear until a few days later on the radio) I prefer Saul's vocals mixed with the sound produced by Trent Reznor over Bono's voice and the simple guitar. Although I've noticed it uses the same drumline as the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keqAQk1YuOs

[dfc05]

Explosions in the Sky - live recordings

I started listening to the huge collection of concerts I downloaded from the Live Music Archive. I really love the old recordings (2003 and earlier). There tends to be very little crowd noise (I just listened to a recording from their 10th anniversary show in New York recently, and there's a lot of talking and some guy yelling "Hurry up!" throughout it :|). My favorites to listen to are Once More to the Afterlife because they don't play that anymore, and Yasmin the Light because the chill part at the end sounds really clear and different in some of the old recordings. There's also a recording of the first time they played Birth and Death of the Day which is pretty cool (sadly, that show sold out before I realized they were playing).

[Stigmata]

Venetian Snares - Horsey Noises

I really love this song. It's like regular Venetian Snares, but the vocal samples take on a heightened presence, and the beats are at about a third of the speed you'd normally expect. But even with the lower velocity, it's still as immediate and gripping as any of his other music. I'm really looking forward to whatever LP comes from this. Filth was pretty good, but not great. Worse than Detrimentalist for sure, which itself doesn't even begin to touch Rossz Csillag Alatt Szueletett.

[The Monkey]

The Cure - Killing an Arab

Amazing track, the bass line is aweshens and it features some of my favourite guitar work. It appears on the album "Boys Don't Cry", which is probably my favourite album from the 80s. Post-punk at its best.

[dfc05]

Sunset aka {{{SUNSET}}} - Loveshines II
http://www.myspace.com/lobosunset

This band self-describes themselves as "pop post-everything" on their facebook page, which I find amusing as that label doesn't really mean anything to me :P.

The Loveshines song is pretty awesome. It's got a nice classic feel to it, really cool vocal layering on the chorus, and the repeated notes at the very beginning reminds me of an old song... I can't quite figure out which though (like a way darker version of the opening of Mr. Blue Sky maybe?). I wish it were a little longer though.

Their other songs are nice too.

[edit] Just listened to their song The World Is Awaiting (http://autobusrecs.com/songssamples/SUNSETtHEWORLDISAWAITING.mp3)... it's beautiful.

[swan_song1973]

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

I've never really been a soul person, it just doesn't hit me the same way jazz and the blues does. Although soul singers usually have very powerful voices, I always found the lyrics sappy and stayed away from the genre. A few days ago however, I was reading an old Rolling Stone article about the 100 greatest singers, to which Marvin is #6. I knew that What's Going On was a pretty highly respected album and thought I should give it another listen. I currently have the title track stuck in my head and I don't think it's leaving any time soon. Never have I heard anybody who has a voice as smooth. Listening to this song is like running into somebody I haven't seen in years, it's so welcoming and warm. I've been listening to a lot of the Mars Volta lately which is a very jagged sound, Marvin being a vast contrast to this or anything else I've ever listened to. Maybe it's the change, but it's still a damn good sound, shame he had to get murdered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtUMa0FtuWY

[Warped]

Saul Williams - Sunday Bloody Sunday

Didn't realize until about a week ago this song even existed on The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! since I usually skim over songs. So glad I gave it a listen. Compared the to original version by U2 (which I didn't hear until a few days later on the radio) I prefer Saul's vocals mixed with the sound produced by Trent Reznor over Bono's voice and the simple guitar. Although I've noticed it uses the same drumline as the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keqAQk1YuOs

cool adaptation of that song. the original brings me back a bit to when i was a pre-teen and now this one feels more modern. nice find

[Cormeh]

The Touch - Stan Bush

This is so awesome. It's actually destined to be a part of me and my mates 80's workout music playlist. Nostalgiac and cheesy, it's pretty much perfect.

[Ennui]

Neo - Sínfutás

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyvd7pnddhs

From the soundtrack to the movie Kontroll. I really, really love this song and this movie. I'm not entirely sure how to describe this band but this entire album/soundtrack is goddamn epic.

[Stigmata]

It's tribal future digibilly. And I'm going to check it out.

[FrostedxB]

Kool Savas - Der Beweis/Mona Lisa (Riptor Remix)

Der Beweis and Mona Lisa were both some of the best tracks on Kool Savas' album Tot Oder Lebendig (Dead or Alive). Riptor Beats have made numerous remixes of Kool Savas tracks and all have turned out to be impressively good. This mash up of the two songs works well and the remixed beats was pulled off with brilliance.

[soulslicer]

Centiment - Earth Part one
Centiment - We're in this together

The guitars in this song are just particularly awesome. Extremely spacey and melodic, yet really metal. I kind of wish I could find more metal songs that sounded like this, using those spacey notes and stuff.

[TollBooth Willie]

Zero 7 - You're My Flame

Lovely song. Sia's voice is just beautiful. The lyrics are sweet and fun. Really upbeat and has a great effect on mood. I don't think I've ever listened to this and not felt at least a little bit happier. Mostly though the song is something I've been able to relate to a lot lately with someone else. Being able to appreciate life's smaller things while having someone else special to do it with.


But what always gets me?

Teach me to haggle
I'll teach you to swim
Get right back on the saddle
Push me on a swing

Take me to Rio
I'll take you to Berlin
I'll give you some yarn
And you'll give it some spin
Yes you will

[FrostedxB]

Gabriel Antonio - Ride For Me

Its a shame that Gabriel Antonio doesn't have more songs, this one is the type of song that just about anyone can relate it, and does a great job of going being both somewhat upsetting yet inspirational at the same time.

[dfc05]

The Walkmen - You & Me (album)

A few years ago, one of my friends showed me a youtube video of this band performing live. The sound quality was really awful so I just assumed that all their music was noisy as heck and didn't listen any further. I recently decided to try it out again, and this album is pretty awesome. It has some catchy tunes and the singer's voice sounds like it's been dropped down from an older time (I mean that in a very good way, à la Bob Dylan/Billy Joel).

[Yorick]

Owl City - "Ocean Eyes" (Album)

Owl City has quickly become one of my favourite bands over the last few years. The fact that Adam Young does the majority (if not all) of the work on these songs alone is impressive, but his sound reminds me of a bit of the Postal Service, which is in no way a bad thing.

One of the problems that you tend to run into with this genre is a degree of repetition, not just as the song progresses, but even as the album progresses, but I never really get that here. The lyrics are fantastic, Young's voice is light and airy, and the entire album just makes me smile. It's a fantastic summer album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENY16Mjw6k

Our Lady Peace - "Burn Burn" (Album)

Our Lady Peace has always been one of my favourite bands. Rarely a week goes by that I don't listen to them at least once. Raine Maida's vocals are certainly hit and miss for a lot people, but he has such a unique style that I've always absolutely loved.

Unfortunately lately their works have been a bit stale. While I did like Gravity, it clearly went in a different direction than anything they'd done before and was, dare I say, less special. The songs felt more like something anyone could have written, and didn't necessarily hold Our Lady Peace's style to them. The next CD, Healthy in Paranoid Times, I didn't even like.

The good news here is that with Burn Burn, OLP really goes back to their roots. It's absolutely fantastic and exactly what I wanted from them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nK4MwL5p_o

[swan_song1973]

Almendra - Almendra II (1970)

Argentinian rock? Hell yes. Their first album is heavy on acoustic and I didn't like so much, but the second one kicked ass. They're basically a Spanish speaking Led Zeppelin, which is awesome. I read about Almendra's guitarist, Luis Spinetta, in an interview with Omar Rodriguez Lopez so that was an instant beacon for me to check him out. If you're ever looking for something to expand your musical palate but don't want to leave the familiarity of rock music, check them out.

[SimpleAssassin]

The Cure - Killing an Arab

Amazing track, the bass line is aweshens and it features some of my favourite guitar work. It appears on the album "Boys Don't Cry", which is probably my favourite album from the 80s. Post-punk at its best.

:cheers: So true, their old stuff is excellent

[Zephos]

Ready, Able - Grizzly Bear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcQAOfa__ro

This is such an incredibly beautiful song. I love how subtly the strings add to it, especially in the outro. Grizzly Bear are such a tour de force live, I cannot wait until they arrive in Australia next summer. As for Veckatimest itself, still my definite album of the year.

[Warped]

http://www.esnips.com/doc/88f67980-2f05-4acf-a910-3c3ee5405a90/Q06---Baloon-Fight---Balloon-Trip

heard this on the Super Smash Brothers Brawl OST and it was amazing! it fills me with smiles and for some reason both reminds me of happy porn or just a great 80's movie

[KineticAesthetic]

I know nothing about Gatekeeper, who is on Skull Disco, Shackleton's label. However this track, which I played last night (! ! ! :D) is very very nice. A halting beat, with slightly syncopated wobbles pounding through in all the empty space, and a huge, harsh snare, all soaked in reverb and delay, with an echoing, distorted vocal sample meandering, phasered and delayed, through the whole mess to top it off. Around 2:20 when all the elements drop in the song compresses so much it sounds like you've just gone deaf, and the breakdown at 3:50 is sublime.

[Shakermaker]

Filling iTunes again after my computer meltdown and rediscovering a lot of stuff I didn't even know I had, including this track. Supposedly it is the original mixdown by Phil Spector and it certainly sounds that way. Tina seems to be singing inside an immense space filled with about every instrument you can find plus a bus load of black women. If there is one song that summons up the wall of sound it is this.

[dfc05]

A Silver Mt. Zion - The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes (http://www.archive.org/download/asmz2005-06-16.mic.flac16/asmz2005-06-16d2t04_vbr.mp3)

Listening to the live version, from June 16, 2005. At the end when it gets really quiet and they sing "Come on friends, to the barricades again," you can just barely hear people clink their glasses. Or maybe they just accidentally knocked them together, but I like to think they're clinking.

And then they play Hang On to Each Other and some guy says "Aww."

I wanna go to a Silver Mt Zion show... sigh.

[Viperidae]

Kine - Click

I love this. I am still not entirely sure how some of it was made.

It starts with what sounds like a break with an amplitude modulated bassline--but what's this? The break starts and stops, jerking back and forth with the bass doing the same at its mercy. Then another bass, pure sine this time, a little lower in range, jumps in, and they start to have a little conversation. But bass1 and his buddy Mr. Break win out, taking centre stage, if only because they keep yelling the same thing over and over.

But then wait, who's this? Oh hello faux-string... thing. Like a violin but obviously a sampler in disguise. You're not fooling anyone. With it we hear the first evidence of reverb, a welcome change to the hitherto dry palate. It clangs in and out of tune, like it's nervous about what it has to say.

Then the string starts whining, repeatedly. A single chord over and over, drowning everyone else out. The tension builds. How long is it going to do this for? Oh god stop. And finally, release, and the drums are back, and everything's back to normal--THIS IS WHAT ARTISTS NEED TO LEARN: TENSION AND STORYTELLING. THIS IS WHAT MAKES MUSIC EXCITING AND INTERESTING.

Anyway, the string does a little counterpart with the drums, and things go well. A second, less abrasive drum enters and has its say, as well as some vocals whispering. What the hell are they saying? Am I listening to Autechre's PLC? Ahh I have no idea help get me out of here.

Near the end the drums start up again from the beginning, as if the sudden intrusion of drums2 and the weird vocals had never happened. There are a few new texture jabs--like 80s laser sounds--which are a nice touch. After this all hell breaks loose and suddenly we're in a garbage can being rattled by a revved chainsaw for the last 8 seconds. But **** comfortable listening.

[Shakermaker]

Zero 7 - Give it away

This is one of the best chill out tracks I know. An electric piano, acoustic guitar, strings, and the keyboard horns, building their way up to a very laid back climax. It is on par with La Femme d'Argent, Air's magnum opus. And that is also my biggest bugbear when listening to Zero 7. They sound almost too much like Air (or the other way around, depending on which side of the fence you're on). It is not that I really mind because it is more of a good thing, but still.

Zero 7 - Give it away (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ6votxdpe4)

Air - La Femme d'Argent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etKAzG6UXhI)

[Ennui]

Biosphere - Chukhung

One of my favorite tracks off his beautiful minimalist ambient album Substrata, which very well might be my absolute favorite ambient album of all time... although that depends if you include Carbon Based Lifeforms or Bluetech in that category rather than psybient. According to Wikipedia this album has "a theme of cold, of mountains and glaciers and running water". Few ambient musicians rival him in his ability to create such rich atmosphere. I find it calming and relaxing, pretty much the epitome of what I think ambient should be, and I listen to it when I'm either chilling hard (right now) or going to sleep. Best listened to in the dark, in a pleasantly contemplative mood. The entire works of Biosphere are excellent and worth getting but this album takes the cake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTnPK8AD1gs

[Qonfused]

Boards of Canada - Korona

I'm currently rediscovering all the old Boards of Canada stuff. It's like listening to it all for the first time as it's been a long, long time since I've sat down and consciously listened to it all. It's interesting to listen how their music as changed and morphed along the years.

Korona starts off with a delicious pad. Absolutely amazing sounding. So rich. It soon becomes drowned out with a fast beat, faster than most BoC tracks. I miss the richness of the pad. The track continues on, that wonderful pad filling the soundscape as the beat changes and morphs to different patterns.

It's wonderful really, along with the rest of the old BoC discography. The (obvious) Old Tunes come to mind, a mix of short analogue pads and sounds to beats over old television shows. It transports the listener, and isn't that what music is supposed to do? Twoism being a mix of seemingly dark tunes, crossed with just funky tracks. Boc Maxima having my favorite BoC track, Whitewater.

I love rediscovering music. I remember why I fell in love with it in the first place.

[KineticAesthetic]

This guy has some serious talent. Still Life is from Timeless, 12 tracks on 2 cds, the longest clocking in at over 20 minutes. This is some serious old school jungle.

The 808 beat first dropping at 1:00, after the lush pads that are all throughout Timeless sounds a bit strange, yet at 1:40 when a stuttered and harsh beat begins, complete with small throbs of bass and little delayed and effected sounds, you realise what the song's gonna be all about - lush soundscapes and driving, heavily edited breaks.

A heavier break at 2:05 reinforces this, and the re-introduction of the orchestral pads later brings the song back to the beginning. Breaking down at 4:10, we hear some smeared, pitch shifted vocal stabs, very Burial-esque, and at 4:50 the 808 break is bought back, to be quickly trampled at 5 minutes by a splashy, gritty break with 3/4 snares, propelling the song onwards again. We shift in and out of breaks, all of them crisp and sharp, with the smooth rolling nature of jungle, and the song slowly breaks down, elements dropping out, until it finishes after 10:47.

Goldie is a genius, and Timeless a truly groundbreaking album. The vocal stabs are without the unfortunate kitsch of some of the other tracks, the breaks are smooth and complex, and the song has a certain underlying pattern that makes it incredibly listenable.

[Stigmata]

I've written a review of the album The Slip by Nine Inch Nails. I'm not entirely sure why. I hope someone likes it :D


------------



It's been a while since I've written anything concrete. It's also been a while since I've listened to Nine Inch Nails. Maybe my inevitable stretching pains will cancel each other out, like destructive interference?

So. The Slip. Released barely a month after the excessively competent Ghosts I-IV, it exercises everything that Trent Reznor, both as an artist and a businessman, has worked towards as of late. Droning, buzzing fluorescent synths and distortions permeate the album, until it's almost a reflection of the world that created it. Labels, corporations and monopolistic market forces in general have always been in Trent's way – compare his public tirade two years ago against Interscope with the dealings surrounding his Broken EP in 1992 – and his music is only showing more of the scars. The Slip is very much a human album, but the cold and lifeless walls that he has surely put up manifest in every song, pushing down the warmth inside.


It sure doesn't seem to come through in the lyrics, though. Especially not at first, with the slowly rising and pulsing wail of “999,999” lending a soapbox to Trent stuttering “How did I slip into this?” Of course, we never hear the last word, because once he finally manages to push it all out in one go, he's cut off by a crash of over-distorted guitar and hard-rock drumbeat that gets a foothold and doesn't look back. On top of this well-worn structure (seen on the tracks “Survivalism” and “The Hand That Feeds”), he confidently and powerfully delves directly into the same crawl-on-your-knees-you-pigs clichéd lyrical turns that made his fanbase begin to cringe on The Fragile, and further heighten their cringing on With_Teeth and (to a lesser extent) Year Zero. Once we get it to the chorus, Trent tells us “I jump from every rooftop / So high, so far to fall / I feel a million miles away”. And he should, because anyone's bound to lose sight of the significance in something they seem to say every other chance they get. But once the dissonant descent of the final riff closes the song, you realise he's being silenced by something far more interesting – the music – and that you should probably pay more attention to it.


“Letting You”, a clear tirade against recent target favourites “people who abuse their power”, combines more tired themes with an immediacy and anger not heard since “March of the Pigs”. The music is interesting enough to boot, with powerful distortion, yet clear production, and variation in the sound at all the right times. It's not a song he expects you to listen to more than a few times, so he knows to get the information across as directly as possible. Somewhat of a contrast to this is “Discipline”, the effective single. A clean, beautiful piano, warm textured synths and a surprisingly-complex harmonic depth to the vocals in the second half make this a highlight of the album. Lyrics, again, are notwithstanding, only this time he's switched gears and needs your help for something.


“Echoplex” threatens, at first, to slowly beat your ear canal into a calloused lifeless tube. “My voice just echoes off these walls,” says Trent, and again. And the song continues to threaten. But atop this flat platform of low frequencies is some very dense chromatic melody. And just like the lyrics say, it echoes, and echoes, and the cold lifeless walls that have been pressing in on him cascade the echoes into a roiling, chaotic finale that somehow seems to move at a walking pace. This pace is then replaced by the forceful dance-march of “Head Down”, a song about people who are not who they claim to be. So it's all but assured, now, that the theme of this album is anti-corporate and anti-ego. Effectively an album about various breakdowns, like his magnum opi The Downdward Spiral and The Fragile, only here the breakdowns are much more socially broad in nature. And here is where the album, where Trent is most effective at communicating with its listener. The humanity of the lyrics and the piano is stifled and crushed by the pinpoint precision of metallic screams and the collapsing rumble of boiling, gray distortion.


From the wreckage, a single, lonely piano emerges and laments the loss. Trent sings softly overtop, almost whispering at times. And this time, with everything around him lying in pieces, he manages to find the words that he's been missing since he forgot how he got here. It's unfortunately impenetrable, sighing about an undefined “she” who may or may not be drowning and his maybe-rescue of her which, of course, results in a self-deprecating lack of fanfare. The piano's final notes fade away, leaving the ominously inevitable dark hum of “Corona Radiata”. It pulsates, it ripples, and it intrudes on you. It does not try to be liked. It brings with it a sense of unease which persists for minutes, only to be replaced by a heavy beating from past the horizon. Dark as the droning, it marches forward, until you can hear the awful melody of its mechanics. It surrounds you, and as you enter the eye of the storm, all around you you begin to hear the desperate shrieks of the lives and the places it ends. And you begin to wonder, is there anything left after this? How many tracks are on the album again?


But wait, there's more! Two more, in fact, the first of which begins with a sufficiently-gripping bassline and hammer-drop artificial drums. Almost the inverse of the previous track, “The Four of Us are Dying” steps deliberately forward from the beginning, always moving and layering on the unease and the intrusion of the walls, before tearing it all down with an angry, disappointed guitarline. But without lyrics, we're left wondering what it's about. So much of the album has been thematically generic, and so far a full third has been wordless. What's this really about? What seems more and more like NIN's final album for the next few years, it can't just be about nothing, can it? Sure, it's free, but there has to be more than that.


And then there's “Demon Seed”. The drums pull you back and forth from the beginning, on a growling, wavering synth, threatening to lose balance at any second. “It keeps growing, and I can feel it breathe” says Trent. And how right he is. The intensity builds and builds, with guitars adding layers of pointed disgust as he forces out “I have been trying to tolerate you” like he's apologising to his lifelong nemesis. But does he have any, really? He's made amends with Mr. Manson, and his battle with alcohol and drugs ended in the With_Teeth era. And he's already free from Interscope, and released this album and the last on his own terms. But, you think, he has to be angry at something. This all has to be about someone. Who could it possibly be? And then you put the album down, and let that percolate for a month. You think about how the music relates to the lyrics. Everything is so immediate, so blunt, so direct. You think, maybe he's trying to talk directly, even candidly. Maybe he's talking about himself. And things begin to fall into place.


If the album is about him, then the songs must represent something. The title “The Slip” must then represent him. And what would that represent about him? Why, his apparent slip in songwriting ability post-Fragile. So, let's start from the beginning.


“999,999” builds on quiet pulsings synths that slowly seem to gain confidence, as Trent wonders how he “slipped into” this. And when he's cut off by a song full of his lyrical comforts, you see that it might be an autobiographical album. It begins with a cursory look at his beginnings – starting with an unassuming foray into music, he grows in prominence until he's swept up into the business before he realises what's happening. “1,000,000”, the sober look at current affairs, reinforce this and his feelings of being lost in the current music scene. And he has all the right to be frustrated. “Got these lines / On my face / After all this time / And I still haven't found my place”. In his desperation to feel the inspiration that helped him create his most-loved albums, he “jumps from every rooftop,” but ends up feeling even further removed from the rage. Unfortunately it only gets worse from here, as he tells us the price of putting your emotions on a pedestal and being able to satisfy everyone who's listening except yourself. “Put the gun in my mouth” he sarcastically asks of us - “Close your eyes, blow my ****ing brains out” - and he knows that when we do, we will react the same way we always do. “Pretty patterns on the floor / That's enough for you, but I still want more”.


So what, then, are the other songs about? Well, “Letting You” is the “Year Zero” chapter of his recent history. “Discipline” is the now-public realisation that, without fans and critics to bound it, Trent's writing would be too self-indulgent for anybody but himself. “Echoplex” is about the feeling of safety he finds in studio work, and how critics and Internet trolls, now a legitimate psychological threat, will “never ever get to him in here”. And in this autobiographical perspective, “Head Down” takes on a striking lyrical presence. It seems to be a very personal and self-deprecating song about Trent's post-2000s artistic slip:


Hey you
What'cha running from?
All your hate?
What you've become?


Bet you didn't think
It would happen to you
All used up
Halfway through


But there must be a glimmer of hope, because he realises that what is around him isn't what makes him who he is, no matter how lost that may make him feel. He realised that With_Teeth wasn't who he was, and he didn't need to let it define him. So in this biography, his follow-up record Year Zero and its satellite tour arrive as the eponymous “Lights in the Sky”, a ballad about nothing more than being saved. “Corona Radiata” follows, in what could be considered the dream sequence that spurs Trent on to write Year Zero. After the months that were that album-and-tour adventure, Trent had grown very close to his touring bandmates, and in “The Four of Us are Dying” plays for us us the pain that will go along with that eventuality.


Which leaves us, again, with “Demon Seed”. Again, we still don't quite know what it's about. He's basically gotten us up to speed on his recent history, and he's articulated anger against everything already, so what is there left to be angry with?


The answer is you. The listener. Not every listener, but the ones who insult him seemingly without end. “I am trying to tolerate you” he says, but their continuation pushes him to a disturbing sense of calm and decisiveness. He says, flatly “I am reaching a point, yeah”, and when nobody believes him, he explodes. While the walls are rending themselves apart, he whispers “I will use my voice, and I will use my fist, to destroy everything I can”.


And look at what it's gotten us over the years. Album after album, Trent has proved his versatility and passion borne out of frustration and hate. For what seems to be his one true lapse in semi-visionary prowess, With_Teeth was still a great album. It just showed us that, rather than simply getting old and boring, he needs something to direct his anger at. With Year Zero, he had the government and society to be angry about. And on The Slip, he's angry with himself.


But he's also angry with his fans. Some planted a seed in him, through their behavior at live shows and their treatment of him in the media. And some have continued planting seeds, mostly by trolling him through Twitter and forums. Now we have seen the results of this unnecessary goading – he is starting to hate us, and he is receding. If we keep pushing, something is going to give, and that something might just be Nine Inch Nails. Maybe it's time we stopped hating and began appreciating. Then maybe Trent will find something new to be angry about, and we can all enjoy a new album, because he's still making great music.

[soulslicer]

Adaro - Words Never Spoken

if only I could find this song

[PorkPi]

Last show I saw was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones headlining with The Voodoo Glow Skulls and The Impalers at The Fillmore, San Fransisco.

Great show. The Impalers opened and there always good. I was a little dissapointed with VGS's set, but they were fine for the most part. I've never seen The Mighty Mighty Bosstones before and I gotta say they're pretty awesome. This was one of if not my favorite live performances I've seen, so if you get the chance, try to see these bands. If you live In the CA Bay area, The Impalers play all the time and MMB is on tour right now, I believe, so you might catch 'em in your area.

[soulslicer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPtssprg-yQ&feature=related

Earthsuit - Against the Grain

bloody brilliant band. Jazzy funky raprock tunes behind some prog like vocals.

[swan_song1973]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEl44naGjDk

George Harrison - Let It Down

john was always my favorite beatle, but all things must pass is my favorite post-beatles album. the whole thing ebbs and flows perfectly and really showcases harrison as a songwriter. makes me wish he was still alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpH5i3xD7tA

Alice In Chains - Rooster

I first heard this song on the radio a few months back and it completely changed my thoughs about Alice. Before Rooster, when I thought of their sound, I thought of the funk/metal/grunge mutation present in songs like "Man In a Box," but hearing a band like that using such a soft guitar and harmonizing told me there was a lot more to them than what I'd heard. And then it builds to something out of left field.

[zombieturtle01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWC6cNMRl-4

[Zephos]

Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clY2RAgXpM0

What essentially got me into club music. The rest of his music is pretty balls to me, but when this song comes on at 3am, when you're drenched in sweat and completely trashed and the strobes and lasers intensify as that fist pumping synth comes into play, it's orgasmic.

[swan_song1973]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf1ZmTxXTEw&feature=fvw

The White Stripes - My Doorbell

they need to get on the road again. i like jack's new band, the deadweather, but it's not nearly as good.

[CyberPitz]

Electric Light Orchestra - Here Is The News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSEVhQoka8E

Just about anything ELO is just so catchy and awesome.

[CptStern]

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58-36lSqG4

probably one of my fave RatM song. I've seen this song being champoined by gun-nuts "rally round the family with a pocket full of shells" when it's actually a song of protest against the rim of fire companies and the military industrial complex

[Shift]

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58-36lSqG4

probably one of my fave RatM song. I've seen this song being champoined by gun-nuts "rally round the family with a pocket full of shells" when it's actually a song of protest against the rim of fire companies and the military industrial complex

I agree, cracking riff.

[bam23]

in light of NIN embarking on their final tour, i've been listening to a bunch of NIN stuff.

rediscovery is good. but damn, it's a shame that i'm gonna be one of those that will never be able to see NIN live.

[dfc05]

Sunset Rubdown - You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)

This song is brilliant. If it doesn't make you tap your toes, there's something wrong with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIOpn8aTRGU

[The Monkey]

http://www.ugo.com/music/top-11-rock-album-covers/images/entries/London-calling.jpg

The Clash - London Calling (album)

11/10

Over the last couple of months this band has come to mean the world to me, and their third album, the masterpiece London Calling has been the centre of attention. Though labelled as punk by many, it's really more of a post-punk creation, with its huge amount of influences over the 19 tracks, raging from ska and reggae to rockabilly. Every single track is brilliant in its own right. The musical cooperation on this album between Mick Jones and Joe Strummer surpasses even what Lennon/McCartney ever accomplished. The greatest album in history.

[SamuraiKenji]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiqtYRLVf6Y



Love this shit, it's good metal and the guitar is AMAZING (For the song, skip to 1:16)
12/10

[Ennui]

in light of NIN embarking on their final tour, i've been listening to a bunch of NIN stuff.

rediscovery is good. but damn, it's a shame that i'm gonna be one of those that will never be able to see NIN live.
Well, Trent might be back one day, just not for a while if at all, so don't give up hope yet. I only saw NIN twice, once in 2006 and once on this most recent "Wave Goodbye" tour and tbh 2006 was way better.

[swan_song1973]

An odd mix:

The Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4O7aI87E3g

Tool - Hooker With a Penis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32FVi7SpQDk

Nirvana - All Apologies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTRXzkRis-s

R.E.M. - Belong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZEwrK6ziLk

[soulslicer]

Cynic - Focus (album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxuvUHQ8HV8&feature=related

The one true jazz-metal album. awesome stuff

[Warped]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6FGb7I9f1U
saw them live and saw them ages ago at some Warped Tour and enjoyed them greatly. very good summer music

Lyrics:

Welcome home
While away
They have tampered with the locks
And your things they rearranged

"We propose a better way"
Said the note they left behind
In their wake of disarray
You fell in place

Don't fall asleep
They'll find us here
I know a place to disappear
As a voice proclaimed

What we are is the sum of 1000 lives
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on

Let us cry
Let us be
Let us open up our hearts
Without fear of anything

Faith alone
Is all we need
To traverse this burning bridge
Now before it gets too late
You said "it's fine"

But the heart reveals
What smiles betray
Your sad sad eyes gave you away
Don't you know

What we are is the sum of 1000 lives
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we dont have the strength to go on

Our shoulders bear an awful weight
But still we trudge on just the same
Our colors run then leave a stain
They blacken our once honest name
But how can we argue, tell me
Over the fury and the fire
How many times can we tell you that we
Are not like you, we see right through
Your poor disguise that fails to fool
The wary eye that is trained on you

What we are is the sum of 1000 lives
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on
Until we don't have the strength to go on

What we are is the sum of 1000 lives
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on
Until we don't have the strength to go on
Yeah! we don't have the strength to go on

I think its cooler if you post the lyrics too

[Letters]

Screaming Trees's "Dust" album... one of my new favorites! It's old, but it's new to me. :P

[Shift]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NieRx4HPLTs

Christ what a piece of music....

[swan_song1973]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFUrHhONTz4

Audioslave - Show Me How To Live

[Born]

DUBSTEP.FM - 5/5

Given a 5 due to personal massive dubstep loving. This station offers all kinds of beats and tunes. Including tunes from one of my favourite dubstep duo, Chase & Status. Best thing is, it's getting mixed up all the time. DJs crack some decent jokes and will keep you fully entertained. Any fan of dnb, grime, dance, 44, should defo give this a roll. If you're not into this music scene, then you're probs going to bail on this one. Hold tight.

[Acepilotf14]

TOUHOU MUSIC
Some great music here, and even if you don't like the games you can't deny some of this stuff is really, really good. It's almost what makes the game.
..disregard loli

Cirno's Theme-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IohP2MVCStA

Sakuya's Theme, remixed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNcSl8EvU3Q

Alice's Theme-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVwstM4vZC8

U.N. Owen Was Her, one of the best of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIop055eJhU

[KineticAesthetic]

my favourite dubstep duo, Chase & Status.

Look I don't like to do this but you are very silly and ignorant! Chase & Status, like many other prominent D&B producers (Spor, Noisia), have been experimenting with dubstep for a few months now, but really, they're not a dubstep duo at all. Go listen to Kode9, Joker, The Bug, Burial and so forth.

Currently I'm listening to Vancouver, by Martyn. It's half wonky and half dubstep. Shimmering basslines over a fuzzy two-step beat, synths foaming in and out on the back of the incredible groove. Much recommended, from his album Great Lengths.

[soulslicer]

Alarum - Receiver, Reconditioned

This music is ****ing incredible. It's like jazz meets thrash, meets post-hardcore. massively awesome stuff.

[Born]

Look I don't like to do this but you are very silly and ignorant! Chase & Status, like many other prominent D&B producers (Spor, Noisia), have been experimenting with dubstep for a few months now, but really, they're not a dubstep duo at all. Go listen to Kode9, Joker, The Bug, Burial and so forth.

Currently I'm listening to Vancouver, by Martyn. It's half wonky and half dubstep. Shimmering basslines over a fuzzy two-step beat, synths foaming in and out on the back of the incredible groove. Much recommended, from his album Great Lengths.

:P Respect, I'll check her out.

[PJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NieRx4HPLTs

Christ what a piece of music....

I love this song, and Radiohead for that matter. Simply stunning.

[Nibwoddle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_SiaU9sJoQ

Pretty cool band from my city (there aren't many!)

[dfc05]

Motel Motel - New Denver album

I'm ok with nasally indie voices so this sounds pretty darn good to me. Although I don't initially like the way most of the songs start off, they tend to change it up around the chorus or the end of the song. So overall I like it.

[zombieturtle01]

Yeah, I KNOW it's a sampled remix, but it's well done-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfNLhYvgC9Q

[Qonfused]

That track you posted is rather different, haha. I guess I hear some stoner influence but not outstandingly so.

Hymie's Basement - Hymie's Basement (album)

Another anticon. group made roughly of the members of Why? And yet another success. Admittedly, the first half of the album is merely okay in terms of quality and enjoyment. Even with that, the second half more than makes up for it. Starting at Pretty Colors (Smile Your Brains Out), it turns into a melody driven poetic masterpiece. Pretty Colors features a rather addictive deep voice off beat with the percussion which makes for an awesome combo. The last three tracks on the album are very memorable, often earning multiple plays from me in one sitting, Lightning Bolts and Man Hands being one of those three: you can almost feel the tears coming from his face.

I knew nothing. The first half is just as strong as, if not stronger than, the last half of the album. Listen to it immediately.

[dfc05]

Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism (the song, not the whole album)

I know lots of people love this song, but I kind of dislike it. I listen to lots of freakishly long 10+ minute songs without any trouble, but even at only ~8 minutes this one just feels like it drags on and on and on. When he starts singing "Come on" at the end, I'm like "Come on and finish the song already man!"

[Glue]

I just started listening to them. Passion Pit 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zherMkcXdo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp1Dk7nzs7M

[The Monkey]

Way Out West in Gothenburg was this weekend, and I gotta say that it was the best festival I've ever been to. Not one of the acts I saw was any less than awesome.

Day 1:
Bon Iver 7/10
Beirut 8/10
Antony & the Johnsons 7/10
Glasvegas 8/10
Arctic Monkeys 9/10

Day 2:
Patrick Wolf 8/10
Vampire Weekend 8/10
My Bloody Valentine 10/10
Lily Allen 8/10

My Bloody Valentine's concert is probably the best I've ever seen and definitely the loudest. Anyone without earplugs left very quickly. The amount of fuzz they created with the guitars was amazing. By law they aren't allowed to play over 100 dB, but they purposely broke the law and played 120 dB. The last 20 minutes was ceaseless guitar mangle that vibrated your entire body. I'm still shaking from it.

[nipples]

Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families

I really love this song. I saw them play it live, they did an excellent job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YiUXl0TwR8

[Warped]

just had to open up my HL folder and give it another whirl this month!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRruOjolp0k&feature=related

[dfc05]

Henryk Gorecki - Symphony, No 3, Op 36 ('Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'): Movement 1

Absolutely beautiful piece. Can't say I'm a huge fan of Movements II and III (I don't even know if I've ever listened the whole way through them), but Movement I is excellent. Takes a while to build up though.

The whole first movement is like 27 minutes long. Here's just the second part... I like the instrumental buildup of the first part better, but this has the climax at ~4:00.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKk-w_0SpSw

[joule]

Metric - Help I'm Alive ~ 9/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we_czU9sJ3g&feature=fvst

Smart and stylish pop of the highest order. I highly suggest you pickup their latest album, Fantasies, for the latest dip in new-wave inspired rock.

Other tracks of the dreamy and sinuous beat that I personally suggest alistenin' to: Gold Guns Girls, Satellite Mind, Blindness, and Gimme Sympathy. You won't regret it.

[Viperidae]

@ Warped

My favourite from HL2. As soon as I heard it in the Coastline trailer I spent forever waiting for it, and finally got it when the source code was leaked. Ah, 2003 memories.

Can't quite place the sound. I think that stems from Bailey's lack of musical background--he just does what he likes.

[Naudian]

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1617/coverdvs.jpg

Craziness

[Stigmata]

King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man (2004 Original Recording remaster, FLAC)

I just downloaded the remaster of this album. The difference between this and the original release is immense. The levels, the bass... the wild guitar/drum solo break in the middle is no longer half the volume of the rest of the song. Everything pops out in the mix like it should. This song just sounds fantastic.

[TollBooth Willie]

Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party

Everybody's coming leave your body and soul at the door. Danny Elfman I want to birth your children.

[Vegeta897]

Orange Dust - Skeletones

Just recently discovered this artist and he's unbelievable. Mostly fast paced breakbeat with an overall hip hop feel. Listen to this track and you'll get a feel for what he's all about.

This is the kind of music I wish I could make, and what I would always play in my head, but never found an artist that produced this much of it and so well.

Edit: now video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I23E7jStDW0

[Captain M4d]

I just started listening to them. Passion Pit 4/5

cut
Passion Pit is amazing! I've been listening to Manners a lot recently. It's one of my favorite bands that I've had to represent for my Sony Music college marketing job.

Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party

Everybody's coming leave your body and soul at the door. Danny Elfman I want to birth your children.
I love Oingo Boingo!!!! One of the professors at my school used to do drum tech for them back in the early 90s. I'm going to interview him for my university's paper in the fall.

[Sulkdodds]

Metric...

Smart and stylish pop of the highest order. I highly suggest you pickup their latest album, Fantasies, for the latest dip in new-wave inspired rock.This album is definitely incredible and addictive to the point that once you begin listening to it you must force yourself to stop before you hear it so many times repeatedly that you ruin it for yourself forever.

[TollBooth Willie]

Passion Pit is amazing! I've been listening to Manners a lot recently. It's one of my favorite bands that I've had to represent for my Sony Music college marketing job.


I love Oingo Boingo!!!! One of the professors at my school used to do drum tech for them back in the early 90s. I'm going to interview him for my university's paper in the fall.That's ****ing awesome. My dad found out I liked Oingo Boingo yesterday and pretty much fjskfdkfdh. Love Danny's voice.

Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows (Unkle Remix)

Another awesome remix by Unkle. They need to do more QOTSA tracks.

[Naudian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLG8oXsIy_I

I love everything about this track, it picks up around 3:20.

[zombieturtle01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8TeqKhgY

[Shakermaker]

The Beatmasters - Ska Train

One of my favourite tracks when I was still in high school. The song mixes 1980's acid house with (surprise!) ska. The trumpet is played by one of The Specials iirc. Back then this was considered 'electronic music' but it doesn't compare to the stuff made nowadays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPCJUo0zp7M

[zombieturtle01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUA7F9j_xzs

[Stigmata]

Recently, Amon Tobin - Escape

I used to dislike this song, but I've heard it about a dozen times in the past few weeks and every time it's grown on me more and more. The samples and music interact perfectly, like when you can almost hear the men scraping their way through the dirt in rhythm. I miss Splinter Cell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUA7F9j_xzs
Rating approved, would discuss again 5/5

[Dodo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4SNtFQZF0A
nice clip

-dodo

[Dodo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G29d6RDSK1c

best clip ever!

-dodo

[Sulkdodds]

I am listening to a lot of Peaches, mainly because I had heard good stuff about her but hadnt heard her and she was playing a gig in Brighton tomorrow. But then I realised the people I would invite are all at Reading and will have no money. So instead I'm just going to listen to the music at home (bawww). It's percussive and frictional and danceable and totally hot.

Listen to her newish album I Feel Cream.

[Sulkdodds]

Also, this song is great. Lady Gaga does an MIA impression + phat beats.
EDIT: haha, they edited out "high" wow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XwxKVBNbrQ

[Stigmata]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

I really should not have waited this long to obtain this album. "So What" is pure nonchalant bliss. I lost track of the album after "Freddie Freeloader", probably on account of the songs flowing together like a pair of good jazz riffs, but I remember at the very least not disliking anything. I'm going to be listening to this a lot in the near future.

[zombieturtle01]

Rating approved, would discuss again 5/5

Shut it, sometimes songs speak for themselves.


Anyways, I've been in an 80's mood lately.
I think it's because I've been playing GTA:VC again, and when I was about 12 that is what really got me loving 80's music.
(YEAH, DON'T TALK BAD ABOUT 80'S MUSIC IT'S AWESOME)

I was singing this in the car today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCH1IlOfDTM

[Naudian]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

I really should not have waited this long to obtain this album. "So What" is pure nonchalant bliss. I lost track of the album after "Freddie Freeloader", probably on account of the songs flowing together like a pair of good jazz riffs, but I remember at the very least not disliking anything. I'm going to be listening to this a lot in the near future.

My dad always listens to this stuff and I agree completely.

sooooo what, duh-dun duh-dun duh-un duh-doo-doo

[zombieturtle01]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHODPlZYeUA

[dfc05]

Daniel Johnston - Living Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBNz3mL9-Kg

I like this one a lot. Recorded on a tape cassette. It's got heart. And the piano part toward the end is brilliant before it breaks down into discord, which is also pretty brilliant. It makes me feel better about things.

[TheAntipop]

Manatees - I

I've probably fallen in to some pretentious wankery discription about these guys before so I'll cut this one short with a awesome video of these class Geordies tearing up some shitty venues around the country from so tour or somesuch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFn5mF8a2jQ

What a tremendous band. Ridiculously loud to the extent that playing it quietly is unacceptable and that's a goddamn fact. It's music made from men with beards and that's the best kind of music. The UK metal scene couldn't be anymore awesome at the moment with how much unique talent is pouring through. ****ing crushing.

[KineticAesthetic]

youtube

Come on Pat, you can do better than that! More discussion!

[jet_porkins]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

I really should not have waited this long to obtain this album. "So What" is pure nonchalant bliss. I lost track of the album after "Freddie Freeloader", probably on account of the songs flowing together like a pair of good jazz riffs, but I remember at the very least not disliking anything. I'm going to be listening to this a lot in the near future.

I love you so passionately right now.

Couldn't agree more. Top 5 album.

[zombieturtle01]

Come on Pat, you can do better than that! More discussion!

Doesn't this song say everything about us?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_I4wtNPv5w

[Viperidae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sarj9JcLgQY

Probably proof that sines and reverb are always a good combination. Not sure if I like the original over the Fundacion NYC remix. It seems just a tad on the slow side.

As an aside, this guy is incredibly hard to find, although that might have changed recently. I remember a year ago finding even a listing for his CD took 10 minutes in google. I guess he's caught on now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR2tKN6wkxM

Woo samples of train stations I've been to. Huzzah. Again, must be some sort of Eurodance exclusivity thing, but these guys are really tough to find legally in NA.

[dfc05]

Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You in the End

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ucN4DActxA

also

Daniel Johnston - The Sun Shines Down on Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW0Rjsb1WLE

The more I listen to Daniel Johnston songs, the more I love them.

[PvtRyan]

Porcupine Tree - Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-zPWBu--Q4

Always thought this was a lovely relaxing track, but I only recently found out that the voice-over you hear is that of a cult leader (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)) recording a last video before he and the other members of the cult committed mass suicide. It's suddenly a whole lot more eerie.

[Van_Halen]

Jackyl - Relentless (Album)

3.5/5

From the southern boys of rock boogie, one might expect a better quality record. Sure, the majority of the songs are awesome, but it seems that Jackyl trie to go more the rout of Rap Metal with their newest album. Examples include "Billy Badass," where lead singer Jesse literally raps over the guitar riff. Also, You Want It Heavy also seems to be a bit like rap being that the entire song is Jesse bragging about how awesome he is. Though he isn't at all wrong, it seems more could be done to make actual music instead of boasting like this.

Actually, the entire album seems composed of this, where he's bragging about himself, then feeling sorry for himself. But, enough about the lyrics. More goes into an album than that.

One thing very irritating about this album is the snare drum. It's really awful. it seems Jackyl went with a synthesized snare over a real one. I can't imagine why... Chris Worley's kit, in my mind, is one of the best tuned I've ever heard, so it's disappointing to hear his strongest point undermined. The guitars, too, seem to be overly distorted. Almost like they're choking throughout the entire record... Perhaps they were taking Metallica's lead in that they wanted to have a more organic sound, but with an "In your face" band like Jackyl... Well... Maybe that was the point. To pull the rug out from underneath their own fans.

Though the album has serious weak points, there are truely great songs on this record. Classics even, that I'm disappointed to see Jackyl not take advantage of. Here's one particular track I love, but have never heard at one of their concerts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fvXUDxZJMQ&feature=fvw

Some great tracks on this album include: I'm On Fire, Lend Me A Hand, Mr. Evil, Vegas Smile, Heaven Don't Want Me (And Hell's Afraid I'll take Over), Sparks From Candy, Curse on You, and The more You Hate it.

That might be most of the album, but that's how great these songs are. But, again, the quality of the sound really makes them drag. A few might say that Jesse's voice, too, was trying too hard to imitate Brian Johnson, and they might be right, but it may also have to do with Jesse's age showing in his voice. Same with what happened with James Hetfield, and Brian Johnson himself. At a certain age you just can't scream it out anymore. It can effect music quality, but on this reconrd, not enough that it doesn't still ****ing kick your ass.

I would recommend anyone this record if Jackyl would simply fix the drums in it. Even the cymbals sound nerfed somehow, and it gets annoying. Especially with the Hi-hat.

[dfc05]

Bobby Conn - Never Get Ahead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm9dzLxLvxc

One of the most hilarious songs/videos I've ever experienced. The song itself is really catchy but the video elevates it to something so much more awesome. Especially the girl in the blue dress.

[Viperidae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwErxckY-Xc
This album was recently recommended to me, and I have to say I'm enjoying it immensely. Not quite ambient, but more in the style of a movie soundtrack. Slow progressions and evolutions, but not in an overbearing manner like trance. He's also not afraid of showing anger or despair in a happy track.

Reminds me somewhat of what might happen if Thomas Newman slowed his stuff to half tempo and started using a drum machine. This and the last track are my favourite so far. Good for long drives.

[Qonfused]

I recommended that to you. Do you know nothing about sources? Honestly.

[TheAntipop]

Bleeding Through - On Wings Of Lead

Y'know, on the whole I usually find this metalcore malarky very rubbish, or from what I've heard, but there's something about Bleeding Through that really tears at my heart strings and gets something out of me. It's the clean vocals that do it - day will break on this saddest day; so don't let me wake. I've heard this all before, I've seen this over and over again, don't let me wake.''' backed-up by some pretty aggressive harsh vocals yelling DROWNING IN A POOL OF MY OWN BLOOD... really gets to me somehow. You gotta hear it to know it. Recommend the album This is Love, This is Murderous to anyone that cares.

[CptStern]

Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine

imho their best song, also their strongest political song. too bad they couldnt keep it up. listening to this song more than 10 years after it was released I'm still surprised to see how many people interpret this as a pro-gun/pro-war song

""Bulls on Parade" addresses the issue of the American military-industrial complex, a situation in which industry (the arms industry, primarily) urges government to take military action, with the intent of obtaining military contracts, and to thereby increase its revenue."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulls_on_Parade#Context

[Viperidae]

Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58-36lSqG4


probably one of my fave RatM song. I've seen this song being champoined by gun-nuts "rally round the family with a pocket full of shells" when it's actually a song of protest against the rim of fire companies and the military industrial complex

Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine

imho their best song, also their strongest political song. too bad they couldnt keep it up. listening to this song more than 10 years after it was released I'm still surprised to see how many people interpret this as a pro-gun/pro-war song

""Bulls on Parade" addresses the issue of the American military-industrial complex, a situation in which industry (the arms industry, primarily) urges government to take military action, with the intent of obtaining military contracts, and to thereby increase its revenue."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulls_on_Parade#Context
I swear you do this on purpose.

[dfc05]

Blood Warrior - recording of a live show

Pretty good folksy stuff. Some of the singing and texture reminds me of the vocal parts from the O'Shenandoah cd by Sparrows Swarm and Sing (somewhat obscure post-rock-ish band which no longer exists). I don't know how best to describe it -- kinda like campfire singing? There's not a whole lot of variety between the songs, but I'm ok with that as it's good for what it is.

[PvtRyan]

Porcupine Tree - The Incident

Just had my first listen of this new album. As with all their albums, I think I'll need to listen it multiple times to appreciate everything on it, but there's definitely some amazing tracks on there. From what I remember, I really loved Time Flies (at 'only' 11:40 the longest track, although disc 1 can be seen as a single 55 minute track), Octane Twisted and I Drive The Hearse.

As always, the album is very varied and I don't know if it's more or less "metal" than FoaBP. I think it's neither, it's just PT being PT and even the "metal" on FoaBP like Anesthetize really sounded nothing like metal at all. I think it sounds like FoaBP mixed with Lightbulb Sun, really.

Haven't really paid attention to the lyrics yet, but then, I never really do. The lyrics of FoaBP were a little too melodramatic for my liking, but that didn't detract from the actual music.

There's also a bunch of <2 min songs on it that seem like filler tracks. I guess they're meant as bridges between the songs or something, but I don't really care for them. And that's my biggest gripe I guess: too many short, pointless songs. I like my 18 minute slow build-up with orgasmic blow-out songs, thank you very much.

Seeing them in exactly one month where they'll presumably be playing this album. Can't wait!

EDIT: 'I Drive The Hearse' is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks ever. <3

[dfc05]

Arvo Pärt -- Te Deum

It's a choral piece by a contemporary composer... according to Wikipedia this piece was written in the late '80s. This piece is ridiculously beautiful. I've seriously been sitting here for hours now listening to his choral stuff. Here's part of Te Deum from near the end of the whole piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs6Ct6B7_G8

I love the last minute of it. Also, the conductor mouthing the words makes me smile.

[Stigmata]

Porcupine Tree - The Incident

Just had my first listen of this new album. As with all their albums, I think I'll need to listen it multiple times to appreciate everything on it, but there's definitely some amazing tracks on there. From what I remember, I really loved Time Flies (at 'only' 11:40 the longest track, although disc 1 can be seen as a single 55 minute track), Octane Twisted and I Drive The Hearse.

As always, the album is very varied and I don't know if it's more or less "metal" than FoaBP. I think it's neither, it's just PT being PT and even the "metal" on FoaBP like Anesthetize really sounded nothing like metal at all. I think it sounds like FoaBP mixed with Lightbulb Sun, really.

Haven't really paid attention to the lyrics yet, but then, I never really do. The lyrics of FoaBP were a little too melodramatic for my liking, but that didn't detract from the actual music.

There's also a bunch of <2 min songs on it that seem like filler tracks. I guess they're meant as bridges between the songs or something, but I don't really care for them. And that's my biggest gripe I guess: too many short, pointless songs. I like my 18 minute slow build-up with orgasmic blow-out songs, thank you very much.

Seeing them in exactly one month where they'll presumably be playing this album. Can't wait!

EDIT: 'I Drive The Hearse' is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks ever. <3
I just started listening to Porcupine Tree, though I've heard a lot about them over the years. Which album do you think I should start with? I've listened to half of In Absentia and some random earlier songs, and I like pretty much everything I've heard so far.

[PvtRyan]

I just started listening to Porcupine Tree, though I've heard a lot about them over the years. Which album do you think I should start with? I've listened to half of In Absentia and some random earlier songs, and I like pretty much everything I've heard so far.

It's hard to say really. Even in a single album, the music varies wildly, although the trend is that newer albums are more "rocky" and "louder". But even on those albums, there's slow, quiet songs. The newest album (The Incident) also doesn't follow this trend, and some say it's a summary of all the music they've done so far, which wouldn't make it a bad place to start.

On the other hand, I know at first I didn't really like anything except for Deadwing and parts of In Absentia like Trains and Blackest Eyes. Deadwing in particular is probably pretty easy to like if you like rock at all. It's still my favorite album too. The rest I had to grow into. These are my personal favorites:

1. Deadwing (the only album ever where I love ALL the songs)
2. Lightbulb Sun / The Incident / Fear of a Blank Planet
3. Voyage 34 (only 4 songs, but each over 10 minutes long, a tale of an LSD trip and absolute perfect for any bus/train traveling)
4. In Absentia

But they're seriously all good :)

I can also recommend Blackfield, a band by PT's frontman Steven Wilson and Israeli singer Aviv Geffen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyMp99Q5ss

[KineticAesthetic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hTN19x1DyM&fmt=18
Mount Kimbie - Maybes
from Maybes EP, Hotflush 021.

I've never been so stunned by a track. After hearing this in (tantalising, I might add) snippets on my radio station for a month, and not knowing what it was, I found it on my iPod - a wonderful experience, to be sure.

The song, however, starts off in a very strange manner - slow, reverbed waves of distorted guitar, and the occasional unidentifiable thump or whine. Vaguely post-rock, and completely disparate from the song as a whole. Yet when the beat suddenly rolls in, clattering, pulsing and clicking, at 1:30, you know the song's special, because it makes it all fit so nicely.

Post-Burial, half two-step half wonky, sidechains cutting into the lush guitar drones, the beat carves itself a broad rhythmic pathway through the track. Different instruments are reverbed to different degrees, pushing them back into the mix. As a result, some percussive elements sit right in your ear, almost invasively close compared to the other, further removed drum sounds. The strange, stumbling beat coupled with the most excellent vocal sampling I've heard in a very long time creates an incredible groove, both lush and sparse, warm and austere.

Moving smoothly through variations, expanding the vocal sample out for a criminally short breakdown, this song concludes 2 and a bit minutes after the beat was introduced.

The best song I've heard in months, infectiously catchy and yet entirely without pretensions. 10 GOLD STARS A++++ WOULD LISTEN AGAIN because it's bathos time

[dfc05]

Starf*cker - whatever songs they have on their myspace

A girl I met was going to this band's show tonight (or yesterday night at this point). She described it as electro-pop so I was a little skeptical of whether I'd like them. Also, not a fan of taking random buses by myself in the middle of the night seeing as someone got robbed at gunpoint at the intersection where I live, in broad daylight. Plus I hear sirens all the time.

I checked out their music though and it's really chill, catchy stuff. Sounds like it would've been a fun show.

[Qonfused]

Mount Kimbie - Maybes

That was really, really good.

[zombieturtle01]

Great song I haven't listened to in ages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB3VTX0pxoE

[Glue]

Great song I haven't listened to in ages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB3VTX0pxoE

I hear this song everyday at work...and im glad I do :D

[dfc05]

Nullsleep - Galaxy Tonite (http://www.nullsleep.com/mp3/nullsleep-galaxy_tonite.mp3)

Upbeat 8-bit music... catchy tunes... what's not to like? Helps keep me going when working on papers late at night, like right now.

..And now I'm listening to the theme from the Sweet Half-Life mod (http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=79259&t=1890) by Koumei Satou. I just got to the part where they have the scientist talking. I didn't even remember that being in the song. Oh lol.

[Qonfused]

The Helio Sequence

I feel utterly defeated.

I pride myself in listening to weird, obscure music. When I know that other people are listening to the same weird music as me, I'm turned off from listening to it from then on. That might not prevent from listening to it ever, but there's a definite impact. But this goes beyond just all music. This usually applies to electronicish type music exclusively. I'll listen to Nine Inch Nails, Mute Math, Filter, Tool, etc. just swimmingly. They're in a different class as the weird electronic.

But then why do I feel guilty about listening to The Helio Sequence?

I recently came across this band when I searched Grooveshark (http://listen.grooveshark.com/) (awesome SeeqPod replacement) for "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles. Among the results was a cover of that by The Helios Sequence. It caught my ear. I love the original, and this wasn't that bad at all. It was good! Impressed that a cover of a Beatles song came close to the original, I investigated.

Their first album Com Plex could honestly be a future-Beatles album. It's almost plagiarism (like Tycho to BoC, for example). They share very similar elements and, hell, the lead singer even sounds like Paul. It's a loud album; lots of noise permeates through each song, smothering the vocals. It reminds me of the older recording style: open, less studioized. It's refreshing. One particular song, My Heart, starts with a rise of static noise, guitar wailings for a solid two minutes before progressing into a beautiful chord sequence. It's amazing in its simplicity and it works so well.

I grabbed another album, their newest called Keep Your Eyes Ahead. It's quite a change from their first. The singer apparently damaged his vocal chords and had to learn how to sing again. Gone is Paul junior, but what is left is excellent. It's different, but just as good. I like the album a little less than Com Plex, but it has some real gems. Hallelujah, which I was assuming was a cover, is really, really good. The vocals are dense, packed together, but he sings them flawlessly with such emotion. Overall, the album is more electronic than the previous, but it's still well sat in rock/indie rock/whatever.

The Helio Sequence's sound isn't really that unique. They're not really reinventing anything. But it's so damn good. It's so atmospheric. Maybe my music isn't that unique either. Millions listen to Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Mum, BT, The Knife, Freezepop, RJD2 and Why?. Maybe it's not unique that I listen to them. But they're damn good. And The Helios Sequence just earned a seat.

[joule]

Paramore - The Only Exception

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9783/paramore2009a.jpg

Quite a change of pace for the energetic quintet - a slowed down ballad with a mainly acoustic backdrop. I hate to say it, but it reminded me of early down-trodden Avril Lavigne tracks. That's probably a bad thing (but an inevitable comparison, given the nature of the song).

If you love Paramore, you’re going to love Brand New Eyes and buy it when it comes out regardless of what anyone says. Nothing they do is ground-breaking, but they've certainly figured out a critically and financially successful formula. If you're not into the band already, there's nothing here to "finally" convert you. Go about your day.

[Nibwoddle]

Foo Fighters - Wheels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_WH5Kfaj5Y

Okay, Foo Fighters are my favourite band, but this new song, well, it doesn't really do anything justice. It's just... a song. Like one of the songs from In Your Honor which nobody listened to. Foo Fighters tend to release the best songs as singles (with the exception of the last two albums), but this really isn't anywhere near their best. Even Long Road to Ruin was better than this.
It's by no means a bad song, but there's nothing interesting about it, nothing that makes you love it. It's just an unusually country - ish song with nothing but a cliche riff and exceedingly dumb vocals. Comparisons have been made to Tom Petty and they are understandable but there are still some people who say this is fantastic. Why won't they give us another This is a Call, Stacked Actors or Everlong? Something which is really defining?
And that's just it; there is nothing defining about this song. As I said before, it's just a song. The Pretender was more defining than this, and that's saying something.

Not a terrible song but sub par for the Foo Fighters. 6/10

[Sliver]

The Antlers- Bear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxFwAmYuYds

Everyone should really check this band out. Really depressing, but really good.

[dfc05]

The Helio Sequence

I feel utterly defeated.

I pride myself in listening to weird, obscure music. When I know that other people are listening to the same weird music as me, I'm turned off from listening to it from then on. That might not prevent from listening to it ever, but there's a definite impact. But this goes beyond just all music. This usually applies to electronicish type music exclusively. I'll listen to Nine Inch Nails, Mute Math, Filter, Tool, etc. just swimmingly. They're in a different class as the weird electronic.

Haha, sometimes I feel the same way too although not so much anymore. Like I absolutely adore Explosions in the Sky, who were definitely in Obscuro-Land (at least in the real world, maybe not so much on the Internet) when I started listening to them. I actually got a few people to start listening to them. Then I moved to Austin where it's like everyone and their mother listens to them. It was a little irritating at first (especially at live shows where the show's sold out, but half of the people there are drunk "look-at-how-cool-I-am" idiots). But I still like them anyways which I suppose is a good thing.

My real shameful confession is that, before I heard of Explosions in the Sky or post-rock or anything that wasn't played on mainstream radio, I first heard of Sigur Ros on YAHOO RADIO, of all places. I think I had stuff like Coldplay and Dido and Sarah McLachlan in my music preferences, and for some reason Yahoo Radio starts playing Sigur Ros's "Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa." At first I was like, "Oh piano that's nice," and then the singing started and I was like "Holy crap what's up with this dude's voice... and what language is this?" and then they got to that crazy dissonant breakdown at the end and I was like "What the heck is going on?!" That plus Liveplasma plus checking out Mogwai and Explosions cd's from the public library (for real) was what got me into post-rock.

Anyhow, I checked out Helio Sequence (again -- I've looked at their Myspace before but forgot what they sounded like). It's pretty decent. I find myself liking upbeat stuff more nowadays. I think I might be a happier person?

[CptStern]

the Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

speaks to a generation of teens who were sick of their portrayal in media at that time. this was a **** you to conformity. punk as it was meant to be, not the commercial shit that's put out today by bands manufactured by recording labels

[dfc05]

Pietro Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana - Intermezzo

I never really listen to opera (or much classical music, for that matter). There's a really long backstory as to why I'm actually listening to this song in the first place, involving classical radio stations going bankrupt, my dad liking classical music, moving into a new apartment, my radio being haunted, and having to set my radio to "music alarm" to make it stop playing music. Anyways, this song happened to be playing this morning, and maybe I was just really tired, but it was the most beautiful music I'd heard in a long time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HNw7vFHn2M

[Viperidae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BI_x8cenPY&fmt=18
[For better frequency response make sure it's in HQ.]

Another two-in-one track by the duo in 2001. Starts out with a pretty cool gamelan-type plucking synth, in likely some unusual scale. Soon its accompanied by a pretty plain bass, coming from Autechre. In fact, in my mind it sticks out the most, as it reminds me very much of jungle dives (albeit with the usual Autechrian syncopation). What makes it unusual is that it's literally just a loud sine--they almost never make synth-sounding basses, apparently preferring more subtle, acoustic-inspired ones (see '96 era stuff). It even goes into frequencies most speakers are going to fart out on (<60hz), another unusual move from these guys. The percussion's pretty standard fair for this era, just the usual short-decay, shaped-noise hits ('pucka-pucka-poom-pucka').

There's a bridge which is pretty forgettable (again, standard waveshape [I call them 'accelerating spikes'] amplitude modulation on the synth from 4:44-5:07; it's almost cliche at this point).

End is interesting in a evil-carnival way, but doesn't fit well with the beginning. The end-fade synth has the most plain use of bit crunching (post-'95, anyway) I've heard from them and it's pretty boring tbh.

Still, worth it for the beginning.

[Warped]

http://www.buzzgrinder.com/images/gd_ffdp092409.jpg

I love how Five finger Death Punch has matured as a group. I can understand their lyrics more and more now, the lyrics make more sense, and they sound utterly amazing. This is a true Metal album and I'm really enjoying this album. I also got Chevelle's new album Sci-Fi crimes and that is also amazing. I really hate the Fall of Troy though, I can't believe I bought this garbage....worst band I've listened to in a while. Maybe I'll give it another play through

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7x2vfFop1U0/SoME21zeZQI/AAAAAAAABFY/jI62ja0S8uw/s800/SF%20Crimes.jpg

[Corp. Sheepo]

I've been listening to this absolutely fantastic artist (http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=161907) for the past three days.

[soulslicer]

Coprofago - Unorthodox Creative Criteria 10/10

holy crap..this album is ****ing amazing. Pure Melodic Jazz Meets Metal, totally head-banger material too. If youre into very out of tuned and interesting power chord riffs, with lots of fusion solo's, keyboard and Meshuggah like Vocals, then well, this album is for you.

[VirusType2]

Silversun Pickups

An Indie rock band from California, I believe. A favorite of mine. There's not much I can say here, you have to hear this sound. Reminds me of MGMT a bit.

Here's an acoustic session featuring a single off their latest album 'Swoon':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvWzbHM94ks

[nipples]

I saw them live in August. They were amazing.

[Corp. Sheepo]

Silversun Pickups

An Indie rock band from California, I believe. A favorite of mine. There's not much I can say here, you have to hear this sound. Reminds me of MGMT a bit.

Here's an acoustic session featuring a single off their latest album 'Swoon':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvWzbHM94ks
Holy christ, this is some good stuff. Will look into it.

[Qonfused]

SP is pretty good, I just wish the drummer knew a different pattern.

[DEATHMASTER]

obviously a 10/10, listening to the whole soundtrack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiXSZYR7PNU&feature=PlayList&p=198F1E1EAA9531CC&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=39

[Mellish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xEuV3rmSw

God I love this song so much, especially that infectious indie guitar riff.

[TollBooth Willie]

Queens of the Stone Age - A Song For the Deaf

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Song_For_The_Deaf/13820701

God damn. I hadn't given this a listen until recent weeks and its really become one of my all time favorite Queens songs. The vocals are absolutely sexy and the guitar just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Also, Dave Grohl did the drums. F*ck yeah.

[Dalamari]

Rory Gallagher - Bad Penny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzsDWTc4mY

The best ****ing guitarist of all time, seriously.

[dfc05]

Time.Space.Repeat - 8/10

Haven't listened to much post-rock lately, so I'm listening to some new-ish bands. This one has kinda shoegazey vocals mixed in. It's not exactly the most exciting stuff, but there's some pretty sounds floating around. And the album's free to download (http://www.archive.org/details/LostChildren014) which never hurts.

[edit] Just got to the song where the dude sings. Annoying singing and music on that one. Bleh. Marking down to 6 or 7/10

[Shakermaker]

The Beta Band - Dry The Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsbR2dEmHGc

First heard this song in the movie High Fidelity. It is a mix of 90s Britpop, country and I don't know what else. I especially like the second part. Makes me think of the Stones in a weird way. It is probably the horns.

[DEATHMASTER]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUjIA3Rt7gk

10/10 old school.

[Vegeta897]

ArmA: Combat Operations Soundtrack

This is surprisingly good. Starts out with 2 remixes of tracks from the original Operation Flashpoint, which is great as that game had a great soundtrack too. Mostly heavy rock type tracks, with some synth and other things mixed in, but the cheese level is quite low. In OpFlash it felt a bit midi-ish but in this the sound is quite good. The music feels like it's from a really high quality hollywood action movie.

[Ennui]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qb1VqScu5I

This is off of a trance compilation I bought used at a store something like five years ago, and it always stuck out to me. It's nothing more than the most generic of club trance, but somehow... I love it. You guys know me, I'm generally not one for mediocre dance dance dance get ****ed up and dance type heavy trance but this song really does it for some reason. Same with Sasha/Digweed's collab work, I really dislike mainstream trance but on occasion it can grab me and take me wherever it is I want to go.

Next up: something infinitely more obscure, hip and edgy to appease all of you elitist electonica types, not that you guys aren't already aware that I can hold my ground in that regard... but open-mindedness is everything. Love it and feel it is all I'm trying to say :3

Next up: CBL, HIA, Biosphere, or something that's not BoC ambient in order to appease you rabid sunzabitches. No really, I'm totally hip and rad. You know. But chyall ain't herrrrd o dis. Aint. I can get so obscure you ****ers are asking me.... WHO THE **** IS KAISHIWA DAISUKE? Well, stop listening to whatever kind of stupid shit you've got pumpin thru your speakers and find him (you'll need to look real hard... PM me if that's too deep for your pathetic lack of e-nettin' ass)

[Ennui]

Oooh, look at me double post.

Just kidding. I'll let you guys slide on the obscure IDM ramp tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMVik3EFVn4

Love.

[dfc05]

Ah, the Sunshine music is good stuff. I heard about the music before I heard about the movie and ended up watching the movie because of that. Lame but true.

Currently listening to Explosions in the Sky - The Only Moment We Were Alone - John Peel Session 1/28/04

Haven't listened to this song in a while. This recording is really superb -- everything is clear and nicely balanced.

[Ennui]

I more or less peed myself with joy while I was watching Sunshine for the first time soaking in all the atmosphere. What a movie.

[soulslicer]

Aghora - Framless

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqByPsjkzsg

man, this album reminds me of S.C.I.E.N.C.E by Incubus. Those jazzy guitar moments, prog dual vocals, nu metal sound, post 90's sound and stuff. cool.

[DEATHMASTER]

10/10
Requires lots of volume and bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0ow4tGgZWk

[dfc05]

Sunlight Ascending - Out of this Place

Pretty good, reminiscent of Mono in their quieter moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdjIDpBu-MU

[Shakermaker]

Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra featuring the Clark Sisters - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxz8NPUqtq0

On of my secret vices is big band music from the 40's and 50's. Early Sinatra, Glenn Miller, corny stuff like that. This is probably my favourite song from the era. Tommy Dorsey can even make a down tempo song like this swing.

Get hip, don't be afraid :)

[dfc05]

Fanfarlo - The Walls Are Coming Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7LxBIBfoDo

This song is great. It's full of such joy. Also, TRUMPETS... I love trumpets in songs :D. I'd describe this band as kinda like a mix between Coldplay and Arcade Fire... except a little less hyper than Arcade Fire.

Playing here December 12... will probably go if I can find someone to come with me so maybe I won't be horribly murdered in the middle of the night. Do Make Say Think is playing here too but I don't think anyone I know here listens to them. Argh!

[baka-raven]

Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek

Really great song from her, like a lot of her stuff, but this one i really like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OEXfsZheyM

9/10 from here ^^

[dfc05]

Do Make Say Think - Say

I think this is my favorite off their newest album. Lyrical throughout, some interesting rhythm, music swells with trumpets, changes up quite naturally halfway through to some nice tight guitar, last few minutes are super chill with the wind instruments and soft vocals tailing off at the end. All pluses for me. I can't think of anything I don't like about it.

[Yorick]

Paramore - The Only Exception

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9783/paramore2009a.jpg

Quite a change of pace for the energetic quintet - a slowed down ballad with a mainly acoustic backdrop. I hate to say it, but it reminded me of early down-trodden Avril Lavigne tracks. That's probably a bad thing (but an inevitable comparison, given the nature of the song).

If you love Paramore, you’re going to love Brand New Eyes and buy it when it comes out regardless of what anyone says. Nothing they do is ground-breaking, but they've certainly figured out a critically and financially successful formula. If you're not into the band already, there's nothing here to "finally" convert you. Go about your day.

Brand New Eyes is by no means a bad album, but I feel like it definitely pales in comparison to their previous two releases.

As you said, there's definitely nothing here to finally convert someone new.