What MUSIC are you listening to? ARCHIVE

it's been Sting or whatever pops on the IPod for me lately. Right now I am listening to Romeo and Juliet (not the Tchaikovsky version, someone elses). Some time this morning i heard Word Up by Cameo.

There's some pretty interesting music on these lists. I'll contribute to that.

Metal:

Mastodon's new album "Crack the Skye" is absolutely phenomenal, the story as told by Brann Dailor (their awe inspiring drummer) goes something like this:

"There is a paraplegic and the only way that he can go anywhere is if he astral travels. He goes out of his body, into outer space and a bit like Icarus, he goes too close to the sun, burning off the golden umbilical cord that is attached to his solar plexus. So he is in outer space and he is lost, he gets sucked into a wormhole, he ends up in the spirit realm and he talks to spirits telling them that he is not really dead. So they send him to the Russian cult, they use him in a divination and they find out his problem. They decide they are going to help him. They put his soul inside Rasputin's body. Rasputin goes to usurp the czar and he is murdered. The two souls fly out of Rasputin's body through the crack in the sky(e) and Rasputin is the wise man that is trying to lead the child home to his body because his parents have discovered him by now and think that he is dead. Rasputin needs to get him back into his body before it's too late. But they end up running into the Devil along the way and the Devil tries to steal their souls and bring them down…there are some obstacles along the way."

Not nearly as heavy as it sounds these guys keep things light with a really great attitude, even their complex music never seems that way until you start counting beats.

It's complex, fun, epic, heavy, progressive, and heavily thematic. At one point they're screaming out "Lost in Time Space" ... we listen to that while playing Arkham.

Cynics new album is pretty rocking too. Odd times (13,7,5), rocking riffs, great solo's, good grooves. I would prefer a different singing style but it's growing on me.

Jonas Hellborgs new album "Art Metal" with Mattias Eklundh on guitar. Great disc.

Folk:

Dan Reeder, everyone should go buy his two albums the guy is the best new songwriter on the scene. Hilarious, witty, smart, with a zen feeling to them. The guy makes all his instruments, mixing boards, amps... everything from scratch and does an... interesting job. Not the greatest player (most songs are 2-4 chords and always the same ones, he seems to like Eb and Bb, must be where his voice sits) but man are his songs fun.

Duets from the NewGrass dudes. First Mike Marshall did a record with Chris Thile and then one with Hamilton DeHolanda, but right now it's the newest one with Chris Thile and Edger Meyer (the best upright bassist of all time... I'm not exagerating). These duet albums are virtuosic, highly intelligently written, experimental, and very exciting. especially for fellow players.

Doo-Wop:

African and Itialian mostly. The Coasters are my favorite but I've been listening to the Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, Dion... great stuff with a real sense of fun. I sometimes miss the tight Doo-Wop harmonies in today's music where all the vocal harmonies sound like they were forced to sound good with a computer.

Hank Williams... because he's still the best songwriter America ever knew (sorry Townes).

CloudDead: an interesting experimental hip-hop band that doesn't sound like a hip-hop band at all.

Beethoven's 16th string quartet... that gets regular play by me every year for about a month.

That is too much already but it sums up the last 2-3 weeks for me pretty well.

Merkles wrote:

Wow---I know NOTHING from these lists. I guess I'm officially an out of touch fart. After living in middle of rural Texas for 7 years in the 90s, I was out of it with rock.

Now--I did pick up some cool old country music tastes there (Bob Wills, e.g) and alternative country (Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett)---but lost my connection to rock ?

As far as I know Bob Wills is listed as the first Jazz recording ever (with his Texas Playboy's that is). Really fun stuff. I love old country, and new alternative country as well. Lyle Lovett is someone that not enough people give a chance too. A funny and original songwriter with a unique voice. I love his stuff.

"Who keeps on trusting you
When you've been cheating
And spending your nights on the town
And who keeps on saying that he still wants you
When you're through running around
And who keeps on loving you
When you've been lying
Saying things ain't what they seem
God does
But I don't
God will
But I won't
And that's the difference
Between God and me "

from "God Will" on his first album... and he gets better as he ages! Lyle's been on my iphone a lot lately as well.

JonJacob wrote:

Doo-Wop:

African and Itialian mostly. The Coasters are my favorite but I've been listening to the Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, Dion... great stuff with a real sense of fun. I sometimes miss the tight Doo-Wop harmonies in today's music where all the vocal harmonies sound like they were forced to sound good with a computer.

You absolutely need to try Gabin. An Italian band with strong retro jazz style and trip hop influence that literally does a song called "Doo Uap Doo Uap Doo Uap." Another one of their songs sounds like it should be the theme to a funeral in a James Bond movie, I think the song was called Sweet Sadness.

Shellhead wrote:

JonJacob wrote:

Doo-Wop:

African and Itialian mostly. The Coasters are my favorite but I've been listening to the Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, Dion... great stuff with a real sense of fun. I sometimes miss the tight Doo-Wop harmonies in today's music where all the vocal harmonies sound like they were forced to sound good with a computer.

You absolutely need to try Gabin. An Italian band with strong retro jazz style and trip hop influence that literally does a song called "Doo Uap Doo Uap Doo Uap." Another one of their songs sounds like it should be the theme to a funeral in a James Bond movie, I think the song was called Sweet Sadness.

Thanks man...my work spearkers suck but it sounds pretty cool. I'll give it another whirl at home.

Since the My Bloody Valentine concert a couple months ago that's all I had been listening to. The climax to that show was like... having your body slowly disintegrated.

The Breeders - Pod. Having collected some dust I finally dragged this one out again. Such a nice spring record. I consider it quite a classic, it still gives me that tight feeling in my stomach like it used to. Kim Deal just makes me euphoric - so sweet and sour. They used to play amazing gigs, The Amps too. Her band sucks now though (sad face).

I've been listening to a lot of Epica, really cool metal/classical hybrid stuff... and it doesn't hurt that the [url=http://http://photography-on-the.net/gallery/TUSKA_2006_photos/medium/HV8O6101.jpg]singer is incredibly hot.[/url]

And I recently have gotten into Devildriver and since they've been around since like 2002 and I somehow never noticed, I've got ton's of awesome metal to listen to.

I saw the Breeders once at Tower Records, right before "Pod" came out. That was a cool show.

Hex, you should listen to some current black metal...a lot of it, particularly stuff like Alcest, Xasthur, Wolves in the Throne Room, Amesouers, and Ruins of Beverast are much closer to My Bloody Valentine than Mayhem. Somewhere along the way those guys started listening to shoegazer stuff.

On Mastodon- I've seen them a billion times since they're Atlanta-based. I have to say that I'm not really that crazy about their last two records like everybody else is. I love the first EP and the first album, and I think they've actually gotten too good for their own good. There's a rawness and a level of sheer power that's gone missing, replaced by technical prowess and complexity. They don't sound hungry anymore.

I think the first time I saw them was when they opened for Eyehategod. That was a great show. About 30 people were there. Now, Mastodon opens for Metallica and Slayer.

I've also seen those guys in their earlier bands...Today is the Day, Acid Bath, Four Hour Fogger...and I've had Brann check my bag at this store called Junkman's Daughter, where he was still working a couple of years ago.

Today is the Day was so awesome.

Aw man! I got all excited when you guys actually started talking about ska - then it was just to hate on the third wave =(

ah well, I'll just skank in the corner here and cry...

and they call US the rude boys