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What MUSIC are you listening to?
- san il defanso
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The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl: As you may see through this post there are a number of albums that have served as soundtracks for my move overseas. This is the first one, by virtue of the fact that it came out a week before we left. I liked it a lot when I first heard it, and I've returned to it now and then. However I have cooled on it just a little since my early enthusiasm. My opinion has shifted from "maybe one of their best" to "a pretty average Decemberists album." There's a lot of electronic noodling on it, and I do like that in principle, but it's started to feel a little gimmicky to me after some exposure. There are also two really chirpy songs with super dark lyrics in the back half ("Everything Is Awful" and "We All Die Young") that have grown a little thin now that I've listened to them for a while. There are lots of really great songs though, like "Severed," "Your Ghost," and "Rusalka, Rusalka". I do like it, but I think I prefer the more organic approach of the two previous albums. I think Josh Look likes it a lot more though, he should chime in and share his opinion.
Jack White - Boarding House Reach: I know for a fact that this album does not work for a lot of people, and I cannot blame them. This is the sound of an artist screwing around, and sort of accidentally finding songs. That said, it has kind of had the opposite arc of I'll Be Your Girl. My first impressions were a little cool, but because I am inclined to dig into any Jack White album, I have now started to think it might be the most compelling solo album he's done. True, there are only like five songs that would have made it onto another album of his, songs that have words and hooks and things like that. But there are a lot of weird instrumental moments, like "Corporation," that kind of come together to make the album more than the sum of its parts. There's even some spoken word stuff in there, which is not my favorite but imparts that sense of a crazy man alone in a shack somewhere. It's not a bad look for Jack White, who gives off that vibe in the first place. He just sounds more engaged and like he's enjoying himself more, even if the results are not always as listenable as his first two solo albums or anything by the White Stripes. I had worried this would go the way of Arcade Fire's Everything Now, but it has actually gone up in my estimation with more exposure.
Hamilton - Original Cast Recording: Since I did a lot of acting in high school and college, I have always been a little wary of the cliche of the drama nerd who listens to original cast recordings. But if there has been one album that has been my soundtrack lately, it has been the Hamilton cast recording. I don't know why precisely I got into it when I did, a full two and a half years after everyone else became a fan. But something about this has really resonated with me right now. Maybe it's the sense of purpose from accepting a new position overseas and feeling very aware that this is an opportunity to make an impact in my context (not throwing away my shot, as it were), or maybe it's a reminder of the good parts of the US while I'm adjusting to another culture. I am sure at least part of it is the subtle thread throughout that pitches the whole "states rights" movement as a product of southern slaveholders, and casts those people as the antagonists, a satisfying narrative for this midwestern liberal in the current American climate. Regardless, it helps that there is a huge variety of music on the soundtrack, all well done. More than that, since this is almost entirely music, the cast recording contains pretty much the whole show in audio form, giving a strong sense of the characters, themes, and plot. For whatever reason, it has been a very meaningful album to me at this point in my life, and I think it might become one of those emotional favorites in years to come.
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- SuperflyPete
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Guy sounds like Jason Mraz and writes like Woody Guthrie
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- Michael Barnes
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Frohike wrote: I just cannot stop listening to this album. She wields sincerity like a sword, and it cuts... really deep. First album I've been disarmed by in awhile.
This is the kind of thing I think I'd like but my wife will mock me or roll her eyes if she finds me listening to. She just doesn't like non-aggressive guitars + female voices from white faces.* So no Sleater Kinney, Best Coast, Courtney Barnes, Metric, Tegan and Sera, etc. around her. She's got no problem with effeminate dudes** though - Queen and Dir en Grey top her favorite bands list. She is OK with Blood Red Shoes for some reason though, and pretty meh on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
*Haven't really thought about it much until now but it might be because white girls bullied her in middle school and she doesn't have a ton of patience for "weird" women with guitars feeling bad and introspective. She has had a lot of pain and struggles in her life, usually not caused by herself.
**Yeah, there's probably a joke here.
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I was a white, surburban, kindergartner but still!
Anyone have any favorite country or folk albums? older, classic ones?
I feel like giving my son a wide appreciation of music is important to understanding other people and cultures. But neither my wife or I really like country at all, especially the more recent Bud Light down an old dirt road garbage.
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William Corgan looks like Uncle Fester meets Powder though.
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- SuperflyPete
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jay718 wrote:
SuperflyTNT wrote:
Michael Barnes wrote: King Diamond > John Mayer
At this point it’s clear you’re trolling.
There's not a chance that John Mayer has an album as good as Abigail under his belt. He's obviously a gifted guitar player, but his original music stinks.
To end this once and for all, I give you Eric Clapton saying John Mayer is a MASTER.
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