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Post by B.E. on Jul 25, 2020 13:21:44 GMT
It's interesting. You often hear younger generations of fans wishing and fantasizing about experiencing their favorite artists in real-time. Of course, I've done the same, especially in regard to '60s groups, but it doesn't come without pitfalls. And, if you expand beyond your favorite groups, the pitfalls probably become more impactful. By the time I was old enough to discover Nirvana, Kurt had died and a few years had passed. I think the Foo Fighters had just released their 2nd album. I was also too young for Nirvana to have represented a shift or replacement of anything that I loved, they were just another beloved band of the past.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 26, 2020 1:05:20 GMT
I watched the videos. Beato did a really good job of breaking down the songs and explaining what was going on and why he found it interesting. I do think he exoticizes Cobain's melodic sense: Beato implies (or even says?) that there was this natural brilliance to it, that while he didn't now theory, he heard it; in reality, those figures Cobain is doing and/or the instrumental backgrounds seem usually to be repeating figures. So if I repeat XYZ while you do ABCD, there will be interesting tensions that, yes, any musician can explain harmonically. But I don't think Cobain's approach even implies that he heard it in those ways at all, but rather he was just repeating a figure over something else and thinking "oh, that's cool." (In other words, not necessarily hearing it before writing it, but acknowledging it after having done it.)
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Post by kds on Jul 27, 2020 12:47:51 GMT
Somewhat inspired by the discussion on grunge, where Sheriff said Nirvana and Pearl Jam were the only bands he'd really gotten into over the last 30 years. Here's my Top Ten list of bands of the last 25 years I've gotten into.
1. Ghost - Far and away my favorite band of the 21st Century. Their mix of black metal imagery and melodic rock is downright hypnotic at times. In their ten years, they've released four albums, two EPs, and a live record.
2. Hammerfall - A German power metal band. They'd been around since 1997, but I was unaware of them until 2003, and their Accept / Helloween inspired down sure sounded better than what was passing for metal in the States.
3. The Darkness - A band that tried to put fun back in rock music in 2003, but they were treated like a novelty. Despite being on hiatus from 2006-2011, they've been fairly prolific during their time.
4. Avenged Sevenfold - In 2005, they changed from a bit of a "metal core" sound to more of a throwback style with their City of Evil album, one of my favorite albums of the 21st Century. They've actually been fairly quiet over the last four years though.
5. Purson - Sadly, they only lasted two albums.
6. Beautiful Creatures - I might be cheating a bit here since their singer Joe Leste was in the band Bang Tango. But, with a young axeman named DJ Ashba, Beautiful Creatures made waves at Ozzfest in 2001, a year that was mostly dominated by nu metal, with their GNR sound. Unfortunately, 2001 proved to not be a great time to release that kind of music.
7. Evergrey - A classical metal band who put out some really solid albums in the 00s.
8. Wolfmother - A really solid self titled debut album in 2006 seemed to be the band's peak. After some personnel changes, they released a pretty forgettable second album.
9. Airbourne - Sounded great on first listen, and I even saw them in concert. Good band, but at the end of the day, I'd prefer to just listen to AC/DC.
10. Blood Ceremony - One of those bands with a great sound, but not as many great songs to go with it.
So, of my ten favorite new bands of the last 25 years, I think I've kept up with five. The other half either didn't last or lost my interest. This is why I've stuck to older bands.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 27, 2020 13:38:01 GMT
Interesting idea, and one I'm happy to do, too. But for me, the past 25 years (or 20, really) have been really great for getting into new music. It was especially the latter half of the '90s that had me checked out completely. But sometime around 2000, and especially a few years into the '00s, I was rejuvenated by the indie pop and indie rock bands at the time. In the later '00s I also got into a lot of pop, and during the '10s I even rediscovered rap at times.
I'm listing my 10 favorite artists/bands of the past 25 years, but not in order of my love for them; rather from roughly when I discovered them, earliest to latest.
1. Cotton Mather. I heard their classic KonTiki around 1997 when they dropped off a free copy at the music store where I worked summers and holidays during college. Love at first listen. They didn't do a lot after: an EP and an album, then over a decade off (during which their leader did Future Clouds & Radar) before returning for a few strong late '10s albums. Honestly that this band hasn't been a hit is my biggest complaint with the world. Highlight: KonTiki.
2. Wilco. Like many, I first became aware around 2000 with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the whole Warner Bros debacle. I've been hot and cold on them over the years but still at least sample every new release. Highlight: Sky Blue Sky.
3. Of Montreal. I first heard them with their over-the-top twee pop Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies, I think in 2000. Dazzling and silly psychedelia, they went from huge band to one-man band, back and forth, repeatedly these past 20 years, also going from baroque twee to filthy funk to dance pop to garage rock to proggy rock. Highlight: Lousy With Sylvianbriar.
4. Neutral Milk Hotel. I heard them around the same time as Of Montreal, as I discovered and dove deeply into the Elephant 6 Collective. But by this time, there really was no NMH. Their classic, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, was released in 1998, and that was it for them. But it's glorious. Highlight: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
5. Belle & Sebastian. I hated--hated--this band in the earliest '00s. (Hadn't heard them yet in the late '90s, when they came out.) But as I've written before, Dear Catastrophe Waitress turned me. Highlight: Dear Catastrophe Waitress.
5. Joanna Newsom. I heard her prior to Ys, but it was that, with its Van Dyke Parks strings, that really got me to care. Bizarre voice, strange, harp-driven arrangements (especially in those days), but complex and rich. Her Divers, from a few years ago, was also just brilliant. Highlight: Ys.
6. Herman Dune. This is when I started getting into groups I'd never heard of because I was writing reviews for a website for a few years, so I'd get dozens of free CDs every couple weeks. This rated very highly for me, once I decided it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever heard. Highlight: Giant.
7. The Mountain Goats. I first heard them on the radio with Get Lonely in the mid-00s and have since fallen in love with several of their albums and even more of their songs. Really literate, funny, touching ... just great writing, and underrated musicianship, especially on recent releases. Highlight: Beat the Champ!
8. Kacey Musgraves. I loved her Same Trailer, Different Park and have really enjoyed both of her original studio albums since. Highlight: Same Trailer, Different Park.
9. Courtney Barnett. Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit. The title alone to me makes clear she was a must-hear. Like a Gen-X slacker (who happens to be millenial or even Gen Z?) channeling the Modern Lovers/Jonathan Richman. The follow-up was a little disappointing, but she's great. Highlight: Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit
10. TIE - Haim and Vampire Weekend. I heard Vampire weekend first in the mid-00s with their debut, which I hated. But their most recent album, 2019's Father of the Bride, was flat-out brilliant. I heard Haim first (I think) with their great song "Want You Back" from 2017 and also really like their 2020 album. I feel like it's fair to lump these together since Danielle Haim sang on that VW album.
Honorable Mention: Parquet Courts, Earl Sweatshirt, Sharon Van Etten, Iron & Wine, Janelle Monae, Eels, the Milk Carton Kids, Inara George, Okkervil River, Dawes, Jeremy Messersmith...
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 29, 2020 12:40:14 GMT
I'm a little behind, but the recent talk about the Eagles got me really wanting to spend a bit of time with them. They're one of those bands that I grew up hearing around the house, and I've always liked, but have never made the effort to listen to their albums. It also seems that they're one of those bands that get a bad rap from people who think it's cool to hate them, and especially Hotel California. While HC isn't my favourite Eagles song (I've just heard it too many times) that doesn't make it any less of a great song.
Listening to the Eagles reminded me how many of their songs we sang in my vocal class in high school too. I think my teacher must have been a fan.
So here are my top 10 Eagles songs, in no particular order. All well known, but all great.
1. Lyin’ Eyes 2. I Can’t Tell You Why 3. Peaceful Easy Feeling 4. One of These Nights 5. Tequila Sunrise 6. Witchy Woman 7. Desperado 8. Heartache Tonight 9. Already Gone 10. In the Long Run
Honourable mention: Life in the Fast Lane
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Post by B.E. on Jul 29, 2020 15:26:45 GMT
Nice list, bellbottoms. "One of These Nights" and "Witchy Woman" missed mine, but not by much. I'm also a fan of "I Can't Tell You Why" and "The Long Run". The Eagles were very consistent. I guess it helps that they didn't stick around long enough to get bad. So, I'm safe in assuming that you prefer it to "Keepin' the Summer Alive" then? It also seems that they're one of those bands that get a bad rap from people who think it's cool to hate them, and especially Hotel California. Yeah, I get that feeling too. I have to think that most of that is just a reaction to their success - one way or another.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 29, 2020 19:22:57 GMT
So, I'm safe in assuming that you prefer it to "Keepin' the Summer Alive" then? Speaking about the album version, absolutely - The Long Run wins hands down. But if the album version of KTSA had sounded more like the Knebworth live version, that would close the gap between them quite a bit. Live KTSA is what album KTSA should have sounded like.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 16, 2020 13:47:54 GMT
Ten Favorite Songs By The Bee Gees:
01 I've Gotta Get A Message To You 02 New York Mining Disaster 1941 (One Night Only version) 03 Islands In The Stream (One Night Only Version) 04 Morning Of My Life 05 First Of May 06 How Can You Mend A Broken Heart 07 Holiday 08 Nights On Broadway 09 Words (One Night Only Version) 10 Night Fever/More Than A Woman (One Night Only version)
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 16, 2020 13:54:46 GMT
Ten Favorite Songs By The Bee Gees:
01 I've Gotta Get A Message To You 02 New York Mining Disaster 1941 (One Night Only version) 03 Islands In The Stream (One Night Only Version) 04 Morning Of My Life 05 First Of May 06 How Can You Mend A Broken Heart 07 Holiday 08 Nights On Broadway 09 Words (One Night Only Version) 10 Night Fever/More Than A Woman (One Night Only version)
The Bee Gees are one of those bands I've never explored at all: their reputation was "corny disco" when I was growing up, and while I now know that's about as accurate as calling the Beach Boys a "surf and cars" band, I've still just not dug in. (I did get Odessa 20 years ago or so and was impressed, I can't say I remember a damn thing about it.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 16, 2020 14:06:59 GMT
I have a few Bee Gees' Greatest Hits CDs. I really like their early stuff from the late 60's and early 70's, and I've started to appreciate some of their mid-70's songs as well including "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)", "Nights On Broadway", and "Love So Right". I don't think I'll ever really embrace the disco era stuff but there are some highlights there, too, like "More Than A Woman" and "How Deep Is Your Love". When you list all of the songs that Barry Gibb composed for The Bee Gees and other artists, he has to be included in that short list of all-time great songwriters of the rock/pop era.
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Post by jk on Aug 16, 2020 17:27:26 GMT
Ten Favorite Songs By The Bee Gees:
01 I've Gotta Get A Message To You 02 New York Mining Disaster 1941 (One Night Only version) 03 Islands In The Stream (One Night Only Version) 04 Morning Of My Life 05 First Of May 06 How Can You Mend A Broken Heart 07 Holiday 08 Nights On Broadway 09 Words (One Night Only Version) 10 Night Fever/More Than A Woman (One Night Only version)
Great to see "Holiday" in your list, Sheriff. That was the track that woke me up to the Gibb brothers' prodigious talents:
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 16, 2020 19:17:30 GMT
Thanks for linking that, jk, as it prompted me to listen. Very nice.
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Post by jk on Sept 27, 2020 15:23:25 GMT
Ten acts that have recorded a different song called "Night Owl":
Sadist Tony Allen Metronomy Willie Ames Kito Dickson Howard Tate Gerry Rafferty Little Big Town Kathleen Kruze Madeline Adams
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Post by jk on Dec 18, 2020 20:05:51 GMT
Ten favorite Cream songs: 1 - N.S.U 2 - Sleepy Time Time 3 - Strange Brew 4 - Dance The Night Away 5 - Passing The Time 6 - Sweet Wine 7 - Dreaming 8 - World Of Pain 9 - Pressed Rat And Warthog 10 - Sunshine Of Your Love RS, are you familiar with the second album by Masters of Reality, featuring Ginger Baker on drums?
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2020 20:39:00 GMT
Man, I haven't listened to Cream since high school, and even then I only listened for a relatively short time. The only songs on your list that are instantly recognizable to me are "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine Of Your Love".
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