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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 24, 2019 14:17:35 GMT
"New Resolution" is a good song. It has a cool throwback sound; it would've fit nicely somewhere in the punk genre of the late 1970's, especially with the New York groups. I love the guitar. Why the abrupt ending? I was just getting into it!
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 24, 2019 16:22:39 GMT
I like the abrupt ending, the short running time. To me, songs like that are at their best when they get in, do their thing, and get out.
Can't say I approve of Ms. Wennerstrom's taste in photo ops / candidates, though!
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Nov 25, 2019 23:37:43 GMT
Here's one that's neither new nor old, neither classic nor necessarily obscure. I got this album to review years ago--in 2004--when I was doing that sort of thing, having never heard of the Heartless Bastards. Their debut album showed a powerhouse vocalist in bandleader, guitarist, and songwriter Erika Wennerstrom.
The music was pretty basic, a kind of heavy garage rock with anthemic leanings. It was at its best right away, only becoming more tedious as their career progressed and Wennerstrom became more ambitious. For my money, it doesn't get better than the first three songs of the first album. This, "New Resolution," is one of those songs. I love the dirty bass tone, the somewhat rudimentary drum fills, and of course Wennerstrom's huge vocals.
I hope you enjoy it.
Her vocals are great. I love the way they carry the entire melody of the song, and I especially enjoy the power chorus. Really cool.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Nov 25, 2019 23:45:29 GMT
Tommy James being mentioned in another thread reminded me of the fantastic layered opening of "Draggin' the Line". There's more that could be said, but I think I'll stick to the opening. Listen for this: 1 - Bass and drums 2 - Guitar and 2nd bass (?) 3 - 1st vocal and organ 4 - 2nd vocal 5 - 3rd vocal 6 - horns 7 - 2nd guitar Pretty cool, right? Never heard this before, but it's a great song! All the different parts of the track are layered in such an interesting way, I love the rolling vibe... it's so structured but sort of loose at the same time.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 6, 2019 16:30:02 GMT
For Paul Simon or other clever, melodic, acoustic folk fans.
Over the years from time to time I've mentioned a band that over the span of a couple of years--maybe 1999 to 2002?--was the best damn band in Minneapolis, The Brown Flamingos. What began playing as a little mostly acoustic country-folk-jazz duo became a rock group, and eventually a sprawling funk-rock group complete with horn section and bizarre performance art. It was weird.
Their larger-than-life aspects aren't represented in recorded form: they had a pair of no-budget, home-recorded, self-released albums back before home recording was something anyone could relatively easily do. So the Beck-meets-Prince cover of Guns 'n' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" by the full funk band is nowhere to be found.
But on the other side of the spectrum is the beautiful, understated folk ballad "This Might Be the Coffee Talkin'," written by co-bandleader Bob Parins (who went on to play with people like Sufjan Stevens and Of Montreal, among many others). The song's great lyric was so relatable to me and everyone I knew at the time, bemoaning the seeming oppressiveness of young adulthood, of getting up and going to work at a job that means nothing at all to anyone (paycheck notwithstanding), its memorable melody sung in a youthful, even vulnerable voice. The fingerpicked guitar is really fantastic.
The only flaw? The album cover. My god, fellas...
But do check it out. I think you'll like the song.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Dec 6, 2019 23:13:50 GMT
^^Well wasn't that rather sweet, wistful, pretty, and a little bit cute.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2019 16:07:02 GMT
This is a song that's kind-of by a band I've loved since the mid-90s, Cotton Mather ... but not really. Their frontman, Robert Harrison, has written for and with, and produced, other artists as well as doing his own work under the band names Cotton Mather and Future Clouds & Radar.
In the mid-to-late 00s, he worked with singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins on some music. Some ended up on her albums, some didn't. In 2016, he released some of that music she hadn't already used, credited to "Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins."
This particular song, "Girl Friday," is an absolute favorite of mine over the past half-decade or so. It was done primarily with Austin, Tex., musicians within and beyond Cotton Mather/FCR as well as Harrison himself on guitar and backup vocals and Atkins on lead vocals. You'll hear a certain amount of Motown, a certain amount of Stax. There are horns and strings. It's really a great song, a fabulous backing track ... just good stuff!
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Post by jk on Dec 18, 2019 20:52:42 GMT
This particular song, "Girl Friday," is an absolute favorite of mine over the past half-decade or so. It was done primarily with Austin, Tex., musicians within and beyond Cotton Mather/FCR as well as Harrison himself on guitar and backup vocals and Atkins on lead vocals. You'll hear a certain amount of Motown, a certain amount of Stax. There are horns and strings. It's really a great song, a fabulous backing track ... just good stuff!
I remember you enthusing about Cotton Mather at PSF. And you played this song, among others. I can't add to your description without sounding forced, so I'll just say I loved it from start to finish.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2019 21:06:57 GMT
Very well crafted! I loved the sound of the guitar. It went away for a bit, but came back with those stabs! Nice.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 19, 2019 13:47:41 GMT
Nice song. A bit of a throwback which is good. Catchy chorus. Something sounds familiar about this song but I can't place it. Maybe Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" riff? Edgy lyrics for a poppy song - "Might as well stick the knife in my back..." Is she saying "Thought it was a buddha"?
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 19, 2019 13:57:37 GMT
Very well crafted! I loved the sound of the guitar. It went away for a bit, but came back with those stabs! Nice. I love that guitar, too: it almost makes the song, especially the interplay between how it hits and the horns stab, sometimes together, others not. I’ve got the instrumental track alone, soo. It’s REALLY great. SJS, re that lyric, I’m pretty sure it’s “thought he was a Buddha.”
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Post by jk on Dec 20, 2019 10:34:55 GMT
Nice song. A bit of a throwback which is good. Catchy chorus. Something sounds familiar about this song but I can't place it. Maybe Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" riff? Edgy lyrics for a poppy song - "Might as well stick the knife in my back..." Is she saying "Thought it was a buddha"? I kept being reminded ever so slightly of The Supremes' "Back In My Arms Again". (Those guitar chords and the vibes, perhaps?) And, rather curiously, of a John Lennon song, when it remains suspended on the dominant (from 2:36 to the end), a brilliant touch. ("#9 Dream" perhaps?) It's hard to top your last choice, Cap'n, so I won't try. This is "Screw", the third track on side one of Curved Air's 1970 debut Air Conditioning. I love the changes of mood, from a touch of anxiety at the start through wistful and aggressive to the grandeur of the climax. A forgotten masterpiece. Much of that album is excellent, although I've never liked their live showstopper "Vivaldi". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Conditioning_(album)
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 20, 2019 13:26:03 GMT
Thanks, I've never heard that song or even of the group. My first thought was a sarcastic "that sounds dated," but then again, why shouldn't it? It's of its time!
My second thought was that I ought to listen to that sort of music more. And by "that sort," I mean ambitious and somewhat serious. For some reason, once I really embraced pop after college, I almost turned against the pop-rock versions of serious music (if that makes sense), so a lot of late 60s and early 70s music I used to adore just fell away. I need to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time, aurally speaking.
It is a little disconcerting, isn't it? Maybe something about the short melody with its small range, walk up a third, down a third, not really getting anywhere, almost like a seasickness, and thrown off kilter just a little more with the changing textures of instrumentation (and vocal).
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Post by jk on Dec 20, 2019 14:39:49 GMT
It is a little disconcerting, isn't it? Maybe something about the short melody with its small range, walk up a third, down a third, not really getting anywhere, almost like a seasickness, and thrown off kilter just a little more with the changing textures of instrumentation (and vocal).
Interesting thought--your imagery is spot on! I remember liking a second album of theirs, the dreadfully named Aircut. And, I saw them perform in Amsterdam in the '70s. Unfortunately they were awful (maybe due to a change of lineup). Ms. Kristina shrieked rather than sang and they left the stage after half an hour to a chorus of boos, after the show had degenerated into aimless keyboard noodling. Not good.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 20, 2019 14:46:09 GMT
Aimless noodling is one of the worst things in music! Be it in the guise of barroom blues, electronic "experimentation," jazz improvisation, or anything else. Such a bore... And this from a big fan of improvisation. But a person must keep in mind his or her audience. Not everyone wants to sit through 20 minutes of your fiddling.
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