The tedious, yet popular, item for listing what music you are listening to *at this very moment*! No cheating, now! To keep things interesting, write a line or two about the album or song you are naming, especially if it's at all obscure.503 responses total.
Mara, SEZONI. Mara is an Australian folk & world music band I've been a fan of for about 12 years. This time they are doing a program solely of Balkan music, with a women's choir, and this time the album comes out on the Real World label, in the USA, so I won't have to troll for someone in Australia to send it to me.
The Schubert string quartet called "Death and the Maiden," 3rd movement. The whole piece is great, but this one movement sounds like something that already existed and Schubert simply plucked it out of the air.
Is that good or bad? :)
Allow me to be the first to cheat in this incarnation of the item. I was just listening to Astor Piazzola's "The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night" but the CD's no longer playing at this exact moment. The opening tango is still going through my head, however..
Re #3, I meant it as good. I meant the music is so inevitable-sounding it's almost as if Schubert didn't write it, he found it.
Yeah, a lot of his stuff sounds like that. The C Major Quintet, for instance... the first movement especially.
How does he *do* that, anyway?
He was a very clever guy. :)
"Sharkey's Night" by Laurie Anderson.
Hey, Kemosabe! You connect the dots! You pick up the pieces!
I really love those first two major-label Laurie Anderson albums, but I've rarely been able to connect with her since then. Emmylou Harris, WRECKING BALL.
Robyn Hitchcock, "Jewels for Sophia" (promo copy)
I presume by "first two major-label Laurie Anderson albums" you mean "Big Science" and the "Home of the Brave" soundtrack. I also liked "Strange Angels" and think that a fair amount of USA I-IV is good (though listening to it straight through would be an ordeal..) I agree, though, that most of what she's done lately hasn't wowed me. According to the kiosk outside of Hill Auditorium she's scheduled to come there sometime early next year and do four nights' worth of performances having something to do with Moby Dick (!) Anyone know anything about that?
"Big Science" and "Mister Heartbreak," please! :) I read something about Laurie Anderson's MOBY DICK, and all I recall right now is that the University Musical Society co-commissioned the work.
I fell in love with Mister Heartbreak the first time I heard it, and I've been looking for other albums of hers that are as good. "Big Science" had a few good tracks, but none of it really stood out. "Home of the Brave" was the same way. "Mister Heartbreak" is the only album I've heard where she gets the repetitiveness of the music to work - where it's catchy rather than boring. And I checked out a more recent album of hers from the library, but it was too soft-rock for my taste.
I liked "Strange Angels" desipte the fact that it had more of a soft-rock sound to it. Has anybody watched any of the Laurie Anderson videos? Currently I'm listening to "The Kick Inside" by Kate Bush. I enjoy all of her albums because I like her etherial voice. "Wuthering Heights" is still a song I can listen to repeatedly after all these years. I just wish she'd release CDs more than twice a decade now.
How ironic.. We finally get a more-than-a-few-responses discussion going in the music conference and it's stuck in the "What are you listening to" list item.. Whoops.. Forgot about "Mr. Heartbreak". Perhaps I should check it out again, all I remember right now is that I didn't like it nearly as much as "Big Science" at the time and that a lot of it was shared with either "Home of the Brave" or "USA I-IV"
Should I make a Laurie Anderson item?... Mr. Heartbreak shares one song - Sharkey's Night - with Home of the Brave. I don't know about USA I-IV, since I've never found a copy of it.
(I wish Picospan had a better facility for picking up a discussion and transplanting it, like a tender perennial, to a new garden bed.) Two albums a decade for Kate Bush? I guess so, I just looked it up: "The Sensual World" in 1989 and "The Red Shoes" in 1993. Kate Bush, like Peter Gabriel, is moving into the category of "former pop star." :)
Transplant complete...check out item:198 (did I do that right? I can never remember...) Anyway, I'm gonna be in Canada for the next few weeks, but go talk about it while I'm gone! Please! :)
Last year's Phobe Snow album. Her remake of Janis Joplins "Little
Piece of My Heart". She also does a good version of "Never Neverland" on this
CD.
It's all part of 5 CD shuffle going on now to a new track.
Hum... "Weird Al's" Truck Driving Man.
Def Leppard -- Love Bites. Actually the whol Hysteria album. My cheese factor just went up about 100 fold.
Blues from the Lowland leading into Folks Like Us on WDET.
re:23 My wife loves Def Leppard. Cheese factor up 100 fold? Hrm, wonder what would happen if she bought that new album. Most of the music she likes to listen to is terribly cheesy.
Realworld's 10 out of 10 CD sampler. It has a lot of great world muisc that I haven't heard before. I especially enjoy the track by Afro Celt Sound System (which is playing right now).
Definitely a bargain at $0.99..
The Afro Celt Sound System rules. Lumen, in re:25 -- I got the new Def Leppard album. It's much better than Slang. I listen to it at work.
The Gerbils, "Are You Sleepy?" - more Elephant 6 stuff. Not that great, actually.
re:28 so I saw. So-- could you recommend it? Maybe I'll surprise her with a copy.
We Saw The Wolf, ON THE SHORE. Impossibly obscure vaguely folk-rock band from Massachusetts. I'm glad to have something by them which isn't on a cassette; eventually I'm going to have to try to make CD dubs of those fragile cassettes. (A topic for another item!)
Astor Piazzolla, "La Camorra".
Elf Power, "Simon (The Bird With the Candy-Bar Head)"
The Hope Orchestra, "Detroit Head" Local band, picked up at Art Fair.
My radio show from this morning, on tape. (I've got a big ego...)
Joel Mabus, "Touch a Name on the Wall". You would be freaked if I told what radio show it was from.
So, freak us out.
dr. demento?
Right. Back in 1988 or so, I noticed that I had demented tunes
in my record collection that Dr. Demento was not playing. Over the
years, I would send him both folk and filk tracks to listen to and
air. On sending Dr. Demento Joel Mabus "Hitler Was A Vegaterian"
I also included "Touch a Name on the Wall" as an example of good serious
folk music. He used it on the September 8, 1991 show, with folk funnies
as the special topic. Joel Mabus now knows to send his new releases to
Dr. Demento.
Other artists I have introduced to Dr. Demento include The
Chennille Sisters, Tom Smith, Michael Longcor and Christine Lavin.
when * where is his show on locally these days?
*that* I would like to know. I listened to the show when I lived with my parents, and it jumped to an FM station from an AM talk station before I lost track of it (I think it went off the air). I doubt it plays anywhere near the Central WA area. Things just haven't been the same since the suits wrested distribution rights from him. Dr. Demento hasn't had a live program in years.
Various artists, "This Is What Summer Is For." Live compilation from the WOMAD Festival at Reading, 1997. Exceptionally fine mix. Fished out of the clearance bin at Where House Records in East Lansing, this afternoon.
Will have to see if I can borrow that , Ken. Moxy Fruvous, Thornhill. Damn fine disc.
Paul Estin's Eclectia series, shuffled, #6 -#10. A John Forrester track just finished. I think Okla the Mok is on now.
Beulah, "When Your Heartstrongs Break" - one of my top 10 of the year so far. Go see 'em at the Blind Pig tomorrow night!
Adrian Belew, "Coming Attractions". This is a sampler CD of near-future releases, which I purchased at the concert last night.
Paul Estin's Eclectia series, #1 - #5 shuffled. The Lazy Boy by Moxy Fruvous is now playing.
The Flaming Lips, "The Soft Bulletin," again and again...
Judy Collins, "Live at Newport," from the early 1960s. I wish the first four Judy Collins albums -- the purist folk revival ones -- would get reissued on CD.
The Soft Boys, "Wey Wey Hep a Hole"
Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. San Francisco's sorry excuse for a classical station (I've just been in Louisville and Cincinnati and marvelled at their stations' superior quality) has named it their Designated 20th Century Acceptable Work, and seem to play it at least once a day.
Recoil, "Bloodline" It's my roomie's CD. It's a really enjoyable etherial techno sound.
Sara Hickman, "Two Kinds Of Laughter." I'm going to try to book her at Green Wood.
John Lurie: Two Movie Scores
"A Prairie Home Companion." A repeat show from 1997 which I have heard before, with the Tannahill Weavers and Muzsikas.
The Larados new CD, Most Requested. Saw them last night.
Lamb, "Fear of Fours"
Altan, "Blackwater" After seeing them in concert at the Ark last year, I just had to buy some of their CDs. They do great Celtic music.
Joe Jackson -- "Big World"
Just a tiny bit o' drift. Today is Joe's birthday (45) and WDET played quite a bunch of his music, in the order it was produced. Real cool!
Attwenger, MOST. Quasi-punk-folk duo on accordion and drums. I'll probably start a new item to go over the Austrian haul in more detail.
Peter Gabriel, 3rd album. I'd always wanted to get an import CD of this one, and the 4th album, because I'd heard that the US domestic issues were not the best quality. So Leslie kindly brought me back a Charisma label issue, UK manufacture, from Austria, for 139 shillings. Almost 20 years since its issue, the album holds up pretty darned well. This is the album where Gabriel began to be influenced by African music, particularly on the track "Biko," which probably led pretty directly to the WOMAD and Real World projects; which in turn have led me to refer to Gabriel as a "former rock star," with only one new album released in the last 12 years.
(The "4th" album is "Security"? Both excellent albums, at any rate..)
Bardo Pond, can't remember the title. Sludgy noisy stuff with a singer who sounds like Kim Gordon. Will probably get the usual 3 stars when it comes time for album review.
The 4th album is titled "Security" in the USA, because Gabriel's American label refused to put out any more albums titled only "Peter Gabriel." The British edition is titled just "Peter Gabriel," catalog number PGCD4. Where do your reviews appear, Natalie?
I write little mini-reviews on stickers that get stuck on new CDs at WCBN. The reviews are supposed to help the DJ's figure out what to play. Some people do track by track reviews, but I'm too lazy for that.
Ah! It sounds like it might be possible for you to share them with us, since WCBN isn't publishing them?
Well... I don't keep copies, and once a CD has its review sticker and has been shelved, it doesn't leave the station. So it might be kind of tricky...
A group called Thunder. Picked up their CD from the sample rack at Borders HQ. Hard rock. Not too damaging to the ears. Musta taken a buyer a while to clean out the cube, I just noted it's dated 1997.
Speaking of Peter Gabriel (up there), did he sing a song something along the lines of "I want to know, what you're thinking. Tell me what's on your mind." Or if he didn't who did?
RE #70 I believe the song whose lyrics you quoted, hematite, was from Information Society (their one and only hit, BTW).
The Magnetic Fields, "The Charm of the Highway Strip." Melancholy tunes that were probably stitched together in someone's basement, with sepulchural bass vocals that sound like if Ian Curtis from Joy Division could sing in tune. I like.
I love that album.. Perhaps the only country-and-western album you'll
find that was played on beepy Casio keyboards.. (the music isn't C&W
at all, but the lyrics deal with very country-ish themes..)
That's still my favorite of the Magnetic Fields albums, but I also love
the combo disc of The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees. Both feature
female vocals, instead of Stephin Merritt's somewhat morose style.
"The Wayward Bus" is Merritt's fairly credible homage to the Phil Spector
"Wall of Sound"
Other related titles that're well-worth checking out:
the 6ths -- "Wasps' Nests"
Future Bible Heroes -- "Memories of Love"
the Magnetic Fields -- "Holiday"
Thanks for the suggestions! I like the way he manages to get such an idiosyncratic, unique sound from such lo-fi ingredients. (Considering that a lot of lo-fi artists just sound like guys playing fuzzy guitars accompanied by tape hiss.) And I'm a connosieur (sp) of weird singing voices, so the morose vocals suit me just fine.
Madder Rose, "Hello June Fool." Kinda like an edgier Cowboy Junkies, with a wider sonic palette (elements of shoegazer, dance-y beats). 3.5 stars, probably.
I seem to keep collecting Madder Rose albums out of the $1 and $2 bins... Garmarna, VITTRAD. The USA release had a different title; this is the first release with Emma Hardelin as singer. Another of the spectacular Scandinavian electro-trad bands, this one from Sweden. (And daggone it, where did I mislay my copy of their new album, VENGEANCE?)
I played the title track from that on my show a few weeks back. I'm not sure if I care for those types of bands - I think I prefer my trad without any electro.
(you've just dissed the last 25 years of my record-collecting life. *sniff* )
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young -- "Deja Vu" I was seized with a powerful compulsion to play this album after having gone through the rest of my Neil Young albums recently. It's astonishing how much better Young's stuff has aged than that of Crosby, Stills, or Nash..
Adrian Belew doing a live version of Three of a Perfect Pair. I saw a record of his called Salad Days in the New Stuff bin at the library; it looks like a bunch of acoustic versions of old songs of his. Regardless, it reaffirms my dislike for anything he's done since King Crimson :P
Jimmy Buffet, Beachhouse on the Moon CD, his latest.
re #80: since *which* King Crimson? I like the poppier of Belew's solo albums, particularly "Mr Music Head" and "Young Lions".. Neither is perfect, but both are pretty good (and "Young Lions" is worth having just for the track with "the Prophet Omega") I haven't been wild about anything he's done lately, nor have I been thrilled with the latest incarnation of King Crimson..
Re #80 and #82: I keep meaning to get some King Crimson CDs? Any recommendations?
Good point, McNally. THat wasn't the clearest way I could've phrased that... Howzabout "I don't like the stuff he's done away from K.C."? My favorites-of-the-moment are "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" and "Discipline". "Larks' Tongues" is probably a better introduction to the band, but it's impossible to get any idea of what they're like from just one album (especially since there are so #@&! many incarnations).
Running with Scissors, Weird Al's new album...the polka medley is on now.
Captain Beefheart, "Trout Mask Replica." The one and only...
(thank goodness.. I've *tried* to like Beefheart, really I have..
I tried "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)", I tried "Safe as Milk",
I tried "Mirror Man".. Eventually I realized that I was simply
not ever going to like him no matter *how* terrific he was supposed
to be..)
Currently playing:
The Feelies -- "The Good Earth"
dug out my Feelies albums after their name came up in the Yo La Tengo
newsgroup.. fairly good stuff, but whoever recorded/mixed the vocals
on "The Good Earth" should be shot, unless, for some reason "inaudible
mumble" was the effect they were going for..
Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, "Western Wall/The Tucson Sessions."
On The Feelies, I'm pretty sure that "inaudible mumble" was the intended effect. I have the TwinTone/Coyote issue of "The Good Earth," and it has a special place in my heart as one of the best-sounding rock CDs, in audiophile terms, I've ever heard. The realization of the electric guitar sounds, all the way down to the amp hum, is just exquisite.
The Tempst CD, The Gravel Walk is currently playing. the Jim Delushi 4 song disk played ahead of that.
(What is the difference between exquisite realization of amp hum, and 'bad' hum that leaked in someplace else in the process? This is not a sarcastic question.)
I'll agree with Ken that the rest of the CD sounds pretty well recorded. That's why I find the vocals so confusing..
(Hearing artifacts of the instruments can be good or bad. On recent Tom Waits things you can hear obvious neises from old creaky pianos and the like. It can sometimes be a distraction, or it can increase the sense of there being this big piano in front of you.)
Ozric Tentacles, Strangeitude. I don't know how to describe the sound, but I really like it.
Captain Beefheart, "The Dust Blows Forward (An Anthology)." Not sure if I'll bother giving this a star rating, since it's all previously released material. But if I do, it'll get 5/5 stars, of course.
(orinoco in resp:91 :: Urgh, that's tough to put into words. In the case of the Feelies album, the amp hum comes from a specific spot -- it's a part of the stereo image which is being created. Some sort of diffuse hum, which was leaking in from a poor recording system, wouldn't have that sense of focus.)
The Beatles, "Revolver".
"Best album of the 60s" is a category with some pretty stiff competition, but "Revolver" is on my short list.. Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream! Now playing: A Yo La Tengo mix CD I made for the car that somehow found its way into the house..
Alison Krauss, "Forget About It." Best album I've heard in a long while.
Mara, SEZONI, same album I was playing in resp:1 :: Balkan stuff filtered through Australia. Mara Kiek is a great singer, and I wish she wasn't so underplayed on this album.
The Beatles, "With the Beatle". Yup, I've "discovered" the earlier Beatles albums. Lots of great stuff on them. I previously just knew the later stuff like Sgt. Peppers and so on.
Moodswings, "Psychedelicatessen"
Stan Rogers, "Turnaround"
Brian Peters, THE BEAST IN THE BOX. British traditional accordion tunes, mostly; best such item I have heard in years.
The Minders, "Cul-De-Sacs & Dead Ends." Pleasant, Beatle-y pop from Portland, OR, courtesy of the Elephant 6 folks. 3.5 stars.
Greenwood CD by Katie Geddes (Thank you for stocking it at Borders).
(You're welcome.)
"Stigmata" soundtrack, specifically "Al the pretty things are going to hell" by David Bowie. Has an interesting track by Chumbawumba and one by the Afro Celtic Sound System....
Some band called "Tall Dwarfs" doing a song called "Ride a White Song" by some guy named Marc Bolan. For no apparent reason, I bought a Marc Bolan tribute CD blind and I'm loving it. Who is this guy, and why have I never heard of him?
Uh, you're joking, right? You never heard of T. Rex? Momus, "Stars Forever." The idea is that 20 people paid Momus $1000 a piece to write a portrait of them in song. The songs are very clever - I think. They're hard to appreciate when you don't know the people he's writing about. 3.5 stars, probably.
Bolan has become rather an overlooked figure since his death in 1977, so I'm not surprised that orinoco hadn't heard of him. www.allmusic.com is often a good place to look up The Past. I see they like the "Electric Warrior" album, which I dimly remember friends owning when it was new. NP: "Minstrelsy: Sonds and Dances of the Renaissance and Baroque," a nice recording on Lyrichord.
Oh, and also to orinoco: I think the Tall Dwarfs were a part of the late 80s New Zealand scene which also produced The Verlaines and the Able Tasmans... NP: Davy Graham, "Fire In The Soul," a compilation of 1960s folk/blues guitar work. I see some other Graham stuff has gotten reissued, including his album with Shirley Collins which I have been wanting for almost 15 years.
Tom Waits, "Closing Time". I haven't been a huge fan of the pre-Swordfishtrombones Waits, but thanks to the library I'm checking some early stuff out.
re. #112 - right, the Tall Dwarfs are legendary purveyors of Kiwi-pop. Their frontman Chris Knox is still going strong and puts out records full of scruffy, energetic lo-fi tunes on a regular basis.
"Summer In The City" by the Lovin' Spoonful.
Steven Page is having a baby - BNL
Tori Amos, "From the Choirgirl Hotel" Can't wait for the new 2CD album.
No, Natalie, never heard of T.Rex. (Well, the name sounded familiar when Ken mentioned it to me, but I knew nothing about them, and I'd certainly never heard of Bolan). So it's been an educational day all around. Also listening to Tori -- the live version of "Upside Down". <twitches in anticipation>
Tom Cleland, "Deadline 2000". This is my cousin! And this showed up out of the blue just as I was unable to find his address, which is handy. It's pretty obviously a self done CD, produced on a PC with mostly sound card instruments. Still, I think it's really cool that it is possible to do this sort of thing.
Mountain Stage on WDET.
Me'shell Ndegeocello's new album, "Bitter".
Poignant Plecostomus, "Empoisson" I still prefer "touche la vache" btu it's still a good album. Both CDs will probably be out of ciurculation soon, since the band just had their farewell concert last night. If you want either of them, you should buy them quickly.
preview CD of "Pick UP" by Solex. Very interesting titles. It doesn't sound like a keeper to me.
Steve Reich, "Music for 18 Musicians"
Miranda Stone.
bad livers
Thanks to Ann Arbor CTN Channel 16, plenty of really old oldies. I'm using the extra audio output of the VCR to tape monitor in, and getting good sound without the Channel 16 video being on the TV screen. On usual days (non-holidays) there is programming on at 10am). Currently "Rock around The Clock" by Bill Haley and Comets is on.
"The Soul of Black Peru"
Melanie's latest, "Ring the Living Bell: A Collection." *13* new Melanie tunes, 10 old ones, 7 covers, and a bonus cut by Safka, her kids' group. It's tremendous. I'm going to find out what it will take to bring her to Ann Arbor. Green Wood Coffee House could maybe rent the Michigan Theatre...
Henry Butler, "Orleans Inspiration." Jazz/blues piano player.
Dock Boggs: The Smithsonian Years gloomy dark appalachian songs on banjo
I got the Revenant release of his 1920s-1930s-ish stuff; I probably should have gotten the Smithsonian Folkways release, just because it was recorded to tape. Mickey Hart, MYSTERY BOX. I thought my recent pickup of interest in the Grateful Dead would make this Dead spinoff project sound better. Um, nope. Good candidate for the resale pile.
(Chemical Brothers, "Where Do I Begin", from _Dig Your Own Hole_.)
The Unicorn by the Irish Rovers. "The best of the Irish Rovers" This is stuff I listened to as a kid. I never lost my love for the Rovers and folk music.
I love The Unicorn Song. RIP, Shel.
"Song about the Moon", Paul Simon.
Pet Shop Boys -- "Very" (the album whose title answers the unasked question: Are these guys gay? ;) an excellent album from the "fanatically over-produced" end of the musical spectrum..
Thanks to Paul Estin, Eclectica #11: Raspberry Particle Rainbow Polka
Talking Heads -- "Stop Making Sense" in honor of the 15th anniversary of the film, Sire has re-issued the soundtrack with all of the tracks they deleted for the original issue, which include many of the best tracks. "Stop Making Sense" is one of my few completely positive memories from my early college days in Ann Arbor. I saw it many times at the Michigan Theater. It was a popular midnight movie in the mid-to-late eighties and everybody in the crowd would get up and dance in the aisles. I still consider it the finest concert film I've ever seen (not that it has a great deal of serious competition..) You really should see the film in a huge theater full of enthusiastic fans, but if you can't you can at least listen to the restored versions of "Heaven" and "Genius of Love"..
The film STOP MAKING SENSE is getting a theatrical reissue; I can't imagine that it won't appear in Ann Arbor.
resp:137 The Pet Shop Boys released a version of that album that combined that material with (I think it was an EP or something) an album called _Relentless_, hence, it was titled _Very Relentless_.
Eclectica #17: Christmas in July.
Bjork, "Debut". I really must see about some more recent issues from this person.
Robyn Hitchcock, "You and Oblivion." Odds and sods. I can't resist a song that begins, "The frogs are mating on the table, but you just pick your nose and squint."
Innocence Mission, a promo CD for the new CD "Birds of My Neighborhood."
Pulp Fiction soundtrack. I like this one, esp the Royale with Cheese thing. Jackson and Travolta were great in that flick. However, I did think it was a little cheesy for Tarentino to appear in his own movie.
He's no Hitchcock, that's for sure.. (What was cheesy wasn't necessarily the fact that he appeared, but the fact that he gave himself a medium-length speaking role for which he wasn't qualified. Apparently a cameo wasn't enough to satisfy his raging egomania..)
(What are these "Eclectica" mixes that y'all keep mentioning?)
Acoustic Cafe on The River, produced in Ann Arbor.
Eclectica is a series of mix tapes (now CDs) started by a freind,
Paul Estin. They feature the weird and the wonderfull, the fun and the
funny. An interesting way to gather those single tracks you want to
listen to, but want something else to come afterwards.
What sort of stuff is on them? Can you give a track listing?
re 150: home.intranet.org/~estin/eclectica
Momus, "Stars Forever." "Portraits in song" commissioned by their subjects for $1000 a pop. The $$ goes to pay for Momus's court costs after he was sued by Wendy Carlos for... mentioning her in a song, I think. The lyrics are very clever, the music very grating. 3 stars, maybe 3.5.
Eclectica 13: Bureau 13. The rare place where the Rude Girls (I can See your Aura) can follow David Bowie (Space Oddity).
The Kinks -- "Lola Versus Powerman and the MoneyGoRound" Everyone knows the song "Lola" (which is somewhat odd, as it's not your typical radio-single subject matter) but what's totally shameful about this album is that you never ever hear "Apeman" played anywhere.. What a great song!
The Magnetic Fields, 69 Love Songs promo sampler. This is great! Maybe I'll be shelling out that $32 for the box set after all. Four stars.
If you're planning on buying the boxed set you may have trouble finding
it in stock in town. I couldn't get it at SKR last week -- went on
Wednesday and they'd sold every one they'd received on Tuesday. Tower
claimed they'd be getting some *this* Tuesday but SKR seemed to think
that the distributors (or the one-stops, anyway) were sold out already.
You can, of course, get the three separate discs.
Or, if you want the box set and are willing to mail-order it, try CDNow,
which is having one of their weird promotions right know if you know
the secret URL to visit. Besides their announced 30% off sale, they
also have a promotion going that's worth $15 off any purchase over $30,
making it perfect for buying "69 Love Songs" With the discount, plus
shipping, approximately $24..
(visit http://p01.com/r.d?PkGrnpRMZLs=cdnow/from=rel:x:cdn:bk6906
for the promotion..)
Obligatory on-topic information: Now playing -- Donald Fagan's "Kamakiriad"
The futuristic science-fictiony theme of his second solo release contrasts
interestingly with the 50s-nostalgia tint of his first one ("The Nightfly")
Doesn't have anything quite as groovy as "I.G.Y." or "New Frontier", but
"Countermoon", "Snowbound", and "Tomorrow's Girls" are all great tracks..
The Grateful Dead, "Workingman's Dead." Ah, vinyl... or even worse, tapes from vinyl :)
Me'shell Ndegeocello doing a cover of Hendrix's "Can This Be Love?"
Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes #1 (on CD). I wonder what inspired me to get these out.
(something off of Styles Of Beyond's _2000 Flow_. I managed to miss whatever hype had been associated with the album, and instead was VERY pleasantly surprised when I reviewed it for the station a couple of weeks ago. reading through PULSE, I learned that the album was originally released independently back in 1998, and that the version we have at the station is a re-release on the Dust Brother's Hi-Ho label.) (anyway, it's my album to broadcast for the hour, as I feel like being a lazy DJ.)
Re. #156 - thanks for the info!
(on the other hand they seem to taken my order without having the
set in stock and without telling me I'd have to wait for a backorder.
my guess is I'm not going to wind up getting one of the boxes, but
you never know..)
now playing: Cibo Matto -- "Viva La Woman"
fairly strange Japanese pop..
Crash Vegas -- "Red Earth"
out of print (afaik) Canadian female-vocal folk/country-tinged rock.
pretty good, substantially better than the disappointing follow-up ("Stone")
anyone know if Jocelyn Lanois is any relation to Daniel?
To the best of my knowledge, Jocelyn is the sister of Daniel. I think Jocelyn was also in one of the incarnations of Martha and the Muffins, but I'm too lazy to go look it up. "Red Earth" is a big favorite of mine; I discovered them through a profile on CBC's old Brave New Waves show, and I sat in a parking lot listening to the car radio for about 20 minutes to learn the band's name. Crash Vegas was one of a number of bands which seem to have been destroyed in the early 1990s by the record companies' insistence that they sound more like Nirvana. There was a final third album, "Aurora," released only in Canada in 1996 and unmemorable. A while back I did some web searching to see if Michelle McAdorey, their lead singer, had done anything, and I didn't find any further recordings.
Tori Amos, "Jackie's Strength" CD single. After seeing her live last weekend, I've been listening to a lot of her music.
Dr. Demento's basement tapes (on CD) continues in the CD player. I got all 7 of them.
i love onions? pencil neck geek?! here, fluffy! ? "I love" ?!
Dave Boutette et. al. doing a live cover of Steve Miller's "Swingtown" (they're rehearsing at my studio)
Tell 'em "hi" for me!
Will do on Tues.
Quasi, "Field Studies." Good solid indie pop, with a bit of weird synth noise, boy-girl harmonies, and cynical lyrics. 3.5 stars, maybe 4 if it grows on me.
Mozart, COSI FAN TUTTI; a 1952 recording in English with Eleanor Steber.
Santana, first album. My, San Francisco must have been a fun place in 1968.
"A Woman's Heart 2". Mary Black, Frances Black, Maura O'Connell, Dolores Keane, and the Sineads Lohan and O'Connor.
Type O Negative, "Bloody Kisses" The cover of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze" was weird and creepy.
Ahhh, the weird and creepy cover genre.. What ever happened to Laibach, anyway?
resp:175 that does sound creepy.. I grew up listening to a bit of Seals & Crofts, and wound up buying the greatest hits album..
I have a Laibach tattoo.
Definitely the kings of the "creepy cover version" genre.. Now playing: the Magnetic Fields - "Holiday" I've been frustrated about not being able to get the new box set -- it sold out *far* faster than anyone anticipated. Now I can't even find the seperate releases that accompanied the box. I'm told there'll be a second printing soon, but am getting tired of waiting..
WDET-FM: a set of tunes by jazz bagpiper Rufus Harley. Hey, I just checked Amazon.com and there is an import release of his old album BAGPIPE BLUES out this summer... I need to look into that.
Sunday morning over easy on WCSX, 94.7fm, Detroit. Right now "Walking in Memphis".
Babylon 5 "War Without End Part 1" soundtrack - Good instrumental music including the entire Season 3 opening theme with the dialogue. The only drawback is that 3 to 5 tracks under a single number (as in 1A, 1B, 1C, etc.) instead of giving each track its own number. I don't know why they chose to do that.
ritsu - voodoo She plays electric violin with a band. I really like it.. kinda sounds like basic blues, and at times it's hard to tell that she's playing the violin and not guitar...
The Beatles Yellow Submarine songtrack CD.
re #182: Anyone remember *index* markers in CD tracks? The better models from among the early generations of CD players had both "track" and "index" forward and reverse features (in addition to the within-track seek functions..) "Indexes" were points within a track that you might want to skip to -- I think they were originally envisioned for classical music where you might have a long work be a single track but where listeners might want to start with, say, the second movement.. Anyway, indexed tracks never caught on (I think that out of around 1200 CDs in my collection I only know of about three CDs that have indexes) and the feature died out on nearly all CD players -- I'd be surprised if you could still find a consumer- grade player with buttons on the front for the index features, though with some brands (like my old Magnavox) you could use older remotes to access the feature on the newer units (even though there wasn't a button for it on the new one's front panel *or* remote..) Must've used the same control circuitry..
My family's CD player will tell you what index number you're on, but has no index skip buttons. None of our CDs have index numbers. Pity -- it sounds like it would've been a useful feature.
np: John Kirkpatrick Band, WELCOME TO HELL. (As in "Welcome to Hell, here's your accordion.") A great revival of the classic English electric folk sound of the 1970s Albion Band -- no surprise, since the band includes the Albions' old guitarist and drummer. Kirkpatrick will be best known to readers here as an associate of Richard Thompson.
Tom Waits, "Mule Variations". Ahhh, I've gotten past the learning curve on this one. Tom Waits albums seem to be an acquired taste, and each one is an acquired taste.
WDET-FM's evening jazz programming, which is becoming a favorite in our house.
Luna -- "Pup Tent" When you get some time, Ken, I'd appreciate your opinion on the new one..
(Is that Jim Dulzo's show, Ken?)
The Beatles DVD Yellow Submarie, switched to play the music track only.
Traffic -- "John Barleycorn Must Die" one of my favorite lesser-known 60's albums by one of my favorite second- (or third-) tier 60's bands.. more consistent than much of the rest of their output; doesn't have their very best stuff but each of the tracks on the album is solid and fits well.. I wonder if the "rock band with flute" thing will ever make a comeback?
You haven't the Celtic band with a flute goes rock?
There is that, I guess.. I was thinking more about the mainstream.. Groups like Traffic and Jethro Tull were pretty mainstream once, moreso than the Celtic folk-rock stuff today, which is at best a substantial niche market.
"Beneath the Icy Floe: a project sampler v.5" It's a wonderful compilation featuring a lot of goth and dark ambient groups under the Projekt label. Since buying this, I've picked up several CDs from different bands on this label. I haven't been disappointed yet.
Afro-Cuban All-Stars.
Well, Morsel has (had?) a flute, but that hardly counts as mainstream...
"Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield on the "Bone Conduction Music Show" on WEMU (89.1 FM).
As much as I find Thayrone (the host) annoying I do have to give him credit for playing good music on his show.. My favorite local music program, though, is Friday night's "All Star Rhythm Revue", also on WEMU. They manage to produce some fine programming, don't they?
(Really? My dad and I both find a good portion of Thayrone's music annoying, but we listen to the show to hear him blither.)
RE #200 WEMU cancelled the "All Star Rhythm Revue" about a year and a half ago.
re #201: heh.. some of his music is beyond annoying, but some of what
he plays is excellent stuff that you're never gonna hear on
commercial radio..
re #202: did they really? shoot! i hadn't tuned in in a while because
I haven't been driving to the west side of the state on Friday
nights much lately, which is when I used to listen to it.
what a bummer -- I was looking forward to their annual Halloween
show and planned to tape the excellently cheesey "the Mummy",
a theoretically comic number they played most years..
(it can't have been as long as a year and a half ago, could it? I could've sworn I'd heard the "All-Star Rhythm Revue" more recently than that..)
Oh, every time I listen to Thayrone I hear one or two good songs (especially if you consider "Johnny, are you queer?" and "Sell the Bitch's Car" to be good songs). It's just that that's not why I listen.
I miss the "All Star Rhythm Revue" as well, and much like Mike I find Thayrone's schtick to wear thin but the music is usually excellent, and he really knows a lot about what he's playing. OAURN: My wife used to work with "Thayrone", he's thankfully nothing like his radio persona in person.
"Quartet Romantic" by Henry Cowell, borrowed from the library. Yeegs, this is the most painful listening experience I've ever had. It's not that the music is so dissonant, it's that all four musicians are playing in complete rhythmic independence of one another. (They had to record it with headphones and click tracks.) There's no way to describe how disconcerting this is. Followed by "The Abongo" by John J. Becker, on the same CD. Percussion music. All rhythm, nothing else. Neat. (But the masterpiece of the genre remains Varese's "Ionisation".)
Cool! What CD is this?
Sarah McLachlan, "Mirrorball" Again.
Right now I'm listening to Les Miz....It started to run through my head last night...from "Red & Black" to the bitter end. I sang *ALL* of it. From Memory. I decided that it was probably time to listen to the cd again. So I am. :)
(katie back in resp:191 :: I don't know the name of the WDET evening jazz DJ.) np: Fernhill, LLANTAI. Welsh acoustic folk band, so far I like this second album better than their debut. Twila will like it, most likely, and David Bratman might be interested. Julie Matthews, who has done some stuff with hurdy-gurdy player Nigel Eaton, is the singer.
RE #211 I believe that the evening jazz DJ (7-10 pm) on WDET (101.9 FM Detroit) is Ed Love.
Tom Waits, "Rain Dogs". I'd sort of forgotten this one, but I've been listening to it again lately and enjoying it a lot.
Definitely a good album, but one I can't seem to keep in my collection. Over the years I've owned three different copies. One was definitely stolen, the other two have met unknown fates, but whatever happened to them they're not around for me to listen to.. Now playing: Mojave 3 -- "Out of Tune" Very disappointing follow-up to "Ask Me Tomorrow".. Kind of a bummer..
King Crimson, "Discipline". One of my big favorites. I put it on to get a quote correct, then left it playing.
Soundtrack from "Vision of Escaflowne" anime. This is the third anime soundtrack I've had on today, after a prolonged neglect.
"Key the Metal Idol" anime soundtrack. Yup, that's #4 for today in anime soundtracks.
Andre' Marchand, Lisa Ornstein, Normand Miron: "Le Bruit Court Dans La Ville." Quebecois traditional. Andre' Marchand is the former leader of the best known Quebecois band, La Bottine Souriante, and this new albums sounds a bit like the old LBS stuff.
Ack, you've got the Escaflowne theme song in my head now.
Spiritualized -- "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space" I just love this album.. moody, multi-layered, full of emotionally powerful songs.. Spiritualized are one of my favorite bands now going. I hope I get a chance to see them before they overdose.. :-(
Smog, "Red Apple Falls." Glooooooooomy, gloomy, gloomy.
Patti Loveless, "Classics" Normally, I don;t listen to Country music, but for some reason, I was drwan to this CD. She has a beautiful voice.
gnat 208: The CD was just called "Quartet Romantic" (New Worlds 80285-2) and also had other chamber works by Riegger, Crawford, and Harrison.
the Stone Roses -- eponymous destined to be remembered (by me, at least) as one of the defining albums of the early 90s (the *very* early 90s, I guess.. 1989 technically, but I refuse to acknowledge that this album is already 10 years old..) I'm very much looking forward to 2010, when we *might* get to find out whether the band ever comes out of its sophomore slump.. ;-)
Rob Zombie, "Hellbilly Deluxe" You can tell he's a big fan of horror films while listening to this CD (and watching his videos). Good stuff.
<agrees strongly with #224> (Quannum MCs featuring Jurassic 5, "Concentration", from the _Quannum Spectrum_ compilation. a meeting of two of the most influential groups in West Coast ambient hip-hop.)
Tori Amos, "To Venus and Back". Loaned by a friend trying to convert me. ;)
The Costello Show (featuring Elvis Costello) -- "King of America" 1986 was an amazing year for Elvis Costello: it produced two classic albums, "King of America" and "Blood & Chocolate". It was shortly after this that the dastardly Mitchell Froom slipped some unknown substance into both Costello's and Richard Thompson's coffee -- neither has been the same since..
marley: Trenchtown Rock
Adrian Belew, "Coming Attractions". Sampler of upcoming releases.
He just doesn't get tired of releasing samplers and colelctions, does he? How is it?
U2 -- "Zooropa" It must be the Eno fan in me but I think this is far and away their best album, certainly more to my liking than anything since "War".. re #230: I think I stopped following Belew shortly after he released "Here". If you find the time, maybe you could comment on his releases in the past few years..
I don't have a copy of "Here". But I like what Belew has been doing lately. I guess I could loan you my copy of "Op Zop Too Wah" if you really want to know.
Mrrrh. I didn't much like Op Zop Too Wah. Oh well.
Orchestre National de Barbes. Um, I forget their title, it's their first album. North African immigrant pop from Paris.
Nine Inch Nails, "Pretty Hate Machine". Guess I ought to fork out some $ for the latest release.
Susana Seviane. The second of two recent Spanish bagpipe albums I've gotten, I should put together a one-paragraph review somewhere.
David Bowie -- "Hours" got fooled into buying this one by several reviews which expressed delighted surprise that Bowie had returned to making decent albums. unless it grows on me, I'm not sure what they were talking about; this one seems to me to be as unexciting as any of his other 90's releases..
I liked some of the stuff out of the middle of "Hours". Then again, I liked his other 90s releases too. I've only heard a few tracks from the new one, but the consensus from my Bowie-nut friends is, you should skip the first few tracks and just listen from 4 or 5 on.
I could maybe believe that.. Now playing -- Joni Mitchell -- "Hits" a hits collection checked out of the library in hopes of determining which of her many albums I'd like to try.. I seem to be leaning towards "Court and Spark" or "Blue" - does anyone have any strong recommendations (for any of them, not just those two..) (extra datapoint: I wasn't thrilled by "The Hissing of Summer Lawns", I checked out from the library at the same time.. It wasn't bad, but it didn't bowl me over, either..)
"Court and Spark" is one of the Greatest Albums of the 70s.
Perhaps I'll check it out, then.. Although I have to say that my personal list of "Greatest Albums of the 70s" tends to look absolutely nothing like the generally propounded version.. I will confess to owning a copy of "Rumours", but that's about as far as it goes.. ;-)
In the absence of affordable CD "one-time" playback, maybe we could have some sort of trading party so people could check out stuff they don't want to buy outright (without knowing if they like it).
I loan CDs out all the time. Sometimes they even come back. However, all my Joni Mitchell albums are on vinyl.
Magnetic Fields, "Holiday" (purchased in lovely Portland, OR, at my friend Michael's cool record store)
I listened to Billy Mumy's "In The Current" CD today at work. A 1999 project.
The Monks, "5 Upstart Americans" (mid-60's angry garage rock, mainly consisting of the same 2 chords played over and over. Brilliant!)
THe Skatalites: El Pussycat
Talking Heads, "Sand in the Vaseline" After seeing Stop Making Sense, I'm listening to a lot of Talking Heads again.
Talking Heads, "Stop Making Sense," the 1984 release, which just happens to be the oldest CD in my collection.
Dr. Demento's Holloween show with Elvira.
Right now, something I dont recognize on 94.7, about to put in the Richard Buckner album I purchased this weekend.
Re #250: Ken, are there different versions of "Stop Making Sense"? Do any of them have the entire concert in order on it?
There are now two different CD releases of "Stop Making Sense". The older release omits several songs present in the theatrical release of the film. The newer release restores those songs, but still omits several songs that were cut from the film but present in the video version. None of the versions has "the entire concert" -- there wasn't exactly an "entire concert".. The band played (I think) four shows in L.A. during the Speaking in Tongues tour and Demme and his crew edited pieces of several of them together for the film "Stop Making Sense".
There was a middle edition, which could be identified by the top plastic strip printed as "Stop Making Sense -- 2nd ed." I never got a clear explanation of what was different about this "second edition" and I never bought one.
The vinyl version had all sorts of neat stuff enclosed. Now playing: Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile". It'll probably be a few listenings before I have any real opinion, since I don't tend to listen very carefully these days.
Sin E', "It's About Time." Umm, for want of a better term I might call them "progressive Irish folk..." their new album is on Paddy Maloney's boutique label Wicklow (distributed by BMG) so it *should* be getting American distribution.
Cry of Love, "Hand Me Down". The sort of thing you'd hear too much of on "classic rock" stations, but well-done. And there's a song on the same album about how bad the weather in Michigan is, so how can you not like them?
Denyce Graves, "Voce di Donna." Opera recital CD from a singer we're seeing in WERTHER on Friday.
season of the witch, and albert's shuffel by supersession
Right now I'm listening to Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo. A highly amusing album. :)
the Catherine Wheel -- "Adam and Eve"
The Red Elvises, "Grooving to the Moscow Beat". Yup, the same Russian surf music band featured in the film "Six String Samurai".
The Red Elvises again. Not really surf music (that term came off the CD cover) but early rock with a lot of bluegrass and of course Russian folk influences.
Sounds interesting.. How was "Six String Samurai"? the Magnetic Fields -- "Holiday" I'm getting tired of waiting for "69 Love Songs" to be re-printed..
"Six String Samurai" is highly recommended by Scott. Nine thumbs up! ;)
"Gone", by Sonia Dada. Have I raved about these guys yet? They're a blues/soul/rock/gospel/whatever band from Chicago that my Dad discovered last year. (Bought all three of their albums unheard after reading a good review of them, and ended up being right). Further proof that Rock Is Not Dead (tm).
(Handsome Boy Modeling School, _So... How's Your Girl?_. features Prince Paul of Stetsasonic/De La Soul fame, and the Automator of Dr. Octagon fame.)
Eno -- "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)"
Whoo! One of my all-time favorite albums!
Our musical tastes seem to have a fair amount in common (and also, an interesting amount of non-overlap, as well..)
The Wall: Live in Berlin. We were talking about it at work today, and now I needed to hear it. :)
New Sting CD "Brand New Day". Earlier on-line listening included the new Big Bad VooDooo Daddy CD. Paul McCarney's "Run Devil Run" CD is also in the player. A previous listen to that shows he knows how to rock again. A shuffle play that sent me to a track in the middle was a welcome distraction, and seemed to make for a better lead track than his choice.
Dressy Bessy, "Pink Hearts Yellow Moons" - sugary girlie pop from Denver. Their bassist sent it to me in exchange for one of my tinfoil sculptures. He's a nice guy, so I feel obligated to like it.
Talk Talk -- "Spirit of Eden" I'm not sure I can over-recommend this album. Nor do I have any idea (if it were not for their name on the album cover) how you would ever know that this was the same band that charted with cheesey synth-pop hits in the early 80s. Despite glowing recommendations and a strong cult following on Usenet, for many years I avoided it because every time I thought of Talk Talk (the band) I thought of "It's My Life" or "Talk Talk" (the single.) Instead, this album is a lush and layered composition, a perfect blend of string bass, wonderfully subdued percussion, drifting organ, and muddy vocals that the band never matched on any other album, although you can hear shadows of it from time to time. You can hear hints of it, too, in some of Tim Friese-Greene's production work for other bands (for instance, Catherine Wheel..) Happily, I believe "Spirit of Eden" has been re-released in the US after having been available only on import for many years. I'm not sure I've ever talked anyone into buying this album, though that's not for lack of trying. At any rate, someone *should* snap up the used copy I saw recently at Encore..
Ben Folds Five, "Whatever and Ever Amen".
The new re-release CD of "Yellow Submarine". Remastered; that seems to mean in this case that it's LOUDER! gnat 245: I'm about to visit Portland; where's your friend's record store?
I don't remember (since I don't know my way around the city), but it's called Discover Records - you should be able to find it in the phone book. Tell Michael Keefe that I sent you... :) Reviewing for the station: Saturnine, "American Kestrel." I kept thinking, "Who do these guys sound like?" And then it hit me - they're like a very quiet, gentle version of the Byrds. The Gene Clark cover should have clued me in. 3.5 stars, maybe 4.
(3.5/4 out of how many possible?) Perhaps I'll check that out, I'm a big Byrds fan. Another Byrds-like album I recommend from recent years is Ride's "Carnival of Light" I think it pissed off their regular fans, who expected more drony shoegazer stuff, but at least *I* really liked it..
3.5 out of 5. (I don't think they warrant a 4.)
I'm listening to Dev Singh, "Heartscape."
(Meg thinks that maybe her music isn't exotic enough for this conferance) Right now it's Montey Python Sings.
The Best of Mary McCaslin.
Gibbon the Troubador, "An Ode of the Troubador" I've seen Gibbon perform at cons, and at the Blessed Be and Meet Me in '99" event. I love listening to him perform. He has a cool description too. "Gibbon the Troubador is a twentieth century characature of a sixteenth minstrel."
He's also a regular at Ren Fest in Michigan.
The Batman:Beyond soundtrack CD. Just out recently.
The Rolling Stones -- "Let it Bleed"
"Absent" - new song by yours truly and my friend Magnus
Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon"
Les Miz: The British version.
King Crimson, "Larks' Tongues in Aspic"
I am listening to a Verve "jazz masters" compilation of Antonio Carlos Jobim. I picked it off the shelf a couple of nights ago just looking for something nice and quiet to listen to while doing homework, and have become hooked on it. Some of the songs have really nice acoustic guitar solos, and on others he does really lovely subtle piano improvisations. And he has a lovely warm voice. Some of the songs feature Elis Regina's voice, which is beautiful too.
"Heartbreak Beat" - Psychedelic Furs
NIN, "Fragile", the "right" CD of the 2 CD set.
The Clash -- "Black Market Clash"
pressure gonna drop on you you you
Now it's on to "The Downward Spiral".
"So Far Away" - Dire Straits
Eclectica #13: Bureau 13. Right now, Parliament's "Mothership Connection" is playing.
runaway sunday: altan
The Who, "Quadrophenia".
Sonia Dada, "My Secret Life"
"Six String Samurai" soundtrack.
Sarah McLachlan, "B-Sides & Rarities" A wonderful compilation of special mixes, live versions, and cover songs. It's still a Canadian import, but worth the extra cost if you're a McLachlan fan.
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" - Ministry I can get from a2 to downtown Detroit in twenty minutes if that's on. ;-)
Natalie Dessay, "French Opera Arias." From the singer who stole the show in the Chicago Lyric Opera production we saw last week.
I'm listening to one of my infamous CD mix tapes. This particular one is Tape II, Side A. The last 3 songs were: "Carnival" by Natalie Merchant "Criminal" by Fiona Apple. "Walking on the Sun" by Smashmouth Don't get the idea I'm actually hip. I have BB King and some assorted Motown from the 60's on this tape as well. The very next song is "Still the Same" by Bob Seger. No one in his right mind would do something like that. I am convinced that I need serious counseling when it comes to music.
"Ask" - the Smiths
Trailer Bride, "Whine de Lune." Alt.country-ish recommendation from Ian A. Anderson (not that one) of Folk Roots magazine.
"Goiing Huntin'" by the Arrogant Worms on Eclectica #20.
"Hey Jupiter," Tori Amos.
"Arrogant Worms"? What a great band name. "I Don't Believe in the Sun," Magnetic Fields
(I take it "I Don't Believe in the Sun" is on 69 Love Songs? Merritt must be branching out -- formerly he's concentrated on "moon" songs -- I think there's at least one on every album, e.g. "You Have the Sun, I Have the Moon", "Sad Little Moon", "You and the Moon", "The Dreaming Moon", "Lovers From the Moon", "You Pretend to be the Moon" (FBH), etc..) now playing: Massive Attack v Mad Professor -- "No Protection" I don't think I'm exaggerating when I claim tht this is the best dub album in 20 years, since the years of King Tubby's, Scientist's, and Augustus Pablo's heydays. The amazing work done on this album is all the more surprising because I usually think that Mad Professor's dubs are pretty lame.. It *must* be the strength of the Massive Attack material he gets to work with, which constitutes a classic album in its own right.. It's amazing, though, that it works so well in its original form *and* so well in dub -- most of my favorite classic dub comes from reworkings of pretty unexceptional source material.
Yeah, the MF song is from "69 Love Songs" - the sampler, actually. Robyn Hitchcock, "The Dust" - a folk song about fallout.
Earlier I was listening to Pete Townsend's "Psychoderelict". Right now the "Six String Samurai" soundtrack yet again. "They were my best bowlers. The four-eyed one will be hard to defeat".
Lush -- "Split"
The Minders, "Frida" - I saw these guys in Bowling Green last week and they rocked. *Incredibly* sweet people, too (though the singer could talk the hind legs off a herd of donkeys).
Lamb, "Fear of Fours" - one of the more original trip-hop groups I've heard. The title apparently comes from their reluctance to write straight 4/4 beats.
hmmm.. any good? I've been pretty frustrated in my efforts to locate good trip-hop.. now playing: Dukes of Stratosphear -- "Chips From the Chocolate Fireball" (XTC goofing around doing a variety of psychedelic 60-ish songs.. fun..)
Ooh...neat. I'll have to check that out. "Blood Makes Noise" - Suzanne Vega
Well, I like them, but I like a lot of trip-hop. I can send you a tape if you want.
I was kind of surprised to find that the Dukes of Stratosphear stuff is still available because I haven't seen this album in a store in a long time, but several on-line retailers carry it and it's apparently a budget- line CD at this point. I guess the popularity of the rest of the XTC catalog has kept it in print. Basically the band did two projects as the Dukes, "25 O'Clock" and "Psonic Psunspot". The album veers between homage and parody but whatever the mood it's quite fun trying to pick out which band is receiving the treatment in each song. Some songs are obvious -- "Mole From the Ministry" is clearly inspired by "Sgt. Pepper's"-era Beatles, and it's not hard to find the Beach Boys influence on "Pale and Precious" (rather, it would be hard *not* to..) What's cool, though, is that many (not all) of the songs stand on their own merits as psychedelic-pop songs, even after the novelty value has worn off.
re #321: I appreciate the offer but I almost never listen to tapes any more, I only have one device left which plays them and don't use it much.. (In fact, I should give away the bunch of tapes I recently found packed away in a box in the closet.) I'd be interested in hearing about other trip-hop bands you like. Why don't you enter a new item? I'm wild about Massive Attack, less-so about Portishead (though I quite liked their debut album) but aside from them, other than a few isolated tracks I haven't had much luck finding other stuff of that quality -- most of my trip-hop impulse-buys have been severe disappointments..
((thanks for the new item start, orinoco! ))
A CD by Mr. Wright, something from England, I think.
Rickie Lee Jones, "Piirates"
"Isolation" - Joy Division
Tracy Chapman A New Beginning "Give Me One Reason"
A sample disk of the Isley Brothers new Boxed Set. "Shout"
The Magnetic Fields -- "69 Love Songs" (finally!) Wow! Just wow..
Is that available now??
(Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, "Tha Next Episode," six years after the fact. it was listed as being included on Snoop's debut album, but didn't actually appear. it's on Dre's new release.)
Someone doing symphonic Frank Zappa.
re #331: apparently.. the copy I had on backorder finally arrived.
it's way too overwhelming to digest at one go, especially
since I haven't yet made it straight through an entire disc -
I keep having to go back and listen to things repeatedly.
it covers an *amazing* variety of styles, and reveals a
humorous side that's been less apparent in Stephin Merritt's
earlier work.
you have to love an album where the songwriter goes out of his
way to end lines with things like "boa constrictor", "Nino Rota",
"Charo and GWAR", and "Ferdinand de Saussure" just so he can
set up unlikely rhymes..
the 69 songs are witty, cynical, deeply sentimental, hilarious,
and dead serious, sometimes all at the same time..
the only problem is that 69 songs over three CDs seems virtually
guaranteed to scare off the customer with a casual curiosity,
which is a damn shame, because this really is a pop masterwork..
"Shake the Disease" - Depeche Mode
"Best of the Flock"
Uz Jsme Doma - Czech jazz/prog/rock weirdness. I'll keep an eye out and see if 69 Love Songs is in stores yet. Thanks, Mike!
"Add it Up" - Violent Femmes
re #337: BTW, the major difference between the box set and the individual CDs seems to be just a booklet with photos and an interview. Unless you're fanatic, buying the individual discs would probably suffice.. Now that I've finally got the music I realize I should've just gone for the discs and not waited.. as far as the topic of this album is concerned, everyone can just assume that it's what's playing from now until you hear differently.. goose may *think* he's geeked about the upcoming Pete Townsend project, but I'll bet my obsession outlasts his.. ;-)
"The Songs of the Fifty States" by John Linnell. He's one of the probable Giants.
"Physical Graffiti," Led Zeppelin.
Now there's an album I haven't listened to in a while..
Time has been much kinder to Led Zeppelin's music than
it has been either to most of their 70s contemporaries
or to the band members themselves..
Still playing -- 69LS..
"I spend my evenings alone / Looking at your picture, babe,
Love is wrapped around my heart / Like a Boa Constrictor, babe.." :-)
I like the song where he rhymes "flesh" with "Ganesh."
A more popular one this time: The new Moody Blues CD.
That's popular? Olivia Tremor Control, "Marking Time"
Compared to this dude that sounds like Chef on right now, more popular.
you mean Isaac Hayes?
"Sing Sing Sing" - Benny Goodman
No, I mean this dude, Mem Shannon, that sounds like Chef.
Peter Blegvad and Andy Partridge, "Balloon" - spoken-word with Blegvad doing the words and Partridge doing the music. Possibly my rarest XTC-related bootleg...
Hmmm.. I've never heard of that, but then it doesn't sound like it'd appeal to me a great deal anyway -- I'm far from an XTC completist..
Santana's greatest hits.
"Saldek" - Dead Can Dance
Lamb, "Fear of Fours"
Broadside Electric, "Amplificata." Philadelphia area local band working to be a Steeleye Span clone; they nail the sound and feel almost perfectly even though the control of their instruments is somewhat shaky.
Taking a temporary break from Magnetic-Fields-inspired obsession... I'm currently listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers' classic "Exodus" album: slick and over-produced reggae designed to appeal to a wider audience (read: non-reggae fans), redeemed by the presence of several unforgettable songs (including my favorite, "Three Little Birds", and the you'd- think-it'd-be-overplayed-by-now-but-somehow-it's-not "One Love/ People Get Ready")
Saturday afternoon with "Folks LIke Us" on WDET.
"Other Voices" - the Cure
Magnetic Fields, "69 Love Songs" box set - at last!! :)
(the new one from COunting Crows; can't think of the name of it. the DJ who's on air before me is playing it.)
"Erotic City" - George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic Yeah baby... =)
Paula Cole - "This Fire"
Rammstein - "Du Hast"
"Hey DJ" - Lighter Shade of Brown (good old skool R&B/rap)
Sally Timms -- "Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos" mini review for krj's benefit, since I know he's curious: boy, she's got a gorgeous voice, but there's some key ingredient missing from this album.. it's worth hearing, probably never going to be anyone's favorite album ever.. kinda reminds me of Rico Bell's solo album, which I enjoyed to a similar extent -- both ultimately make me wish less for other solo projects than for another Mekons album or two with everything working at the same time (along the lines of "Rock 'n' Roll" or "The Curse of the Mekons")
"Firth of Fifth," Genesis, on a mix CD Josh made me.
"My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" - Type O Negative
"Stand by Me," Annie Lennox, off of Medusa
Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos" - I persuaded the lady in the next cube to play this instead of her horrid Christmas music. She discovered she likes it, so I don't feel too bad about asking her to switch. =)
Disco Duck by Rick Dees.
My muched-missed Loreena McKennit:.....and now of course I can't remember the name of the album, but it was her second. :)
"California Uber Alles" - Dead Kennedys
Paralell Dreams, maybe? NP - Led Zeppelin's 'physical Graffiti'
After surfacing briefly for a break, I've resubmerged myself in the Magnetic Fields set.. Now playing, volume 2.. Enjoying your copy, Natalie?
Bob Rivers "I Am Santa Claus"
Mike, I have been listening to "69 Love Songs" *constantly* for the last two days... when disc 3 is over, I just pop disc 1 back in and start all over again. I'm taking a break right now, but who knows how long it'll last?
re #375: I mistakenly read "Bob Rivers" as "Bob Seger" and the image which sprung to mind was *not* a pleasant one..
<laughs> "Danse Macabre" - Saint Saens
(more Handsome Boy Modeling School, as I spend Thanksgiving evening fragging away.)
Iris DeMent
re: 373...I'm really impressed...you got the name of it. :) And so, Loreena goes in again...:)
Lyle Lovett, "Joshua Judges Ruth." I'm listening to my dad's music as much as I can over Thanksgiving break, to stave off impending withdrawl....
The Magnetic Fields, "69 Love Songs" Vol. 2. Help meeee....
Sarah Masen. She gave a great concert last night at Trinity House.
(Akinyele's _Aktapuss_ soundtrack.)
Mel & Kim - Rockin' around the Christmas Tree
Something tells me I'm just gonna need to stop reading this item for a month....Christmas music gets stuck in my head at the slightest suggestion.
Rod Stewart on the radio. The song might be You Wear it Well.
Grandma got run over by a reindeer, from a Christmas Comedy CD.
Firth of Fifth, by Genesis.
Ringo Starr - The Little Drummer Boy. FINALLY!!!!
His new Christmas CD "I Wanna be Santa Claus"
REM, "Reckoning"
"I'm Gone," off the new Sonia Dada live CD, which arrived in the mail while I was away.
In the player: Allison Krauss, Jane Siberry, and Sarah Masen. (Well, their CDs).
"Behind the Wheel/Route 66 Mix" - Depeche Mode
"What are you doing New Year's Eve?".
Big Audio Dynamite -- "This is Big Audio Dynamite"
"She's Lost Control" - Joy Division
I never seem to end up in this item while music is playing (at least the last few days), but here's what I've been listening to: David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust". Somehow I never listened to this guy much before. I like this album; the songs are somehow structured differently than most music I used to listen to. NIN, "The Fragile". Still absorbing this one. Red Elvises.
Philip Glass "Low Symphony" It's an interesting piece of music based on songs by David Bowie and Brian Eno.
"Low" is wonderful. We were listening to it in the car one night, and had to sit in the driveway for about fifteen minutes to hear it to the end. Glass took the three instrumental pieces from Bowie's Low album and used them as the basis for three expanded works. Quite nice.
Nothing playing at the moment. I've been playing my new McCoy Tyner and Oscar Peterson albums a lot, though.
Philip Glass has another Bowie/Eno symphony out besides "Low"; this other one is called "Heroes".
(Kelis, "Caught Out There." I have to review the vinyl for the radio station, there's six tracks, and it's UNLABELLED. I don't know if I can stand listening to it six times.)
Vulcheva-Jenkins Incident, CROSS THE DANUBE. A marriage, both musical and literal, between a Bulgarian singer and an English guitarist. I'd forgotten how much I'd enjoyed this when it came out. I wish they would do another album, but I have not heard peep from them in the intervening three years.
McCoy Tyner: "Solitude".
Junior Brown, "Guit With It". This is the country guy with the freakishly mutated Telecaster/steel guitar who plays a more old-timey style. Never really heard his stuff, but I found a couple CDs at the library. I like it! The tune that just finished was a bluegrassish instrumental that somehow ended with the signature guitar part from Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary". The CD isn't half over and already I'm a fan. :)
Is a "steel guitar" just a guitar with steel strings played with a slide, or is there something else special about it?
There are steel bodied guitars. Makes a very durable guitar,
I take it. I wonder if they came into popularity in WWII when such
durability would have been very welcome to soldiers. Robert Jones,
of WDET's " Blues form the Low Lands" plays a Nation Steel guitar.
Rather unique voice. Works well for the Blues.
I'm currently listening to Matt Watroba's "Folks Like Us".
Earlier he was interviewing Ron Coden and others who will be performing
at the Focus Hope benifit. I had to stop Grexing and call and pass on
the word that Ron Coden's "'Twas the Night Before the Seventh Day of
Chanahah" will be heard nationally this weekend on Dr. Demento show.
(I get the Dr. Demento playlist weekly just to see what's playing even
though we are demento-less in Ann Arbor. YOu can get playlists from
drdemento.com or look at some in my directory (~tpryan) as drd99.*
or drd99_*). I am glad that Ron's recital has now been played each
year on Dr. Demento since I sent him a copy of the charity CD I found
it on (a little holiday spark--songs of the season from detroit's leading
lights).
("Steel Guitar" is a specific instrument, basically just a wide neck with up
to 10 strings, and a set of levers and pedals to change pitch of various
strings. Played with a slide. Based on the old Hawaian slide guitar
technique.
Steel-bodied guitars, aka resonator guitars, were invented in the 20's as a
way to increase volume)
Kraftwerk, "Radio Activity". Got curious, found a copy.
Ben Folds Five "Whatever & Ever Amen". Good perky music to keep mysef awake...
Luna -- "The Days of Our Nights" (borrowed from KRJ.. I prefer "Penthouse", but I think "Days.." is fairly good. I certainly don't understand the vitriolic abuse heaped upon it by multiple reviewers..)
Depeche Mode - "Halo"
Michael Hedges -- "Oracle" (which I only just now realized is playing while I'm doing homework for my database class.. hmmmm...) Good album (more guitar, less vocal) and the last one he completed before his untimely death in an automobile accident (I believe one uncompleted album was released posthumously..)
RE#Steel Guitars -- the ones with levers and such are 'pedal steels' and the ones that lay in your lap are (believe it or not) 'lap steels' I'm currently falling in love with Talking Heads '77. I picked this up today while browsing and thought of all the recent TH discussion. Great record.
I'm listening to Bauhaus 'cause my co-worker wanted to know what my definition of "old goth" is. He thinks Marilyn Manson songs released before 1998 are "old goth". Puh-freakin-leeze. So, I'm educating the boy. =) Next up are Miranda Sex Garden and Sisters of Mercy.
The Talking Heads, "Remain In Light," in a futile attempt at drowning out the Christmas carols from the next room.
Are Fields of the Nephilim old school goth?
Never heard of them... when were they popular? I like the name. =)
Macy Gray - I try Although the song of the night was Big Girls Dont Cry - four seasons Its been quite the day.
McCoy Tyner - Effendi.
Michael Longcor - Twlight of the Millennium
NIN, "The Fragile".
Ani DiFranco & Utah Phillips "Fellow Workers"
Bach's (Violin) Partita No. 2 in D Minor
Christmas in the Trenches - John McCuthchen; the story of the
sudden truce in The First World War on Christmas Eve night, often
thought of a myth, as Brithish officers back home would not believe
that their men would stop for any such thing. John McCuthchen's
tale of playing that song in Germany and the old German soldiers
that came to his performance to verify the story, as they where
part of it, is also wonderful.
It's something when a song tells a story. It's something
new when the song creates it's own story.
The Essex Green, "Everything is Green." This particular song sounds like the Monkees covering the Pogues. I bought this record with the refund on my ticket to see Stereolab - the show was cancelled because the singer got sick. :(
(out of curiosity: when you get a refund for a cancelled concert, does Ticketmaster refund their "servicing" charge?)
Right the CD shuffler is doing Jingle Cats, Jingle Dogs, Farm
Animals and Christmas Frogs.
Could be worse...I do have the Christmas Macarena CD.
(re. #429 - yes, I was refunded the service charge, much to my relief.)
Into self-abuse Tim?
Jimmy Buffet's version of "Happy Christmas"
With Jingle Cats, I just imagine that Marvin Scuggs is playing
his Muppetphone.
Eddie Money and Ronnie Scpector's Christmas tune just went
past on the CD player.
"Sh-Boom" by the Chords (the original version!)
That was the first record my dad ever bought. My grandfather thought he was crazy. The Yips, "The Seven Pillars of the Yips." Three 1/2 stars.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - "Silver Bells". A well made Christmas album, out recently, but maybe long enough now that it might be found discounted.
Barry White - Cant get enough of your love Earlier in my car I was listening to some of Lisa Stansfields covers of Barry Whites stuff, I must be in a cheesy mood or sumpthin.
Of Montreal, "I'd Be a Yellow-Feathered Loon." I have NO earthly idea why I like this band.
"Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer (from my "Super Hits of the 70's" CD).
Melanie, the original uncut, 8 minute version of "Lay Down/Candles In The Rain."
NIN, "The Fragile". This is really great computer-programming music...
Enya - "Aldebaron"
"We Three Kings" by the Roches, the only Christmas carol album besides Maddy Prior's that I really like. (Unless somebody makes an anthology of P.D.Q. Bach's and Tom Lehrer's Christmas songs.)
Yo La Tengo -- "Electr-o-Pura"
Heh... "Party All the Time" - Eddie Murphy
The song about the 30 point buck by Bannannas at Large.
Now playing: Music From the Motion Picture "Velvet Goldmine" the movie was, ummm, flawed (to say the least) but there's nothing to complain about with the soundtrack, my favorite of recent years.. various original and cover tunes from the "glam rock" era, including a number of very credible songs created for the movie. varying amounts of Eno, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, T. Rex, and others (but no Bowie -- he refused to let any of his music be used..)
Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band, CAROLS AT CHRISTMAS. The third album Prior's done of holiday music, this one a live recording from 1998.
Sandra Collins - "Lost In Time" It's a good selection of Trance music from LA.
Paul Simon, "One Trick Pony"
Christmas Carribean. Carols on steel drums. part of the current CD shuffle.
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Corcovado" This was recorded in the early 60's in South America. They also recorded the "Girl from Ipanema" in Portuguese. It's a nice soothing jazz CD. I am glad that I bought it.
"The Best of Sade" - too lazy to get up and see what the song is called. I just bought the cd and *love* it.
"Best Of The Flock."
Do they know its christmastime - Barenaked Ladies
M.T.A. by the Kingston Trio. I'm in my 60's folk mode tonight.
Santa does the Mambo. One of his many dance skills.
resp:456 is that the same song that a bunch of '80s bands/artists did (y'know, with Bono, George Michael, Bananarama, but thank God not Depeche Mode)?
(more Handsome Boy Modelling School, but on the radio.)
Some stole my Santa Claus suit from "Bummed Out Christmas" (it's a jumping jive though).
What can you get a Wookie for Christmas when he already owns a comb" from the Star Wars Christmas album.
Shania Twain "The Woman In Me" It's a good mix of country and pop sounds, for those who like that sort of thing (which I do).
The latest Simpson's soundtrack CD.
Adrian Belew, "Coming Attractions" promo CD.
Inna and the Farlanders, "The Dream of Endless Nights." First spin for this disc of Russian folk-rock. Not bad.
Now, That's what I Call Music #3. so this is the recent stuff. Very poppish.
CBC is showing a New Year's outdoor concert from Dublin, Ireland. It's an all-star folk band: I recognize Natalie MacMaster, Sharon Shannon, Donal Lunny, the woman fiddler from Altan. I'm guessing the piper is Davy Spillane, but I'm not sure.
Joe Jackson, "Look Sharp". BTW, Mr. Jackson wrote a book this year, called "A Cure for Gravity". I enjoyed it quite a bit.
(Terence Trent D'Arby, "Wishing Well.") (I decided to break out the wayback machine for my NY's show.) :)
Leo Kottke, on "A Prairie Home Companion."
"Prime Cuts 1998," a sampler of German-based folk and world music artists. So far there's one band I must hunt down in the first four tracks.
the Blood Oranges -- "the Crying Tree" impulse buy from Borders' half-off "red dot" rack, for half of $5.99 I figured I could satisfy my curiosity about them.. sounds pretty good on first listen, actually..
Sonia Dada "Phases of the Moon"
"The Days of Swine and Roses" - My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
"blank expression" the specials
Tom Waits, "The Black Rider". Dipping into my list of 1990's favorites...
Laurie Anderson, "From The Nerve Bible."
"Push Upstairs" - Underworld
Radiohead -- "The Bends"
Elf Power - "Old Tyme Waves"
(Slaves, "Kill A Pony". can't say that I like it at all...)
Rickie Lee Jones - "Pirates"
Blue Mountain, "Tales of a Traveller," their new one.
"Twist & Crawl" english beat
(The Smiths, "How Soon Is Now?")
"New Year's Concert from Vienna," the 1987 version, with vonKarajan conducting, and Kathleen Battle singing a bit. Contains a very nice "Blue Danube Waltz."
Midnight Oil - "Blue Sky Mine"
Sonia Dada, "Planes and Sattelites"
Kasia Kowalska - Gemini
Wendy Carlos, SWITCHED-ON BACH II, again from the reissue boxed set.
New Order - "Perfect Kiss (live)" - This version kicks ass.
Richard Thompson - "Across a Crowded Room" [Boy it's depressing to realize that it's been fifteen years since he's produced an album I could unreservedly recommend..]
"69 Love Songs," again... *sigh*
Medeski, Martin & Wood doing Marc Bolan's "Groove a Little." I like this tribute album so much I might just have to get one of his real albums one of these days.
resp:491 I have got to get that..
(title track from _Any Given Sunday_ soundtrack.)
Sonai Dada, "You ain't thinking about me"
Danny Elfman, "Sleepy Hollow" soundtrack. Not sure what I think about this yet, since I haven't been able to give it a really solid listening. It's not quite as distinctive as the "Batman" soundtrack.
It could be that "Batman" has been his greatest achievement, I suppose. But it did help that the movie won an Academy Award for art (which I did agree with).
The Batman soundtrack has this wonderful brooding, huge quality that *must* be hard to "top". So far I haven't had too much luck identifying a common motif in the Sleepy Hollow soundtrack.
Jocelyn Pook, FLOOD. Contemporary/world music setting of snippets from mass.
The Danny Elfman discussion having died out in its infancy, I'm going to freeze this item at 500 responses and start the next version.
You have several choices: