What are you currently listening to?

[MintyTheCat]

PIG : Risen

This was released on the 15th on June but the dickheads took their time in getting it to my front door....

Anyway, it's pretty much what you'd expect from PIG and recommended if you like PIG or the older, classic KMFDM sound - I think half of the original KMFDM members feature on this album as it is.

Chosen Few :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma9tm9cmElw

[Randorama]

It is funny how my wife finds the overall discussion as revolving around "retro music". You must excuse her as she grew up in S.Korea, which means that she was exposed to lousy US pop until the mid-'90s, and then their own rubbish afterwards

I am going to cherry-pick a bit, sorry.

FB: jk, but we all know that TR/NIN has been someone popular with a certain type of crowd that would like to be alternative insofar as this entails heavy rotation on MTV. I also generally ignore lyrics, but it took me quite literally decades to be able to ignore his (early?) emo teenager rants. In fact, his "recent" shift to more instrumental works (say Ghosts) has helped me to appreciate more his work. I do think that he certainly has worked and created music with a clear vision in mind, but I can only appreciate some of his more sober efforts.

I did read Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei while listening to some of his works, in particular Downward Spiral and some tracks from Ghosts (speaking of industrial aesthetics and controversial authors), and it worked a charm. Then again, I guess that we tend to listen to just about anything without identifying too much (or not at all) with the philosophies behind authors, genres and so on. I like the Takaki Mamiya album you posted, btw

I would add that I lost track of Cure from Wild Mood Swings onwards, but I'd beat anyone who claims to dislike Why Can't I be like you?. I feel that they lost momentum from a given point on, as Sumez says (more or less?).

Sumez: I admit that Fragile is the album that I find the most difficult to listen to, given that it feels very overblown and too personal for comfort (I imagine that I would never stomach TN as a human being...). I do think that the production is brilliant, but I feel like I am listening to the rants of a junkie brat from a small city, half of a time (Mycophobia: those lyrics, indeed!). There is a human dimension in some of his work that really, really turns me off.

On the other hand, I have little to no knowledge of Cabaret Voltaire or other industrial bands, so it might be the case that I am not suitable for the genre. Any suggestions to test the hypothesis out?

EDIT:

I am just thinking...Depeche Mode and/or Krautrock. Suppose I have amnesia and I forgot all about these two. What should be said on these topics?

[Zen]

Ordinarily, I would comment on some of the artists that have just been mentioned.
However, I feel that any negativity would detract from the progress of thread, the great insights and the good vibes.

With that being said . . . . Trent Reznor is basically Chris Gaines.

[Sumez]

I don't really have a big problem with NIN's lyrics. I guess because I don't pay attention to them at all - they work in context of the song construction, and I don't read anything into them. There are so many other big names out there with lyrics there are extremely terrible if you start digging into it, especially in rock music (and let's not get into metal). Then again, the lack of interesting lyrics might also be why I've never considered myself a fan..

On the other hand, I have little to no knowledge of Cabaret Voltaire or other industrial bands, so it might be the case that I am not suitable for the genre. Any suggestions to test the hypothesis out?

I wouldn't actually classify most NIN as industrial. It's really just rock music. The first album is obviously inspired by Skinny Puppy, though.

[MintyTheCat]

I wouldn't actually classify most NIN as industrial. It's really just rock music. The first album is obviously inspired by Skinny Puppy, though.

Nor would I. It's basically rock music to my ear.

If you want completely silly lyrics in the 'industrial field' then look no further than Front Line Assembly. Having said that, FLA's 'Hard Wired' is a favourite album of mine and I also quite like NIN's 'Pretty Hate Machine'. I tend to find that NIN fans basically don't know any Industrial bands and are more sort of Rock music fans. I mean, would the same crowd be listening to Tyske Ludder, James Ray, Die Krupps, Pouppee Fabrikk, Flesh Field, Leatherstrip, F242, etc.? I have yet to meet anyone who was principally a NIN fan who is even aware of the Industrial/EBM bands that I listed.

[Sumez]

I can totally see a NIN fan digging Die Krupps' rock period. Except maybe from the albums desperately trying to be Metallica.

If you want completely silly lyrics in the 'industrial field' then look no further than Front Line Assembly.

Jesus yes. I'm forced to take the car to work these monts due to extensive railroad work, and I'm using it as an excuse to go through some CDs I haven't listened to for a while. Gave the remix album for Artificial Soldier (Fallout) a spin, and I couldn't abstract from the lyrics. Basically every single song is "humans are idiot sheeple hurnh hurnh".
Aside from that, borth Artificial Soldier and Fallout hold up surprisingly well for like half their tracks. At least most (earlier) FLA have completely unintelligible vocal tracks.

[Zen]

ANOTHER PERFECT DAY (1984)
Was never and still not, a fan. This was a terrible sonic shock to me back in the day. Still haven't recovered. Nope.
DANCING ON YOUR GRAVE - Opening is still enough to make me run.

ORGASMATRON (1986)
Yeah, the production put this one in the ground. I always wondered if the muffle indicated Lemmy's lack of confidence in the sound post Eddie and Phil?

ROCK N' ROLL (1987)
I think I'll be spending more time with this one

1916 (1991)
I will have to be brutal; this sounds like the ghost of Motorhead, to me.

MARCH OR DIE (1992)
I have had to revert to pre-1982 palate cleansers, during this one.
Also, whats up with the album cover? Have they downgraded to a Chihuahua skull


BASTARDS (1993)
Well, its tight and the energy is back but I'm still not convinced that Motorhead survived beyond 82.
Devils - had me for a little while but as soon as it got to the "easy-listening" chorus, I was out.

Next up, is SACRIFICE (1995), so I'll keep the faith till then.

[Obscura]

If you don't like 1916 you might as well stop now, it's the best post-"Iron Fist" Motorhead album.

[BIL]

Sumez: I admit that Fragile is the album that I find the most difficult to listen to, given that it feels very overblown and too personal for comfort (I imagine that I would never stomach TN as a human being...). I do think that the production is brilliant, but I feel like I am listening to the rants of a junkie brat from a small city, half of a time (Mycophobia: those lyrics, indeed!). There is a human dimension in some of his work that really, really turns me off.

I can't really work up much passion either way for NIN. Loved 'em in middle school but drifted away and With Teeth was the last nail in that pseudo-industrial coffin. I do still enjoy the soundscapes and textures of TDS but prefer it instrumental where I can. I don't mind Trent's lyrics and actually like his poppier tone (not fond of cookie monsters outside of the avowedly skull-crushing heavy), just not interested.

You remind me of an anecdote I'll tentatively let off its leash (these fucking things so easily waste everyone's time ), when I was still checking nin.com's news section for updates on the then-hotly anticipated ( ) With Teeth, in early 2005.

"If you're planning on seeing Million Dollar Baby, he (huge spoiler) at the end. - Trent"

Edgy! I wasn't personally affected at all (Million Dollar Baby? Is that the name of Trent's biopic?), but I'm still disgusted by the sandcastle-kicking pettiness of it. I suspect when WT debuted yet another crying session for our aging millionaire edgelord, financed by viewers like you and me, it influenced my less than charitable response. Just like everything else, some compelling aural canvasses if you can indulge/ignore the moron in the middle.

ORGASMATRON (1986)
Yeah, the production put this one in the ground. I always wondered if the muffle indicated Lemmy's lack of confidence in the sound post Eddie and Phil?

Lemmy always maintained the record was sounding better when they sent it off to the label, then some boffin cunt messed it up. Lem's not a bulletproof narrator but make of it what you will...

"Ridin' with the Driver" is the big casualty here, incendiary atmosphere, lyrics and energy but it's a golem made out of rice cakes. Aims to incinerate and ends up flailing at your shins.

ROCK N' ROLL (1987)
I think I'll be spending more time with this one

Haha, same. Although I gave commonly-cited underdog "Boogie Man" a preliminary go and yeah, silly as I remembered. Black Heart and The Wolf are such titanic works of rock and metal respectively that I can't quite write off the rest. "Eat The Rich" isn't my cup of tea but it does have one of my fondest Lemmy quotes.

"Put the bite on a son of a bitch!"

I suggest using it when pussy-ass friends and relatives are struggling with stubborn jar lids!

Also, whats up with the album cover? Have they downgraded to a Chihuahua skull

Joe Petagno (mainstay cover artist, basically the Derek Riggs to MH's Maiden) despises that one with visceral hatred - to me, like the record itself, it's such a non-entity I can't even work up a reaction. Even Lemmy's haircut from the time is a blast of ennui.

Next up, is SACRIFICE (1995), so I'll keep the faith till then.

A real marmite record. Blasted the fuck out of it all weekend, probably my favourite outside of the golden age.



I shamefully forgot to post this with my discography review: Lemmy the Shmupper.

Spoiler

"Save the world... HIGH SCORE HIGH SCORE"

You may be well aware, but he had a fondness for Asteroids and Space Invaders among others - though of course spinning fruit was his true passion. He once gave poor departed Randy Rhoads a bollocking on his Asteroids skills...

He was a little fellow about the size of Ronnie Dio. He couldn't play Asteroids worth a fuck!

^ compelled to add he always gave Dio and Rhoads respect for punching above their weight!

They were little guys but they had a lot of heart. You would never believe that voice came out of Ronnie.

Ronnie and Lemmy are my favourite rock god super team. Like Batman and Supes teaming up to kick the shit out of posers.

Besides revisiting the four lesser-knowns I mentioned, there's easily enough singles/B-sides/covers and live material here for another discog post, so that's probably what I'll do once my eyes uncross. And then there's his solo projects, and guest appearances, and Hawkwind if you think that counts (I certainly do, with so much influence and outright songs bleeding over into Motorhead's earliest work, including their namesake tune).

Lemmy was the incarnation of work hard/play hard. If not my preferred third element "get plenty of sleep," but that's the way he liked it etc etc!

Oh also, covers of Motorhead songs. Rarely a good idea in my experience, however it'd take a hard-hearted man to begrudge Girlschool's Bomber. Simultaneously a really solid cover and ruefully amusing as speed-crazed glass-gargling hooligans are swapped out for pouty schoolgirls.

[Obscura]

Oh also, covers of Motorhead songs. Rarely a good idea in my experience, however it'd take a hard-hearted man to begrudge Girlschool's Bomber. Simultaneously a really solid cover and ruefully amusing as speed-crazed glass-gargling hooligans are swapped out for pouty schoolgirls.

Sodom's cover of Iron Fist is a total classic!

[BIL]

Yeah sorry, I was 90% talking outta my ass with that one It's mostly latent disgust and shame at Metallica's crummy "Overkill" being my introduction to Motorhead.

Well, not crummy exactly, just kinda perfunctory. Sure beat the ass off its A-side "Until It Sleeps."

[Obscura]

Metallica is always way better when they're plagiarizing than when they're explicitly covering! Sole exception is, of course, that cover of "Am I Evil?" on the original release of Kill 'Em All.

"Motorbreath" is a much better tribute to Motorhead than any cover they could ever do.

[BIL]

Metallica's Am I Evil is the reason I can never begrudge them. Performance aside, the production (at least the pressing I'm used to from the Garage Days comp) is dead-on. Intro is one of my benchmark sound system testers.

What do you think of the original? I prefer the utter fury of the cover, but as fruity as Sean Harris can get I like the slightly Zep/Purple swagger he brings. Instrumentally I'm about 50/50, but I prefer how Hammett's solo segues back into the gallop.

[Obscura]

I can't judge the original fairly at all; I heard the cover first, and when I heard the original for the first time literally over a decade later, I was really disappointed by how laid back it was. I was expecting something like Metallica's cover, and was sorely disappointed!

[MintyTheCat]

TYske Ludder

To be honest I wasn't all that impressed with TL's Diaspora especially given that their anit-$cientology EP was so well done so I didn't rush to give their most recent album a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUpdOPPDhK0

Thoughts, Sumez?

I always appreciate TL's layering of sound. They aren't really pure enough to be EBM to my ear and it's more akin to 2nd generation Industrial to me.

[FinalBaton]

Voivod's very-early concerts tapes show them doing mostly Motorhead and Venom and Priest covers. They're pretty cool of course. I mean come on, how can this not be good. It's fucking Voivod, covering Motorhead...

Here's the upload of their first ever gig : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCUd3BY52-Q&t=16m7s

16:07 Ace Of Spades
33:40 Heart Of Stone
44:58 Stay Clean
1:00:34 Stone Dead Forever

[Sumez]

Was never a fan of Ludder. But they are a fun live band. I've run into them at festivals, too. I can appreciate Germans who like to have fun when drinking, which is surprisingly rare.

[BIL]

Voivod's very-early concerts tapes show them doing mostly Motorhead and Venom and Priest covers. They're pretty cool of course. I mean come on, how can this not be good. It's fucking Voivod, covering Motorhead...

Oh shit, that's one cool tracklist... Angel Dust (Lemmy didn't like even prime Venom much, but perhaps even God may err occasionally!)

Bit late here for the nice ol' granny next door but will blast that motherfucker tomorrow.

[FinalBaton]

Oh shit, that's one cool tracklist... Angel Dust (Lemmy didn't like even prime Venom much, but perhaps even God may err occasionally!)

Bit late here for the nice ol' granny next door but will blast that motherfucker tomorrow.

Excellent

[BIL]

You know she once told me she was going away for a week to visit her son and his family, and I was all "Aww yeee, COMBAT ROCKIN 2NITE"

Blasting the living fuck out of Ramones, Motorhead and Venom at 3am, the toy cat on the left speaker bopping merrily to "Bomber" - hey the phone is ringing! I can't hear it but I see it lighting up! Who could it -

"ooh hello, its only me, any chance you could turn it down a bit"
"OH JEEZE I THOUGHT YOU WERE AWAY"
"noo its next week love"
"g... gomen nasai, baba-san (;｀ω´;) "
"wot love?"

I can't get most of my colleagues into this stuff but grandma knows how to take a Black Metal and an Overkill, that's for damn sure Northern stock, it's in the blood!

[MintyTheCat]

I can appreciate Germans who like to have fun when drinking, which is surprisingly rare.

[FinalBaton]

You know she once told me she was going away for a week to visit her son and his family, and I was all "Aww yeee, COMBAT ROCKIN 2NITE"

Blasting the living fuck out of Ramones, Motorhead and Venom at 3am, the toy cat on the left speaker bopping merrily to "Bomber" - hey the phone is ringing! I can't hear it but I see it lighting up! Who could it -

"ooh hello, its only me, any chance you could turn it down a bit"
"OH JEEZE I THOUGHT YOU WERE AWAY"
"noo its next week love"
"g... gomen nasai, baba-san (;｀ω´;) "
"wot love?"

I can't get most of my colleagues into this stuff but grandma knows how to take a Black Metal and an Overkill, that's for damn sure Northern stock, it's in the blood!

[Obscura]

On a semi-related note, I was at Destroying Texas Fest on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and all I can say is that if any of you EVER get the chance to see Mortuary Drape live, fucking go see them!!!!! DO NOT MISS IT, NO MATTER WHAT. I don't care if you have to skip out on your friend's wedding (one of my friends didn't go for that reason); hell, I don't care if you have to skip out on your own wedding.

Go.
See.
Mortuary.
Drape.

Fittingly, Mortuary played right before them, and had a similarly unbelievable set (BLACKENED IMAGES STRAIGHT THROUGH HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!), but I doubt many of you will get the chance to see them, unless you happen to be in Mexico or southern Texas at just the right time.

EDIT: And to make this post technically on-topic, I've been listening to Mortuary Drape's "All the Witches Dance" pretty much non-stop since the fest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkAcq_1SBrk

[FinalBaton]

Dead Kennedys - Fresh fruit for Rotting Vegetables

It's been a long while since I listend to my CD copy. Man that was fun

[Obscura]

[shameless self promotion]I just got the final master of the upcoming Condemner album from Dan Lowndes, and have been blasting that all evening! Also took the time time to upload a couple of tracks from it:
https://condemner.bandcamp.com/track/bu ... decadent-3
https://condemner.bandcamp.com/track/ph ... etribution
[/shameless self promotion]

[soprano1]

http://kbonet.com/album/childqueen
A surprisingly cohesive Folk/Funk/Jazz/Soul album with bloody good vocals.

[MintyTheCat]

DX7 will never die - ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBicP6v-JQM

That's not a bad rendition of Blade-Runner Blues.

ANY of you who has FM experience will know what it takes.

[soprano1]

https://aureliomusic.bandcamp.com/album/garifuna-soul
Folk/World Music album from a really talented singer from the Honduras.

[NZA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xabz7IZzz0
Del The Funky Homosapien x Amp Live - Gate 13

It's no Deltron but some good, light alternative hip hop for the summer.

[gameoverDude]

Prince- Housequake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZrCb8i3-DU