shmups.system11.org

I somewhat feel obliged to remember him and Mark Hollis, by a strange coincidence deceased shortly before the former's demise. Who had both excelled at popular music first, only to most-consistently venture into extremely radio-unfriendly territories. For when I was rapidly developing my sensibilities as a listener, both had delivered super-accomplished come-back records, recognised with an utmost reverence by the media I was exposed to at the time. So biding them farewell is like parting with a piece of my youth, to me. Such is the moment of my life when those who had been present ever since I care to remember, are suddenly no more. Must happen to every generation at some point, and now it's my turn.
Take Ennio Morricone for example - only recently was I told he'd been suffering from something of a mis-recognition complex. When his generation of fellow composers were filling great concert halls, he was most fondly rememberd from scoring exploitation films. One of the movies I suggest watching to anyone with particular interest in film scores would be Canone inverso - Making Love. I don't think the way of working on film music employed here is endorsed by film industry anymore.

Currently I'm listening to four Symphonies by Johannes Brahms recorded by NOSPR A.D. 2008/2009, Jerzy Semkow conducting, released as a box last year, which I eventually purchased. It has to be said, I struggle with them a bit. "Invented peace" term someone's come up with when describing Arvo Pärt's music keeps coming to mind. Other words would be "sedate", or "disciplined". I suppose that director represented generation traumatised by awfully corny manner of interpreting Romantic repertoire typical of times when they were young. Here, it's as if his main goal was to keep orchestra from getting overtly emotional. Or as if he couldn't bear listening to anyone else's production of those Symphonies. All the while, I realise that what I'm actually struggling with may be just some habits formed when listening to "my formative" recordings of 3rd and 1st before these. Could be the case of "love worse than diarrhoea".

Been listening to Paul Oakenfold for quite alot (He had alot of great mixes back in the day):

https://youtu.be/1V7aa9wyodw

I'm listening to this:

https://c64audio.com/collections/featur ... ongiHAEdlk

And I urge everyone else to do the same.

I didn't start listening to the deeper Talk Talk stuff until much later, after his death. I, of course, knew the radio songs in the 80's from when I was a kid. Even then, Talk Talk was on the very outskirts of radio friendliness. However, it's really Hollis's reluctance to tour that killed off their sales. If they had continued touring into the early 90's, they would have fallen right into the lap of the early 90's alt-rock scene. Probably would have been a torch-bearer of the genre.


Been listening to Fancy Rosy, Punk Police. It's Punksploitation:

Been on a classic metal kick. Been listening to a bunch of absolutely brilliant stuff, but two things come to mind right now.
Was recommended Medieval Steel, and I was listening to their Anthology of Steel.
Really good shit. Bit wonky here and there, but they could have been absolutely massive.
Brilliant band that ended up shafted by record label bullshit.

Also, I'm listening to the album Thundersteel by Riot right this second.
I've got this huge grin on my face and my face hurts from holding it so long. What a blast.

Actually, I've been listening to their - seemingly obscure - Talking Colours live album + some live bootleg tracks, courtesy of a mysterious eMule uploader back when, and I think I can understand WHY he didn't want to do gigs anymore. It's both:

a) most-miraculously, cleanly-delivered material you know from their studio recordings; they were/are very skillful musicians, and

b) very little room for improvisation given there, whereas, as I believe, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock were mostly improvised material. Said live recordings were nothing of the sort. Now I think, he wasn't ready to play what he wanted to in public.

In other news, I was just searching for an "air walker" training device for my mom on auction service, and some of the earliest finds are Scott Walker's Live on Air 1968 CD, so, yay - something's in the air!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO1rMeYnOmM

Jim Croce is so good.

God I need more music like this from this time period. So deeply nostalgic...
https://youtu.be/R7kvimJJwsQ

From Jordi Savall & c. I particularly like the multiple (!) compilation of folias, such as "La Folia", "Altre Follie" and "Erasmus".

something from Chisato Moritaka. If I'm not mistaken there was a Sega Saturn disc compilation of her music videos. Thanks to youtube recommendations this is the first I've heard her. Very generic Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, ect style pop. perfectly pleasant but not exactly moving.
click this for the video, not so much for the song. Pinnacle of 1980's music video production here.


I love that. Sonic CD captured something very special musically of that era.

and from the youtube comments I learn of one of the Sonic CD composers' influences. Also from 1989, like the Chisato song above, yet worlds apart - one is free and creating their own, one is a contrived product being produced.
808 State - Pacific State

I'm going to plug my buddy's new tape here. It's really, really good, so I don't feel bad about it.

He's a post-punk bass player who also does electronic music, mostly Baltimore club electronica and house. This particular tape is more atmospheric and a bit laid-back though.

If you like electronic music, check it out it's fantastic.

new legowelt mix:

https://soundcloud.com/legowelt-officia ... 0QwochX6UM

amazing!

All is fine and dandy BUT - why not a CD? I'm the type of chap who likes a printed CD every now and then. That is not to say I would buy this one immediately, I must admit. Nevertheless, I like a good CD every now and then.
Shit's pretty great, in its own way, admittedly. "Where the whale music meets the cop car signal."

Well, this is kind of a thing unto itself, the cassette that is. There is a portion of musical subgenres that have been using cassette as their primary distribution for awhile now.

Sometimes it has to do with a specific subgenre, such as vaporwave, and their adherence to the format as part of their aesthetic. The center of Vaporwave is Morgantown WV, strangely enough. Crash Symbols is the major label there: https://crashsymbols.bandcamp.com/

Sometimes it's geographic; in the case of this tape, it's a Baltimore thing. A certain group of small labels and artists generally release on cassette as part of the aesthetic. Friends Record's and Eshe Records are both big proponents of this.

The DIY music scene in Baltimore is rooted in electronic music ala Berlin mostly. The two cities are very close in terms of musicians moving between the cities (mostly through organizations or universities)
The cassette tape is a favorite medium of the Noise scene because the tape hiss is practically part of the aesthetic.
If you're interested at all in that stuff, you can check out the High Zero Foundation, which is the public face of the Noise scene in Baltimore. They don't necessarily reflect the breadth of the genre here, but they are the most "legitimate" organization devoted to fostering artistic sound in Baltimore. It's some really out-there shit.
http://highzerofoundation.org/


John, the friend who's tape I posted here, is not part of that scene, but is on the fringes of it. Most of his work is more dance music, more club, more house.
However, it's a small city and there are many artist warehouses here where group shows happen (before Covid), and most of us know each other and there is "cross-pollination."

Here's something he did a year or so ago that is more like him: https://u-udios.bandcamp.com/album/u-udios-2

The new tape that I linked in the above post is the most atmospheric thing I think he's done. I like it a lot, but if it's too fluffy for you, you might like the other stuff a lot better. He also was part of a band here in the 2010's called Dope Body, which had some renown in certain circles. It's very post-punk art blah blah blah. Not my thing, but people love it.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

speaking of plugs : I'd appreciate if you guys gave a watch and listen to this dope video and song by good friends of a good friend of mine.

Really good caliber stuff that proudly reps Montréal and Québec, if you dig noise-pop, shoegaze-y rock, post hardcore etc you will dig this. HUGE '90s vibes



Gulfer - ''Nature Kids''

(can you spot the Pavement reference?)

curious about this as well. modern ambient/drone/atmospheric, which your friends music is, rarely uses cassette as a medium. even Basinski released The Disintegration Loops on CD & Vinyl.
I listened to a few tracks, not bad.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out.


I understand what you mean, and it's really a different genre. Something like Basinski wouldn't be on cassette. That's more like avant garde music, or classic drone.

The cassette thing is not that widespread. It's adopted as an aesthetic in specific, often geographically limited genres. I mentioned Vaporwave before because it's the most obvious example of a genre that almost exclusively uses cassettes as the primary medium. You can get some vaporwave on LP, but it's the exception, not the norm, nor is it the desired form.

My buddy's stuff is not Vaporwave of course, but it does fit into another loose category of electronic music that tends to use cassettes. It's also a very Baltimore thing, as I mentioned before.

However, it's not limited to Baltimore at all. If you want to look at things in these genres that are cassette releases, check out Commend Records in New York

https://commendnyc.com/

My mention of Basinki wasn't a direct comparison, rather an at attempt at humor due to the methods he employed when recording the album. Cassette would have been an interesting option as a format.

But if the reason for a cassette release is regional, then that makes sense. Wish him the best of luck.

black metal is still huge on cassette. not only do most bands release their stuff on cassette (including my band), there's even a genre/subset called demo-only black metal !

the grimey, non-tech side of death and thrash metal also releases a lot on cassette. and of course all of punk, hardcore and underground metal has this scene element/link called distros, which participate in a lot of cassette trading. which serves both the cassette collectors, but also serves as a sort of guerilla advertising of sort (on a small scale. and includes other mediums too)

cassettes gives metal a colder more kvlt and necro sound, so this serves black metal well aesthetically


personally, I think thrash metal sounds greeat on tape as well. sounds a whole lot more raunchy, which drives the point home even more

First thing I wondered was if their name is a Gaiares reference.

Them 90s feels, the ultimate "didn't know what you had til it was gone" vibe.

Absolutely

Thanks for checking it out

Definitely.

I like it. It immediately evoked 90's indy rock. Archer's of Loaf riffiness with underwater vocals. It would have fit right in.

Always been aware of Sense Field, but never really given them a proper listen. Going through some old 7's a few weekends ago weekend and found a split with them and Onelinedrawing, turns out the SF track 'Anniversary' is absolutely superb.
Ended up picking up the album by Juhn Bunch's last bad, War Generation, and it's a belter. 09's post-hardcore type stuff, nothing massively original, but an excellent example of it's type. Really liking what I've heard of Sense Field as well, will have to go backwards and pick up their stuff.

Went watching Planes Mistake For Stars last December, and they had a band called Hidden Mothers supporting, just picked up their debut EP, a little heavier than my normal fare (more over to black/death/doom type stuff), but some interesting things going on.

New Deftones finally landed, I definitely dig it more than their last album.

And digging out the Sunny Day Real Estate records. Never get tired of this band, shame their last reunion ended in yet another bust-up with a half-finished record shelved.

Fantastic. Red Elephant was one of my favorite tracks in HS. Haven't listened to it in years.

Basinksi - Lamenations
review

Haven't devoted too much time as I'm still waiting for the vinyl to arrive, but fav tracks so far: "Tear Vial", "All These Too, I, I Love", " Please, This Shit Has Got To Stop"

other:
Nathan Micay - Blue Spring
Wise Blood - B.I.G. E.G.O.

Been doing a deep dive on Harry Chapin who is best known for Cat's In The Cradle. Incredible lyricist. Has some great deep cuts like The Mayor of Candor Lied. Funny songs, songs that make you cry.

Hard to do when William has a seething hate for Dave Grohl and kinda dislikes Nate because he's stuck with Foo Fighters instead of jumping away when he had a chance in the late 90s. Been listening to the best Foo Fighters album lately, There Is Nothing Is Left To Lose and going back to the debut MUTEMATH album.

The funny thing is, he wasn't even booted from the Foos, Grohl wanted him to continue to drum live but he walked.
It's not so much Nate I don't think, he gave an interview a while back where he made some really cutting comments about Dan Hoerner, sounds like bridges are well and truly burned sadly.

Never really got into Foos, loved their first record, don't mind the second, lost interest after that. Though the few cuts I've heard form Wasting Light make me think I should probably pick that up.

System of a Down released two new songs for the first time in like 14 or so years, so I'm listening to 'em. They were released to raise awareness of what's happening over in Artsakh right now.
Despite the songs apparently originally being written for Scars on Broadway, they still sound like the SOAD I remember from a decade and a half ago.
Apparently, it's not too likely that they'll release anything more [eg, a future album], but who knows.