current favorite albums

[Neon]

Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm

Wtf!?! A remarkable find. Album of the year so far? Yeah, I know it's only March, but this is hard to beat.

Thirded

I've also been listening to Six Finger Satellite

I love you two

[professor ganson]

Dead Meadow - s/t (quite possibly best stoner rock I've heard)

I have no idea why so many people rave about these guys. I've tried listening to the album of theirs that I have prolly more than a dozen times and everytime it came off as incredibly bland and boring. I'll have to give them another shot sometime.

Interesting. I've only heard this one album. The first half or so is a bit unexceptional. But things really pick up for me by the middle of the album. What I especially like is that the best songs capture the great sound of, say, Black Sabbath in the 70s, but do so without having the boring-to-me song structure of Sabbath. That's not to say that Dead Meadow is much more complex; it's about like Yob in its complexity, I guess. Also, the guitar player and singer of Dead Meadow are both a cut above, imo.

I love you two

The feeling is mutual (speaking for myself).

[JoshF]

I'll give Dead Meadow a whirl.

Om - Variations On A Theme

[doctorx0079]

In no particular order :

Adam F - Colours
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
David Bowie - Best of Bowie
A CD I made called Early Tangerine Dream MP3 Jukebox
New Order - Substance
Joy Division - Permanent
INCredible Sound of Drum 'n' Bass, Mixed by Goldie
Pet Shop Boys - Please
David Bowie - "Heroes"
Gus Gus - Polydistortion
option.FM (a compilation)
Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants
New Order - Technique
Berlin - Best of Berlin
Front 242 - 05:22:09:12 Off
Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan
Another CD I made called "Anything's Possible" 80's MP3 Jukebox
Eurythmics - Touch
The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
David Bowie - Low
Portishead - Portishead
Front 242 - Tyranny For You
Infinite Beat 1 (a compilation)
Millennium 80's New Wave Party (a compilation)
Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - Premier Hits
Add N To X - On The Wires Of Our Nerves
Underworld - Pearl's Girl EP
Tangerine Dream - Hyperborea
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
100% New Wave (a compilation)

[Rob]

Maurizio Pollini (playing...) Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Webern, Boulez
Schoenberg - The Piano Music (Pollini)
Prokofiev - The Piano Concertos
Shostakovich - Symphony no. 11

I've got to hear the Shostakovich string quartets.

And also still Marnie Stern, but that last song is really annoying, isn't it?

[Acid King]

Interesting. I've only heard this one album. The first half or so is a bit unexceptional. But things really pick up for me by the middle of the album. What I especially like is that the best songs capture the great sound of, say, Black Sabbath in the 70s, but do so without having the boring-to-me song structure of Sabbath. That's not to say that Dead Meadow is much more complex; it's about like Yob in its complexity, I guess. Also, the guitar player and singer of Dead Meadow are both a cut above, imo.

Maybe I'll just have to skip the first couple tracks, which is something I have to learn how to do. I gave up on the second Mass CD several times because of how much I hate the first song... then I decided to skip the track and almost all the other songs are solid.

[CMoon]

Shostakovich - Symphony no. 11

I've got to hear the Shostakovich string quartets.

Why do you start this shit Rob.

The string quartets are pretty great and you can pick them up as a box set for pretty cheap (something like $30 for 5 discs which is pretty great.) I find myself enjoying most everything by Shostakovich, though not all his symphonies are equally great. His 5th is probably his most famous, though I'm with you on the 11th. Like most people, I don't really get the 15th, its pretty weird/silly.

[charlie chong]

woah did'nt realize there were prog/psych/folk fans on here

i been liking these this week
McDonald and Giles - McDonald and Giles (amazing king crimson spin off)
banco del mutuo socorsso-darwin
wendy and bonnie-genesis (beautiful!!)
third ear band-macbeth

[ROBOTRON]

The POLICE - Zenyata Mendata
The POLICE - Spirits in the Material World
Fila Brazillia - "Heat Death of the Universe"
Emerson Lake and Palmer - "Trilogy"
Fourplay - "Chant"
Freddie Redd - "Everybody loves a Winner"
IMA ROBOT
THE MARS VOLTA
Baby Mammoth

[CMoon]

Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky soundtrack (I'm alexander, you aren't alexander!)
Sibelius-Kullervo opera

[CIT]

Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye


Ike Reiko - Koukotsu No Sekai

[professor ganson]

Thanks for the lovely pic, CIT.

And also still Marnie Stern, but that last song is really annoying, isn't it?

lol. For a very different take on that last track, check out the discussion at ILM. For me it makes me think of Laurie Anderson-- not a good association. I wish the song about Plato's Cave were just a bit better; that's one part of my Ancient Philosophy course that could really use some music to make it more interesting-- the ascent from the cave is a bit silly imo.

All this talk about Shostakovich, I had to listen to the string quartets for the first time. So far pretty strong. Schubert is still the king of string quartets, with Bartok a close second.

[jp]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads

I'm also really diggin' Abattoir Blues. Very good CD.

Oh, also T.Rex - Sliders

[Rob]

The string quartets are pretty great and you can pick them up as a box set for pretty cheap (something like $30 for 5 discs which is pretty great.)

I am a sucker for box sets. It is tempting.

lol. For a very different take on that last track, check out the discussion at ILM. For me it makes me think of Laurie Anderson-- not a good association. I wish the song about Plato's Cave were just a bit better; that's one part of my Ancient Philosophy course that could really use some music to make it more interesting-- the ascent from the cave is a bit silly imo.

Laurie Anderson, that sounds right. I love ILM but I'm going to have to disagree with their response to that song and also their undying love for Avril's latest single (I started off repulsed by it, came around... but it's not that good and still very stupid).

Schubert is still the king of string quartets, with Bartok a close second.

Would you recommend something other than Death and the Maiden for Schubert? I'm about to go into overdrive on (mostly 20th century) string quartets.

[CMoon]

Schubert is still the king of string quartets, with Bartok a close second.

Would you recommend something other than Death and the Maiden for Schubert? I'm about to go into overdrive on (mostly 20th century) string quartets.

If you're doing 20th century and looking for something beyond the obvious, there is a set of milhaud's string quartets you can get off amazon. I guess I really dig that debussy/ravel/milhaud/hindemith thing (as said earlier)--and I could see jumping from shostackovich's quartets to that stuff pretty easily, but the 'stack' is on his own. If your messing at all with his symphonies and can seek out some of the older recordings like Mravinsky (which fail in fidelity, but succeed in being FUCKING AWESOME) or Kondrashin, it seems to be worth it.

Oh, any you fuckers listening to Villa Lobos?

EDIT: CIT, way to sneak boobs into the thread. I approve.

[CIT]

You should hear the record. She doesn't really sing, but moans and groans through every song. I think there's an average of about 8 overdubbed groan-tracks on every song.

[professor ganson]

CIT, I think I need to see her in a live performance. Hot chick + moaning =

Would you recommend something other than Death and the Maiden for Schubert? I'm about to go into overdrive on (mostly 20th century) string quartets.

All of his string quartets deserve attention, but if you need a break from this sort of thing, the piano pieces are also excellent.

I'm with you on the Avril single. I heard it a week ago, and I liked the sound ok, but the songwriting felt so formulaic. I guess it's a pop song, so what do I expect?

[CIT]

CIT, I think I need to see her in a live performance. Hot chick + moaning =

I dunno man, I think you're too late. She's like 60 now.

You could check out some of her movies though.

[sjewkestheloon]

Recently been listening to:

Charlie Parker - Boss Bird 44-51 (Not complete but pretty comprehensive master takes of Bird across 4 CDs with good sound quality and great linear notes. These Proper Records box sets need to be checked out. AND they are only £10 on the website now)
Bach Solo Violin Complete Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1001-1006 by Ruggiero Ricci (3x12" box set found for 50p in a charity shop in lovely condition and with fantastic depth)

A load of other jazz stuff including Mingus, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Goodman and Miles Davis.

[Never_Scurred]

In no particular order :

Portishead - Portishead

You and your sig kick ass.
Most people say Dummy is their best album. Portishead, I felt, was a more defined album. This was one of the things that influenced me to learn an instrument. Too bad noone makes albums like this anymore, not even Portishead.

[Ayanami]

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
The Killers - Sam's Town

[professor ganson]

the pAper chAse (passim) - my favorite recent find
schema - s/t
nervous cop - s/t
unwound - repetition
godzik pink - es em, ekel em

[MadSteelDarkness]

South By Southwest is in full swing right now, so I haven't really had time to listen to any albums (and I'm way too busy to do a full write up like I did last year. Sorry guys). I'll just leave you with a list of bands I've seen in the last two days (in order):

Kiii
The Drugstore Cowboys
The Creteens
Rebuilding the Rights of Statues
Kinski
Pelican
Boris
The Melvins
Sage Francis (meh)
Oxbow
Old Time Relijun
Dengue Fever
Don Caballero
Jesu
Jay Reatard (Great but short set. I guess all the flying beer bottles and the generally violent nature of the audience scared Jay and his band off. )
Pelican (again )

Oh! But I did start off yesterday with:

Om - Conference of the Birds

[JoshF]

Boris,The Melvins, Om

Your life gets Time Extend bonus.

[Brian]

Dark Moor - Tarot
Within Temptation - The Heart of Everything

[CMoon]

Graeme Jefferies - Message for the cakekitchen (ajax)
Laughing Clowns - Cruel but fair retrospective
A.M. (Antony Milton) - Orla (Ikuisuus)
some stuff by the Cannanes, Ashtray Boy and the Bats (not sure what I think yet of the latter)

[Rob]

Zep III
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter -- ND albums $8 apiece at amazon. Same with Steely Dan. Awesome. At that kind of price I just have to buy them all.

[Monk 0 Nuggets]

South By Southwest is in full swing right now, so I haven't really had time to listen to any albums (and I'm way too busy to do a full write up like I did last year. Sorry guys). I'll just leave you with a list of bands I've seen in the last two days (in order):

Kiii
The Drugstore Cowboys
The Creteens
Rebuilding the Rights of Statues
Kinski
Pelican
Boris
The Melvins
Sage Francis (meh)
Oxbow
Old Time Relijun
Dengue Fever
Don Caballero
Jesu
Jay Reatard (Great but short set. I guess all the flying beer bottles and the generally violent nature of the audience scared Jay and his band off. )
Pelican (again )

Oh! But I did start off yesterday with:

Om - Conference of the Birds

Have you heard the new Pelican disc that leaked? Also, do you like the Alter disc? (Boris+Sunn0)))

[MadSteelDarkness]

Have you heard the new Pelican disc that leaked? Also, do you like the Alter disc? (Boris+Sunn0)))

As to your first question, sir: No, no I have not. But I would like to.

And yeah, I like the Boris/Sunn album. As I believe someone else in this thread already commented, it's not nearly as good as other albums put out by either band. But still, I think it's quality.

Your life gets Time Extend bonus.

So, the last couple of days' lineups weren't quite as robust as the first two. In order:

Thurston Moore
MC Chris
Stinking Lizaveta
River City Tanlines (Really good.)
Green Milk From The Planet Orange (Holy Fuck! Absolutely blistering performance. By far the best thing I saw at the entire festival. Yes, including the Melvins' amazing set.)
Maelstrom
Jandek (:shock: !)
Bloodhag
Marnie Stern (Awesome. 'Sup Rob. 'Sup prof. 'Sup Neon.)
Two Ton Boa
Riverboat Gamblers
Turbonegro (A bit disappointing, actually.)

Whew.

(EDIT: The three totally crappy/completely unremarkable bands I saw the last four days have been left out for politeness' sake.)

Back on topic, also listening to:

Lost Sounds - s/t
Earth - Hibernaculum

[sjewkestheloon]

Today i've listened/am listening to

Charles Mingus: Presents Charles Mingus, Quintet with Max Roach and At The Bohemia

Richard James: The Seven Sleepers Den

Tried to listen to a record of Not The Nine O'Clock News i picked up in the charity shop and i found it mildly racist and annoying so i turned it off and plan on giving it back to a shop.