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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 12, 2019 22:02:06 GMT
Continuing a discussion on music tastes started with @cardinalpirelli in the Meltdown thread; I didn't want to hijack that thread so started this one for general music chat. We'd gone down Prog Avenue; feel free to steer elsewhere! . Very much of its time the first album and a bit hippyish (blame Peter Sinfield for a fair bit of that, I think). One that I’ve always liked of the early albums is Lizard, if you have a surround setup then Lizard in six channel sound is a revelation, opening up the dense instrumentation amazingly. In fact, all of them in surround are great. Friends of yore were more into Led Zep, Hendrix, Tull, Genesis, Yes and so on (early teens, we diversified a lot later!) so any talk of KC was a curiosity at best. I’ve been dutifully collecting the mindblowingly complete box sets, which look to be completed for the 50th anniversary. An expensive year ahead! I struggle with Lizard. I like a couple of bits on Poseidon but it's Islands where I really start to click. As I said, it all really gets going from Larks onwards. Yes Sinfield's lyrics were appalling. What a bizarre career trajectory he had. King Crimson - Bucks Fizz - Celine Dion! Of those bands your schoolmates discussed. I went through a brief Tull phase, admired but didn't really listen to Hendrix, never really clicked with Zep, but Genesis are a huge band for me. Yes had their moments. I got it from both sides at school. The rockers and proggers couldn't get my liking for punk and new wave, while the punks sneered at my loyalty to what they called "dinosaur rock". |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2019 22:20:28 GMT
Continuing a discussion on music tastes started with @cardinalpirelli in the Meltdown thread; I didn't want to hijack that thread so started this one for general music chat. We'd gone down Prog Avenue; feel free to steer elsewhere! I struggle with Lizard. I like a couple of bits on Poseidon but it's Islands where I really start to click. As I said, it all really gets going from Larks onwards. Yes Sinfield's lyrics were appalling. What a bizarre career trajectory he had. King Crimson - Bucks Fizz - Celine Dion! Of those bands your schoolmates discussed. I went through a brief Tull phase, admired but didn't really listen to Hendrix, never really clicked with Zep, but Genesis are a huge band for me. Yes had their moments. I got it from both sides at school. The rockers and proggers couldn't get my liking for punk and new wave, while the punks sneered at my loyalty to what they called "dinosaur rock". Maybe it's the jazz feel to Lizard? I always liked the fusion bands of that period, I've just finished listening to the complete studio output of Miles Davis and his fusion period is just incredible.
Genesis are also great in surround (the mixes are amazing). Heretical I know but I think they improved after Gabriel left (and Gabriel also improved massively by leaving). If Sinfield's lyrics are poor then I think Gabriel's incomprehensible scribblings at that time are nearly as bad, saved only by often sublime music.
The thing is I never got the memo that I was supposed to like only one type of music, so talk about all the different band like Magazine (Wire, maybe?) also chimes with me. I think that's where my eclectic tastes in the arts started, suddenly realising that I didn't need to just like one thing or the other.
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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 12, 2019 22:59:24 GMT
Maybe it's the jazz feel to Lizard? I always liked the fusion bands of that period, I've just finished listening to the complete studio output of Miles Davis and his fusion period is just incredible. Genesis are also great in surround (the mixes are amazing). Heretical I know but I think they improved after Gabriel left (and Gabriel also improved massively by leaving). If Sinfield's lyrics are poor then I think Gabriel's incomprehensible scribblings at that time are nearly as bad, saved only by often sublime music. The thing is I never got the memo that I was supposed to like only one type of music, so talk about all the different band like Magazine (Wire, maybe?) also chimes with me. I think that's where my eclectic tastes in the arts started, suddenly realising that I didn't need to just like one thing or the other. The jazzier feel of Lizard might be the issue. Re Genesis improving after Gabriel left, it's not heretical if you're Patrick Bateman! I love The Lamb, for me it's their best album by a very long way. I'm not keen on Trick and W&W, but love Abacab, which itself is heretical to many! Re PG's lyrics, bear in mind some of those lyrics were by Tony Banks who was the core of Genesis but my word he wrote some appalling lyrics. It was (and still is) the media propagating this "punk OR prog" type of nonsense. Musicians are largely unbothered by it. Many of the punk and new wave bands grew up listening to prog. Yeah Magazine and Wire are very me, especially Magazine. Gang of Four as well. What about XTC? Another top one for me. |
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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 13, 2019 12:11:17 GMT
To ensure the new wave/prog heads don't have it all their own way a change of music scenery can be found in this thread about Dutch group OG3NE |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2019 13:26:59 GMT
To widen the discussion a bit, I always thought the idea was that people lose touch as popular tastes become more radical (rock and roll, punk, hip-hop/rap etc.
What I have found in the last decade or more, however, is that popular tastes have become much blander and conservative. Is that a result of streaming and such being the way this is gauged or has any radical reinvention just been sent to the fringes?
Anyway, in reply to earlier, XTC absolutely (and I'd put Andy Partridge up there with the best). Talking about Dutch groups reminded me of Focus, one of few European acts that managed to breakthrough at the time.
Yodelling, a whistling solo and what may well be speaking in tongues. This got into the top twenty by the way!
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Post by NeilVHughes on Feb 13, 2019 13:38:57 GMT
Made the decision this year to go to few more gigs this year, so far booked
- Haken, Islington Town Hall
- Neal Morse Band, Islington Town Hall
- John McLaughlin, Barbican
- Marillion, Weekend at Leicester & Albert Hall
- King Crimson, Albert Hall
From the above another Progger, considering seeing Steve Hacket as he’s playing Selling England by the Pound in its entirety which is one of the albums along with Night at the Opera that fuelled my obsession with music and the guitar in particular which led to an unhealthy need to sweep arpeggios in the 80’s.
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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 13, 2019 14:26:11 GMT
Made the decision this year to go to few more gigs this year, so far booked - Haken, Islington Town Hall - Neal Morse Band, Islington Town Hall - John McLaughlin, Barbican - Marillion, Weekend at Leicester & Albert Hall - King Crimson, Albert Hall From the above another Progger, considering seeing Steve Hacket as he’s playing Selling England by the Pound in its entirety which is one of the albums along with Night at the Opera that fuelled my obsession with music and the guitar in particular which led to an unhealthy need to sweep arpeggios in the 80’s. Of those gigs, apart from KC which I'm already booked for, I'd be intrigued by McLaughlin. Do report back on them here! I love Selling England, and hugely admire Hackett who gets far less credit as a musician and innovator than he deserves. But I have some issues with him and his live shows. Listening to bits of his most recent few albums - another one out now - I fear he's running on petrol fumes. I'm not hearing anything distinctive or interesting like I used to in his earlier work. Playing live, he's fallen into a pattern now of reheating Genesis stuff and serving it up in various ways - Wind & Wuthering 40th, Selling England 45th, Classic Hackett and Genesis, shows consisting entirely of Genesis material, and so on. You'd think I'd love this, given what I've said about him and Genesis. But my experiences of these live shows have been curiously underwhelming. The last one I went to, which I decided will be the last one I'll go to, I think I hit on one of the main reasons for my dissatisfaction: no Tony Banks. His big chord changes and sequences are a hugely integral part of the Genesis sound, and Hackett's keyboardist - a perfectly good musician - doesn't seem able to achieve this vital part of the whole picture. There's just something about the way Banks played them that other musicians seem unable to reproduce. The other main problem with Hackett's Genesis-themed shows is the guy he has singing the Genesis songs, Nad Sylvan. I can't stand him. I find him both a bit creepy, and utterly lacking any charisma (all puns intended) whatsoever. He can hit all the notes but while Collins and Gabriel had distinctive voices, Sylvan's is nothingy. Going back to Selling England, I always thought the old side 1 was the most perfect bit of track sequencing they ever did. And every one of those tracks is solid gold, including More Fool Me which many fans seem to dismiss as out of place. I'm not too keen on Battle except for 'The Reverend' section which is brilliant, a bit of an oddity for them and sounds conceived as a separate song they decided to embed into the longer track. I have a real soft spot for Ordeal, another that gets bad notices from a lot of fans. |
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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 13, 2019 14:36:40 GMT
Meanwhile, my next gig is KT Tunstall at Aberdeen Music Hall next month. One of my absolute favourite live performers.
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Post by tysilio2 on Feb 13, 2019 18:32:46 GMT
Loving this thread. Keep it up folks.
Another Genesis fan here but didn't get into them til late 70s. Haven't actually heard much of their early 70s albums. Seconds Out and...and then there were 3 were my first. Loved double live albums in the 70s. I love 10cc Live and let Live, Dire Straits Alchemy but Seconds Out is my favourite particularly Afterglow with the fantastic drumming at the end.
*Searches through the vinyl cupboard for old times sake*
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2019 20:30:32 GMT
I'm not really a fan of any particular group. The closest I get is with Renaissance — specifically the songs composed by Michael Dunford, and my favourite of their albums is A Song For All Seasons — and ELO, but generally I avoid albums and buy singles as and when I feel like it. The overwhelming majority of music I've bought is just one recording by each artist. I have a vague preference for complex or orchestral music of the sort that seemed to be around a lot in 1970s and 1980s, but the music I own runs from the 1950s to the 2010s with no obvious genre.
There are more than a few songs where I can't remember why I liked them, and I have a very small number of singles that could be described as none hit wonders. I never quite manage to throw any of them out, though.
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Post by Backdrifter on Feb 14, 2019 16:25:22 GMT
Loving this thread. Keep it up folks. Another Genesis fan here but didn't get into them til late 70s. Haven't actually heard much of their early 70s albums. Seconds Out and...and then there were 3 were my first. Loved double live albums in the 70s. I love 10cc Live and let Live, Dire Straits Alchemy but Seconds Out is my favourite particularly Afterglow with the fantastic drumming at the end. *Searches through the vinyl cupboard for old times sake* Ah yes the double live album. Or if you're Yes, the triple live album. I'm not keen on Seconds Out. Collins's voice was still too light then, I preferred when it roughened and deepened a bit over the next few years and consequently I prefer Three Sides Live. And the overall sound is too clinical, whereas on 3SL it's a bit dirtier, which I prefer and it suited the later songs. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 20:02:03 GMT
I have the "weirdest" musical taste. One minute I'm listening to a cheesy musical theatre song, the next minute Metallica is on. So yeah, from musicals to heavy metal, and everything in between.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2019 7:06:14 GMT
Loving this thread. Keep it up folks. Another Genesis fan here but didn't get into them til late 70s. Haven't actually heard much of their early 70s albums. Seconds Out and...and then there were 3 were my first. Loved double live albums in the 70s. I love 10cc Live and let Live, Dire Straits Alchemy but Seconds Out is my favourite particularly Afterglow with the fantastic drumming at the end. *Searches through the vinyl cupboard for old times sake* Ah yes the double live album. Or if you're Yes, the triple live album. I'm not keen on Seconds Out. Collins's voice was still too light then, I preferred when it roughened and deepened a bit over the next few years and consequently I prefer Three Sides Live. And the overall sound is too clinical, whereas on 3SL it's a bit dirtier, which I prefer and it suited the later songs. Watching their live videos, you realise just what a great drummer Phil Collins was. He makes the complex look and sound easy and the equal of someone like Bruford. When he and Bruford/Thompson join together during the instrumentals it’s just astonishing. Coming back to the jazz fusion link, both being really helped by the technique they all get from that area (check out Brand X for Collins on that score). |
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Post by Bickers on Feb 15, 2019 15:22:28 GMT
I have the "weirdest" musical taste. One minute I'm listening to a cheesy musical theatre song, the next minute Metallica is on. So yeah, from musicals to heavy metal, and everything in between. ditto! I sometimes accidentally end up sounding like a bit of a hipster because a lot of the bands I really like no one has heard of. I'm not trying to like weird and unusual things, I just seem to have a knack for finding the more obscure. Oh, and lesbian folk rock. That slightly obscure sub-genre. Unintentionally a bit fan of it!
Also, country music songs with ridiculous titles.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2019 23:09:34 GMT
Very sad to hear of the passing of Mark Hollis, whose band Talk Talk started as a better than average eighties pop band and then blossomed into an kncredible pioneer of what became post-rock. Ploughing similar furrows to David Sylvian, albums like Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock transcended barriers and, although he effectively retired from music twenty years ago, I always hoped we’d get a comeback. He was sixty four.and far too young to go.
Here’s side one of Spirit of Eden, an album which opened new horizons for me back in 1988.
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Post by joem on Feb 27, 2019 17:46:52 GMT
I like a bit of old prog myself. My favourite band was The Moody Blues, with the Classic 7 line-up, up to The Present in 1983 or thereabouts. Yes had their heyday from The Yes Album to Going For The One although Tales From Topographic Oceans was overdrawn and very patchy. Genesis did ok after Gabriel (don't really like The Lamb Lies Down much) for a while but And Then There Were None was their swansong in terms of making a good album.
Fond of Barclay James Harvest, especially the sadly lost keyboard player Woolly Wolstenholme, before they started on their Bee Gees disco vibe. Occasionally like relaxing to Tangerine dream or The Enid or Mike Oldfield.
Wishbone Ash and Uriah Heep had some very good albums in their early phases. Hawkwind is great music to run on the treadmill to.
And I went to see Blue Oyster Cult last Friday. That was a trip down memory lane.
Back to my cave.
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Post by Marwood on Feb 27, 2019 19:14:00 GMT
Wouldn’t say I love any one music genre, I like most music but not too keen on reggae or jazz. I’ve got to the age where I’m not really that bothered about trying to keep my finger on the pulse and tend to stick to artists I know.
I probably go to more concerts than theatre shows, I’m going to see The Twilight Sad at the Electric Ballroom tomorrow night, and have the following lined up this year:
Peter, Bjorn and John at The Garage
James at the Royal Albert Hall
Spiritualized at the Paradiso in Amsterdam
The Orb at the Forum in Tonbridge Wells
UNKLE at the Royal Festival Hall
Apparat at the Barbican
The Chemical Brothers at All Points East
Interpol at Brighton Dome
Maps at the Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2019 14:57:03 GMT
In the discussion of Meltdown festival on this board previously I was surprised to see a few fellow Nine Inch Nails fans here.
A NIN binge the other day prompted me to wonder what peoples favorite albums are.
For me it's The Fragile - first and foremost. Pretty Hate Machine comes in a close second.
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Post by Backdrifter on May 31, 2019 16:39:12 GMT
Wouldn’t say I love any one music genre, I like most music but not too keen on reggae or jazz. I’ve got to the age where I’m not really that bothered about trying to keep my finger on the pulse and tend to stick to artists I know. I probably go to more concerts than theatre shows, I’m going to see The Twilight Sad at the Electric Ballroom tomorrow night, and have the following lined up this year: Peter, Bjorn and John at The Garage James at the Royal Albert Hall Spiritualized at the Paradiso in Amsterdam The Orb at the Forum in Tonbridge Wells UNKLE at the Royal Festival Hall Apparat at the Barbican The Chemical Brothers at All Points East Interpol at Brighton Dome Maps at the Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall How many of those have you been to since you posted? Do tell. I've recently seen Juliana Hatfield at Islington Academy. Coming up: The Orb, Inverness Ironworks King Crimson, Albert Hall (x 2) Doves, Somerset House Contemplating Imogen Heap (Glasgow or London) and Feeder (Inverness). |
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Post by Backdrifter on May 31, 2019 16:48:07 GMT
For some reason I've got a very clear memory of going into Our Price in Guildford, where I worked at the time, to buy that! I remember being transfixed by the video for Head Like A Hole and thinking, yeah I better buy that album. I really like his score for the English-language Dragon Tattoo film (which I think is way better than the Swedish one. And anyway, Rooney Mara). |
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 18:19:16 GMT
Wouldn’t say I love any one music genre, I like most music but not too keen on reggae or jazz. I’ve got to the age where I’m not really that bothered about trying to keep my finger on the pulse and tend to stick to artists I know. I probably go to more concerts than theatre shows, I’m going to see The Twilight Sad at the Electric Ballroom tomorrow night, and have the following lined up this year: Peter, Bjorn and John at The Garage James at the Royal Albert Hall Spiritualized at the Paradiso in Amsterdam The Orb at the Forum in Tonbridge Wells UNKLE at the Royal Festival Hall
Apparat at the Barbican The Chemical Brothers at All Points East Interpol at Brighton Dome Maps at the Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Nice!! Would love to hear reports... |
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Post by Dave25 on Jun 1, 2019 6:40:17 GMT
To me, good music/singing is about painting with nuances. Especially with singing, aside from the beauty and tone of a voice, it's all the details and nuances in the placement of a note, the change of color in a note, the building up that create magic. The subtle vibrato. That's why early Whitney clips are works of art.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jun 3, 2019 10:52:04 GMT
Another one for the old rock heads, Steve Hillage is on tour briefly this month then more extensively in November. On both tours he'll be playing stuff from his 70s albums Fish Rising, L, Green and Motivation Radio.
On the November dates he's supported by Gong but without David Allen and Gilli Smyth I'm not sure it'll feel like Gong.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jun 19, 2019 23:11:43 GMT
An exquisite evening of musicianship, King Crimson were jaw droppingly brilliant tonight, went through an intense Fripp phase 15-20yrs ago and never got round to seeing them as they were in their feedback phase at the time, my fascination was with the 70’s albums and as this was the 50th anniversary with their whole back catalogue being delved into it was an opportunity not to be missed.
Schizoid must have been other worldly when heard for the first time all those years ago, the power and technicality is still astounding today.
Once booking for the NT complete, tomorrow will be spent playing off beat chordal stabs and wide intervalic polyrhythmic loops to a 3/4 4/4 5/4 7/8 4/4 9/8 rhythmic loop.
Having ticked off King Crimson, Mike Oldfield remains the only living musician who has been a constant musical companion left to see.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jun 20, 2019 7:23:28 GMT
An exquisite evening of musicianship, King Crimson were jaw droppingly brilliant tonight, went through an intense Fripp phase 15-20yrs ago and never got round to seeing them as they were in their feedback phase at the time, my fascination was with the 70’s albums and as this was the 50th anniversary with their whole back catalogue being delved into it was an opportunity not to be missed. Schizoid must have been other worldly when heard for the first time all those years ago, the power and technicality is still astounding today. Once booking for the NT complete, tomorrow will be spent playing off beat chordal stabs and wide intervalic polyrhythmic loops to a 3/4 4/4 5/4 7/8 4/4 9/8 rhythmic loop. Having ticked off King Crimson, Mike Oldfield remains the only living musician who has been a constant musical companion left to see. I went on Tuesday and am back for tonight's show. While Tuesday didn't quite hit the peak of Glasgow last year it was still brilliant. All the ones I've seen since they returned to touring a few years back have been excellent but it's even better now they're mixing in more new stuff and some of the 80s/90s stuff. The version of Indiscipline they've been doing on these recent tours is stunningly good. And I didn't think I'd ever see them doing Cat Food. |
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