OT: New Music?

[greggsand]

Going to see the Pipettes tonight (my friend manages the club). Can't go wrong with harmonizing chicks in short skirts.

[GTHobbes]

I doubt there are any other Sinead O'Connor fans around here (or any that would admit to it), but I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing her at a small venue tonight here in Atlanta. That lady can wail.

[EZSnappin]

I doubt there are any other Sinead O'Connor fans around here (or any that would admit to it), but I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing her at a small venue tonight here in Atlanta. That lady can wail.

I liked The Lion & the Cobra. "Mandinka" still gets some regular run at my house.

Honestly though, I just haven't paid enough attention to her career to know. I did hear a few things from that reggae album she cut with Sly & Robbie at the controls and they were decent songs.

She should be good in a small place. No one can doubt the voice even if she's been a bit of a nutter. Make sure and give a quick review.

[pk500]

While some may dismiss her as pop, you must be deaf if you think Annie Lennox doesn't have a great set of pipes. This is the single, "Dark Road," from her most-recent record, "Songs of Mass Destruction," which is pretty damn good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCFbKEVzlOo

Lennox is always someone to whom I point when I say to people that about 95 percent of the contestants on "American Idol" and most of the current lineup of pop stars can't sing worth a damn. They're all volume, all scales, no control or subtlety. Annie Lennox can sing with all of those qualities.

Take care,
PK

[Spooky]

While some may dismiss her as pop, you must be deaf if you think Annie Lennox doesn't have a great set of pipes. This is the single, "Dark Road," from her most-recent record, "Songs of Mass Destruction," which is pretty damn good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCFbKEVzlOo

Lennox is always someone to whom I point when I say to people that about 95 percent of the contestants on "American Idol" and most of the current lineup of pop stars can't sing worth a damn. They're all volume, all scales, no control or subtlety. Annie Lennox can sing with all of those qualities.

Take care,
PK

Please...she's definitely no Kelly Clarkson!

[EZSnappin]

I'm not really a fan of Robert Plant or Allison Krauss (sp?), but I really do like their new album together. If anyone's a fan of this kind've music, I'd also like to take the opportunity again to highly recommend last year's similar (and IMO superior) cd from Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan. Both of these albums are perfect for long drives.

Great, great call on the Plant/Krauss album. What a pleasent surprise!!! Thanks for reccomending that.

Glad you're enjoying it, Spooky. I'm really loving it even more after a couple of days listening to it. Between this and the new cds from Eddie Vedder, John Fogerty and Radiohead, it sure has been a banner month for my music collection.

This album is like the ultimate grower. I liked a handful of tracks on first listen, but thought it was way too long (like most albums of the past 20 years - damn cd running times!). The more I hear it, the more I realize there isn't anything I skip when I'm listening straight through, and when a track comes up in shuffle I'm always hooked. Definitely my surprise of the year - not the best thing I've heard, but one I figured would just be a cursory listen and instead has wormed its way into my brain.

The cd also sounds worlds better than the initial leaks that were floating around. Somehow full and open at the same time.

Rumor is they're going to tour together early next year. I would definitely try to catch a show.

[RobVarak]

I have such a crush on Alison Krauss that it isn't even funny, so my recommendation may not be totally unbiasd.

But I love it as well.

[pk500]

Add me to the list of people pleasantly surprised and enchanted by the Plant-Krauss album.

Take care,
PK

[Spooky]

The cd also sounds worlds better than the initial leaks that were floating around. Somehow full and open at the same time.

Great to know as I have tried 2 different torrents and they both sound too loud and have WAY too much low end. I thought it was just a bad mix (which would have been very surprising given the status of these musicins) after the 2nd one sounded the same as the first but now I tihink I know why. I'll have to pick up the CD then and see if it truly is different than whatever torrents I downloaded.

[Badger_Fan]

The Hold Steady makes another triumphant return to the Twin Cities. I'll be rocking along with Craig and the boys 6th row center.

Also, I've had my eye on the Plant/Krauss thing, I'll have to check it out. I'm also trying to find the Mark Lanegan (former Screaming Trees singer)/Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sabastian member) disc. I've heard it's fantastic.

One recommendation. Dan Wilson (lead singer/songwriter of the defunct Semisonic) has released an incredible solo disc. Try to find it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[GTHobbes]

I'm also trying to find the Mark Lanegan (former Screaming Trees singer)/Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sabastian member) disc. I've heard it's fantastic.

I absolutely love that cd...I got mine off ITunes but Amazon has it as well.

[greggsand]

Anyone else think Ween's "With My Own Bare Hands" is one of the funniest songs in years? Oh, and it rocks, too.

[Brando70]

One recommendation. Dan Wilson (lead singer/songwriter of the defunct Semisonic) has released an incredible solo disc. Try to find it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

That's good to hear -- Feeling Strangely Fine is a terrific record.

I bought the new Band of Horses CD, Cease to Begin. Not quite as good as their previous record, but the first song, "Is There a Ghost," packs a hell of a punch.

Also picked up KT Tunstall's Drastic Fantastic. A bit like Sheryl Crow, very singer-songwriter with a fresh-lipstick gloss to it, but the songs are catchy and she has a good voice.

I have been working my way through a record collection I raided over the summer, catching up on some classic albums I missed, and I recently discovered Graham Parker's Squeezing Out Sparks. How the f*** did I ever miss this one? Incredible album that I think out-Costello's Elvis Costello's early stuff.

[RobVarak]

NPR has launched the beta of their new music site. Some very, very cool stuff:

http://www.npr.org/nprmusic/index.html? ... titialskip

[Airdog]

NPR has launched the beta of their new music site. Some very, very cool stuff:

http://www.npr.org/nprmusic/index.html? ... titialskip

I was actually just going to post on this. The addition of a playlist where you can queue up songs is fantastic.

[pk500]

NPR has launched the beta of their new music site. Some very, very cool stuff:

http://www.npr.org/nprmusic/index.html? ... titialskip

Thanks for the tip! I love Bob Boilen's weekly music podcast from NPR, "All Songs Considered."

Take care,
PK

[GB_Simo]

Going to see the Pipettes tonight (my friend manages the club). Can't go wrong with harmonizing chicks in short skirts.

Never seen them live, Gregg, on account of their not being massively popular here in the UK...how was it?

[greggsand]

Going to see the Pipettes tonight (my friend manages the club). Can't go wrong with harmonizing chicks in short skirts.

Never seen them live, Gregg, on account of their not being massively popular here in the UK...how was it?

It was sotra silly, but entertaining nonetheless! Some of the songs like 'Judi' and 'pull shapes' sounded much better live than on record. The only downside(s) was the goofy synchronized dancing & the entire band was covered in darkness. Go see em sometime!

[GameSeven]

I went to see Blue Man Group last night and had a blast. The integration of their experimental sounds and the band is just incredible. As BMG are mute, the show's theme is narrated by a monotone male voice and accompanied by stick figures demonstrating the various "rock concert movements" http://youtube.com/watch?v=26REYsR0K_I. It was fantastically reminiscent of the computer in Portal.

The music, with its emphasis on percussion, was great and the performance injected with humor.

Anyone who's ever had a passing interest in them should definitely check them out.

[kevinpars]

I woke up this morning at around 5am, and being a pathetic loser, decided to come downstairs and see if the new Zune software and firmware was available. I got a Zune recently at one of the many deals that have been popping up at woot.com (the brown one for $89). Nothing in the new firmware struck me as particularly useful - maybe things are a bit smoother, but I am pleased that MS is providing Zune1 users with Zune2 software. I have never owned an Ipod so I can't compare the 2 for quality, but the Zune has 30 gigs so I can carry a lot of music and video for those times when you are waiting in an airport, etc. With Sennheiser earbuds it sounds pretty good and the price was right.

I spent a little time looking at the updated Zune music site, but did not buy anything. I prefer music sites where the legal information is printed in Russian and the songs are .10 each.

I really need to work my way through my library and clean up the tags. Can someone recommend a good editor? To keep things clean and organized, I have been manually pulling together things - for example live an bootleg songs - and making a fictional album name like "Live Bootleg" just to keep my various music libraries easier to navigate. Not to mention the multiple spellings of various artists (Sarah McMcLachlan can be spelled wrong a lot of ways).

Thanks again for everyone who has posted on this thread, I still go back through it on occasion to find new artists to check out. Then I go to seeqpod and see if they have anything I can give a listen.

[pk500]

Kevin:

I have used ID3-TagIt as my MP3 tag editor for around four years. Love it. Very intuitive, lean and effective.

I have tried many other tag editors, but ID3-TagIt still is my favorite even though development on it stopped two years ago:

http://www.id3-tagit.de/

Take care,
PK

[greggsand]

I really need to work my way through my library and clean up the tags. Can someone recommend a good editor? To keep things clean and organized, I have been manually pulling together things - for example live an bootleg songs - and making a fictional album name like "Live Bootleg" just to keep my various music libraries easier to navigate. Not to mention the multiple spellings of various artists (Sarah McMcLachlan can be spelled wrong a lot of ways).

I applaud your courage in using Sarah McMcLachlan as an example....

Hardy har har - just kidding...

BTW, saw good old Ween the other night. Loved it. I dig how they tour without openers. Very Springsteen of them....

[greggsand]

Dig this Gene Simmons interview. Exactly, how does he think labels could have stopped the mp3 format?? Stop putting out CDs and go back to vinyl? Shutdown the internet?? It was the mp3 that made downloading feasible. Dumbass....

IT HAS BEEN NINE YEARS SINCE WE'VE SEEN A NEW KISS ALBUM. ANY PLANS TO GET BACK INTO THE STUDIO?

The record industry is in such a mess. I called for what it was when college kids first started download music for free -- that they were crooks. I told every record label I spoke with that they just lit the fuse to their own bomb that was going to explode from under them and put them on the street.

There is nothing in me that wants to go in there and do new music. How are you going to deliver it? How are you going to get paid for it if people can just get it for free? I will be putting out a Gene Simmons box set called "Monster" -- a collection of 150 unreleased songs. KISS will have another box set of unreleased music in the next year.

The record industry doesn't have a f---ing clue how to make money. It's only their fault for letting foxes get into the henhouse and then wondering why there's no eggs or chickens. Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth. They should have taken their houses and cars and nipped it right there in the beginning. Those kids are putting 100,000 to a million people out of work. How can you pick on them? They've got freckles. That's a crook. He may as well be wearing a bandit's mask.

Doesn't affect me. But imagine being a new band with dreams of getting on stage and putting out your own record. Forget it.

BUT SOME ARTISTS LIKE RADIOHEAD AND TRENT REZNOR ARE TRYING TO FIND A NEW BUSINESS MODEL.

That doesn't count. You can't pick on one person as an exception. And that's not a business model that works. I open a store and say "Come on in and pay whatever you want." Are you on f---ing crack? Do you really believe that's a business model that works?

SO WHAT IF MUSIC JUST BECOMES FREE AND ARTISTS MAKE THEIR LIVING OFF OF TOURING AND MERCHANDISE?

Well therein lies the most stupid mistake anybody can make. The most important part is the music. Without that, why would you care? Even the idea that you're considering giving the music away for free makes it easier to give it away for free. The only reason why gold is expensive is because we all agree that it is. There's no real use for it, except we all agree and abide by the idea that gold costs a certain amount per ounce. As soon as you give people the choice to deviate from it, you have chaos and anarchy. And that's what going on.

Reuters/Billboard

full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071114/mus ... 43JGVxFb8C

[pk500]

For those who are fans of the new Alison Krauss-Robert Plant album, and I'm one of them, Krauss and Plant will appear with T-Bone Burnett to talk about the album tonight on The Charlie Rose Show on PBS.

Take care,
PK

[EZSnappin]

Thanks for the heads up!