OT: New Music?

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:12 pm

Love, love, love the new Bloc Party. They got away from the slickness of the last album and back to the rawer sound of the first, without losing their knack for big hooks and memorable crescendos. The CD's not out for a couple months but they released it for download a couple months early -- that seems like something that will get more and more popular.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:45 pm

pk500 wrote:
greggsand wrote:Yeah, one's American Water enjoyment is directly related to how big of a pavement/malkmus geek you are (guilty as charged)... I saw the Joos in L.A. last year, it was quite a treat. I couldn't help but think how great it would be if Malkmus walked onto the stage and ripped into a little Smith & Jones Forever.

Then again, I think the same thing every time I see Wilco & wonder "what if Farrar just came walking out on-stage..."
Yeah, I'm not a huge Pavement fan. Much respect and enjoy the sound, but not in my pantheon.

Know what you mean about Wilco. Hell, I'd feel that way about Bennett. As much as I enjoy the Cline-Sansone-Jorgensen influences in the current lineup, my favorite Wilco record remains "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."

Take care,
PK

Pavement, aka 'The world's worst 'The Fall' tribute band'.

They even named one side of their 1991 album 'Shift-Work' especially for Pavement..."Notebooks Out, Plagiarists".

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:50 pm

Brando70 wrote:Love, love, love the new Bloc Party. They got away from the slickness of the last album and back to the rawer sound of the first, without losing their knack for big hooks and memorable crescendos. The CD's not out for a couple months but they released it for download a couple months early -- that seems like something that will get more and more popular.

I agree. I checked out each of the tunes on youtube and then liked it enough to pay the $10 for the download yesterday.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:26 pm

davet010 wrote: Pavement, aka 'The world's worst 'The Fall' tribute band'.

They even named one side of their 1991 album 'Shift-Work' especially for Pavement..."Notebooks Out, Plagiarists".

Saddest part is that by '91 The Fall were a bad Fall tribute band. Pavement is the worst tribute to the bad Fall's tribute to the Fall, who weren't all that great at their peak.

Like a photocopy of a mimeograph of a grave rubbing.

Am I being too harsh?

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:48 am

Yes, indeed you are. The Fall's output of that period (Extricate, Shift-Work, The Infotainment Scan) includes some of their best work.

And at their peak, they were (and are) one of the most inventive bands going...unlike Pavement and the ever-irksome Malkmus.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:13 am

I've tried time and time again to like the Fall and just haven't been able to find a way. I like Mark E. Smith - he's one of the great characters of rock history - but I've never warmed to his delivery or music. After six or seven tries over the last twenty years I'm still puzzled by their appeal. There is literally only one Fall song I like - "Cruiser's Creek," which I absolutely adore. There is only one Pavement song I like - "5-4=Unity," which is only okay (it being an instrumental, and thus without Malkmus' "singing", is the key).

I do wish Malkmus had Mark E.'s sincerity, not just a sense of tossed of sonority. Smith sells me his lyrics with his belief; Malkmus always seems to be winking and smug and drool.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:07 am

In anticipation for their first full length cd due in September, I just recently picked up Dead Confederate's EP from Itunes and am enjoying it a lot. I've seen comparisons to Kings of Leon, Nirvana, Radiohead and I don't think they're far off. I'm really looking forward to hearing how their first full album sounds.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:42 am

EZSnappin wrote:I've tried time and time again to like the Fall and just haven't been able to find a way. I like Mark E. Smith - he's one of the great characters of rock history - but I've never warmed to his delivery or music. After six or seven tries over the last twenty years I'm still puzzled by their appeal. There is literally only one Fall song I like - "Cruiser's Creek," which I absolutely adore. There is only one Pavement song I like - "5-4=Unity," which is only okay (it being an instrumental, and thus without Malkmus' "singing", is the key).

I do wish Malkmus had Mark E.'s sincerity, not just a sense of tossed of sonority. Smith sells me his lyrics with his belief; Malkmus always seems to be winking and smug and drool.

To get a flavour of his world without having to listen to the music, get hold of Smith's autobiography "Renegade" - it'll have you in stitches. Either that, or get hold of a copy of 'Dragnet' and listen to it just after reading HP Lovecraft.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:00 pm

davet010 wrote: To get a flavour of his world without having to listen to the music, get hold of Smith's autobiography "Renegade" - it'll have you in stitches. Either that, or get hold of a copy of 'Dragnet' and listen to it just after reading HP Lovecraft.

Strangely enough, I should have a copy of "Renegade" in my hands next week. A friend is loaning me his copy when he's done.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:18 pm

Just started listening to Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone. It hasn't knocked me over yet, but I think it will keep getting better the more times I listen to it, much like Disturbed did for me earlier this year.

Discovered Shinedown and listened to their latest (only?) album. 2-3 outstanding songs along with a lot of predictable "safe" hard rock.

I also heard a few tracks from the new Metallica. Ugh. They died for me when Load was released, but I keep hoping something will snap them out of it and they will return to something at least as good as the Black Album. Still hasn't happened, and at this point I'm pretty much putting the nail in their magnetic coffin.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:41 pm

davet010 wrote:Yes, indeed you are. The Fall's output of that period (Extricate, Shift-Work, The Infotainment Scan) includes some of their best work.

And at their peak, they were (and are) one of the most inventive bands going...unlike Pavement and the ever-irksome Malkmus.

Yeah, yeah, Slanted & Enchanted had a heavy dose of Fall goodness (and Swell Maps & Sonic Youth), but to make it sound the whole Pavement cat is nothing Fall-rip-offs is simply incorrect. It's not Pavement's fault people in the US could care less about Mark E. Smith - although one could argue that being a Pavement fan would ultimately lead u to the Fall (kinda like REM/Peter Buck will eventually lead you Roger McGuinn). So there's a bright side for "slighted" Fall fans...

Someone tell me what era of the Fall sounds anything like Crooked Rain, Wowee Zowee or Brighten the Corners? I can get how Malkmus & his "I'm too smart to care" vibe rubs people the wrong way, but the dude was on a hellofa roll in the 90's.

Guitar geek note: if you're looking for a challenge, dig some of Malkmus' guitar tunings. Unreal.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:55 pm

Dave was kind enough to be a Fall ambassador to me a couple of years ago, but I just couldn't get into them. They fall into that category of intelligent but abrasive UK rock that I appreciate but don't enjoy. Smith's a clever man and they definitely sound like no one else, but I guess I have a limit for feeling like I'm in an undergraduate lecture hall getting sneered at.

I agree the first Pavement record owes a huge debt to The Fall, but think Greg is right: by the time Crooked Rain hit, they had moved toward a more melodic sound, and by the time of Wowee Zowee, they really sounded like no one else.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:12 pm

Brando70 wrote:Dave was kind enough to be a Fall ambassador to me a couple of years ago, but I just couldn't get into them. They fall into that category of intelligent but abrasive UK rock that I appreciate but don't enjoy. Smith's a clever man and they definitely sound like no one else, but I guess I have a limit for feeling like I'm in an undergraduate lecture hall getting sneered at.

I agree the first Pavement record owes a huge debt to The Fall, but think Greg is right: by the time Crooked Rain hit, they had moved toward a more melodic sound, and by the time of Wowee Zowee, they really sounded like no one else.

Well, the Fall were always quite popular in the US, and to be honest, I've recently noticed similarities between them and some of the early 80's US indie bands (MoB, Minutemen, maybe some Flipper as well), not in the music they create, but the attitude and beliefs than went with it.

Gregg, with regard to your points, I actually quite liked Wowee Zowee (which soundtracked my studying for the final part of what is, I believe, the equivalent to a CPA in the US), but the later stuff just seemed like a band running out of ideas. Malkmus's solo stuff is real smart-arse plod, but some of the Preston School Of Industry stuff is OK.

I would hardly say Malkmus was on a 'hell of a roll', though. There is precious little invention or verve in the later albums, just tedious 'Kentucky Fried College Rock To Go'. Be honest, did listening to any of it make your jaw drop ? I can think of about 50 albums from the 90's that I would put onto the stereo before any Pavement content, certainly as anything other than background music.

Still, what do I know - I still listen to loads of post-rock (Tortoise, Godspeed, Trans Am, Explosions in the Sky et al).

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:55 pm

davet010 wrote:
Brando70 wrote:Dave was kind enough to be a Fall ambassador to me a couple of years ago, but I just couldn't get into them. They fall into that category of intelligent but abrasive UK rock that I appreciate but don't enjoy. Smith's a clever man and they definitely sound like no one else, but I guess I have a limit for feeling like I'm in an undergraduate lecture hall getting sneered at.

I agree the first Pavement record owes a huge debt to The Fall, but think Greg is right: by the time Crooked Rain hit, they had moved toward a more melodic sound, and by the time of Wowee Zowee, they really sounded like no one else.
I would hardly say Malkmus was on a 'hell of a roll', though. There is precious little invention or verve in the later albums, just tedious 'Kentucky Fried College Rock To Go'. Be honest, did listening to any of it make your jaw drop ? I can think of about 50 albums from the 90's that I would put onto the stereo before any Pavement content, certainly as anything other than background music.

Jaw Drop? Uh yes. This is def heading into a simple taste discussion, but Pavement is STILL regarded as one of the most influential bands of the 90's Aside from putting Matador on the map, Pavement sold truckloads of tascam 4-tracks & fender Jazzmasters, inspired bands (both lo-fi & hi-fi), etc... So something must have been going on there. One thing I always thought was nifty, was that they could walk that fine-line of keeping the indie snobs happy while working the festival circuit. But yes, I know that Pavement is a band people either dig or they don't (another nifty quality).

Plus, Billy Corgan hated/despised them!! Bonus!

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:05 pm

matthewk wrote:I also heard a few tracks from the new Metallica. Ugh. They died for me when Load was released, but I keep hoping something will snap them out of it and they will return to something at least as good as the Black Album. Still hasn't happened, and at this point I'm pretty much putting the nail in their magnetic coffin.

What songs have you heard? The whole album has leaked now and I think it is AWESOME!

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:15 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
matthewk wrote:I also heard a few tracks from the new Metallica. Ugh. They died for me when Load was released, but I keep hoping something will snap them out of it and they will return to something at least as good as the Black Album. Still hasn't happened, and at this point I'm pretty much putting the nail in their magnetic coffin.
What songs have you heard? The whole album has leaked now and I think it is AWESOME!

I totally and wholeheartedly agree. This is their best album since AJFA. The more I listen, the more I like.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:44 am

Leebo33 wrote:
matthewk wrote:I also heard a few tracks from the new Metallica. Ugh. They died for me when Load was released, but I keep hoping something will snap them out of it and they will return to something at least as good as the Black Album. Still hasn't happened, and at this point I'm pretty much putting the nail in their magnetic coffin.
What songs have you heard? The whole album has leaked now and I think it is AWESOME!

I've only heard portions of 3-4 songs. There were parts I liked, and maybe it wasn't a final mix, but Hetfield's voice sounded trashed.

I will give the full album a chance now that it's "out".

Edit: I do love the album cover

On a side note, All Hope Is Gone keeps getting better with more listens. There are a few tracks I can do without, but there's still a full albums worth of quality stuff here.

What's the correct term to call releases now? Albums? Discs? With all the different ways to get the latest music I'm not even sure what to call these anymore.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:12 am

matthewk wrote:What's the correct term to call releases now? Albums? Discs? With all the different ways to get the latest music I'm not even sure what to call these anymore.

Stick with album. Album may be shorthand for vinyl from the days when that was the only format, but it describes content not form.

As far as Metallica, I'm pretty flat in my response; it isn't bad - in fact, it might be their best work in roughly twenty years - but it doesn't speak to me in any way. I like the nods, both stylistically and in the near musical quotes, to their classic 80s work, but I don't know why I wouldn't just listen to those albums instead.

It is the same problem I've had with the last few Sonic Youth albums; they're undoubtedly good, quality work, but are so indebted to their prior catalog as to be completely unnecessary. I'm not enough of a fan of either mentioned artist to bother with these newer albums when I have better versions in hand.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:21 am

I heard the Metallica album, and I agree with EZ: It's good, not great.

The whole record just reeks of, "Hey, we're not the sellout that you thought: We can still sound like we did in the 80s." It's almost as if this is a record by a tribute band to their late 80s sound.

I didn't like Metallica's veer into pop any more than anyone else who really enjoyed their stuff through the "Black Album." But I don't hear that much new within this record, within the confines the band established to return to its old sound. It's pretty derivative.

It's a solid album, but I think it also will be buoyed by the hype that Metallica has "returned to its roots."

This is a hard rock album, but I don't think it's as good as Metallica's 80s stuff. It's a hell of a lot better than the "Load," "Reload" and "St. Anger" bullsh*t, though!

Maybe repeated listens will reveal something else to me.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:57 pm

You know, Metallica's new album may not be legendary, but it sure as sh*t is helping to carry me through a Friday afternoon that finishes a week in which I've already put in about 65 hours of work.

Pretty damn crunchy. Nice.

Take care,
PK

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:29 am

I'm really digging the new Kings of Leon. Standout tracks for me are Closer, Crawl, 17, Notion, and Be Somebody. I like the radio-friendly Use Somebody as well but I know that didn't go over too big here. Rest assured that's the only song in that vain on the album. Oh, and I'm still adoring the new Metallica album as well.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:33 am

If anyone wants to get their "freak on", check out the new Of Montreal release "Skeletal Lamping". Kinda like if Smile was recorded during a bi-sexual Halloween Party...

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:26 am

ScoopBrady wrote:I'm really digging the new Kings of Leon. Standout tracks for me are Closer, Crawl, 17, Notion, and Be Somebody. I like the radio-friendly Use Somebody as well but I know that didn't go over too big here. Rest assured that's the only song in that vain on the album.

Man, I'm extremely jealous...I can't wait until the 23rd rolls around to pick up the new Kings. Aside from Pearl Jam, they're the best American rock band around, IMHO.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:57 am

Not sure how I feel about the new Metallica. As others have stated, it kind of seems like they are just going through the motions. Cool riffs but nothing very memorable or overly exciting. Just a bit too polished for me.

It almost seems as if they were trying to hard to prove something with this album because of all the negative feedback on their last one. But hey, what the hell do I know...I REALLY liked 'St. Anger'. Still cannot understand all the negativity around that one. Do people really want more crap like the Black Album and Load?

I thought the St. Anger direction was fresh. Sure the albums production was very different, but I thought it was a nice change of pace. A little 'lo-fi' which to me, made it seem heavier and provided lots of raw power. Not a big fan of over-produced 'metal'. All of the negative backlash was seriously surprising to me (still is). Just proved to me that mainstream 'metalheads' are a bit ignorant and very closed minded.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:34 pm

Did anyone catch the MTV Music Awards last night? Is rock completely dead?
I saw Slash in the crowd. I must have been wondering why he was there.
Also, what's with the standing ovations for Britney Spears? For what? Looking semi-hot again? She also won 3 awards for some song called "you want a piece of me". I have never heard of the song. Who exactly votes for these awards anyway?