OT: New Music?

[fsquid]

New to me is The Constellations. STumbled upon it on spotify. I guess they are psychadelic rock / soul? Good stuff though. New album is "Do it For Free" and I've been listening to it a ton.

[F308GTB]

Yeah, the new Rush album is really good. I'm also enjoying the new Smashing Pumpkins, which has been streaming on iTunes.

Yes, the new Smashing Pumpkins has been a nice listen. Another blast from the past, take listen to the new Garbage album. I'm enjoying that one as well.

[greggsand]

The new Beachwood Sparks is great (The Tarnished Gold). Listened to it while driving up the coast yesterday. Perfect.

[pk500]

The new Beachwood Sparks is great (The Tarnished Gold). Listened to it while driving up the coast yesterday. Perfect.

Agree. Dig it.

[greggsand]

The new Beachwood Sparks is great (The Tarnished Gold). Listened to it while driving up the coast yesterday. Perfect.

Agree. Dig it.

I'm glad to see them back (if only for a limited time). Beachwood was the only band where I witnessed, firsthand, a band really blast-off. I was at their 2nd gig (no one there), 3rd gig (hey, there's some people here), 4th gig (holy sh&t it's packed), 5th gig (what's this line down the block??!?). All of that was in the span of 1 month (all at Spaceland in LA). It was really crazy to see. By their 5th gig, Beck, Mike D, Lou Barlow, and such where all there watching from the floor. I was then there at the 6th gig where they broke their "cowboy country" twist. I liked it, but the entire place (the whiskey) was kinda scratching their heads.

A friend of mine, wrote a review of their EP for pitchfork where he summed up the scene/history quite well(while slamming the release at the time). When he writes "I roped a couple of friends into catching their next gig" that's me & couple of my band mates. Good times! A number of the "early/rock-out" sparks stuff lives on the web & file sharing sites if you look hard enough. It's all great.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/599 ... ts-cry-ep/

[Spooky]

Thanks for the Beachwood Sparks tip. Good stuff.

[Spooky]

The new Beachwood Sparks album is actually a serious contender for my Album of the Year (so far). It's fantastic.

[greggsand]

The new Beachwood Sparks album is actually a serious contender for my Album of the Year (so far). It's fantastic.

Yes! 'Forget the Song' & 'Talk about Lonesome' are classics.

[Spooky]

The new Beachwood Sparks album is actually a serious contender for my Album of the Year (so far). It's fantastic.

Yes! 'Forget the Song' & 'Talk about Lonesome' are classics.

'Water From The Well' might be my favorite right now.

[Brando70]

Not new music, but I saw Wilco live for the first time last night and was blown away. I like them but am not enamored with them. I went as much for my wife as myself. But live, they were a completely different band -- really tight, incredible musicianship, and much more muscular on their more upbeat songs.

[greggsand]

Not new music, but I saw Wilco live for the first time last night and was blown away. I like them but am not enamored with them. I went as much for my wife as myself. But live, they were a completely different band -- really tight, incredible musicianship, and much more muscular on their more upbeat songs.

Best American 'live band' running. I actually listened to the show last night (wxrt streamed it). It sounded great.

[RobVarak]

Not new music, but I saw Wilco live for the first time last night and was blown away. I like them but am not enamored with them. I went as much for my wife as myself. But live, they were a completely different band -- really tight, incredible musicianship, and much more muscular on their more upbeat songs.

It's almost not fair that they have Nils Cline. That guy is a truly titanic talent. The entire band is great, but what he adds to the mix really separates it from the earlier stuff.

I've seen them six or seven times going back to the Being There era, and Tweedy is always a compelling and generous live performer. He's not overtly charismatic, but he really knows how to bond with his audience. And there's nothing like the love they get from a Chicago audience. Without doing the math, I'd say the last two times I saw them before this (their multi-week Riviera residency where they played their entire catalog and the show this past Christmas with a staggering Nick Lowe and Mavis Staples encore) were among the ten best live shows I've ever seen.

The Geneva show was fun, especially the encores. But they went a bit too much into some obscure deep cuts even for me and the crowd really was noncommittal until the end. Too much of that nonchalant festival vibe to really create any magic, IMO. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it immensely, and I really don't want to sound like a dismissive snob. It's only a tribute to the excellence of the band that a show that good wasn't near the pinnacle.

[greggsand]

RIP Dennis Flemion from The Frogs. The first time I heard 'It's Only Right and Natural' I was instantly laughing, in-awe, offended, and dying to play it for all of friends. I'm glad I got see them once (bat wings & all).

[greggsand]

Bill Doss of Olivia Tremor Control dead at 43. Loved those guys. Met him & a few others at their first LA show years ago. Sucks. If you don't know them, totally worth checking out. 2 classic indie rock albums: Dusk at Cubist Castle & Dark Foliage. Booooooo.

Edit: just noticed my last 2 post were RIP's. Sucks getting old.

[Spooky]

It's official - Beachwood Sparks - Tarnished Gold is, without a doubt, my album of the year. I don't see how anything else can come anywhere close for me. This my be my top album of the last few years. Bought it on vinyl and it just sounds amazing!

[pk500]

I may have a new candidate for my album of the year, too: "Mysterium Tremendum" by the Mickey Hart Band.

This is NOT a Grateful Dead Jr. album. It's an incredibly cool fusion of electronica, world music and jam band grooves, with some great vocal tracks. Hart's innovative percussion also is a constant.

Dig this record.

[EZSnappin]

I can't even get my head around the death of Bill Doss. Far, far too young.

[greggsand]

I can't even get my head around the death of Bill Doss. Far, far too young.

Agreed. I found this to be a great write-up with some of his best work for those unfamiliar with him & OTC:

http://www.spin.com/articles/bill-doss- ... -15-tracks

[EZSnappin]

I'm getting over my sadness at the loss of Bill Doss by immersing myself in the Blur reissues. My wife was kind enough to get me the box set as an early birthday present and I'm sincerely blown away. I've lived with Leisure for 21 years and Modern Life Is Rubbish for nearly that long and I'm hearing stuff I've never heard before. Excellent remastering job on those early albums. It'll be a long time before I wrap my head around the whole thing - 18 cds and 3 dvds is a lot to get through.

[RobVarak]

FWIW, my runaway album of the year so far is Kelly Hogan's "I Like to Keep Myself in Pain".

She's always been a titanic voice, but this is the first time she's put together a record where the songs are up to par with her vocal brilliance.

It's stylistically diverse but has a strong sonic earthiness that just makes you want to listen to every track every time you hear a single song. Adult lyrics, sophisticated music and of course, nearly perfect vocals.

Strongest possible recommendation if you like music with singing and words and stuff.

[EZSnappin]

The Hogan record is great. I wish she recorded more as a lead vocalist, but every time she does it's worth hearing.

[F308GTB]

FWIW, my runaway album of the year so far is Kelly Hogan's "I Like to Keep Myself in Pain".

Strongest possible recommendation if you like music with singing and words and stuff.

Pretty good. I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but take a listen to First Aid Kit's "The Lion's Roar". Definitely in my top 5 for the year. Likewise, if you like "singing and words and stuff", this Swedish duo perfects harmonies and sticks with either acoustic and soft instrumentals to really highlight their singing.

[RobVarak]

Earlier this month, someone posted this gripping and detailed BBC documentary about Gram Parsons. It's a wonderful piece of work and well worth watching for anyone even remotely interested in GP or who just likes good music docs.

[ScoopBrady]

I've been listening to The Parlor Mob lately. Both of their albums are fantastic.

[fanatic]

Got to see Ariel Pink live last night....still trying to process it! It was sort of like spending a night eating junk food with your toddler. Everything is great for a while, but inevitably, the kid melts down, screams for a while and everyone decides its time for bed.

Great new album as well - takes a few more listens than the first to really get it, but once you're in, it's pretty cool.