OT: New music discussion

TheMightyPuck · Post by **TheMightyPuck** » Tue May 10, 2005 11:28 am

Brando70 wrote:Good thread. I've heard lots of positive things about the Ryan Adams disc, I'll have to check that out. Some new stuff I've been enjoying:

Bloc Party, Silent Alarm: Like someone took everything I liked about 80s new wave and threw it on one disc. Jittery, urgent vocals, guitars that alternate between chiming and slashing, and a rhythm section that can go nuts without losing the beat. Haven't been this blown away by a record since The Wrens' Meadowlands.

The Decemberists, Picaresque: A very clever, catchy, quirky album. It's almost like folk prog, with intricate story lyrics laid atop great acoustic music. "The Sporting Life" is especially witty and memorable.

Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: Didn't really grab me at first, but I'm starting to warm up. Classic folkie record with country influence. Sometimes tries to hard to be Bob Dylan, but doesn't every singer-songwriter?

Wife got the new Aimee Mann, but I haven't heard it yet. I'm expecting to be disappointed given what I've read -- she's hit a point, after five terrific albums (last two Til Tuesday albums, first three solo albums) where she's starting to rip off herself.

Definitely need to check out Picaresque as about 50 people now have told me I need that one.

How come everyone comes out and says they hate country and then waxes on about Ryan Adams et al. (btw: I LIKE country--I mean real country not overproduced American Idol caricatures singing other people's songs.)

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 10, 2005 11:42 am

TheMightyPuck wrote:How come everyone comes out and says they hate country and then waxes on about Ryan Adams et al. (btw: I LIKE country--I mean real country not overproduced American Idol caricatures singing other people's songs.)

Simple: I think 95 percent of us who say they hate country hate the pap cranked out by the Tits and Hat of the Month in Nashville these days. Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, etc.

But I would guess that some of those who hate that crap -- and it is utter, lowest-common-denominator sh*t -- may like Wilco, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, The Old 97s, The Jayhawks, Dwight Yoakam, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, etc.

I know I do. But I don't even consider that country. I call it Americana, more roots, folk and alt-country music. Intelligent, well-crafted stuff with acoustic guitars, some electric, pedal steel, etc. The tunes have country sensibiltiies without being incredibly sappy and formulaic like all of the crap coming out of Nashville these days.

It's no different than the battle between "old school" rap and hip-hop and the commercially successful stuff out now or the battle between classic jazz and the unimaginative, repetitive porn film soundtrack known as "smooth jazz."

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue May 10, 2005 11:50 am

Grrr...mainstream country sucks. And I gotta go sit at the Country Music Awards in Vegas next week since it's my girl's birthday and she LOVES the stuff. Some of it is just OK...but if I had my druthers, I'd never listen to any of it.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue May 10, 2005 11:59 am

Word up, DB. That stuff is made with chicks in mind, they eat it up. Some of the songs are so freaking bad...the one called "Song of the South" makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Some of those chick country anthems are equally bad.

Ugh.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:03 pm

Dave wrote:Word up, DB. That stuff is made with chicks in mind, they eat it up. Some of the songs are so freaking bad...the one called "Song of the South" makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Some of those chick country anthems are equally bad.

Ugh.

Indeed. "Song of the South's" chorus:

"Song, song of the South
"Sweet potato pie, and I shut my mouth
"Gone, gone with the wind
"There ain't nobody looking back again."

Wow, that's deep. And Alabama is supposed to be one of the "smarter" Nashville bands.

Pathetic. Even more pathetic that I know the song, but my in-laws listen to Nashville country non-stop.

Take care,
PK

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:19 pm

I'm going to have to check out the Decemberists album as I keep reading more and more good things about it. I like americana music as much as anyone, and will also back up Badger Fan on his Old 97s endorsement. My older brother got me into them recently, and while the Drag it Up cd is good, I would also highly recommend their live DVD to anyone who likes Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Johnny Cash, etc. I think the dvd is called Live at the Troubadour, and there are a few songs on there from Drag it Up plus a lot of stuff from their earlier albums. They are another one of those bands that are just fantastic live, as evident from the dvd.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:24 pm

Brando70 wrote:Good thread. I've heard lots of positive things about the Ryan Adams disc, I'll have to check that out. Some new stuff I've been enjoying:

Bloc Party, Silent Alarm: Like someone took everything I liked about 80s new wave and threw it on one disc. Jittery, urgent vocals, guitars that alternate between chiming and slashing, and a rhythm section that can go nuts without losing the beat. Haven't been this blown away by a record since The Wrens' Meadowlands.

The Decemberists, Picaresque: A very clever, catchy, quirky album. It's almost like folk prog, with intricate story lyrics laid atop great acoustic music. "The Sporting Life" is especially witty and memorable.

Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: Didn't really grab me at first, but I'm starting to warm up. Classic folkie record with country influence. Sometimes tries to hard to be Bob Dylan, but doesn't every singer-songwriter?

Wife got the new Aimee Mann, but I haven't heard it yet. I'm expecting to be disappointed given what I've read -- she's hit a point, after five terrific albums (last two Til Tuesday albums, first three solo albums) where she's starting to rip off herself.

I'll have to jump in on the Ryan Adams bandwagon as well. This is definitely my favorite right now. 18 tracks and not a throwaway in the bunch. Damn I wish more people still made albums like this.

I also am enjoying the Decemberists disc a lot as well as the Killers, and the Darkness' cds. One of my favorites which is a little more low key is Josh Rouse's latest cd. Fantastic disc.

I'm hearing a lot about Bloc Party and Bright Eyes, I may have to give them a listen.

My musical tastes have really transcended over the last year and a lot of it I picked up from recommendations here. Threads like this are great.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:28 pm

If you're interested in really sarcastic, funny alt-country and rock, check out the band Ween. Any band that writes a song called "Piss Up a Rope" is OK by me.

Seriously, Ween is like an alt-country version of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention when it comes to off-the-wall tunes. Plus they can really rock live, too. Sort of a cross between recent Wilco and Zappa. The band can play all sorts of different genres with good effect and great humor.

Check out www.weenradio.com for a few examples.

Take care,
PK

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:42 pm

Ween is great.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Tue May 10, 2005 12:50 pm

pk500 wrote:If you're interested in really sarcastic, funny alt-country and rock, check out the band Ween. Any band that writes a song called "Piss Up a Rope" is OK by me.

Seriously, Ween is like an alt-country version of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention when it comes to off-the-wall tunes. Plus they can really rock live, too. Sort of a cross between recent Wilco and Zappa. The band can play all sorts of different genres with good effect and great humor.

Check out www.weenradio.com for a few examples.

Take care,
PK

On the alt-country front, I recently discovered the Supersuckers. I immediately fell in love with them.

Not only do they cover the Commodores "Sail On", but they do a fantastic job with Outkast's "Hey Ya". The icing on the cake though is "Eastbound and Down" from Smokey and the Bandit. I actually have that song on my Forza custom soundtrack.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue May 10, 2005 1:07 pm

pk500 wrote:If you're interested in really sarcastic, funny alt-country and rock, check out the band Ween. Any band that writes a song called "Piss Up a Rope" is OK by me.

Seriously, Ween is like an alt-country version of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention when it comes to off-the-wall tunes. Plus they can really rock live, too. Sort of a cross between recent Wilco and Zappa. The band can play all sorts of different genres with good effect and great humor.

Check out www.weenradio.com for a few examples.

Take care,
PK

F*CK YEAH PK!!!!!!!!! A fellow Paw fan and now a Ween one!!! (Partridge Family "I think I Love You" queue's up in the background).

Ween are one of my fave's. Have been a huge fan since Pure Guava. I've seen them probably about 6 or 7 times throughout the years and they always blow me away. I have even gone as far as making Beatle comparisons with them. I truly think their songwriting is that diverse, unique and simplistically genius. Take the song 'The Mollusk' for example. One of my all time favorite songs ever! Simply genius. Truly.

On another note, here are some of my newest pickups:

Architecture in Helsinki – I have two of their CD’s. They are kind of a cross between The Fiery Furnaces meet The Cardigans meet Belle and Sebastian. Very good, kind of quirky pop.

The Ghosts – Japanese semi-ambient music along the lines of Can or Explosions in the Sky (but with lyrics).

XTC – I recently discovered this band. Although I have always known about them, I had never listened to them until about 3 or 4 months ago. Holy s***! They have some really incredible music that just grabs me for some reason. Not all of it though. Unfortunately , you kind of have to sift through some not so interesting music to find the true gems, but those gems are awesome! They are a very late 70’s through the late 80’s pop band that truly represent each of the different music styles of the era’s they spanned. IF you are interested in checking them out, try ‘Black Sea’ for their best of their earlier, more raw pop, and “Lemons & Oranges’ for their later, more 80’s sounding pop.

The Postal Service – EXCELLENT CD! I believe they only have one (not sure of the title of it). It is a band from the leader of ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ which I have never listened to, but apparently The Postal Service are similar, yet maybe a bit more mainstream or approachable. Very catchy, melodic pop. Very good songwriting. My only complaint is that it gets a tad redundant, but the strong songs on the CD are VERY strong.

Oh and on the alt country front, check out The Court & Spark. Very good CD that is similar to Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats but without the silliness.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue May 10, 2005 1:54 pm

Drive-By Truckers are another solid country rock band, like Skynrd but with better lyrics. The Dirty South was a terrific record last year.

Spooky, if you like The Postal Service (which is a great disc), you should check out the City vs. Country ep from The Mobius Band. A little more guitar-oriented than The Postal Service, but again, great pop music with some nice electronic touches. They have some free downloads on their Web site.

I also have become a big, big fan of Interpol's Antics album. It's been out for a while, and at first I thought it good but not great. The last couple of months, it's just really sunk in as an even better CD than their great debut.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue May 10, 2005 2:00 pm

Hey pk, nothing beats doing your laundry and then listening to "Playin it off Legit" by Ween off of Pure Guava.

Badger_Fan · Post by **Badger_Fan** » Tue May 10, 2005 2:03 pm

GTHobbes wrote:I'm going to have to check out the Decemberists album as I keep reading more and more good things about it. I like americana music as much as anyone, and will also back up Badger Fan on his Old 97s endorsement. My older brother got me into them recently, and while the Drag it Up cd is good, I would also highly recommend their live DVD to anyone who likes Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Johnny Cash, etc. I think the dvd is called Live at the Troubadour, and there are a few songs on there from Drag it Up plus a lot of stuff from their earlier albums. They are another one of those bands that are just fantastic live, as evident from the dvd.

I haven't picked up the DVD yet but having seen them five or six times I can say that they put on a hell of a show. Just pure energy and craft throughout. Also, rumor has it that there is another Rhett Miller solo disc and that the full band is recording a live cd and another studio disc.

And I'll second PK's thing about Americana. Modern country music is crap, though I have to say that the last Dixie Chicks disc is pretty good (the wife is a huge fan). But I totally dig older country. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson are just great songwriters and convey so much emotion through their songs. But give me a mix of Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, the Jayhawks, Ryan Adams, Whiskeytown, Bright Eyes and Josh Rouse and I'm a happy man.

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Tue May 10, 2005 7:26 pm

mike jones - who is mike jones.... burn this if u can, its hot... mike jones is the man

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:00 pm

I went to buy the new Dave Matthews Band album today at Best Buy, but passed because the label on the cover said you needed to install some software on your PC. Too bad as this is the only Dave Matthews Band album I won't own. I refuse to load software on my PC just to play a CD. Plus, I can't load software on my work PC and sometimes I will play the CDs there.

Luckily for Bloc Party, I still wanted to walk out with a CD so I bought Silent Alarm. It sounds really good based on a first listen.

Does anyone like Snow Patrol? I rented Final Straw from the library yesterday and got to listen to it today. It seems pretty good.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:54 pm

Leebo, that's crap that you have to download software to listen to a CD. The Target by my office was sold out of both Dave Matthews Band and Weezer. Surprised by that one, they didn't even sell out of FIDDY CENT

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Tue May 10, 2005 9:30 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I went to buy the new Dave Matthews Band album today at Best Buy, but passed because the label on the cover said you needed to install some software on your PC. Too bad as this is the only Dave Matthews Band album I won't own. I refuse to load software on my PC just to play a CD. Plus, I can't load software on my work PC and sometimes I will play the CDs there.

Luckily for Bloc Party, I still wanted to walk out with a CD so I bought Silent Alarm. It sounds really good based on a first listen.

Does anyone like Snow Patrol? I rented Final Straw from the library yesterday and got to listen to it today. It seems pretty good.

Leebo,
Final Straw is a very good cd. I've had it for quite a while and I think it's one of the 10 best I've bought it the last 8 months or so.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Tue May 10, 2005 10:02 pm

This thread is like a litany of bad white music!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 10, 2005 11:50 pm

Man, "When Will You Come Back Home" off the new Ryan Adams album, "Cold Roses," is the prettiest new song I've heard this year. Just a gorgeous tune.

"Cold Roses" is a fine record. It just gets better every time I listen to it, which is a lot lately. And I dug it the very first time I heard it.

Take care,
PK

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed May 11, 2005 12:06 am

pk500 wrote:Man, "When Will You Come Back Home" off the new Ryan Adams album, "Cold Roses," is the prettiest new song I've heard this year. Just a gorgeous tune.

"Cold Roses" is a fine record. It just gets better every time I listen to it, which is a lot lately. And I dug it the very first time I heard it.

Take care,
PK

Yeah, that's one of my favorites, too. Great tune...grabbed me the first time I heard it. Cold Roses is one of those albums that you "get" the first time you listen to it. You know how some albums "grow" on you after a few listens...this one had me at "hello".

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed May 11, 2005 8:28 am

RobVarak wrote:This thread is like a litany of bad white music!

LOL.

I pretty much gave up on "non-white" music when Prince changed his name, Michael Jackson changed his appearance, and rap got violent. I'll hear a good hook on the radio and then the next line will be something like "roses really smell like poo."

TheMightyPuck · Post by **TheMightyPuck** » Wed May 11, 2005 8:41 am

pk500 wrote:
TheMightyPuck wrote:How come everyone comes out and says they hate country and then waxes on about Ryan Adams et al. (btw: I LIKE country--I mean real country not overproduced American Idol caricatures singing other people's songs.)
Simple: I think 95 percent of us who say they hate country hate the pap cranked out by the Tits and Hat of the Month in Nashville these days. Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, etc.

But I would guess that some of those who hate that crap -- and it is utter, lowest-common-denominator sh*t -- may like Wilco, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, The Old 97s, The Jayhawks, Dwight Yoakam, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, etc.

I know I do. But I don't even consider that country. I call it Americana, more roots, folk and alt-country music. Intelligent, well-crafted stuff with acoustic guitars, some electric, pedal steel, etc. The tunes have country sensibiltiies without being incredibly sappy and formulaic like all of the crap coming out of Nashville these days.

It's no different than the battle between "old school" rap and hip-hop and the commercially successful stuff out now or the battle between classic jazz and the unimaginative, repetitive porn film soundtrack known as "smooth jazz."

Take care,
PK

Cosmic Ameridan music.

Badger_Fan · Post by **Badger_Fan** » Wed May 11, 2005 11:58 am

Leebo33 wrote:I went to buy the new Dave Matthews Band album today at Best Buy, but passed because the label on the cover said you needed to install some software on your PC. Too bad as this is the only Dave Matthews Band album I won't own. I refuse to load software on my PC just to play a CD. Plus, I can't load software on my work PC and sometimes I will play the CDs there.

Luckily for Bloc Party, I still wanted to walk out with a CD so I bought Silent Alarm. It sounds really good based on a first listen.

Does anyone like Snow Patrol? I rented Final Straw from the library yesterday and got to listen to it today. It seems pretty good.

From what I understand you just have to download a user license agreement to play it in Windows Media. You do still have the option of ripping the MP3 files, burning them to a disc and then using that to import into iTunes or Windows Media.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed May 11, 2005 12:18 pm

Badger_Fan wrote:From what I understand you just have to download a user license agreement to play it in Windows Media. You do still have the option of ripping the MP3 files, burning them to a disc and then using that to import into iTunes or Windows Media.

I've never used Windows Media for importing. Would I be able to burn to MP3 using my Creative software and then transfer to my Nomad? That's all I've ever done before.

It's really a moot point unless they have the user license agreement somewhere where I can read prior to buying the CD. Best Buy won't take the CD back if it is opened and I don't agree with the terms of the user license agreement.