OT: New Music?

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:43 pm

I have no idea if this is anyone else's cup of tea, but I recently picked up a new compilation entitled Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76.

I'm somewhat familiar with Afro-beat (Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, etc) but had no context for the music of Nigeria outside of Lagos; this is that context. Really interesting mix of jazz, funk, rock and everything else. Two discs that barely scratch the surface (their were thousands of singles and albums released), but a great place to start.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:56 am

matthewk wrote:Listed to the latest Disturbed disc Indestrucible a few times over the past 48 hours.

Eh.

I loved their debut, and really enjoyed their 2nd, and liked most of their 3rd. This one sounds like Disturbed, but it feels like I've already heard these songs before. Sticking to a particular style is fine with me, but other than 1 or 2 tracks nothing sticks out. There is little variety to the tempo of the songs and they all blend together.

I'm the exact opposite. I loved their debut, was very disappointed with Believe, thought 10,000 Fists showed more promise but still didn't fully deliver, and now I think Indestructible is easily their 2nd best album. I thought The Sickness had a lot of hooks and they seemed to stray from that for two albums and now the new one has more hooks. This is the album I wish they followed up The Sickness with.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:24 am

ScoopBrady wrote:I'm the exact opposite. I loved their debut, was very disappointed with Believe, thought 10,000 Fists showed more promise but still didn't fully deliver, and now I think Indestructible is easily their 2nd best album. I thought The Sickness had a lot of hooks and they seemed to stray from that for two albums and now the new one has more hooks. This is the album I wish they followed up The Sickness with.

I may just need to give it some more time. I'm not giving up on it yet, I enjoy the band too much for that. Maybe once I listen to this a few more times and then go back to the older material I'll find I like this stuf better. It's happened to me before.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:41 pm

Spooky wrote:
Brando70 wrote:I just finished listening to <i>For Emma, Forever Ago</i> by Bon Iver. What an amazing album. He mines the same folk area of M. Ward, but he has the warmth, intimacy, and minimalism of Nick Drake. One of those rare CDs that blows me away on the first listen.
Hmmm...never heard of him/them. But any reference to M. Ward and especially Nick Drake have me very intriguied! Can't wait to check this out. Thanks.

It's kind of like Iron and Wine, too, really soft folk music that packs a big emotional wallop. I have been playing it to death lately.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:24 pm

OK, the new Disturbed is growing on me.

After a few more listens, followed by a revisit of parts of the previous 3, this one is at least even with Believe now. One thing I really enjoyed about Believe was that the vocals were pretty diverse (by Disturbed standards). I think that's what turned me off to the new one initially. I was expecting more melodies.

Indestructible is great anger management disc

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:18 pm

Brando70 wrote:
Spooky wrote:
Brando70 wrote:I just finished listening to <i>For Emma, Forever Ago</i> by Bon Iver. What an amazing album. He mines the same folk area of M. Ward, but he has the warmth, intimacy, and minimalism of Nick Drake. One of those rare CDs that blows me away on the first listen.
Hmmm...never heard of him/them. But any reference to M. Ward and especially Nick Drake have me very intriguied! Can't wait to check this out. Thanks.
It's kind of like Iron and Wine, too, really soft folk music that packs a big emotional wallop. I have been playing it to death lately.

DL'd it and am enjoying it. Thanks for the tip! To me it sounds almost like M. Ward meets TV on the Radio.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:26 am

Anyone listen to the new My Morning Jacket album, Evil Urges? I wasn't sure what to make of it at first because it's a pretty big departure for them -- much more soulful and funky than Southern fried like their previous stuff. The third song, "Highly Suspicious," sounds like Prince covering Cameo. But it's growing on me the more I listen to it. There's nothing that hits me quite the way "Gideon" did on the last album, but overall I think it's a pretty good album and really shows a lot of range.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:41 am

Brando70 wrote:Anyone listen to the new My Morning Jacket album, Evil Urges? I wasn't sure what to make of it at first because it's a pretty big departure for them -- much more soulful and funky than Southern fried like their previous stuff. The third song, "Highly Suspicious," sounds like Prince covering Cameo. But it's growing on me the more I listen to it. There's nothing that hits me quite the way "Gideon" did on the last album, but overall I think it's a pretty good album and really shows a lot of range.

Agreed. I hated this record when I first heard it. Deleted it from my hard drive.

But I listened to a few tracks from it over the weekend and grabbed it again. It's growing on me, too. A definite departure from the Kings of Leon/Drive-By Truckers meets a jam band axis upon which this band seemed to rotate in the past. I like the growth and progression the band is trying to exhibit.

I also grabbed the album from UK songbird Adele over which some critics are raving, calling her another Amy Winehouse. The vocal similarities are there, but Winehouse's albums are so much more fun than Adele's "19." Adele's tunes are a bit too overwrought and lack the raunch and defiance of Winehouse's best songs on her recent album.

On other new music, I'm not a Death Cab for Cutie fan, but the single off their most recent album, a tune called "I Will Possess Your Heart," is bad-ass. Too bad the rest of the album doesn't stack up in my ears.

The Mudcrutch album is interesting, but I don't understand the hubub. It's basically a Heartbreakers' album and sounds very much like, well, a Tom Petty album. A good listen, but really nothing different from what Petty has cranked out either solo or with the Heartbreakers in the last 10 years.

Take care,
PK

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:42 pm

Evil Urges is excellent, yet incredibly scatter-brained. As I mentioned on another page, I'm glad they have more in common with Ween than Skynard. MMJ is just one those bands willing to anything to shake-off that typical festival/jam band tag. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if their next album was nothing but strings & keyboards & sung in Spanish. I can't wait to hear this stuff live (got tix for sept!).

Other good stuff lately...

File under Guilty Pleasure: Mates of State's Re-Arrange Us. No idea why I like these guys (guy+girl), but they're just so damn happy! What the hell ARE so happy about anyway??

Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Another solid record. No major departures, no monkey business - just another Silver Jews record perfect for whiskey drinking.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: More OMD than Pavement, but I'd take these guys over Coldplay any damn day.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:58 pm

greggsand wrote:Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: More OMD than Pavement, but I'd take these guys over Coldplay any damn day.

Speaking of Coldplay, I listened to the band's new album last weekend. And it's official: With its fourth album, Coldplay has become The Goo Goo Dolls of Britpop. Crank out safe, saccharine, paint-by-numbers ditties with enough different sonic textures and semi-intelligent lyrics to be considered by some to be fresh or cutting edge, when the opposite is true.

There's absolutely nothing daring or different on this record. If you're looking for growth with this album, look to the band's wallets. There's nothing sonically that grabs me one bit on this record, nothing with any passion or pain like "Yellow," "Clocks" or "Amsterdam."

This is Radiohead-lite, very, very light. It's elevator music for this generation. If Radiohead is a Guinness Stout, then Coldplay is a Coors Light.

Take care,
PK

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:39 pm

I'm rarely wrong about music (ho ho...), but I've never been as wrong as I was about Coldplay. I was 101% sure Coldplay was going to be a "one album & done" when they first broke in the US. Man, I was wrong about that one. At the time of 'yellow' there was a flood of mopey UK bands on the charts (Travis anyone?), and I was sure Coldplay would just fade away with the rest. Like I said before - I was WAAAY off on that one. I blame Gweneth!

It suddenly made Chris Martin TMZ-worthy...

BTW, there's nothing wrong with 'mopey', that's half my ipod...

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:33 pm

greggsand wrote:Evil Urges is excellent, yet incredibly scatter-brained. As I mentioned on another page, I'm glad they have more in common with Ween than Skynard. MMJ is just one those bands willing to anything to shake-off that typical festival/jam band tag. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if their next album was nothing but strings & keyboards & sung in Spanish. I can't wait to hear this stuff live (got tix for sept!).

Yeah, I think the album is an interesting listen and I am excited to have it grow on me. I think my initial issues with it is the track ordering. Not the best for the different sounds they have going on. I have my tix for Oct as well!!!

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:59 pm

"You know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay. "

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:37 am

Sounds like Pearl Jam really brought it, with a 3 hour or so set at Bonnaroo last night. Man, I absolutely cannot wait to see 'em with the Kings of Leon tomorrow night in Columbia. That's a once in a lifetime ticket for me, seeing the greatest American rock band of all time, fresh off a great festival appearance and supported by a young band as good as the Kings, who I understand are playing a couple of new songs with their set. It's gonna be awesome.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:23 am

pk500 wrote:
greggsand wrote:Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: More OMD than Pavement, but I'd take these guys over Coldplay any damn day.
Speaking of Coldplay, I listened to the band's new album last weekend. And it's official: With its fourth album, Coldplay has become The Goo Goo Dolls of Britpop. Crank out safe, saccharine, paint-by-numbers ditties with enough different sonic textures and semi-intelligent lyrics to be considered by some to be fresh or cutting edge, when the opposite is true.

There's absolutely nothing daring or different on this record. If you're looking for growth with this album, look to the band's wallets. There's nothing sonically that grabs me one bit on this record, nothing with any passion or pain like "Yellow," "Clocks" or "Amsterdam."

This is Radiohead-lite, very, very light. It's elevator music for this generation. If Radiohead is a Guinness Stout, then Coldplay is a Coors Light.

Take care,
PK

I could have told you that right from the start, and at least I didn't have to sit through 4 albums worth to do it. I nearly said 'didn't have to buy 4 albums to do so', but then realised that it was PK.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:15 am

You got that right, mate.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:22 am

Got my mitts on Sigur Ros' upcoming album yesterday. I'm not even going to attempt to write the long, Icelandic/Hopelandic title!

This is a very, very good record. It has more accessible song structures than prior Sigur Ros records, probably the most "pop" Sigur Ros album yet. But that's a very deceptive term with this band -- don't expect to hear any tracks on pop or rock radio. It's still very much a Sigur Ros album, but with a progression to a slightly more conventional song structure.

I'm digging it. Then again, I'm biased because I dig Sigur Ros. But I think this is a strong record.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:16 am

One of my favourite Rock bands of all time 'Journey' has a new album called 'Revelation'. They haven't lost a beat since 'Frontiers' and I was pleasantly surprised with their new lead singer Arnel Pineda. This guy can sing.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:40 am

I doubt anyone here will know who this band is but they are stoner rock legends in my book. Chicago-area based Trouble silently released a new album last year in Europe (still hasn't made it stateside yet) called Simple Mind Condition. It's their first album since 1995 and it's great. It's singer Eric Wagner's last album with them too as he has since left the band and was replaced with ex-Warrior Soul singer Kory Clarke. That's like replacing Bono since Wagner was is so much of their sound. Anyways if you have heard of Trouble and didn't know this album was released (I just found out two days ago) do yourself a favor and track it down.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 11:08 am

Wow...I hadn't heard or thought of Trouble since I bought their debut back in 1989. I remember liking the cassette back then but I don't even remember what it sounds like now and I had no idea they were still around. That's crazy.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:31 pm

Wow, I didn't know Kory was in Trouble (well, the band at least).

I still have a couple of Trouble's cassettes. I never got into them much.

I was just listening to Warrior Soul the other day. Very underrated band that didn't fit into any particular genre at the time. Kory was kind of an angrier version of Kurt Cobain to me.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:37 pm

I think I fell and hit my head. When I woke up it was 1987 all over again. First there was a new Def Leppard, then a new Whitesnake. Now it's time for a new Motley Crue.

Saints of Los Angeles is their best since Dr. Feelgood. After half a dozen listens I'd say there are 4-5 really good tracks. The rest just sound bland and don't stand out at all.

Of all the 80s "hair bands" to release new albums recently though, I'd have to say that the Scorpions Hour 1 is the best so far.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:56 pm

Interesting...

I thought the Crue's new album is god awful. I wanted to like it too. I was a HUGE Crue fan in he day and was hoping they'd pull it off but I think it is beyond garbage.

The lyrics are SO cheesy the literally make me blush. I am SO embarrassed for them. The music sounds like generic video game rock to me also.

Too bad. Others seem to really like it though so you're not alone. I was one of the minorities that REALY liked Generation Swine so go figure...

TheHiddenTrack · Post by **TheHiddenTrack** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:17 pm

I'm a big fan of the "Dodos" record, one of the best things I've heard in awhile.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:53 pm

Spooky wrote:Interesting...

I thought the Crue's new album is god awful. I wanted to like it too. I was a HUGE Crue fan in he day and was hoping they'd pull it off but I think it is beyond garbage.

The lyrics are SO cheesy the literally make me blush. I am SO embarrassed for them. The music sounds like generic video game rock to me also.

Too bad. Others seem to really like it though so you're not alone. I was one of the minorities that REALY liked Generation Swine so go figure...

I saw them on Letterman the other night. V Niel was looked like a drunk black sheep uncle with a stiff back dancing at a wedding reception.

That said, it's surprising the amount of good press those guys are getting. Even saw them on Larry King(?)...