Mike that's a great off-the-top-of-your-header. Dulcinea's a great listen, Melville is a completely unique record, and I loved the Alan Parsons when I was in my teens....that one far more than some of his others.
You're right that it's impossible to boil it down to few enough records to make it digestible. I started writing records down as they came to me, and two days later have ended up with way too many. And I'm nowhere near done....but in the interest of offering some of my favourite music to the gang, I'll jot these ones down. They seem to be concentrated initially into 80's / early 90's records and 60's records.
Cracker - Kerosene Hat (1993) Great mix of grunge sensibilities with roots rock and former Camper lead man Dave Lowery's acerbic view of the world. Low might be my favourite song of that year and that's saying something. But the record as a whole is brilliant. Tracks - Low, Movie Star, Kerosene Hat
The Feelies - Only Life (1988) Not considered their most influential record, but for me this one was a revelation. May have listened to it more then any other record over the few years of its release. Tracks - It's Only Life, the Undertow, Higher Ground.
The Chills - Submarine Bells (1990) A great, intelligent (almost too brainy) pop record, far and away their best, to my ears, from Kiwi band. Lots of edge, melody, lyrical depth, and very clever arrangements. Tracks - Oncoming Day, Singing in my Sleep. Don't be Memory.
That Petrol Emotion - Babble (1987) Pretty ferocious (at times anyway) politically motivated eighties hard pop from a few of the former Northern Irish band Undertones, plus a great American singer (Steve Mack). So brilliant. Tracks - Spin Cycle, For What It's Worth, Big Decision, Chester Burnett.
The Mekons - Rock and Roll (1989). Just a great surprisingly hard -rocking record from this perennially underground English band, who at this point were already ten years along. Tracks - Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet (great song), Only Darkness Has the Power, Learning to Live on Your Own (a lovely melodic 60's-reminiscent number).
Big Dipper - Heavens (1987) - possibly my favourite record of the 1980's from this Boston-based band. Full of guitar-fuelled energy, clever if obscure lyrics, and a rocking modern sound that still sounds fresh to my ears. Tracks - She's Fetching, Lunar Module, When Men Were Trains, Mr. Woods.
Eleventh Dream Day - El Moodio (1993) Great year for guitar music, and these guys exemplify that. The fact that they rocked from 1987 to today (2011 release "Riot Now" is great) is what is sometimes lost....they preceded and have outlasted the trend of the day. This is moody, American indy rock with mixed girl/boy singing. If you don't know this band and/or this record, I urge you to listen to it! P.S. It's good!
John Cunningham - happy-go-unlucky (2002) Oh look, the 00's!! Great hushed Beatlesque-meets-Elliot-Smith singer-songwriter with (Kyle, this word is for you) lush orchestral arrangements. This guy has subsequently disappeared. Brilliant record.
And some 60's: These ones are more iconic in some cases, but you'll still never catch 'em on the Q!
Quicksilver Messenger Service - self-titled (1968). First was best for this core San Fran band, a jazzy, folky psych rock classic. Tracks - Pride of Man, Gold and Silver.
Moby Grape - self-titled (1967). The other great never-quite-made-it San Fran band, famous for their implosion despite enormous talent. Perhaps an overly obvious choice, but I adore the music. Another first record that nails what was great about that scene and that sound. Definitely not timeless though, specific to its time and place. Tracks - Omaha, Someday, Hey Grandma.
The Move - self-titled (1968). Rough and raw English pop with multiple personalities. May seem unremarkable upon first listen, but huge grower, as are the next three or four records after this one. 6 or 7 extraordinarily memorable pop songs. Eventually this band spawned ELO, but you won't hear it much here. Tracks - Lemon Tree, Night of Fear, Walk Upon Water, Fire Brigade.
Left Banke - Left Banke Too (1968). Beautiful and unusual baroque pop from this NY-based band. It was the year after their big hit record, and the main songwriter had left....yet this record is so great. Still that lush baroque/psych pop sound, a little prescient of the early 70's arrangement-wise. I have a hunch that many current bedroom-popsters making one-man-band masterpieces know this record well. Tracks - Bryant Hotel, Desiree, Nice to See You.
Nico - Chelsea Girl (1967). I may have mentioned I love this record? Not sure. A standard bearer for early baroque pop, which also breaks the "loving" tone of the sixties with a mix of irony and detached pain. Tracks - Little Sister, I'll Keep it With Mine, Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.
Beau Brummels - Triangle (1967) Great early country-folk-chamber-pop record, as the Brummels evolved from their pure pop early-60's personae from a few years previous. Distinctive vocal style of Sal Valentino dominates the songs at times. Stuart didn't love this when I leant it to him, but then, he didn't love the Kinks Village Green the first time he borrowed it either. Tracks - Magic Hollow, Are You Happy, Painter of Women.
The rest of you lads posting your lost favourites? I'm looking forward to doing some listening.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I could go on for a very long time listing highly regarded albums that I've never really bothered with. Many have already been mentioned. But I'm more interested in the other side of the challenge - albums that I consider to be wonderful that never garnered the respect that they deserve. It would take more time than I have to do a thorough stroll through my collection looking for these, but here are a few off the top of my head:
Dulcinea by Toad the Wet Sprocket
Laid by James
Melville by Rheostatics
One Job Town by Grievous Angels
Robbie Roberston's first solo album
Starfish by the Church
Starfish by the Church
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by the Alan Parsons Project
Vegetarians of Love by Bob Geldhof
I'm not suggesting that these albums are all significant in any way other than the music. But as far as the music goes, these are all among my favorites, and I don't think they're generally considered to be that strong.
don't get me wrong Kyle, i find it loathsome that i listen to the station ...and i'm often really not sure why i do. In reality, i often only listen when i'm doing physical work on site or in the shop. I think it helps me get into workymanjojo head space ...accompanied by frequent cursing, horking and scratching of the family jewels!
Marc,
re: Springsteen, Derek - Protestations to the contrary, it sounds like you do care. And that's perfectly fine, of course, to passionately care about an artist that someone else may disparage, or fail to appreciate, as you point out further down in your screed, i mean, post. :) But you care. A little. It comes across. The 'dragged from the bowels' line hints at frustration. A smidge.
re: the Q, you make some good points. In my rush to add my voice to the discussion, I may have crapped on the station in haste. A quick google search of their website, in fact, reveals a playlist of recently played songs that, though not exactly teeming with novelty, is one I could easily imagine myself compiling and listening to on a weekend: Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Roxy Music. I cheerfully concede that they can and do play artists that I like. And yet, if I asked to come up with words to describe Q's brand/identity, and prevented from using the words 'classic rock', then 'sexually retarded adolescent boy rock' would be next. Perhaps this is my own idiosyncratic take and others feel differently.
re: Springsteen, Derek - Protestations to the contrary, it sounds like you do care. And that's perfectly fine, of course, to passionately care about an artist that someone else may disparage, or fail to appreciate, as you point out further down in your screed, i mean, post. :) But you care. A little. It comes across. The 'dragged from the bowels' line hints at frustration. A smidge.
re: the Q, you make some good points. In my rush to add my voice to the discussion, I may have crapped on the station in haste. A quick google search of their website, in fact, reveals a playlist of recently played songs that, though not exactly teeming with novelty, is one I could easily imagine myself compiling and listening to on a weekend: Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Roxy Music. I cheerfully concede that they can and do play artists that I like. And yet, if I asked to come up with words to describe Q's brand/identity, and prevented from using the words 'classic rock', then 'sexually retarded adolescent boy rock' would be next. Perhaps this is my own idiosyncratic take and others feel differently.
Kyle, i take your point about cock rock, but be aware (being the not so closet Q listener that i am on occasions) that you are lumping a huge swath of generalization into what you might think is the playlist of Q107. Don't get me wrong, i see its limitations, its sexism, its commercialization and the repetition of the rather narrow playlist as rather perplexing, but seriously, are you, of all people going to tell me that the entire Beatles catalogue is not to your liking. or that you never get honest pleasure from Dylan, Young, Marley, The Birds, the Kinks, The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, The Hip etc? ...i can see your point that over exposure breeds discontent, is that it? or is it a matter of "if it's on the Q, i must disassociate myself from it".
...can't believe i'm setting myself up for such a slaughter...it actually sounds like i'm defending the Q!
...can't believe i'm setting myself up for such a slaughter...it actually sounds like i'm defending the Q!
Derek, it's all fine and dandy to drag some 28 year old review from the bowels of history texts or comment on how ridiculous the star rating is for his albums, but what do you think of the albums in question. And no you don't need to go out and listen to it. Frankly i don't care. Really. There is no reason you should like my favourite album and no, i'm not 14, and so no, it won't make us bff.
I don't mean it personally, but i frankly feel it's fine to not like something, or to not even give it a chance. We all have biases in life and we are all individuals with individual tastes and association. I think you all hit the nail on the head but all for your own reasons. I would say that the last thing that any of us are is conformists and yet we are trying to conform ourselves and each other by trying to like shit that we are supposed to like. It's almost like people who like indie bands but stop liking them when they get popular because they don't want to be part of the mainstream ...but in reverse.
I don't mean it personally, but i frankly feel it's fine to not like something, or to not even give it a chance. We all have biases in life and we are all individuals with individual tastes and association. I think you all hit the nail on the head but all for your own reasons. I would say that the last thing that any of us are is conformists and yet we are trying to conform ourselves and each other by trying to like shit that we are supposed to like. It's almost like people who like indie bands but stop liking them when they get popular because they don't want to be part of the mainstream ...but in reverse.
A more fulsome list will have to wait, but I'm enjoying the debate, particularly the figurative dagger throwing, vagueness of intended target notwithstanding.
My interjection, and here I'm quoting a band a song Stu played at the contest, "It's not the band I hate/it's their fans" ('Coax Me'. Sloan, speaking of Consolidated) may be a big factor for me.
The guys at my grade and then high school who liked heavy metal? Yeah, not people I gravitated towards and therefore avoided any band whose name happened to be etched onto the back of their jean jackets, embossed on their 3/4 length baseball shirts, or scratched onto their desks. So metal, or anything tangentially in the harder rock category, into which, however incorrectly, a band like Rush fell, were never gonna fall into my zone of interest during their hey day. I've since come to dig 'Tom Sawyer' to a certain extent, but in the same way that I appreciate that GNR's 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is a great song but never, ever listen to it of my own volition.
In fact, it's safe to say that anything that falls into the brand category of Q107 (Toronto classic rock station, for the uninitiated) is never going to be more than a guilty pleasure. This is in part due to the inane cock-rock (Motley Crue, Poison, Van Halen, etc) that is still played round the clock but mostly due to the culture, which I associate with the smoking of Players Light cigarettes, reading of the Toronto Sun, a political philosophy defined largely by negative visceral reaction to the unfamiliar, and tired sexist bullshit. So if you're a Q band, rightly or wrong, I'm never going to give you the time of day.
A corollary to the Sloan maxim is the 'Because a friend overlikes a band and seemingly won't shut the fuck up about how great it is, I'm hesitant to embrace its greatness'. I think this accounts for a lot of the widely divergent takes on certain bands among the posters here, especially the lack of appreciation for bands which, artists who, tend to be held in wide esteem, like the Beatles, Arcade Fire, and Bruce Springsteen.
Anyhoo, my list coming up. That it will kick the shit out of whatever Stu gets around to posting almost goes without saying. But I thought I'd say it anyway, just to stir the pot, throw another dagger, butcher my way through other metaphors, etc.
My interjection, and here I'm quoting a band a song Stu played at the contest, "It's not the band I hate/it's their fans" ('Coax Me'. Sloan, speaking of Consolidated) may be a big factor for me.
The guys at my grade and then high school who liked heavy metal? Yeah, not people I gravitated towards and therefore avoided any band whose name happened to be etched onto the back of their jean jackets, embossed on their 3/4 length baseball shirts, or scratched onto their desks. So metal, or anything tangentially in the harder rock category, into which, however incorrectly, a band like Rush fell, were never gonna fall into my zone of interest during their hey day. I've since come to dig 'Tom Sawyer' to a certain extent, but in the same way that I appreciate that GNR's 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is a great song but never, ever listen to it of my own volition.
In fact, it's safe to say that anything that falls into the brand category of Q107 (Toronto classic rock station, for the uninitiated) is never going to be more than a guilty pleasure. This is in part due to the inane cock-rock (Motley Crue, Poison, Van Halen, etc) that is still played round the clock but mostly due to the culture, which I associate with the smoking of Players Light cigarettes, reading of the Toronto Sun, a political philosophy defined largely by negative visceral reaction to the unfamiliar, and tired sexist bullshit. So if you're a Q band, rightly or wrong, I'm never going to give you the time of day.
A corollary to the Sloan maxim is the 'Because a friend overlikes a band and seemingly won't shut the fuck up about how great it is, I'm hesitant to embrace its greatness'. I think this accounts for a lot of the widely divergent takes on certain bands among the posters here, especially the lack of appreciation for bands which, artists who, tend to be held in wide esteem, like the Beatles, Arcade Fire, and Bruce Springsteen.
Anyhoo, my list coming up. That it will kick the shit out of whatever Stu gets around to posting almost goes without saying. But I thought I'd say it anyway, just to stir the pot, throw another dagger, butcher my way through other metaphors, etc.
In regards to Mr. Springsteen for one last go around I actually own two records of his. The aforementioned "Born in the USA" purchased solely to placate my 3rd year university girlfriend at the time. My parents subsequently must have assumed I was a big Boss fan and several years later gave me my most WTF Christmas moment ever when they dropped his 5 LP live set in to my unsuspecting lap.
I have just recently read Ellen Willis' "Out of the Vinyl Deeps" primarily a collection of her writings on rock music from the late 60s through early 70s for the New Yorker.
Enjoyed the book very much and was amused by this piece near the end of the book on our man Bruce: "...he is not a great songwriter. His melodies tend to be shapeless and to sound alike. As a result his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., is virtually unlistenable...". This from a piece she wrote in November 1974. Granted this is before some of his so-called classic albums were cut but I tend to agree.
I sometimes get the feeling with artists like Springsteen that the mythology has surpassed the reality and that we're all meant to genuflect before his masterful body of work. Look at Allmusic for all the proof required. Albums 1-8 and all 4.5-5 stars so how can one argue with that. It was refreshing to say the least to get a perspective from someone in the thick of it while the music was being released.
OK enough from me on that topic.
As for Brian's list of coulda, shoulda, and never wills. I think as far as Genesis applies it's likely too late for them to make any impression on a non-believer. For me they were a late high school love primarily because the group of guys I hung out with counted amongst them some big fans of the band. They were also the first band I saw live when I was 17 at MLG. I don't really listen to them too much these days and that's not going to change going forward.
New Order on the other hand still does it for me and you should really give a listen to "Power, Corruption and Lies". Try the tracks "Age of Consent", "The Village" and "Your Silent Face" for starters. You could also go back to the 1st album which has (at least on Rdio) the bonus tracks of some sterling 12" single releases in "Ceremony", "Everythings Gone Green", "Temptation" and "In a Lonely Place".
As much as I enjoyed some of the songs on their next 3 or 4 records the initial Joy Division to New Order transition produced their most memorable music.
As for Frank Zappa I agree wholeheartedly.
Now you'll have to excuse me I'm off to see what Rush's "2112" has to offer.
I have just recently read Ellen Willis' "Out of the Vinyl Deeps" primarily a collection of her writings on rock music from the late 60s through early 70s for the New Yorker.
Enjoyed the book very much and was amused by this piece near the end of the book on our man Bruce: "...he is not a great songwriter. His melodies tend to be shapeless and to sound alike. As a result his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., is virtually unlistenable...". This from a piece she wrote in November 1974. Granted this is before some of his so-called classic albums were cut but I tend to agree.
I sometimes get the feeling with artists like Springsteen that the mythology has surpassed the reality and that we're all meant to genuflect before his masterful body of work. Look at Allmusic for all the proof required. Albums 1-8 and all 4.5-5 stars so how can one argue with that. It was refreshing to say the least to get a perspective from someone in the thick of it while the music was being released.
OK enough from me on that topic.
As for Brian's list of coulda, shoulda, and never wills. I think as far as Genesis applies it's likely too late for them to make any impression on a non-believer. For me they were a late high school love primarily because the group of guys I hung out with counted amongst them some big fans of the band. They were also the first band I saw live when I was 17 at MLG. I don't really listen to them too much these days and that's not going to change going forward.
New Order on the other hand still does it for me and you should really give a listen to "Power, Corruption and Lies". Try the tracks "Age of Consent", "The Village" and "Your Silent Face" for starters. You could also go back to the 1st album which has (at least on Rdio) the bonus tracks of some sterling 12" single releases in "Ceremony", "Everythings Gone Green", "Temptation" and "In a Lonely Place".
As much as I enjoyed some of the songs on their next 3 or 4 records the initial Joy Division to New Order transition produced their most memorable music.
As for Frank Zappa I agree wholeheartedly.
Now you'll have to excuse me I'm off to see what Rush's "2112" has to offer.
Note on 8) BSS ...loved it to death when they where the nazz but now, not so much. It's good but not great. I thought it was great when it came out ...why did it not wear that well? Now speaking of releases that came out around then, Funeral ...why don't you love it Brian? That is an album you should love, but can't get into if i am not mistaken. ...could i be so bold as to say it is the most important album of the past ten years? ...is there a more important or significant album in our cultural sphere?
Nice list and post Brian. Far more thinking than i am capable of! Interesting note so as to harp on the Boss, the only BS album that Derek owns is Born in the USA which is his most commercially successful album but quite possibly the one which has worn the least well over time ...mired with and overabundance of capital P proudness and flag waving. Contrast that with his early work that is humble introspective poetic and frankly, spoke to me when i was "Growing Up" (which is in fact a great tune). Can i divorse the music from the time in which i grew up and look at it objectivelly, no. I would suggest listening to Greeting from Asbury Park as it is perhaps a little more accessible and really brings more meaning and understanding to his second album that came out in the same year, The Wild The Innocent and the East Street Shuffle. I think that the W.I.E.S.S would make a good back to back listen with Closing Time by Tom Waits. Two albums from the same neck of the woods and the same year.
I gotta say that i love rush in small doses and in part because i feel it is always over the top. Perhaps it jumped the shark from the get go, but that's what being prog is all about, is it not? Rush IS different. It has a sound that you can love or hate and it can be pretty hard to get past that and it might be what keeps me at a distance much of the time. The music explores themes for the working man and punches it out in screaming licks with both wild abandon and introspective reflection. I still throw on my copy of 2112 from time to time ...much to m.e's chagrin ....and the meek shall inherit the earth.
Brian, if you are looking for some Acid jazz, do check of Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush, when you are in a mood to be frenetic, give the Soil and Pimp Sessions disk another spin if you still have the compilation i gave you. (i'll cut you another if you want) I still think they rock. For something a little more down beat to smooth out the ruffled edges, check out Carboot Soul by Nightmares on Wax
I gotta say that i love rush in small doses and in part because i feel it is always over the top. Perhaps it jumped the shark from the get go, but that's what being prog is all about, is it not? Rush IS different. It has a sound that you can love or hate and it can be pretty hard to get past that and it might be what keeps me at a distance much of the time. The music explores themes for the working man and punches it out in screaming licks with both wild abandon and introspective reflection. I still throw on my copy of 2112 from time to time ...much to m.e's chagrin ....and the meek shall inherit the earth.
Brian, if you are looking for some Acid jazz, do check of Toshinori Kondo and DJ Krush, when you are in a mood to be frenetic, give the Soil and Pimp Sessions disk another spin if you still have the compilation i gave you. (i'll cut you another if you want) I still think they rock. For something a little more down beat to smooth out the ruffled edges, check out Carboot Soul by Nightmares on Wax
Monday, January 30, 2012
Oh nice,methinks a nerve has been touched. NOW I realize why we haven't had this conversation in 15 years! And (not to harp on it but) why I wrote a screenplay about you all. Such awesome deeply brewing conflict. Anyway, not to soften a fun rant, MVG, but Derek could very well have been shooting that arrow at me, as he and I have had the "Boss" discussion on more than one occasion (without blows, though I think he stuck out his tongue once....) I'm a big Springsteen fan, particularly his first 7 or 8 records. But in Derek's defence, I would say that, while he can appear a touch obstinate, the man is in fact a musical warrior, based on the amount of new / old music he has discovered over the past ten years. Pretty much always willing to listen to music, particularly a trusted recommendation. So perhaps the question to ask ourselves is, what is the best Springsteen record for Derek to re-spin, and why?
So moving on to my Voids and Vacuums, I loved both of your lists. Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask is a perfect example of a record that is deeply revered that's bloody hard to listen to. Among the Ulysses' of pop, if you will.
And unlike Derek, among my list are plenty of examples of me closing my mind down to styles, sub-genres, and artists. Some of which I know more with the fullness of time. Others probably not so much.
Genesis is at or near the top of the list for me. I never listened to them back in the day, and haven't really gone back in any committed way to re-try it. Would welcome some insight on which record(s) to start with. I'm fairly optimistic, unlike some of the other music on this list, that I may quite like it. How do the Genesis lovers feel about it standing the test of time?
(1) Genesis - Trick of the Tail? Lamb Lies Down?
(2) Rush - 2112 - Canadian prog rock classic, sure, but is it really any good? I have no idea.
(3) Frank Zappa - you name the album....I prefer the early records only slightly, but classic period like Hot Rats etc really doesn't do it for me.
pause, there is a trend here to Prog Rock....time to mix it up.
(4) New Order - just always sounded like light synth-pop to me, but it's level of belovedness is making me re-think. In truth I never listened to it much. So, which record and why? Other synth pop depressed me too, but New Order is a great example of music that was inspiring a lot of the cool people all around me, but left me cold. Alas, I was a man unhappy in his own musical time. But that's another story.
(5) Talking Heads - Fear of Music or anything after that. I always thought they were a far better band before they discovered African. Their first two records sound so fresh to me. When they got popular I checked out
(6) Hip hop, trip hop, rap, jungle, house or acid Jazz. Ok, those are categories ( and you knew it was coming...) but is there a classic record nestled in there somewhere? Outkast? Public Enemy? Black Planet maybe. Notorious BIG? Input please.
(7) Sweet Baby James - never really got James Taylor, though I do love a lot of other 70's singer / songwriter.
(8) Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People. Should probably love it but don't.
(9) Pearl Jam - 10. Always sounded like more old power rock than anything new to me.
So moving on to my Voids and Vacuums, I loved both of your lists. Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask is a perfect example of a record that is deeply revered that's bloody hard to listen to. Among the Ulysses' of pop, if you will.
And unlike Derek, among my list are plenty of examples of me closing my mind down to styles, sub-genres, and artists. Some of which I know more with the fullness of time. Others probably not so much.
Genesis is at or near the top of the list for me. I never listened to them back in the day, and haven't really gone back in any committed way to re-try it. Would welcome some insight on which record(s) to start with. I'm fairly optimistic, unlike some of the other music on this list, that I may quite like it. How do the Genesis lovers feel about it standing the test of time?
(1) Genesis - Trick of the Tail? Lamb Lies Down?
(2) Rush - 2112 - Canadian prog rock classic, sure, but is it really any good? I have no idea.
(3) Frank Zappa - you name the album....I prefer the early records only slightly, but classic period like Hot Rats etc really doesn't do it for me.
pause, there is a trend here to Prog Rock....time to mix it up.
(4) New Order - just always sounded like light synth-pop to me, but it's level of belovedness is making me re-think. In truth I never listened to it much. So, which record and why? Other synth pop depressed me too, but New Order is a great example of music that was inspiring a lot of the cool people all around me, but left me cold. Alas, I was a man unhappy in his own musical time. But that's another story.
(5) Talking Heads - Fear of Music or anything after that. I always thought they were a far better band before they discovered African. Their first two records sound so fresh to me. When they got popular I checked out
(6) Hip hop, trip hop, rap, jungle, house or acid Jazz. Ok, those are categories ( and you knew it was coming...) but is there a classic record nestled in there somewhere? Outkast? Public Enemy? Black Planet maybe. Notorious BIG? Input please.
(7) Sweet Baby James - never really got James Taylor, though I do love a lot of other 70's singer / songwriter.
(8) Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People. Should probably love it but don't.
(9) Pearl Jam - 10. Always sounded like more old power rock than anything new to me.
To each, their own! I know i’m never going to be able to convince you to listen to Springsteen Derek, and i know that i should stop because you will only despise it having walked into it with a mind closed tight as a bear trap. But in all seriousness, why should i care? I do take it as a personal affront every time it comes up ...and i know that dig was thrown dagger-like in my direction ...but why should i care?
I am thankful for the fact that we don ‘t agree on everything. I don’t get Genesis. I tried 69 Love Songs again for the smackdown ...didn’t get it, again. I find there is a lot that people go on about that i spin and just go hunh? The flip side of that is that i can be slow on the uptake on a lot of stuff, so i know i need to give it a chance. So much music ...only so many chances to spread around.
BTW, Elton John's early work is pretty close to my heart and i still listen to it fairly regularly. I think that we all form bonds with certain music at different times in our life for different reasons. I can't necessarily expect someone to relate to a piece of good music in the same way that i do because our life experience to which we relate music are different. If i came to his music now it would not mean the same thing to me. It's interesting that although music in the recorded form is static, in that it physically does not change with time, the environment in which it is reflected is a moving target. So don't worry Derek, I won't take it too personally.
I am thankful for the fact that we don ‘t agree on everything. I don’t get Genesis. I tried 69 Love Songs again for the smackdown ...didn’t get it, again. I find there is a lot that people go on about that i spin and just go hunh? The flip side of that is that i can be slow on the uptake on a lot of stuff, so i know i need to give it a chance. So much music ...only so many chances to spread around.
BTW, Elton John's early work is pretty close to my heart and i still listen to it fairly regularly. I think that we all form bonds with certain music at different times in our life for different reasons. I can't necessarily expect someone to relate to a piece of good music in the same way that i do because our life experience to which we relate music are different. If i came to his music now it would not mean the same thing to me. It's interesting that although music in the recorded form is static, in that it physically does not change with time, the environment in which it is reflected is a moving target. So don't worry Derek, I won't take it too personally.
OK first off I'll throw in the albums I haven't bothered with yet:
Pet Sounds
Born to Run / Nebraska / Darkness on the Edge of Town... you get the picture
MC5 - Kick out the Jams
Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica (has anyone listened to this?)
And pretty much anything you care to throw into the "classic record" category by CCR, Elton John or the Grateful Dead.
Am I missing out on something special here by not listening to any of those listed above?
Pet Sounds
Born to Run / Nebraska / Darkness on the Edge of Town... you get the picture
MC5 - Kick out the Jams
Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica (has anyone listened to this?)
And pretty much anything you care to throw into the "classic record" category by CCR, Elton John or the Grateful Dead.
Am I missing out on something special here by not listening to any of those listed above?
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Derek, I thought of doing some folk rock...in fact at one point when we were to be doing genres
I thought of folk rock as a great category...but up against heavy all out any genre wars I elected to play a handfull of songs that I thought were stronger as stand alone songs ( and they fell pretty flat anyway) ... I wasnt sure any 1 song off any of the classic folk albums could withstand a vote.. for me folk rock is an album thing...the whole albums are great right through but I wasnt sure any 1 song was so much better then the rest that it would translate.... (yet tuesdays gone with the wind by LS did exceptionally well), so maybe I was wrong......
Brian I like your through out and am deciding what 5 underrated albums to play.... some will be quite rare and some may be severely underrated albums by known artists for me.....
s
Friday, January 27, 2012
You're right Derek. Stuart IS really terrible at the smack down competition!
And speaking of terrible, how is it that you are listening to such a brilliant record for only the first time (as you approach your semi-centenary).
Brings up a good blog subject, which deserves scrutiny. Who knows, it's even possible that Gerald may opine on this one. And the question is two-fold.
Part A - are there any brilliant, acknowledged classic albums that you're aware of that you haven't bothered with yet? Ie Liege and Lief if you're Derek, or Velvet Underground and Nico if you're Stu? (Mine will come later).
Part B - What are the five incredible albums, personal faves of yours only please (ie nothing theoretical here), that you feel belong in the pantheon of greats but don't get mentioned (or mentioned much?). The more obscure the better.
And speaking of terrible, how is it that you are listening to such a brilliant record for only the first time (as you approach your semi-centenary).
Brings up a good blog subject, which deserves scrutiny. Who knows, it's even possible that Gerald may opine on this one. And the question is two-fold.
Part A - are there any brilliant, acknowledged classic albums that you're aware of that you haven't bothered with yet? Ie Liege and Lief if you're Derek, or Velvet Underground and Nico if you're Stu? (Mine will come later).
Part B - What are the five incredible albums, personal faves of yours only please (ie nothing theoretical here), that you feel belong in the pantheon of greats but don't get mentioned (or mentioned much?). The more obscure the better.
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