Discuss the Musics Thread

[transmogrifier]

I'm bored, so here are my Top 20 most played artists over the last 12 years (as collated by Last.fm) and their best albums:

1. Sonic Youth - NYC Ghosts & Flowers (I am in a significant minority on that one)
2. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me (could also be Dry, Is This Desire, or The Hope Six Demolition Project)
3. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
4. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
5. R.E.M. - Monster (also a seriously minority opinion)
6. Radiohead - OK Computer
7. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
8. Deerhoof - The Runners Four
9. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
10. Nirvana - In Utero
11. The Delgados - Peloton
12. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
13. Electrelane - Axes
14. Blur - 13
15. Arcade Fire - Funeral
16. The Chemical Brothers - Surrender
17. Tool - Aenima (or Lateralus)
18. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
19. Mclusky - Mclusky Do Dallas
20. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy

[TGM]

My review of Babymetal’s Dark Night Carnival - http://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2019/07/...-carnival.html

[dreamdead]

Anyone able to recommend any of the Thai funk that's influenced the pysch-rock band Khruangbin? I like 'em, but seeing Thai funk get name-checked in reviews makes me want to see what influenced them more directly...

Otherwise, this year has yielded some good stuff. New stuff by Inter Arma, Charly Bliss, Jambinai, Weyes Blood, Big Thief, Mannequin Pussy, Jessica Pratt, and even Pup (methinks their prior album was better, but still...) all make it a good year for new music. Hopefully Charli XCX's new one delivers left-of-center pop as well.

[bac0n]

I saw Pup a few months ago - fun as hell band to see live, super high energy and friendly vibe.

[TGM]

Just released, the official MV for Shanti Shanti Shanti:



Seriously got chills watching this. The studio version of this song is sick.

[TGM]

New Babymetal music video for Da Da Dance:



Features footage from their recent Japan shows in November (the giant triangle stage), as well as their big show this past October at The Forum in LA, which I attended (the octagonal stage). Love the song, but I really wish they had chosen either one or the other show to use for this video, as the constant hopping back and forth between the two performances honestly really bothers the hell out of me while watching it. Ah well. :\

[Yxklyx]

Is 50 years too late to review an album? Harry Nilsson's Aerial Ballet (1968) is ALL OVER THE PLACE! Half the songs are bubble-gummy tunes that The Monkees would play - and then there are a few that really stand out after all these years like Everybody's Talkin' (from Midnight Cowboy) and One (from Magnolia).

[TGM]

Brand new pirate metal song "Oh! Majinai" featuring Joakim from Sabaton, in one of its first performances. I am obsessed with this song's choreography.

[Dukefrukem]

Anyone have experience with music licenses?

[Irish]

Henry Rollins is doing a radio show/ podcast thing where he chats up a bit and plays music.

This is a show free of the constraints you might be accustomed to on regular terrestrial radio.

One of my favorite things about music is that often, there’s a good story about any one album or song. I specifically put tracks into this show so I could tell you the story before we play the song. A couple of examples from this show would include a live Cramps track from 1979 that was recorded by Ian MacKaye and also, the first cassette I ever copied. Another would be a live Led Zeppelin track from the time Ian and I saw them play.

We will be playing different songs from different bands of course but we’ll also be listening to entire albums, EPs, and singles. At four hours, this is lonnnnnnnnng-form programming!

Listen: https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/mus...on-ian-mackaye

Show notes: https://www.henryrollins.com/on-the-...st-001-04-0720

[Dukefrukem]

Oh fuck! Subscribed!

[transmogrifier]

One thing about this pandemic and having to do online classes, I'm spending a lot more time on my computer listening to music in the background. And that's how I've come to love The Sound, and Bikini Kill, and the Japanese band Number Girl, and Swans...Killing Joke, Kyuss, Clutch, Tindersticks...the Melvins, Fairport Convention..

I don't keep up with much new music, especially because my preferred genres seem to be on a downswing in the commercial sphere, and I don't really have the patience to seek out smaller new bands from random playlists and track their releases over the next ten years or whatever. Instead, I keep finding myself going backwards in time and finding bands with extensive discographies that I have overlooked for some reasons and diving headfirst into them. There's something way more interesting in having all of their releases right there and navigating your way through it.

[Pop Trash]

New Fiona Apple LP is pretty bangin'. Quite literally since she is bangin' on everything in her house apparently (she even has an album credit for playing the "chair"). First 10/10 from Pitchfork since Kanye West "My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy" and first 10/10 for a female artist from them period.

I have a love / hate relationship w/ Pitchfork but I've been reading them for 20 years since back in my record store clerk days, when I realized that their "Best New Music" hype for Broken Social Scene, Interpol, and Arcade Fire had a lot of clout for selling records. That was an interesting era when "old media" hype (Spin, Rolling Stone, NPR) was gradually being replaced by "new media" hype (mostly Pitchfork, but other blogs as well, along with RYM starting to be a thing).

I don't know if this is a 10/10 (I'd give it a 9/10 right now personally after a few listens) but I get it. We're living through times where we want art to mean something, and we are living through times where all of us can collectively deep dive into a new "important" record. It also has the perfect storm of touching on #metoo feminism plus Fiona Apple being the original housebound recluse for years recording this thing with probably dozens of multi tracks on each song. It's the sounds of going a little nuts inside your space, while also being cohesive enough to have hooks, melodies, and lyrics for traditional songcraft. Similar to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" in that it threatens to fall apart under its own weight but keeps grabbing you with hooks and hairpin song transitions. Good stuff.

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

Gimme.

[Philip J. Fry]

[Idioteque Stalker]

I'm watching the Grammys for the first time in years. I'll rank the performances as they occur.

-- good
1. Billie Eilish (good song, evocative staging, just a great voice)
2. Doja Cat (good song, good performance, quirky aesthetic, finally something fresh)
3. DaBaby (gotta appreciate his sense of humor)
4. Silk Sonic (negative points for pre-recording, still good song/performance, pastiche was amusing)
5. Haim (good song, enjoyed the musicianship)
6. Megan/Cardi (Megan killed it like always, WAP was never going to fully work on basic cable)
7. Post Malone (honestly emo looks good on him)
8. Miranda Lambert (good song, she's a pro)
9. BTS (negative points for pre-recording, best choreography, true pop stars)

-- fine
10. Dua Lipa (good songs, not a great performer, little charisma, DaBaby elevated it)
11. In Memoriam Medley (Silk Sonic rocked Good Golly Miss Molly, Brittany Howard/Chris Martin were far far too much, Brandi Carlile and Lionel Richie did their jobs)
12. Taylor Swift (a fine medley of songs, cozy staging, appreciate she had her producers on stage)
13. Bad Bunny (didn't love the song, but cool staging)
14. Roddy Ricch (nice staging, Roddy is deer in headlights)
15. Mickey Guyton (new/interesting message for country, boring American Idol performance)
16. Black Pumas (very good musicianship, not my thing)

-- bad
17. Lil Baby (this is the grammy's version of conscious hip-hop? Killer Mike can't save it)
18. Maren Morris/John Mayer (awkward rock/pop hybrid goes on too long, reminds me why I don’t watch grammys)
19. Harry Styles (I'm not the target demo, Watermelon Sugar High is a total nothing song)

[Dukefrukem]

How was Billie Eilish's whisper singing?

[Idioteque Stalker]

How was Billie Eilish's whisper singing?

I'm a big fan. She whisper sang so well. I continue to be concerned she's become too serious/prestigious too quickly.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Drawing near to the end of the show and nothing great so far.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Song of the Year: Her - "I Can't Breathe"
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift - "Folklore"
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish - "Everything I Wanted"

Super meh, but what do you expect.

[transmogrifier]

My vote for the best music video of all time:

[Dukefrukem]

Hmmm. Best music video of all time? Off the top of my head....

Pearl Jam - Do the Evolution
Green Day - Walking Contradiction
Ok go - this too shall pass
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Michael Jackson - Thriller

[StuSmallz]

As far as music vids go, I've always been a big fan of this one:

[bac0n]

I'll always have a soft spot for this one: