Something odd happened today. I hit up a different CD Exchange today and picked up, among several other albums, The Special's self-titled CD. Upon getting home, I took the CD out to rip it to my computer, and the liner notes were surprisingly thick. I opened those up, and found the previous owner had stuffed Wire's Chairs Missing in there.
It would be a happy accident, but I already have that CD and this one's pretty scratched up.
apparently burzum put out an album this year and last year
and i was wondering about why i hadn't heard about them, but then i realized that all of the metal news sites must have used varg's renunciation of metal and genre shift back to ambient music to finally start ignoring him for good
he is a neopagan who wishes to expel all that is foreign from scandinavia, including Christianity and not white people, whom he considers inferior to white people but in more of a go to another continent and leave me alone way than a genocidal way. he was a nazi for a while, but has since renounced that, and has spoken out against racial violence on a few occasions. most of his solo career has been concept albums built around traditional myths and whatnot. he currently lives in france with his wife and likes d&d a lot.
musically speaking he is most notable for being a pioneer in fusing black metal with more ambient forms of music, and for being one of the first solo black metal musicians, setting the template for countless bedroom guitarists who love ripping off early Darkthrone.
of course, he is most famous for repeatedly stabbing fellow Mayhem member Euronymous in the face 20-odd times. he claims to this day that it was in self defense, and there was only one other possible witness so (*shrug*)
One positive thing that I can say is that his bass work on that one Mayhem album he worked on - incidentally with the dude he stabbed - is actually quite solid. Good, audible bass work in that strain of black metal is not so common as it should be.
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that "Freddie's Dead", the opening track of Fishbone's Truth and Soul, was a cover of the Curtis Mayfield song.
On the other hand, sometimes you get songs where the title is the same, the contents are completely different... and yet they are connected somehow. Or completely unconnected, yet one artist clearly influenced the other in some way.
Initial listening thoughts on my recent windfall so far:
Operation Ivy: Operation Ivy — I've heard great things about this one, but it didn't quite live up to the hype. However, I suspect I'll like this one more on repeat listens.
Duke Ellington: Three Suites (specifically, The Nutcracker Suite, Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2, and Ellington/Strayhorn's own Suite Thursday) — It's Ellington. Of course it's great.
The Specials: The Specials — Quality two-tone. Met expectations.
The Orb: The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld — The last album I heard by them, ORBVS TERRARVM,was a grower, so I expect this one will be as well. Still, I doubt these guys are going to dethrone Orbital from the "best band with orb in the name" throne in my heart.
Orchestra De Cambra Teatre Lliure avec Pablo Mainetti: Astor Piazzolla: Tango: Concerto Pour Bandoneon — I thought at first that this was a Piazzolla record; turns out it's an orchestra (with bandoneon) performing Piazzolla compositions. I think I prefer the smaller band interpretations.
Mazzy Star: So Tonight That I Might See — Had to check them out because I was frequently told that Thayer Sarrano, another musician I love dearly, sounds a lot like them. And they certainly do sound a lot alike. But I think I prefer Thayer Sarrano.
Dick Dale: Tribal Thunder — YES. ALL THE YES IN THE UNIVERSE. I love Mr. Dale's classic albums, but I have to admit that they're full of filler. There is no filler here. Just shredding.
Afro Celt Sound System: Volume 3: Further in Time — Wonderful. A bit less focus on the "Celt" part this time, and a bit more focus on FUNK.
Conjunto de Arpa Grande Arpex: Tierra Caliente — Kind of grated after a while. Maybe I'll like it more on later listens.
Over the Rhine: Ohio — I keep hearing individual songs by this band that have this really lovely ambience, but when I check out the album, the rest of the songs are way more generic. It happened again.
Fishbone: Truth and Soul — I wasn't expecting so much genre roulette. I'm not sure what to make of it yet.
Burning Spear: The World Must Know — Very, very early-90s, almost painfully so, but still pretty good on the first listen.
Again, The White Stripes had some legitimately good material that took blues-rock into some cool directions. But pretty much everything else he's done has been a waste of that promise on some level.
Well, OK, The Raconteurs had a few good tracks, but they're like AC/DC in that they are a five-song band at best.
I just listened to "Lazaretto" (the song) and thought it sounded too much like Rage Against The Machine to take seriously. I do agree with Sredni on The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, though.
I also thought that those Meg White quotes were taken out of context. To my understanding, the fragility of their relationship was due to the fact they were former lovers who got divorced, not because of whatever this reviewer is talking about.
Yeah, being on shaky ground with someone because you're still working together after having a bad breakup with them is different from having creative conflicts with them. Some people can keep working like that and be quite happy - Coil had a solid working relationship after they stopped living together - but it's difficult for some people, and understandably so.
mewithoutYou: it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright — So I've come full circle. About this time last year, Section42L shared the music video for "the Fox, the Crow and the Cookie" from this very album, which rekindled my then-faded interest in mwY. I started with their older albums and worked forward in time, and now that I've finally arrived holy hell this album is great. "the Fox etc etc." is rather un-representative of the album as a whole. That song made me expect an album of folk with some baroque-pop flourishes, and Aaron Weiss trying his Darnielle-est to sound like the Mountain Goats. What I got instead was a post-punk take on baroque-pop, with Weiss's conviction crackling just underneath the superficially goofy animal fables in the lyrics.
Jono was wrong. This album is great.
Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin & Al Di Meola: The Guitar Trio — Dammit guys, just because you're in a studio doesn't mean you have to play slower this time!
Tortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy: The Brave and the Bold — It doesn't sound much like Tortoise, I can't tell how much it sounds like Bonnie Prince Billy, and it's all cover songs. I have no idea what to make of this album.
the white stripes: some good songs the raconteurs: fewer good songs the dead weather: one good song jack white solo: no good songs
he always seemed like a pretty eccentric dude and i appreciate that often eccentricity breeds great music, but eccentricity when given money and fame almost exclusively produces garbage
incidentally my fave jack white thing is the stripes' live in the basement cover of Captain Beefheart's 'party of special things to do' and a good half of why i like it is almost certainly down to beefheart, still worth seeking out tho
Not to dogpile on you, Mo, but I'm not sure what "rocking for rocking's sake" even means. I've honestly never encountered that phrase before.
I don't know a better way to phrase it but there's a certain kind of rock song that just comes across--to me, anyway--as very like, self-absorbed.
Like the song only exists to show off how good at guitar-playing the frontman is, or something similar.
It's totally hypocritical because there are totally rappers like that too (anyone who's ever been called a "technique rapper" for instance. Tech N9ne is an example.), but I like technical showmanship in hip-hop more than I do in rock I suppose.
Not to dogpile on you, Mo, but I'm not sure what "rocking for rocking's sake" even means. I've honestly never encountered that phrase before.
I don't know a better way to phrase it but there's a certain kind of rock song that just comes across--to me, anyway--as very like, self-absorbed.
Like the song only exists to show off how good at guitar-playing the frontman is, or something similar.
It's totally hypocritical because there are totally rappers like that too (anyone who's ever been called a "technique rapper" for instance. Tech N9ne is an example.), but I like technical showmanship in hip-hop more than I do in rock I suppose.
Ah. Gotcha.
I can definitely understand why some songs like that can be annoying, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very fond of a few of those kinds of songs (e.g. Van Halen's "Eruption"). Never really thought of The White Stripes music as "rocking for rocking's sake", but I admittedly haven't listened to much of their music.
Comments
It would be a happy accident, but I already have that CD and this one's pretty scratched up.
and i was wondering about why i hadn't heard about them, but then i realized that all of the metal news sites must have used varg's renunciation of metal and genre shift back to ambient music to finally start ignoring him for good
and he's very influential
but as is you cant really recommend listening to him, yknow?
he is a neopagan who wishes to expel all that is foreign from scandinavia, including Christianity and not white people, whom he considers inferior to white people but in more of a go to another continent and leave me alone way than a genocidal way. he was a nazi for a while, but has since renounced that, and has spoken out against racial violence on a few occasions. most of his solo career has been concept albums built around traditional myths and whatnot. he currently lives in france with his wife and likes d&d a lot.
musically speaking he is most notable for being a pioneer in fusing black metal with more ambient forms of music, and for being one of the first solo black metal musicians, setting the template for countless bedroom guitarists who love ripping off early Darkthrone.
of course, he is most famous for repeatedly stabbing fellow Mayhem member Euronymous in the face 20-odd times. he claims to this day that it was in self defense, and there was only one other possible witness so (*shrug*)
that is all i have to say on the matter
not that that really effects things one way or another
Jono was wrong. This album is great.
Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin & Al Di Meola: The Guitar Trio — Dammit guys, just because you're in a studio doesn't mean you have to play slower this time!
Tortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy: The Brave and the Bold — It doesn't sound much like Tortoise, I can't tell how much it sounds like Bonnie Prince Billy, and it's all cover songs. I have no idea what to make of this album.
i nearly died when i found a royal trux cd in my local oxfam books once and thats about the extent of Good Music ive stumbled across in them
the white stripes: some good songs
the raconteurs: fewer good songs
the dead weather: one good song
jack white solo: no good songs
he always seemed like a pretty eccentric dude and i appreciate that often eccentricity breeds great music, but eccentricity when given money and fame almost exclusively produces garbage
incidentally my fave jack white thing is the stripes' live in the basement cover of Captain Beefheart's 'party of special things to do' and a good half of why i like it is almost certainly down to beefheart, still worth seeking out tho
it was out of my price range, unfortunately. :(
if those are being called 'unlistenable' i just don't understand that at all, like, what?
if it's Jack White's solo stuff i can't really comment, haven't paid much attention to it
Jack White's solo stuff is way worse though.
I'm completely baffled, but yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
I really can't stand what I'd tentatively describe as "rocking for rocking's sake", and The White Stripes are just kind of all that.
I mean, I suppose that's fine, but it's not something I can sit through.
I have the same problem with The Black Keys, funnily enough.
it's not clever or creative but it makes me happy and giddy
1 is it melodic
2 is the riff heavy
3 is there a guitar solo, and is it a good guitar solo
and that was pretty much it, if it ticked all those boxes that was enough
I say that but I like Def Leppard unironically, so basically I'm a piece of garbage with inconsistent opinions.
like what you like, it's not my business; sorry if i came off confrontational before
Like the song only exists to show off how good at guitar-playing the frontman is, or something similar.
It's totally hypocritical because there are totally rappers like that too (anyone who's ever been called a "technique rapper" for instance. Tech N9ne is an example.), but I like technical showmanship in hip-hop more than I do in rock I suppose.
I can definitely understand why some songs like that can be annoying, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very fond of a few of those kinds of songs (e.g. Van Halen's "Eruption"). Never really thought of The White Stripes music as "rocking for rocking's sake", but I admittedly haven't listened to much of their music.