Also, apparently they've been touring with a live keyboardist recently, which is cool. Even cooler is that they've been playing "23 Years Too Late". Love that track.
So, this is out of left field, but a conversation elsewhere reminded me to revisit The Legendary Pink Dots' Bandcamp. I am currently listening to the live-in-the-studio album Faces in the Fire and... man, is this a kinky run of tracks. Beautifully recorded, excellently performed, frequently hilarious and pervy as all get out.
Any suggestions for music for running, ahem, walking somewhat fast from zombies?
This made me think of Lungfish's Talking Songs For Walking.
Aside from the inherent humour of the choice, it is an enjoyable album if you're into that weird grey area between 80's "college rock" and progressive hardcore.
I know of Lungfish, but need to seriously dig into them at some point.
Speaking of digging, I finally got a serious listen to Love This Giant this week. The Steve Reich-meets-Dixieland jazz band sound of the album was pretty pleasing to my ears, especially combined with Byrne's usual "calm face hiding a nervous brain" jerkiness.
Byrne seems to be best when he's working with other people who help him to focus, rather than flitter around, and this album is no exception in that regard.
^^ I admit that Steve Reich is the first person who comes to mind to me when I think of minimalism. This is probably because Different Trains was my first real exposure to that genre. I should remember to watch out for such conflations in the future.
I'll take this opportunity to add that "I Should Watch TV" was a particular highlight of Love This Giant for me, though.
I nabbed Red Barked Trees from the used music shop and I'm quite liking it. I was told that it's one of the better albums from Wire's later discography, and that it mixed in musical nods to their first three albums. The latter is definitely true; I can't comment on the former because this is the only Wire album I've heard besides their first three.
Of their later work, I would recommend listening to the LP mix of Send, Read & Burn 03, Change Becomes Us and their session with Daytrotter to give you a sense of what their recent work is like and how it has evolved. I'm not a big fan of the over-compressed production on a lot of their post-Gilbert work - not counting the wonderfully mixed Read & Burn 03, which they actually recorded with him - but it has been getting steadily better with each release since. The songwriting is still quite solid, however, although in a live setting things tend to get more interesting.
Of their later 80's work, live is definitely preferable, although the ideal document - the '88 London Astoria show in the Legal Bootleg Series - is a touch pricey for a digital recording. Easier to find are their Peel sessions from this period and the live-in-the-studio second half of It's Beginning To And Back Again, both of which are worth looking into for the superior versions of "German Shepherds" and "Over Theirs" alone. There is also this EP B-side, which contains a solid version of "Eardrum Buzz" and an absolutely killer rendition of "Ahead" - great in the studio, godly here. Of their straight studio stuff from this period, The Ideal Copy and the rarities collection Coatings are the best, although A Bell Is A Cup Until It Is Struck has some proto-techno great tracks.
I'm probably just preaching to the choir by now, but after much thinking and listening, I can safely say that I don't get why people would want to listen to vaporwave when you can just listen to Kraftwerk instead
Or at the least, Far Side Virtual made its point well as a concept piece, but not many people seem to be able to really expand on its ideas and themes, instead just using them as a crutch for their fans to look hipster and spew out bullshit
There are decent things that get lumped in with vapourwave that have their own non-hipster-y merits. CVLTS and Oneohtrix Point Never both make some marvellously droll, spooky music with lounge and sound collage elements. But as it stands, most vapourwave is pretty dull.
^ Depends on the artist, but yeah, it's a peculiar choice, if one that isn't completely out of left field.
I always took vapourwave as a kind of Dada thing, in that it's a joke with a point and a kind of weird aesthetic logic to it. The problem is more often than not it's just not technically or sonically that impressive.
^ I thought that's what you meant! But I wasn't sure...
like I said, James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual was basically the album that started it all, and the only one that seems actually sincere in its messages, even though I don't think I'll come back to the album much still
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
I notice that lately I've become more...aware of the number of pop songs that reuse chord progressions
My brother was playing "Summer Nights" by Rascal Flatts and it has the same chords as "Life as a Highway"
Dunno if I mentioned this previously, but when I was in Memphis I found a copy of Naked City's Leng Tche in this little hole in the wall record store. Granted, I had a copy of "Leng Tche" already when I bought the Complete Studio Recordings a while back, but it was just too cool to pass up as a rarity. Also, don't know what it is, but seeing pictures of the album cover online and seeing it in person are completely different. The album cover is much more unsettling when you're actually looking at it in person. Still a really great album though. Also found Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come and Genesis' Wind and Wuthering on vinyl while I was there.
I dunno I would really call Oneohtrix Point Never a vaporwave artist in the strict sense, instead of just a plunderphonics artist that utilize lounge music samples
even Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 use samples from other artists that aren't necessarily elevator music too
(being semantic with genre labels, what have I become)
opn is hard to classify. hes not vaporwave. he influenced vaporwave but i would not include him in it or call any of his music it
most vaporwave is kinda unlistenable. weirdly the vapor-y stuff that i like the most is where it kind of subsumed itself into house (see: Saint Pepsi, who released a Quite Good Album recently) and turned what was a more 'underground' movement into something a lot more dancey and mainstream. basically what happened to dubstep also happened to vaporwave, except with vaporwave it actually improved it as a genre.
also i would agree with stating that Far Side Virtual has a lot more of a direct... point, i suppose, than much of vaporwave. i mean when i first heard FSV i was so inured to thinking of vaporwave as anything other than relatively mindless aesthetic-seeking that it didnt occur to me at all that you could call that album 'vaporwave'. obviously there are similarities but Ferraro is doing way more interesting stuff with it than. well. anyone. i liked the focus on the sort of corporatist dubai/middle east environments which seemed to be providing something more contemporary and relevant than just repurposing 90s muzak for... idk what for. for the sake of vaporwave
unrelated: i got a sudden craving for immaculately clean, perfectly-constructed pop-rock and i remembered how awesome yellowcard are. like, listen to ocean avenue or way away. that's some goddamn songwriting
Someone linked me to a vaporwave album once and it was mostly sped up loops of Japanese rock with occasional interludes of seagull noises. It was actually kinda alright, but I still don't get it.
Man is a most complex simple creature: see what he weaves, and how base his reasons for doing so.
'Talk Dirty', and 'Wiggle' makes it seem like Derulo is more and more unwilling to add his voice to the chorus. Brass instruments and whistles take up the slack.
This is most obvious when the hook of 'Trumpets' is; 'And the trumpets they go/[TRUMPET MUSIC]'
There isn't even any good descriptions of sentiments, only comparisons to other songs as frames of reference for certain good feelings ('Is it weird that your [X] reminds me of a Kanye West/Coldplay/Katy Perry/[X] song?')
What would you guys say is the most obscure album you own? Not counting like, stuff you scoured off of Bandcamp.
For me it's probably African Head-Charge's Off The Beaten Track. I have no real yardstick for how obscure that actually is, but I've never heard anyone else mention it.
Not counting digital downloads (such as stuff scored from Groupees or Bandcamp), I have a CD of music by Arni Egilsson, a CD of music by Nicholas Flagello, and a CD of music by George Templeton Strong.
Comments
Any suggestions for music for running, ahem, walking somewhat fast from zombies?
anyone have any suggestions?
i listened to some on youtube a while back and was amused...
even Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 use samples from other artists that aren't necessarily elevator music too
(being semantic with genre labels, what have I become)
most vaporwave is kinda unlistenable. weirdly the vapor-y stuff that i like the most is where it kind of subsumed itself into house (see: Saint Pepsi, who released a Quite Good Album recently) and turned what was a more 'underground' movement into something a lot more dancey and mainstream. basically what happened to dubstep also happened to vaporwave, except with vaporwave it actually improved it as a genre.
also i would agree with stating that Far Side Virtual has a lot more of a direct... point, i suppose, than much of vaporwave. i mean when i first heard FSV i was so inured to thinking of vaporwave as anything other than relatively mindless aesthetic-seeking that it didnt occur to me at all that you could call that album 'vaporwave'. obviously there are similarities but Ferraro is doing way more interesting stuff with it than. well. anyone. i liked the focus on the sort of corporatist dubai/middle east environments which seemed to be providing something more contemporary and relevant than just repurposing 90s muzak for... idk what for. for the sake of vaporwave
Someone linked me to a vaporwave album once and it was mostly sped up loops of Japanese rock with occasional interludes of seagull noises. It was actually kinda alright, but I still don't get it.
it is decidedly not sped up j-rock loops
that said i definitely have vaguely positive feelings on that macintosh plus album
In fact, I think I remember sounds, visual patterns, and smells better than I remember text.
I wonder what this says about me.
Or maybe this is just typical/normal.
better known as the sample for "Let Me Clear My Throat"
Innanet says it's techno, which is not something I'm fond of, but maybe I'll like this.
Mai Fukui - Beautiful Days
For me it's probably African Head-Charge's Off The Beaten Track. I have no real yardstick for how obscure that actually is, but I've never heard anyone else mention it.
Jeffery Bützer: don't remember the album name
One Wolf: self titled
Havalina Rail Co.: A Bullfighter's Guide to Space and Love EP