Music Talk
 

I had a thread like this on the other site. It wasn't too popular, but here goes.

So whatever you want to talk about re your favorite band, a show you just saw, a song that gets on your last nerve . . . whatever.

Open for business

OK, so I am on the PBS site tonight and saw that they had a few episodes of Austin City Limits that you can view. Just four. The episodes featured Cold Play, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, and Radiohead. My reaction was could you name four more overrated groups? Could you contrive a more perfect list of overrated bands if you tried? Anyway, that's my music comment of the night. Not a very nice one.

The LA Weekly has a list of the "20 Worst Hipster Bands," and Arcade Fire and Bon Iver are both on it. So it's not just me.

Here's the whole list in case anyone is interested. When I saw the list originally, I listened again to a Decemberist record I have. No reconsideration for me. I can see that they think they are clever and that that can grate. But I enjoy them a lot.

20 The Black Keys
19 TV On The Radio
18 Sleigh Bells
17 fun.
16 MGMT
15 Death Cab For Cutie
14 Wavves
13 The Decemberists
12 Pomplamoose
11 Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros
10 White Rabbits
09 Beach House
08 The Airborne Toxic Event
07 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
06 Beirut
05 Grizzly Bear
04 Bright Eyes
03 Arcade Fire
02 tUnE-yArDs
01 Bon Iver

We were watching a George Carlin DVD the other night and he said something to the effect of white folks had no right to play the blues because it's not enough to know the chords, you have to know why you play them.

I thought that was pretty profound.

Words

Okay, so it's official...I'm a thread killer:(

Dammit Words :)

All I will contribute right now is that I CANNOT listen to any Justin Beiber song.

I physically get sick.

It's kind of the way I feel about poodles. I'm not sure why, but I don't like them. At all. They make me angry.

Music!
 

2013 is our Music year!!

We will be starting out the New Year with The Civil Wars, it's at a decent venue where we will not be standing and actually sitting and able to enjoy their sound!

I use to dislike Taylor Swift but lately she's grown on me, Beiber not so much I wanna put him in a bag and then a box.

My heart remains with bands like Heart, Pat Benatar, Van Halen (sans Sammy Hagar) .... but I listen to just about everything from classical/opera to heavy metal and all in between.

Except for Beiber.

Beiber is a poodle to me.

Sorry, Words. I didn't see that people were posting. Wahoo. This was not a popular thread on the other site, so I thought it had faded fast.

So cool that it hasn't.

Laughed out loud at Bieber in a bag and then in a box.

I love Heart and Pat Benatar. And Taylor Swift has grown on me too. Her Kennedy obsession is kinda weird. I hope she likes the boy for more reasons than his last name.

There are a lot of genres -- not just blues -- that people not from that background make kind of sterile. The kind of bluegrass you hear on NPR is pretty as anything, but it lacks that grrrrr.

Some of us were talking about music in chat today :). I like, or have liked, nearly every type except for misogynistic rap and heavy, heavy metal.

But then I "violate" my own rule and love Eminem's "Not Afraid".

And what defines "heavy metal"? My beloved Def Leppard? Aerosmith? Guns N' Roses? I think that's pretty subjective. I even like me some AC/DC.

I have also crushed on many of the entries in that European Song contest, which I've forgotten the name of again. I wish America would do something like that. Heck, maybe the world should do that!

I seem to be the only fan of Mazzy Star's, or even Midnight Oil. Everybody asks me, "Who?"

And this from a 70's disco duck who grew up on Gilbert & Sullivan, operas, and classical music-even if my introduction to those were from Bugs Bunny.

Music is my lifeblood.

I used to love Midnight Oil. Good band.

Re Mazzy's Star, . . . who?

Martina, that made me laugh (because I am incapable of making a smiley)

Mazzy Star is/was sort of an alternative duo. Some of their work might be a little weird to many. You might know them from this song:

Oh! I love music! I am up on all the cool pop because of my kid. I love Bieber! Taylor Swift is ok. I love Queen. Lately there are some songs that remind me of Freddie. Madness by Muse and What Do I Stand For by Fun. I also like Bruno Mars new song. It sounds like old Police and I also love that. Look up Son de la Frontera's Buleria Negra del Gastor. My kid called it "feet!" when she was little.

There is not a lot of music I do not like but sometimes I don't like the words.

Guihong,

I do remember the song. Pretty!

THANKS! I probably would not have heard that one again. :)

Thanks for the recommendations! I loved Freddie too.

Oh, and speaking of obscure...Leningrad Cowboys' cover of Dylan :)



You may have guessed I'm not much for most of modern pop, although I do like some of Taylor Swift's work.

I looked up Son de la Frontera. Didn't find any mention of Diego. Good stuff. I would love to see them live. I don't think I have ever heard Flamenco live.

OMG!

I laughed LOUD. That chorus! The hair. And they rock too. I am still laughing. LOL.

I was totally addicted to that Big Head Todd song back in the day.

I can see why your daughter called it feet. :) Amazing!

Sorry I updated that. Diego del Gastor was a flamenco guitarist and the song I was referring to was Buleria Negra del Gastor. That album is an homanje to him. He was a Gypsy in Spain in the 70s and had a very distinctive sound. Flamenco is amazing to watch live.

One of the things that touched me about Freddie Mercury was that he was one of those guys who worshipped an opera diva. He had good taste too. Monserrat Caballe. I read an article about it forever ago, so I won't recall much. But she was a depressive. And he was good to her. I just loved that about him. I was touched by him. I know the controversies -- not out out, the boyfriend he didn't treat all that well. There were others. HIV status lies. But I was always so proud of him. I felt a sense of lgbt kindship with Elton, but I didn't CARE. I just found Freddie touching. Hard to explain.

There was another gay male performer who used to get to me that way -- just intense sentimental lgbt solidarity. (I know Freddie was bi). Not a singer. The figure skater, Rudy Galindo. Whenever he would skate, I would cry and cry. It's ridiculous really -- my reaction.

This is one of my favorite Dylan covers. I am a Dylan person, I confess. Not a true freak, but leaning that way. Anyway, there's something about hearing a woman's voice singing, "You're a Big Girl Now." Mmm.

I have always enjoyed riot grrrl music. Ever since the movement first started. It hard to find someone who enjoys Sleater Kinney, Bratmobile, Excuse 17, The Spells, Lunachicks, The Third Sex, L7, Bikini Kill, 7 Year Bitch, Babes in Toyland, The Bangs, The Donnas (their earlier stuff kicked ass), The Gossip (again their older stuff not so much the new stuff) as much as I do!!!

Beth Ditto, Kathleen Hanna, Carrie Brownstein will always have special spot in my heart. RIOTgrrrls will forever be my favorite type of music.


Once in a while I like to jam to some Cowboys from Hell. Pantera always livens up my mood. Maybe a little Ozzy Osborne and some Sepultura!! Throw in a little Slayer and we can call it a night!

The only one of those groups I have ever listened to is Sleater Kinney. I got The Woods after reading so many good reviews. It was good, but I never sought out any of their other music. A little hard core for me. I listened to that record quite a bit though.

Yeah The Woods in one of the last LPs they made before they broke up. You should listean to Sleater Kinney the self titled LP and Dig Me out, and All hands on the bad one...prolly the best Sleater Kinney albums out..

I listen to alternative country. I like the harder rockers, but not exclusively. I also like some of the folkier artists.

Lucero --

Hack and I are seeing Christian McBride and Inside Straight on Thursday night



He is quite awesome, a jazz legacy. And a well played stand up bass makes me swoon.

We saw him at Tanglewood this summer when he opened for Wynton Marsalis, which was wonderful. His drummer Ulysses Owen and pianist Christian Sands are also exceptional.

I'm excited to see him at the Iron Horse Music Hall, one of my favorite venues because it is so intimate (less than 200 seats, kind of an old boho cafe/irish pub style hall), the space is a bit of a legend in its own right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Horse_Music_Hall

I'm not a huge fan of modern country, Althought Taylor swift Miranda lambert, and a few others I do enjoy. I like honky tonk too Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb, Hank Senior, Patsy Cline. Not so much the bluegrass genre.

I defiantly enjoy jazz and blues, especially on snowy chilly Minnesota weekends or on a gloomy overcast rainy day, that is when blues and jazz are greatly appreciated by my ears.

Daniel Bernard Roumain [DBR]
 

DBR ::: One of the most innovative and talented composers and musicians in the world today - he seems to effortlessly create music that sits at the intersection of classical, hip-hop and electronic genres. He's really quite brilliant: artistically and intellectually.

I had the opportunity to see him perform with the Lark Quartet at Merkin Hall in New York a few years ago. I'm still in awe. And I'd leap at the chance to see him again, anytime, anywhere, any genre.

Can't do the bluegrass thing. I am slowly starting to open up to contemporary country music, but not that quickly. I used to take road trips with my brother who listened to only country music and it drove me insane. I'm talking about the kind of country songs that included running away with the horse and such. Bleh. I think it scarred me. But I do like Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, yadda yadda....

I grew up surrounded by R&B, soul, funk, disco, blues, jazz and rap. I am not a huge fan of rap either. There are very few rappers I can listen to. R&B and soul however, hold dear to my heart. I'm still crying over Teena Marie. That was a huge loss. She should have been bigger than she was, but in my life, she was larger than life.

Etta James (another huge loss) , Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone... love them. Love that era of music.

Opera - can only really handle Italian operas. Not a big fan of German operas. Classical is a different story - I enjoy most, if not all.

Then of course there is heavy metal and alternative. Metallica, AC/DC, Godsmack, Evanescense, Seether, Florence and the Machine, Alice in Chains, NIN, etc etc...

I have an external drive that holds about 10,000 songs and counting. Music from 1930's to present and I am still not done.

Music has always played an important role in my life. Just about every thought I have has a song queue attached to it. :)

Speaking of obscure or alternative, there's Moby (so named because he's somehow related to Herman Melville):

Teena Marie -- wasn't she something?

The Lady Snow mentioned Hal Ketchum on the two-step thread. He is totally not the kind of artist who usually floats my boat. Smooth, sweet, pretty country pop and folk.

But I have always LOVED Hal. He's a good songwriter. Consistent. Some of his songs might on the surface sound like radio country, but they are not. Smarter and not emotionally manipulative. When he writes, he's not trying to create a hit. He is accessing himself, a real person, a good person. And while the experiences he talks about are very common and he is not a genius with words, he still creates original moments. He does have some roots stuff and definitely collaborates with roots musicians, who adore him. But, I guess what I mean is you could miss that it's really good if you just went by the sound.

And I love his mellow personal energy. I was sad when I learned -- many years ago now -- that he has MS. I have only seen him a few times. He is still out and about though he has had years of little to no productivity. He's well loved by his peers, which is pretty rare.

http://c305032.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/w...2008/11/ff.jpg

this is what i grew up with in my punk days....
late teens early 20s

Bob is awesome, Sugar is awesome

i have to disagree - especially with the arcade fire - seriously any band with a hurdy gurdy can never be overrated.

i notice that a lot of the bands on this list have also been used in itunes ads
i wonder to what extent a band's estimate of merit is dependent on the context in which their music is used

bob's workbook is a desert island pick of mine

Arcade Fire is good. As I said, I like The Decembrists. I agree with the LA Weekly re Bon Iver and Bright Eyes tho. A lot of the rest of the bands I don't know or don't dislike. Interesting question re iTunes ads.

HELL YES! She was. She is still on my iPod.