What the hell are you listening to...2013 Edition

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by path12

Boy, I don't listen to a lot of current top 40 stuff but that Blurred Lines song is just catchy as fuck.

totally agree

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by korme

This band might be up your alley.

Nice, thanks for the tip!

/tk

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I like the new Vampire Weekend a great deal.

Sell me on it.

I bought it but listened once and went back to listening to 3-4 year old albums regularly. I'm willing, but need to hear why. (note: BOY! how things have changed for me personally in terms of this sort of thread).

I think the debut album is a top 20 all-time for me, but found the second to be tremendous tracks (horchata, white sky, taxi cab) mixed among the imminently forgettable (everything else).

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by path12

You'd probably like the Jason Isbell then. Also look for a band called Pickwick, they put out something earlier this year that you may like based on what you put down. I'll try to think of some others.

Took a listen to Pickwick. Sounds like Squeeze, and that's a ok with me.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by path12

Boy, I don't listen to a lot of current top 40 stuff but that Blurred Lines song is just catchy as fuck.

Amazing that Robin Thicke is the son of the dad from Growing Pains

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tweeted a thought earlier that seems like it might fit in here.

I believe Pop Evil pretty much defines what the phrase "active rock" means today. First "Trenches", now "Deal With The Devil".

That's a combination of things, starting with how both satellite & terrestrial radio in the format have embraced them. Songs (especially the first single) have a killer hook, the energy level is good, they aren't afraid of their guitars. Beyond that, the whole notion of "defining" for me includes the realization that there isn't another niche/label that they seem to fit as well as this one. A7x, 5FDP, and dozens of others fit into the format with ease & are having success but a lot of them could be also fairly labeled as "metal" or "post-grunge" or even simply "rock".

So if you ever wondered wth the phrase "active rock" means, google up "Trenches", 'cause I believe that's the answer circa 2013.

[Matthean]

Not surprising to hear how much better Lee Dewyze sounds once he got passed the overproduced AI stuff.

Lee Dewyze : An Acoustic Collection From Frames | Free Music Download

[JonInMiddleGA]

Lots of band squabbles out there today, it gets a little tiresome at times, the legal briefs for rock are getting to be like arrest stories for the sports page.

That said ... I honestly don't know how anyone could see/hear this & not feel as though the La Torre-fronted version of Queensryche isn't the real one. This is pretty ridiculously good stuff.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Sell me on it.

I bought it but listened once and went back to listening to 3-4 year old albums regularly. I'm willing, but need to hear why. (note: BOY! how things have changed for me personally in terms of this sort of thread).

I think the debut album is a top 20 all-time for me, but found the second to be tremendous tracks (horchata, white sky, taxi cab) mixed among the imminently forgettable (everything else).

First, I am a committed album listener. I buy by the album, I listen by the album, start to finish - both more than 90% of the time.

To me, it's a great sign if over time there's a drift in the tracks or sections of a given album that are my favorites. In my first few listens to the album, I found a few tracks pretty catchy by design, a few that seemed interesting, and a couple than seemed incomprehensible. After maybe 30 spins, I think my categories have completely changed, and I now really really like a few of the tracks that at first were on my sleepwalk set. To me, that's a pretty good sign that there's a lot of "there" there. At this point, I think I'd rate some of the nominal filler songs (Finger Back and Hudson in particular) as my favorites on the album.

Also, if you're in the genre, then you already get the sense of depth in their writing. This album has a good deal about religion and conflicts of faith (which I find an interesting subject to pry into) and while it's not a theme album in the true sense, there are some motifs that work well.

I sense you and I have pretty similar musical tastes. For me, after giving it a real shot, I'm preparing to place it into the top tier of albums from the alt genre from the last decade or so -- alongside some others like Illinoise and The Suburbs, and that is deliberately high praise.

I'd be shocked if you give it five more tries and still don't feel it.

[Butter]

Only thing I don't like about it is that the opening track should clearly be the closing track, and I don't like the existing closer all that much. Agree that it is a very good album, but I'm not ready to put it on the level of The Suburbs.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Only thing I don't like about it is that the opening track should clearly be the closing track, and I don't like the existing closer all that much.

I can't disagree there. I think the first song is the weakest on the album, and I find it unsettling that "they" presumably didn't think so.

[Matthean]

Looks like I know where I'm going.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Interesting acoustic take on a classic. One of three songs posted to Vevo a few days ago (She Wolf is probably even better unplugged)

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Looks like I know where I'm going.

The fact that she is that pretty and still has some skills beyond just being good looking is awesome.

[frnk55]

Good Lord those are some nice jiggley boobs.

[Butter]

Any opinions on the new Arcade Fire song? I like it so far, even if it is about 3 minutes too long.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This is a playlist that I don't update nearly as often as I'd like (or should) but it might be of some interest if you're tooling around Spotify.

It's basically a combination of rock songs (various niches) that are barely charting, just released singles and more obscure (but solid to great IMO) tracks that have less chance of ever getting U.S. airplay than I have of winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

Back Forty Wk of 9/10/13 by Jon Loveless on Spotify

[Grover]

AM, the fifth album from Arctic Monkeys is chronically on repeat two days after being released.

Absolutely brilliant. Might be their best overall album.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Grover

AM, the fifth album from Arctic Monkeys is chronically on repeat two days after being released.

Absolutely brilliant. Might be their best overall album.

If I could hear any track other than "Do I Wanna Know" on the radio, that'd be great, thanks.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Looks like I know where I'm going.

DAMN


(and I guess she sang okay)

[Grover]

Originally Posted by britrock88

If I could hear any track other than "Do I Wanna Know" on the radio, that'd be great, thanks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by britrock88

If I could hear any track other than "Do I Wanna Know" on the radio, that'd be great, thanks.

Maybe get ready for "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?". Shipped to U.K. radio as the 2nd single back in mid-August, went to #8 pretty quickly (even before the first single had died off).

I don't follow this stuff much but, from the looks of things, the first song here in the U.S. either hasn't peaked or isn't doing much radiowise. (sitting Alt #40, up from #44 last week, in the U.S.) Could be that they decide to kill the one you're tiring of in favor of a new one or it could be one of those that gets slow-played by radio & will only now start moving, in which case it'll still be getting increased spins all the way through Christmas.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by path12

Boy, I don't listen to a lot of current top 40 stuff but that Blurred Lines song is just catchy as fuck.

The unrated video for this on Vevo is quite possibly the best music video ever. Naked Emily Ratajkowski for the win.

[JonInMiddleGA]

My God.

Listening to the (presumably limited time) stream of the new Alter Bridge album "Fortress".

According to the timer I'm about 43 mins into a roughly hour long album and I'm near speechless. This is hands down the best album I've heard in damned if I know how long, and I haven't quite finished it yet.

It's just so ... complete. I'm virtually fucking speechless right now.

[HerRealName]

A couple of new ones I like a lot...

Left Lane Cruiser - Rock Them Back to Hell - If you like older Black Keys, this is a good band to check out.

Possessed by Paul James - There Will be Nights When I'm Lonely - His previous work is mostly one man band stuff - acoustic guitar and foot stomps for percussion. He really shows off his musical ability on his new one.

Two Cow Garage - The Death of the Self Preservation Society - This is the album of the year so far for me. I love this band and this record. Highly recommended for fans of The Hold Steady, Deer Tick, etc.

[Matthean]

Wolverine Lincoln!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Inaugural "Golden Penny Awards" posted tonight (and, to my amazement, got both a thank you AND a re-tweet from David Draiman)
2013 Golden Penny Awards | Jon's Three Cents

Annual Top 25 Albums list
2013 Albums of the Year | Jon's Three Cents

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

First, I am a committed album listener. I buy by the album, I listen by the album, start to finish - both more than 90% of the time.

To me, it's a great sign if over time there's a drift in the tracks or sections of a given album that are my favorites. In my first few listens to the album, I found a few tracks pretty catchy by design, a few that seemed interesting, and a couple than seemed incomprehensible. After maybe 30 spins, I think my categories have completely changed, and I now really really like a few of the tracks that at first were on my sleepwalk set. To me, that's a pretty good sign that there's a lot of "there" there. At this point, I think I'd rate some of the nominal filler songs (Finger Back and Hudson in particular) as my favorites on the album.

Also, if you're in the genre, then you already get the sense of depth in their writing. This album has a good deal about religion and conflicts of faith (which I find an interesting subject to pry into) and while it's not a theme album in the true sense, there are some motifs that work well.

I sense you and I have pretty similar musical tastes. For me, after giving it a real shot, I'm preparing to place it into the top tier of albums from the alt genre from the last decade or so -- alongside some others like Illinoise and The Suburbs, and that is deliberately high praise.

I'd be shocked if you give it five more tries and still don't feel it.

Pitchfork places Modern Vampires of the City onto its best of the 2010s list at #6 of the decade.

Pitchfork's Best of the Year Over the Decade

That graphic, by the way, is fun...