WTH are you listening to/share your music... Perfect Vision (2020) edition

[AlexB]

I mentioned in another thread that the BBC are rerunning old chart programmes, and currently they’re at 1990, when I was 17 - formative years.

Just wanted to share four (edited from three, and then to five) songs from 1990 that were huge influences on my musical tastes both then and now. All four literally changed my perception of what music could sound like at the time (and for me, PWEI are one of the criminally lost bands - they were so far ahead of their time)

[CarterNMA]

Cicciolina, Cicciolina, Cic, Cic, Cic, Cicciolina!

Good choices, Alex! (Though two are failing to load...)

My first PWEI song was "Ich Bin Ein Ausländer" and was immediately hooked. (If you can find the Fun-Da-Mental Mix it's even better.)




I love that Inspiral Carpets song but I love the Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine version even more.





Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!

[CrimsonFox]

This song rcoks. Such a fantastic groove....and one of the only collaborations between Bowie and John Lennon.

I wish there were more.

The biting lyrics are just amazing...

Fame makes a man take things over
Fame lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame puts you there where things are hollow (fame)
Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane (fame)

Fame, (fame) what you like is in the limo
Fame, (fame) what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, (fame) what you need you have to borrow Fame
Fame, (fame) it's mine, it's mine, it's just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to crime (fame)

[AlexB]

For those who are interested (I know at least one person is!) Squid’s debuted album was release recently. It’s awesome.



Probably should add that while video is SFW, the guest vocals do ‘build to a climax’ at the end, so could be awkward if not played on earbuds

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

This isn't really professional music but this guy went viral the other week. Had hundreds of videos playing songs with almost no views. Love his videos.

Wow. Amazing song!

[BYU 14]

I have liked GVF since they came out, but the new album shows a lot of growth and has some really good songs on it. This might be my favorite.

[Vince, Pt. II]

They are incredible. Love their stuff.

[AlexB]

I’m sorry, I’m going to keep pushing Squid - they really should be FOFC’s favourite band!

A live and shortened version of Paddling

[thesloppy]

I've been enjoying that Squid record for the past few weeks!

[BYU 14]

They have a kind of Captain Beefheart meets Primus vibe about them

[AlexB]

There’s definitely some Talking Heads in there too, even some B52s in places

[CrimsonFox]

2021 is basically a continuation of 2020...

so I frequently come back around to this song...and sing it at the top of my lungs... (not my lloydlungs tho)

[Ksyrup]

Warning - NSFW!!

Best/most entertaining song/video of the summer by far.

[sterlingice]

I had never listened to Metallica after Reload so I listened to it this week. St. Anger is awful, Death Magnetic is ok-ish, but Hardwired (especially the first half) is good stuff.

SI

[thesloppy]

[thesloppy]

[Ksyrup]

Love that King Buffalo album. It's definitely a better balance than previous stuff which was a bit too spaced out for me to listen to more than a couple times.

[thesloppy]

Yeah, I've been enjoying that one a lot! They are coming around here in a couple weeks, and I have tickets, but I'm still feeling sketchy about concerts.

[Ksyrup]

I'm going to 2 shows in October. I hope.

[Ksyrup]

Here's a bunch of stuff I've bought in the past few months.

The new Leprous is just stunningly beautiful, epic, haunting... Quickly becoming my favorite band. And oddly enough (for me, as a metalhead), the further away from metal they get, the better they are. This album ramps up the electronica and strings, along with highlighting Einar's vocal prowess as he continues documenting his journey through depression and anxiety. And Baard Kolstad is the best drummer in rock music today.




My other favorite among artists I've gotten into in the past few years - Amigo the Devil. Best singer/songwriter going right now.




Not sure how to explain this one... orchestral post-black metal? Gorgeous soundtrack layered over tormented metal.




This is high on my list of anticipated 2022 releases. This band started as a challenge on 4chan to combine two different genres, so he took black metal and gospel/Negro spirituals and turned it into something magical.




Musk Ox - Canadian chamber folk. Absolutely gorgeous, chill stuff. Raphael Weinroth-Browne on cello features heavily on the new Leprous and was also a key contributor to a couple of Woods of Ypres album from way back when (RIP David Gold).




Dordeduh - this one was probably my biggest surprise find of the year. What an album. They absolutely nail the vibe they are going for on this album. The atmosphere is awesome, and the lyrics sung in Romanian perfectly enhance the vibe.




Vola - one of the best new(ish) progressive metal bands out there.




Other stuff:

[Ksyrup]

This is an absolutely brilliant version of a song we all know for its use as a happy, heartwarming song. But the actual verse lyrics are 180 degrees from the way we all think of the song, and the way this is performed has to be much closer to the original intent.

[Ksyrup]

Also, I ran across this band with a completely terrible name, but the music kicks ass. Kinda like a grungy/proggy sound with a vocalist who has a Chris Cornell quality in the high register. Really solid album, but they need a new name like 10 years ago.

[QuikSand]

Among my faves of the 80s that I still really enjoy, the The has released a nearly two-hour acoustic live album (a lot of old material there)... giving it my first spin today... very very excited

https://open.spotify.com/album/4tdHrJQRoQN7V3rDm5A21V

[Ksyrup]

This could probably be its own thread, but seeing as though they just released a new album, it kinda fits here.

Bands that you should absolutely love on paper but don't like at all:

For me, it's Mastodon. It started back around 2004 when Leviathan was released. I had never heard them before, but they were described as Metallica meets Rush, so I ran out and bought the deluxe CD of it without listening to a note. I think I listened to it twice. Just didn't connect with it at all.

Fast forward 17 years... same deal. Even with better vocals, it's just so blah. It reminds me of metal for indie rock fans. And the guys seem like good dudes, but I just can't get into it despite trying over and over.

[thesloppy]

I've had pretty much the exact same reaction to Mastodon. They should appeal to me on paper & I got into them for like a month after I first heard of them and then the appeal immediately wore off.

[Ksyrup]

Now this, I can listen to. Kinda like the R&B/funk side of a Black Puma-type 60s/70s sound.

[Ksyrup]

I heard some band named Danko Jones this morning on the drive to my half marathon and holy crap, the song I heard was such a blatant rip-off of Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy it pissed me off. Not just the riff and song structure, but the singer's delivery. What a bunch of garbage.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll just repurpose this from my blog's FB page, cause it kinda covers my musical mindset at the moment.

--------

I am WAY behind on sorting through new music (sorry, life happens) but with just short bit of catching up I can say this much with great certainty: anybody who says "there's no good rock anymore" is full of shit.

It ain't easy to find but it exists, no matter what your flavor.

From Kris Barras Band to Xskull8 to remarkable new covers recently released by Deep Purple to the return of 3 Pill Morning to the new Girish And The Chronicles, I've heard more damn good new work in the past hour than you'll find in a half a day on Octane or about three days of regular rock radio in most towns.

And that's without mentioning stuff I sorted out yesterday -- from new Cody Parks & The Dirty South and newcomers ColdWards, gritty stuff from UNVEIL THE STRENGTH ....

And that's literally an incomplete mention of what I've come across in about two hours of listens, my backlog is over 200 songs at the moment.

"Nothing good anymore"? Get the fuck outta here.

[Edward64]

Pretty cool with Sheeran & Bocelli.

Love the italian portion, it transitioned seamlessly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiDiKwbGfIY

[JonInMiddleGA]

Bummed to see that Sons of Texas -- owners of most likely THE best club set I've ever seen, certainly the most face melting -- have split up.

Every member of the band except the singer posted about their departure from the group within a couple hours span on Saturday. Silence from him far as I can tell.

Whatever the issue, I'm just sorry they couldn't resolve it

[AlexB]

I can’t remember how these crossed my radar, as they are completely outside my usual musical tastes, but I absolutely love the last Sons of Kemet album

[Ksyrup]

What a stellar last couple of months for the kinds of music I like. Just hitting everything in my wheelhouse in October and November in particular. I've really honed in on the combination of extremes that seem like the perfect combination of my youthful embrace of musical carnage and delicate/quiet instrumentation that is evidence of my advancing age - mainly, progressive black/death/doom metal with post-rock/ambient/orchestral/dream pop influences, and lyrically filled with depression, despair, loneliness and all sorts of other over the top nihilistic tendencies. It's been a glorious year, capped by the last couple of months.


























This band's been getting a ton of press. Really, the last album should have broken them but this one's pretty good. Basically an 80s throwback combining metal with like a Sisters of Mercy/goth sound. Pretty cool cover of Hell Is For Children on this album, too.




And I'll end with the quirkiest band on the planet, and one whose name perfectly represents what they sound like.

[Ksyrup]

My most anticipated album of 2022 is Zeal & Ardor which releases February 11. They've already released half the album as singles over the past 6-8 months (which I'm not a huge fan of, but I get the economics of doing it that way). This is the most recent single.

This band is essentially one guy who has an alter ego as a pop artist and created this band as a 4chan challenge to combine two disparate genres into one. Someone suggested black metal and Negro spirituals/blues, and he came back with a track that was so popular that he's now on his 4th release. They toured the US last fall with Mastodon and Opeth and are touring Europe this spring with Meshuggah (also coming out with a new album - stoked!).

This song is a bit light on the black metal influences, but still a good example of their sound:

[Ksyrup]

Also, Ghost just announced a new album dropping in March and a new single. I was underwhelmed (although I did like the track from the Halloween soundtrack which will apparently also be on the new album).

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Also, Ghost just announced a new album dropping in March and a new single. I was underwhelmed (although I did like the track from the Halloween soundtrack which will apparently also be on the new album).

I gobbled up all the Ghost I could get when I first heard of them, I though that first album was great and went to their first US tour in a tiny club, enjoyed the next couple albums and tours and then when Prequelle rolled around I listened to it maybe once and said "I don't like this at all", for no discernible reason, and then pretty much never paid them any more attention ever again. I dunno if I've ever gone from 100 to 0 that quickly with any other band & it didn't feel like it was based on anything concrete, so much as my attention just faded immediately & entirely.

[Ksyrup]

Well, Prequelle was definitely not as heavy, less evil and more horror, and more theatrical. There was a subtle change in sound. He said he was trying to become more of an arena band, and it showed.

I don't know if he'll ever surpass Cirice. Clearly the best song he's ever written.

[Ksyrup]

The new Meshuggah. HELL YEAH.

I could only find one YT with it up right now, some dude doing a reaction. There was a trolling "official video" that was the good 'ol rickroll.

[BYU 14]

Thank me later

https://youtu.be/nYUbUl8onqg

[joe the wanderer]

Found the full archive of 120 Minutes on Spotify. This is something I definitely need to learn how to play on guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWZCSgtxzsw

[Lathum]

Flying out to Cleveland tomorrow to see Dropkick Murphys. Really excited for it

[thesloppy]

I have tickets this weekend to a sold-out show (The Sword) at the exact same venue where I caught covid at a sold-out show last month.

[Ksyrup]

I didn't realize The Sword was still around.

I'll be heading to Nashville in about 3 weeks to see Leprous.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I didn't realize The Sword was still around.

No doubt. I think they've been making music this whole time too.....though hopefully not too much, because I'm not going to catch up with any of it.

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'll be heading to Nashville in about 3 weeks to see Leprous.

Sounds fun!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

No doubt. I think they've been making music this whole time too.....though hopefully not too much, because I'm not going to catch up with any of it.

Last new release was 2018, not counting the 2020 collection of B-sides, re-recordings,etc.

So I don't think you've missed much, if anything.

[thesloppy]

2018 seems like it was just a couple days ago, thanks to covid time crunch, but then I do the math and that is a pretty good stretch without a record. Fine by me. I also have to learn my lesson from catching covid last month and stand in the waaaay back.

[Ksyrup]

I'm not going to be too concerned. One, it's Nashville and Leprous is a prog rock/metal band from Norway. So... not exactly honky tonk material.

I was definitely concerned back in December when my daughter and I stood in a small, packed venue to see Amigo the Devil (along with Hank Williams IV) here in Lexington. Fortunately, nothing came of it.

[thesloppy]

Hank IV is someone I feel like I should have seen over a dozen times over the years, just out of circumstance, and yet I never did/have.

[Ksyrup]

It was Hank IV and the Strange Band. I liked the music but his voice, at least live... not so much. HIs band was great though. When Amigo the Devil did his first show with a live band (he always performs solo) a few weeks back in LA and streamed it, they were his backing band.

[Ksyrup]

The best thing about music is when you think you've heard just about everything you might possibly like, and then you stumble across something new and your mind gets blown.

So... Armenian jazz piano with folk/metal influences? Hell yes!

This song is from Tigran Hamasyan's last album, but he has a new one coming out that I will be all over. This song is amazing, but what's even crazier is there are videos on YT explaining how the various meters correlate to the geometry of a shape he had posted prior to this song's release. Not everything he does is this frenetic, but it's still amazing. Comes as no surprise that Meshuggah is one of his influences.

[thesloppy]

I was just kind of blindly buying concert tickets throughout the pandemic, didn't realize they were all kind of coming due at the same, and now I'm in the middle of 8 shows over the course of 12 weeks, for better or worse. I saw Squid, mentioned upthread, about 3 weeks ago.

I really enjoyed these guys last week, and they've got a recent record that is pretty consistently raved about. It's funny that they are a relatively straight OMD rip-off, which they have readily & immediately admitted, but they seem to get a pass critically because they're just too good at it: