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

[Austin90]

Originally Posted by 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:

These are all bangers!

[AlexB]

This is the new big thing in the UK over the last year or so…

[AlexB]

Fixed

[Lathum]

saw The Offspring last night at the iconic Stone Pony. They sounded amazing. Banged out all the hits. Was a really enjoyable show.

Best part is because of a local noise ordinance the show was done at 10:00. I was home by 10:15. Getting old over here.

[Ksyrup]

Last show I went to, doors opened at 6, opener went on at 7, headliner went on at 8, show was over by 10, back at my hotel room by 10:15. It was a beautiful thing.

[thesloppy]

Conversely, I went to a show on Monday night, it got over at midnight and I was a zombie at work pretty much all week as a result

[albionmoonlight]

Orville Peck is coming to Raleigh in a couple of weeks. It has been a LONG time since I've been to a music show of any sort. Looking forward to it.

[Lathum]

Very excited. My wife and a friends wife got me and a buddy tickets to go see Flogging Molly and The Interrupters at the iconic Stone Pony. I've seen Flogging Molly several times. Saw The Interrupters open on the Hella Mega tour with Green Day. Really liked them so started listening more. Just a really solid ska-punk band that has super positive messages. Really excited to see them at a smaller venue.

[AlexB]

I literally first heard of The Interruptors yesterday, and made a note to listen to more of them . Thanks for making it easy for me!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Barring unforeseen complications, I'll see a live music show tonight for the first time since November 2019.

Almost as rare? It's a show here in Athens that warrants my attendance
(only be the third show I've seen here in 15 years I think).

Buckcherry & Blacktop Mojo (Sumo Cyco cancelled off), with further synergy coming from the fact that BM was part of the last live show I saw.

[Kodos]

This one is old, but I just discovered it yesterday. Love it.

[AlexB]

Every time I hear the Stereophonics, my immediate reaction is ‘it’s not Dakota’.

They have loads of decent, good and some very good songs, but they caught lightning in a jar with Dakota.

[Kodos]

That was their only other song I knew. From the Veronica Mars soundtrack.

[QuikSand]

I give Arcade Fire a rather broad benefit of the doubt, and am in my fourth tour through their latest album... still looking for a handle there.

[albionmoonlight]

I saw a twitter thread on the Prince album Emancipation. And the thrust of it was that Prince released this three CD album and just buried halfway through the second CD right after this sort of weird sex rap song where he talks about eating Captain Crunch is The Holy River, which is one of the most beautiful songs that no one has ever heard of. Finding it is like discovering an Easter Egg even though it has just been out there since the 90s.

Anyway, I've been listening to that song.

[Kodos]

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I give Arcade Fire a rather broad benefit of the doubt, and am in my fourth tour through their latest album... still looking for a handle there.

I'm really into it, especially after being disappointed by Everything Now. Could've used more rock, but message speaks to me.

[Lathum]

Listening to Guns and Roses on shuffle through amazon music. I have to say I think Rocket Queen is my favorite song. The guitar riff after the intro is amazing, all the stops and time changes make it interesting the whole way through, and Rose really shows off his range. I feel like it kind of gets buried under all the other amazing songs from that album, but it is so fucking good.

[PilotMan]

Somehow, some way, I've gotten myself into a full on My Chemical Romance obsession. Their newest release The Foundations of Decay is such a nice return to music longer than 3 minutes. The arrangement is so heavy, hooky and driving that it has me over and over again.

So I always felt like Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was one of the best top down, arranged, old school albums where the songs and song order was so important. When Black Parade came out I was a little underwhelmed, but lately, lately I've found it. It's got such variety and again, a nice top down arrangement to follow. Final Last Words and Sleep are incredible and Cancer might be the most gut-wrenchingly honest song I've heard in forever.

[21C]

I've long been a fan of Regina Spektor and I am really enjoying her latest album Home, before and after. Not a huge change from her previous work but I love her musical style.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Time flies, volume whatever edition. Gotta read it carefully but the rockers among you will understand I think.

In 2001, I took then 3 year old Will to see Poison & Cinderella. Starting to build his rock foundation as it were. At that time cuts like "Night Songs", "Gypsy Road", "Look What The Cat Dragged In" and "Nothing But A Good Time" were all 13-15 years old. While still touring & working, the bands and songs were admittedly "retro"

Today?

Equally aged "retro" would be to take a 3 year old to see Avenged Sevenfold (who actually date back farther than those 80s bands did at the time) and Five Finger Death Punch. The epic "Bad Company" cover, "The Bleeding", "The Way of the Fist", "Bat Country" and "Nightmare" are all as distanced from release now as those songs were in 2001.

Time marches on.

This topic has Will considering his AARP membership paperwork.

[Ksyrup]

It is crazy. Modern music is so relatively new that the timeline blows your mind. Consider that we're further into the future from grunge than grunge was from Beatlemania at the time.

[GrantDawg]

My sister posted a video on Facebook with a line up of hit songs from 1987. The saddest part wasn't how old the songs were, it was that half the people in the video were dead.

[Breeze]

Sandusky by Uncle Tupelo came up on my Spotify yesterday. I was looking at the image of the album that posts when the song is playing and the album name was March 16-20 1992 - I started doing the math in my head - damn this song is 30 years old.

[Ksyrup]

I can remember getting the LZ box set when it was released in 1990 and considering that classic rock and another generation's music from what I grew up on. And now I think back, and their last true album was released in 1979, so that was only 11 years later. Meanwhile, Peter Steele of Type O Negative died 12 years ago. Completely different perspectives on the passage of time.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saw Memphis May Fire / From Ashes To New / Rain City Drive / Wolves At The Gate last night on the next to last stop of their tour.

All were good at what they were doing, reality is that the headliner & the opener both dip into screaming a good bit more than I'd prefer. Rain City seems young but promising.

Stars of the night for me though were FATN. One of those sets where a band is just on point throughout, they burned the house down.

[Ksyrup]

For your Friday WTF moment, how about a brand new track from Scene Queen, who apparently has pioneered the "Bimbocore" genre?

Extremely NSFW.

[GrantDawg]

Is this an SNL skit?

[Ksyrup]

No. And bimbocore is her term, not mine, ha!

Almost every song is ridiculous. Pink Panther is nearly X rated.

If the vibe/schtick she's going for is Meghan Trainor slut metal, she nailed it.

[Ksyrup]

The kings of "joke metal" as I call it are Electric Callboy. I know I posted We Got the Moves here months ago, and it's still worth watching. But this is basically what you get - corny, over the top German Backstreet Boys combined with metalcore doing a comedy skit.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by AlexB

I literally first heard of The Interruptors yesterday, and made a note to listen to more of them . Thanks for making it easy for me!

Hope you checked out the new album that dropped earlier this month. Really good. I am still listening to them obsessively.

[Ksyrup]

What a glorious release day! It's the return of Bandcamp Friday, and new releases from King's X, Megadeth, King Buffalo, and Aeternam, among others. Work gives us 4 day weekends around most holidays so I'll be spending my day downloading and listening.

[Edward64]

I've been building up my mp3 favorites collection. Up to 1,000+ so far spanning the 60's to current. This makes me pay attention to the band name vs just listening to music in a car.

I have come to realize that if I was asked "what are your Top-5 favorite songs", I would not be able to answer the question well (Stevie Nicks would make list of Top-5 artists though). I wish I had the talent to be in a successful band.

Some questions for the group ...

1) When mobile, are you using your phone to play music or have a standalone DAC?
2) What bluetooth speaker do you use at home?
3) When at home, do you use your PC to play music (or just use the phone)? If PC, what mp3 player software do you use?
4) What headset or earbuds do you use?

My answers

1) Have a San Disk Clip Sport Plus for my workouts, but am thinking about a budget Walkman A105 or HIFI Walker H2. I really don't need a Walkman, but it brings back fond memories
2) UE Mobile Boombox. Bluetooth disconnects every 3-4 hours though, not sure why other than it's pretty old
3) Windows Media Player sucks big time. Currently using MusicBee but open to other software
4) Airpods 2. I've not used it for calls but really convenient & comfortable for my workouts

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Some questions for the group ...

1) When mobile, are you using your phone to play music or have a standalone DAC?
2) What bluetooth speaker do you use at home?
3) When at home, do you use your PC to play music (or just use the phone)? If PC, what mp3 player software do you use?
4) What headset or earbuds do you use?

1) Mobile use for me would be almost entirely through a vehicle sound system. Phone would mostly be during air travel and I haven't flown in ... 2+ years?

2) It's a 3 pc Logitech system I picked up a number of years ago. Sufficient to needs

3) Home is 99.99% PC. Just goes through Spotify and/or YouTube (still the easiest for me to use for first listens/sampling)

4) Couldn't tell you, absolutely basic c-store bottom of the bottom end. I doubt I use earbuds even a half dozen times a year so why put any $ into 'em, y'know.

[thesloppy]

1. I use an EarStudio ES100 bluetooth headphone amp/DAC to play music through my phone
2.I use wired spearkers at home. If I'm at home I don't want to sacrifice fidelity for wireless speakers.
3.I use my pc to play music, but I run that through a wired DAC/headphone amp too, Soundavo HP-DAC1. MediaMonkey is my MP3 player...great app if you use MP3s primarily (which I still do as well).
4. I use some open-back Hifiman HE400SE at home, some Etymotic Research ER4XR earbuds on the road, and close-backed AKG K371 at work. I'm happy with each of those for their purpose, but the HIFIMAN HE400SE sound fantastic and are a great value for planar headphones.

[Edward64]

Thanks for the answers so far. I'll be doing some googling.

[Ksyrup]

1. 98% of my music listening is in the car. I transfer MP3s to 2 SD cards which go in my car so I've got about 20K songs available.

2. None. I rarely listen to music at home, but when I do, it's on my PC and usually that's just searching for new music, not really listening to music I already own.

3. Yes but I almost never listen to MP3s. I'm on websites sampling music to purchase. Bandcamp or YT mostly.

4. Headphones only for phone, on planes. I use Galaxy pro buds.

[HerRealName]

[quote=Edward64;3381413

1) Have a San Disk Clip Sport Plus for my workouts, but am thinking about a budget Walkman A105 or HIFI Walker H2. I really don't need a Walkman, but it brings back fond memories
[/QUOTE]

Can I just take a minute and express my pure hatred for the San Disk Clip? I've probably owned 10 over the few years because they constantly break. The bluetooth functionality is terrible, the range might be 3 feet when they do connect. They're the only dang mp3 player that work with Audible so I continue to buy and hate the damn things.

It is lightweight and the clip is very useful until the cheap piece of plastic holding the clip snaps off.

I just motivated myself to look for the smallest, cheapest phone I can find. There has to be something out there.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Can I just take a minute and express my pure hatred for the San Disk Clip? I've probably owned 10 over the few years because they constantly break. The bluetooth functionality is terrible, the range might be 3 feet when they do connect. They're the only dang mp3 player that work with Audible so I continue to buy and hate the damn things.

It is lightweight and the clip is very useful until the cheap piece of plastic holding the clip snaps off.

I just motivated myself to look for the smallest, cheapest phone I can find. There has to be something out there.

I can see the hate. I was struggling with setting up a playlist per the instructions. Finally had to google on it and found the answer (hint: instructions are wrong).

The protective covers are pretty flimsy (but has held up so far). Haven't used the clip, I just keep it in my pocket.

But yeah, can't beat the weight (literally nothing) and appreciate that.

[thesloppy]

My work gave me some Bose QuietComfort earbuds recently that I have also been using. They're OK. The noise canceling is probably better than "regular" earbuds/airbuds, but no better than good headphones or some decent in-ear-monitors with a good fit/seal (e.g. those ER4XR I mentioned earlier have better isolation). All that said, I still reach for the Bose a lot because they are convenient, but they are also relatively large (thanks to the noise-canceling tech?) and I dunno if they would be great for working out.

[Fidatelo]

1) Phone.
2) JBL Charge 2 or Google Home Mini (depending on room).
3) I use my PC for listening in my office during the day while I work. I have a YouTube Music account and just use that in Firefox with sound coming out of my monitor.
4) Jabra Elite 45h. Not my favs (I previously had some sweet Sony over-ear headphones but they broke and I haven't had the desire to spend another $150-200 on new headphones yet).

[sovereignstar v2]

so good

[thesloppy]

I enjoyed listening to a new Archers of Loaf record yesterday....only 24 years since the last one.

[sterlingice]

I don't listen to music much - most of what I hear comes while I'm out and about in stores or whatnot so it's probably old. But whoever remade Iris (Goo Goo Dolls) in a slowed down and less produced way with a female voice - it's just not good and I'm tired of hearing it.


SI

[CrimsonFox]

I've had this corny song in my head for the past 3 days and I love it! No one beats Paul McCartney for cornball songs with sweet melodies. And the video pairs with it perfectly. Linda McCartney has never looked lovelier

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I've had this corny song in my head for the past 3 days and I love it! No one beats Paul McCartney for cornball songs with sweet melodies. And the video pairs with it perfectly. Linda McCartney has never looked lovelier

It was Micheal at his best as well. Just a fun, sweet kid.

[JonInMiddleGA]

(reposting from my social media, seems like it belongs here, but I'm too sleepy to customize the content)

I was far from the only person that thought the Brantley Gilbert / Five Finger Death Punch co-headlining tour was an unusual one. But being (he says humbly) better versed than most in both the worlds those acts inhabit, I was curious to see how it would work.

Based on Sunday night in Greenville,SC I'd say "fairly well to pretty well". I'm sure everyone would have liked more butts in seats but what the crowd lacked in size it made up for in enthusiasm.

I was very happy to see opening act Cory Marks get a warm reaction and really hear nary a negative word said about.

Based on audience responses to various cues during the night and simply watching the crowd and their engagement levels, it seemed more people were there to see 5FDP but also more people were familiar with and had previously seen BG. Older crowd than I've seen 5FDP with in the past, closely split between male & female though. And everybody there to enjoy themselves, however they saw fit.

I do feel like it'd be pretty market by market (and Lord, do they love 'em some BG in Greenville. I'd say 75% of the crowd knew at least 90% of the lyrics) but as a vibe, it actually worked IMO.

I suspect that we might see future pairings of similar different genre/same crowd acts but, as the offspring & I discussed on the ride home, not sure how many possible pairings would actually work ... and I'm doubtful at best about how many would work as well as this grouping did.

On a more personal sidebar, I will note one of the downsides to the "co-headliner" arrangement: these were the second most expensive concert tickets of my life.

As life would have it, Greenville was pretty much THE most expensive ticket of the Southern/Southeast leg of the tour but was also the one that best fit our own schedule.

Based on ticket availability over the past week or so, this might also be the first rock show of my life where I think "speculators" might have bought more tickets than they could scalp. The number of empty seats vs the number of tickets available at face value simply didn't add up.

[Ksyrup]

Wife and I went to see John Waite in Cincinnati last night. I've been a huge John Waite/Babys fan for over 40 years, but the only time I've seen him was back in 1985 in Atlanta on tour with Cheap Trick. So it was great to see him live once again. We also did the meet and greet, and he couldn't have been nicer. The venue was beautiful - intimate, ornate theater without a bad seat in the place (except for the actual seats which felt like sitting in a padded version of Fenway Park seats).

But man, did I feel freaking old - at least by inclusion with most of the crowd. Wife and I are 51 and yeah I've got a white beard, but we looked like 30-somethings compared to the geriatric ward who apparently used their social security dollars to buy tickets. And of course, I had THAT realization - this is what I look like to all the young people who see me at all the other shows I go to...!

It was also a weird set-up because it was a small theater but a rock show and I just didn't know how to act. A few women stood and danced (one noticeably and entertainingly drunk) nearly the whole time, but mostly the crowd just sat (I suppose it's hard to dance with an oxygen tube...). And the hall monitors were in full effect - old women running around telling people to get out of the aisles, put away phones, etc. I sat the whole time, until the end. I much prefer the standard small club with pit to stand in, even for this type of show.

But overall, a great experience - he was battling a cold but still sounded great for 70. Now I need to find some death/black metal band to go see so I can feel that proper concert vibe again.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Some people age better than others ... such is apparently the case with both Armored Saint and W.A.S.P.

Neither band showed significant decline as they pound their way through their 40th year in a business known for taking its toll.

Armored Saint frontman John Bush is really a treasure, a voice that epitomizes some of the best of U.S. power metal as it was in the early 80s. That the _newest_ member of their lineup joined the band in 1989 (the rest have been there from the beginning) contributes to the precision performance that's just relentless.

In contrast, Blackie Lawless is the senior member of the current W.A.S.P. lineup by thirteen years, the drummer around for a mere five years of their forty ... but damned if you'd know any of that when listening. It sounds ... like WASP ... and that's really all an audience united in their disdain for Tipper Gore wanted.

The best thing about the show (in Atlanta tonight) in some respects is this: 1,800 capacity venue sold out. When I think about how many club-sized shows I've watched in the past couple of decades where I could literally count the crowd reliably just by eyeballing the room, that's a pretty powerful testament to how well-regarded the two bands are after four decades at work.

As audiences go, the hair we have left is a common shade of silver, we don't fit into certain outfits as well as we used to, and we move slower (especially through the bathroom lines) than we used to ... but the bands haven't lost a step.

[Ksyrup]

I saw WASP in Atlanta around 1990 or 1991. I don't remember much about it but I've seen current pics of Blackie Lawless and holy shit he's scarier now than any lyric the PMRC could have put on their stupid ass list.