I am still bummed out of my mind over yesterday. *sigh*
I no longer feel an overpowering urge to attack her boyfriend, whomever he is, but I sure as hell hope he realizes (and deserves) what he has.
As far as "depression" music goes, I cannot conceive anything better than Godspeed You Black Emperor!. With a name fit for the blackest of death metal bands, GYBE! is actually a moody chamber-rock ensemble from Montreal. Their Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP is fascinating. The opening track "Moya" is 10 minutes and 51 seconds of absolutely perfect music to sulk to.
A few CDs arrived in the mail today:
Cul de Sac - Ecim
Xaal - On The Way
Ange - Au-Dela Du Delire
Can someone explain to me what exactly the super high appeal of Squarepusher is? I mean, I recognize that Squarepusher is electronica with a jazz influence, but at the same time, Hard Normal Daddy still seems to sink into boring "techno" realms too often. Maybe some more listening time is in order, but so far my experience has been only fleeting moments of enjoyment.
Saturday, March 17
Friday, March 16
A cute girl broke this poor ol' heart today by already having a boyfriend.
Thus, in order to remove my mind from it's current funk (i.e. wanting to slay her boyfriend), I decided to finally make my BMG jazz order.
Soon* on it's way from BMG:
John Coltrane - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (4 CDs)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
I'm also preparing another BMG account, under a family member's name. As soon as the first account gets "activated", I'll submit for the second. Most likely to be included in the second order are:
Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (4 CDs)
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come
Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
On an unrelated side note, I just listened to Bozzio Levin Stevens - Black Light Syndrome, and for probably the first time, it didn't seem to be 20 minutes too long. A review of the album I'm working on currently contains the line, "The album does outstay it's welcome a bit... there's just not quite enough ideas here to sustain 67 minutes of intent listening - at least from me." I wasn't listening very intently to it this time, but I sure did enjoy it in my somewhat passive listening state. I may have to edit that line of the review, but then again, I possibly still might find the album overlong if I listen closely. I'll probably listen to the album again tomorrow, because I'm quite curious about this new reaction to the disc.
A couple of CDs also arrived in the mail today:
Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
Ui - The Iron Apple EP
Both were mentioned a couple of days ago, so no need to rehash the story behind these. :)
* - "soon" is a poor term to use when referring to BMG. The CDs "should arrive in 3-4 weeks" according to the BMG website. That's long enough, but the truth is, I expect it to be closer to 6 weeks. These guys just aren't very swift at all. Which is ironic considering how much they charge for shipping (of course, their shipping charges is where they make up a lot of the money from these "free" CDs).
Thus, in order to remove my mind from it's current funk (i.e. wanting to slay her boyfriend), I decided to finally make my BMG jazz order.
Soon* on it's way from BMG:
John Coltrane - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (4 CDs)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
I'm also preparing another BMG account, under a family member's name. As soon as the first account gets "activated", I'll submit for the second. Most likely to be included in the second order are:
Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (4 CDs)
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come
Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
On an unrelated side note, I just listened to Bozzio Levin Stevens - Black Light Syndrome, and for probably the first time, it didn't seem to be 20 minutes too long. A review of the album I'm working on currently contains the line, "The album does outstay it's welcome a bit... there's just not quite enough ideas here to sustain 67 minutes of intent listening - at least from me." I wasn't listening very intently to it this time, but I sure did enjoy it in my somewhat passive listening state. I may have to edit that line of the review, but then again, I possibly still might find the album overlong if I listen closely. I'll probably listen to the album again tomorrow, because I'm quite curious about this new reaction to the disc.
A couple of CDs also arrived in the mail today:
Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
Ui - The Iron Apple EP
Both were mentioned a couple of days ago, so no need to rehash the story behind these. :)
* - "soon" is a poor term to use when referring to BMG. The CDs "should arrive in 3-4 weeks" according to the BMG website. That's long enough, but the truth is, I expect it to be closer to 6 weeks. These guys just aren't very swift at all. Which is ironic considering how much they charge for shipping (of course, their shipping charges is where they make up a lot of the money from these "free" CDs).
Wednesday, March 14
I'm messing around with the "look" of this blog. I'm far from satisfied at this point, but I don't have a lot of time to experiment around with different looks. So the visual evolution of the blog will be an ongoing process.
In the CD player:
Runaway Totem - Andromeda
Tortoise - Standards
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Sonic Geology
Azigza - Azigza
Isotope 217° - The Unstable Molecule
Runaway Totem is pretty enjoyable. Word is that Universal Totem Orchestra's album is similar but even better, thus elevating it to a high point on my wantlist.
I have been scoping out concert schedules, and I think that in the next few months, I can see Low, Present, Tortoise, and Sigur Rós. I hope to catch at least two of those.
In the CD player:
Runaway Totem - Andromeda
Tortoise - Standards
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Sonic Geology
Azigza - Azigza
Isotope 217° - The Unstable Molecule
Runaway Totem is pretty enjoyable. Word is that Universal Totem Orchestra's album is similar but even better, thus elevating it to a high point on my wantlist.
I have been scoping out concert schedules, and I think that in the next few months, I can see Low, Present, Tortoise, and Sigur Rós. I hope to catch at least two of those.
Monday, March 12
Currently listening to Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane - Monk/Trane. It's becoming obvious to me that I'm going to need to spend quite a bit more time listening to jazz before I can sufficiently form opinions on any. With "rock" music, even in it's most extreme forms (punk/metal on one end of the spectrum, prog/"avant rock" on the other), I have a solid enough base to form some decent opinions. But with jazz, it's clear that I'm wholly unprepared to make any decisions regarding quality. I don't know if this Monk/Trane is kicking ass or if it's totally pedestrian. My ears are so caught up in trying to discern the most basic of elements that I'm not able to recognize, understand, or appreciate the subtleties that make Monk and Coltrane "great".
Not that understanding the "greatness" of some progressive rock bands came easily. But jazz is just unexplored territory for me. Even "classical" is not so hard for me, partly due to the fact that I took two semesters of a music history course, and was exposed to a great deal of "classical" music. This class dealt with jazz as well, but only at the end of the second semester and not for a very long period of time (it wasn't a knock against jazz by the instructor, but merely a result of the fact that he had to cover over a thousand years of music in only two semesters).
I definitely have an interest in jazz, though. Free jazz will probably prove to be the easiest for me to get into, oddly enough. I'm already into "fusion", so to speak, thanks to the progressive rock community taking fusion under it's wing (as opposed to the jazz community that shunned it in the '70s - I don't know about now, as I'm not up to speed on the jazz community).
When I consider how much music I want to listen to, I take comfort in the fact that I'm only 20. Just scanning Gnosis (http://www.gnosis2000.net) is mind-boggling. Tons of obscure albums, many of which meet or exceed the quality of the less obscure ones. If I were to name my favorite progrock albums, there would be virtually no correlation between the album's obscurity and it's rank on my list. A Yes and a Crimson album would be represented somewhere in my top list, and probably Gentle Giant as well (depending on how large the list was). Then some slightly-obscure bands like Banco and Kenso would be found. Then, some very obscure bands like Atavism of Twilight and Dün (both of whom released one album in their careers, which has since been given only a small CD re-pressing) would get listed.
So, there's tons of progressive rock I want. Post-rock is also taking up a lot of my time, and who knows what will become of this movement in the future (maybe it will get a proper genre title, but the continuing Krautrock influence on new "art/avant indie rock" bands will no doubt lead to even more interesting music in the future, even if it doesn't immediately resemble post-rock). And then there's jazz and classical. Sheesh! I talked to Mike McLatchey (Exposé writer, Gnosis project guru, and all-around prog superfan) recently in the rec.music.progressive IRC chatroom that I started and help maintain, and McLatchey mentioned that he dare not get into classical music just because of the sheer volume of music... it would throw too large of a load on top of his already too large load. It's not that he's not interested, but there's just not enough time.
I'm lucky to be getting started in this Internet generation. Resources like Gnosis give me information that prog fans in the '70s could only have dreamed of. Lots of new rec.music.progressive members are people that listened to Yes and Gentle Giant in the '70s but didn't know about all these other bands "like them". Thanks to the myriad of progrock resources online, I won't spend 10-20 years listening to a limited catalog. I already have more (and more obscure) stuff than quite a few people that call themselves "prog fans". I can only imagine what I'll have in 10 years. My future career as a software designer will only help - people who sit at desks 8 hours a day tend to listen to a *lot* of music, especially if they're music collectors.
I figure if I can continue my pursued course in prog explorations, keep my eyes open to new "avant rock" movements, and hit the high notes and the "second tier" of jazz and classical, I can die a happy music buff. I'll need an afterlife to listen to everything that I want to, though. :)
Not that understanding the "greatness" of some progressive rock bands came easily. But jazz is just unexplored territory for me. Even "classical" is not so hard for me, partly due to the fact that I took two semesters of a music history course, and was exposed to a great deal of "classical" music. This class dealt with jazz as well, but only at the end of the second semester and not for a very long period of time (it wasn't a knock against jazz by the instructor, but merely a result of the fact that he had to cover over a thousand years of music in only two semesters).
I definitely have an interest in jazz, though. Free jazz will probably prove to be the easiest for me to get into, oddly enough. I'm already into "fusion", so to speak, thanks to the progressive rock community taking fusion under it's wing (as opposed to the jazz community that shunned it in the '70s - I don't know about now, as I'm not up to speed on the jazz community).
When I consider how much music I want to listen to, I take comfort in the fact that I'm only 20. Just scanning Gnosis (http://www.gnosis2000.net) is mind-boggling. Tons of obscure albums, many of which meet or exceed the quality of the less obscure ones. If I were to name my favorite progrock albums, there would be virtually no correlation between the album's obscurity and it's rank on my list. A Yes and a Crimson album would be represented somewhere in my top list, and probably Gentle Giant as well (depending on how large the list was). Then some slightly-obscure bands like Banco and Kenso would be found. Then, some very obscure bands like Atavism of Twilight and Dün (both of whom released one album in their careers, which has since been given only a small CD re-pressing) would get listed.
So, there's tons of progressive rock I want. Post-rock is also taking up a lot of my time, and who knows what will become of this movement in the future (maybe it will get a proper genre title, but the continuing Krautrock influence on new "art/avant indie rock" bands will no doubt lead to even more interesting music in the future, even if it doesn't immediately resemble post-rock). And then there's jazz and classical. Sheesh! I talked to Mike McLatchey (Exposé writer, Gnosis project guru, and all-around prog superfan) recently in the rec.music.progressive IRC chatroom that I started and help maintain, and McLatchey mentioned that he dare not get into classical music just because of the sheer volume of music... it would throw too large of a load on top of his already too large load. It's not that he's not interested, but there's just not enough time.
I'm lucky to be getting started in this Internet generation. Resources like Gnosis give me information that prog fans in the '70s could only have dreamed of. Lots of new rec.music.progressive members are people that listened to Yes and Gentle Giant in the '70s but didn't know about all these other bands "like them". Thanks to the myriad of progrock resources online, I won't spend 10-20 years listening to a limited catalog. I already have more (and more obscure) stuff than quite a few people that call themselves "prog fans". I can only imagine what I'll have in 10 years. My future career as a software designer will only help - people who sit at desks 8 hours a day tend to listen to a *lot* of music, especially if they're music collectors.
I figure if I can continue my pursued course in prog explorations, keep my eyes open to new "avant rock" movements, and hit the high notes and the "second tier" of jazz and classical, I can die a happy music buff. I'll need an afterlife to listen to everything that I want to, though. :)
Digging through all those new vinyls and CDs that I bought. I just ordered 5 more CDs and an LP (thanks to a CDNow gift certificate birthday present and some good used stuff at Half.com).
Soon to arrive in the mail:
Ange - Au-Dela Du Delire
Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
Uz Jsme Doma - Ears
Mogwai - Ten Rapid
Ui - The Iron Apple EP
FM - Black Noise (used LP - 99 cents from Half.com)
Those first two CDs are among the top 100 rated albums at Gnosis (http://www.gnosis2000.net). I'll have the whole top 100 eventually (save the ones that are out-of-print). The Uz Jsme Doma is... I dunno. I've heard good things about UJD, but I've not heard them myself. But for $6.99, it's hard to ignore the praise. The Mogwai and Ui add to my building "post-rock" collection (which will be further bolstered with an order from Kranky and Constellation Records in the near future). And the FM is a prog album that I almost bought the CD of from CDNow (but the general consensus opinion is that it's not as good as the other things I bought). When I stumbled onto the vinyl for 99 cents at Half.com, I was quite glad I didn't buy the CD.
Playlist:
Brand X - Product
King Crimson - Lizard
Kansas - Song For America
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
PFM - Cook
Höstsonaten - Mirrorgames
Fly Pan Am - Fly Pan Am
Höstsonaten is such a flirt. The album keeps acting like it's going to be really good, and then stumbles a bit. It's a little frustrating because it could be so much better. Höstsonaten is a side-project of Finisterre's, so maybe I should look info Finisterre. A couple of their albums are supposed to be really good.
Fly Pan Am will probably be included in my Constellation order (which I'll likely make later this week). I need to listen to the MP3s more, but it seems pretty good. One track goes on for entirely too long, though (I believe the third, which eclipses 17 minutes despite not having quite enough interesting material to sustain that long period of time).
It's weird listening to PFM in English (on Cook, a live album recorded from US/Canada shows in 1974). I much prefer them in their native Italian. I've avoided "English versions" of Italian albums, due to the overriding consensus that these albums are typically inferior to their native Italian counterparts (and due to the fact that I have no ridiculous "must be in English!" bias). In fact, that brings us back to the Höstsonaten album, which is sung in English (Finisterre usually sings in Italian). The vocals are OK most of the time, but there are those moments when it's clear that these guys aren't native English speakers. Those moments are annoying and detract from the overall listening experience. The fact that the Finisterre albums aren't in English (and thus avoids one of Mirrorgames's pitfalls) is further motivation to pick one up.
Brand X is interesting. When I first became a progrock fan, it was a shock to learn that Phil Collins (*the* Phil Collins) used to play in a band like Genesis (and I mean the '70s art-rock version with Peter Gabriel on vocals, not the '80s/'90s pop band that mirrored Collins's solo career). It's even more shocking to hear Collins in Brand X, a fusion (jazz-rock) band. This is even less related to "pop" than Genesis (which still turned out a few singles despite not focusing on that sort of pursuit). It's a pretty decent album, despite being only the 5th highest rated (out of 9) at Gnosis. I hear that some of their earlier material smokes, so I'll keep an eye out for those. I think I might have seen a different Brand X LP at the store I bought this one from. I'll look closely for that next time.
Soon to arrive in the mail:
Ange - Au-Dela Du Delire
Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
Uz Jsme Doma - Ears
Mogwai - Ten Rapid
Ui - The Iron Apple EP
FM - Black Noise (used LP - 99 cents from Half.com)
Those first two CDs are among the top 100 rated albums at Gnosis (http://www.gnosis2000.net). I'll have the whole top 100 eventually (save the ones that are out-of-print). The Uz Jsme Doma is... I dunno. I've heard good things about UJD, but I've not heard them myself. But for $6.99, it's hard to ignore the praise. The Mogwai and Ui add to my building "post-rock" collection (which will be further bolstered with an order from Kranky and Constellation Records in the near future). And the FM is a prog album that I almost bought the CD of from CDNow (but the general consensus opinion is that it's not as good as the other things I bought). When I stumbled onto the vinyl for 99 cents at Half.com, I was quite glad I didn't buy the CD.
Playlist:
Brand X - Product
King Crimson - Lizard
Kansas - Song For America
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
PFM - Cook
Höstsonaten - Mirrorgames
Fly Pan Am - Fly Pan Am
Höstsonaten is such a flirt. The album keeps acting like it's going to be really good, and then stumbles a bit. It's a little frustrating because it could be so much better. Höstsonaten is a side-project of Finisterre's, so maybe I should look info Finisterre. A couple of their albums are supposed to be really good.
Fly Pan Am will probably be included in my Constellation order (which I'll likely make later this week). I need to listen to the MP3s more, but it seems pretty good. One track goes on for entirely too long, though (I believe the third, which eclipses 17 minutes despite not having quite enough interesting material to sustain that long period of time).
It's weird listening to PFM in English (on Cook, a live album recorded from US/Canada shows in 1974). I much prefer them in their native Italian. I've avoided "English versions" of Italian albums, due to the overriding consensus that these albums are typically inferior to their native Italian counterparts (and due to the fact that I have no ridiculous "must be in English!" bias). In fact, that brings us back to the Höstsonaten album, which is sung in English (Finisterre usually sings in Italian). The vocals are OK most of the time, but there are those moments when it's clear that these guys aren't native English speakers. Those moments are annoying and detract from the overall listening experience. The fact that the Finisterre albums aren't in English (and thus avoids one of Mirrorgames's pitfalls) is further motivation to pick one up.
Brand X is interesting. When I first became a progrock fan, it was a shock to learn that Phil Collins (*the* Phil Collins) used to play in a band like Genesis (and I mean the '70s art-rock version with Peter Gabriel on vocals, not the '80s/'90s pop band that mirrored Collins's solo career). It's even more shocking to hear Collins in Brand X, a fusion (jazz-rock) band. This is even less related to "pop" than Genesis (which still turned out a few singles despite not focusing on that sort of pursuit). It's a pretty decent album, despite being only the 5th highest rated (out of 9) at Gnosis. I hear that some of their earlier material smokes, so I'll keep an eye out for those. I think I might have seen a different Brand X LP at the store I bought this one from. I'll look closely for that next time.
Saturday, March 10
Tomorrow is my birthday, and I will be receiving a turntable. In preparation for this much-needed gift, I went to a store that carries a bunch of old used vinyl, and picked up a few albums. I also grabbed a new CD, and three CDs that I ordered a few weeks ago just arrived. So my new stuff:
Vinyls:
King Crimson - Lizard
Brand X - Product
Jean-Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger
Kansas - Song For America
Beach Boys - High Water
Jethro Tull - Songs from the Wood
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Alan Parsons Project - Turn of a Friendly Card
PFM - Cook
CDs:
Tortoise - TNT
However - Sudden Dusk
Höstsonaten - Mirrorgames
Runaway Totem - Andromeda
I want a turntable so I can load up on classic rock, jazz, classical, etc. cheap, but I had to grab these first (most of which are prog or prog-ish, save for the Beach Boys). Some of the specific rock artists I was looking for (The Who, Iron Maiden, etc) were woefully under-represented at the store I was at, so I'll have to look for them later. Some other rock albums I left on the shelf simply because I wasn't sure which albums of a particular artist I should go for. I'll spend some time researching before my next trip. Since most of the vinyls sell for 98 cents, I'll grab five or so every time I go there (which is about once a month).
Some stuff I've listened to over the past couple of days:
Bi Kyo Ran - Parallax
DFA - Duty Free Area
Faust - IV
Tortoise - TNT
Magma - 1001° Centigrades
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies EP
The For Carnation - The For Carnation
Bi Kyo Ran gets slammed a lot for being a King Crimson clone, but dammit, they do it so well! At least on Parallax they do. Some of the stuff on that CD is easily comparable with typical "good" Crimson material. Not super original, but that's not a crime.
DFA gets better *every* time I listen to it. Duty Free Area is godly. I praised it here a few days ago, but dammit it deserves more. I originally thought it was good, but felt Brandon Wu's review (http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/dfa-dfa.html) was overly positive. But now, I understand Wu's zeal. It's an album that just seems to do everything right.
I was about to buy a new 2-on-1 CD release of Faust's first two albums (Faust and So Far), but Mike McLatchey successfully talked me into saving my pennies and buying the The Wumme Years 1970-1973 Faust box set. McLatchey insisted that the sound quality is superior, and that all of the material on the set is worthwhile. Mike's opinion holds a lot of weight with me (especially when it comes to Krautrock), so I put the brakes on the 2-on-1 CD purchase and will get the box set in the near future. Thanks for turning a $12 purchase into a $55 one, Mike.
Thursday, March 8
On the stereo today:
Atavism of Twilight - Atavism of Twilight
Univers Zero - 1313
Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan
Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) - Storio di un Minuto
Kultivator - Barndomens Stigar
Labradford - fixed::content
Tortoise - Standards
I can't decide on whether I like Steely Dan or not. My opinion can change 10 times over the course of a single song. I don't know if I find them catchy or annoying. Interesting or boring. I can say that the lyrics tend not to inspire me, but neither do Gong's and I still enjoy "the trilogy".
Both the Labradford and Tortoise albums (each of which are new releases) started to grab my attention today, after less-than-compelling listens before. The Labradford particularly caught me, as long as I don't try to compare it to Mi Media Naranja (which, as it stands now, would be a "desert island disc" for me).
As for the Kultivator... when will I be able to get a real CD copy of this?!? Ulf Danielsson of APM (Ad Perpetuam Memoriam) goes through all the trouble to re-issue this lost Swedish gem, then disappears from the face of the planet before I could order one! As I say to anyone that I can get to listen, I owe Ulf a swift kick to the balls. Luckily, I was able to grab a couple of must-have APM titles (Atlas's Blå Vardag, Eskaton's 4 Visions) from Greg Walker after APM pulled the disappearing act.
Hmm.... as of right now, I can't access APM's site (http://www.apm.se). It had remained online well after Ulf went AWOL. Is this a sign that the plug has been completely pulled?
Will I ever get a copy of Barndomens Stigar?
Tune in next week!
(well, it might take a whole lot longer than that)
Wednesday, March 7
THREE exams in four classes today. And an assignment due in the 4th. That ought to be illegal. At least this means that I have next to nothing left to do this week.
Today's playlist:
Clearlight - Symphony
Rush - Signals
The Who - Quadrophenia
Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Miles Davis - Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (discs 1 and 2)
Solaris - Marsbéli Krónikák
I was surprised at how much I liked some of the Rush stuff. I was also surprised at how little I liked some of the other Rush stuff. I hadn't listened to Rush in a while (save for Counterparts), but as it stands now, the band seems to either hit-or-miss with me.
Every hard rock band that wants to get a record contract should be required to write a dissertation on why The Who's "5:15" kicks so much ass.
No, I haven't joined BMG and received Complete Bitches Brew Sessions yet, but I do have the set in MP3 format. What's interesting is how much Disc 1 of the album reminded me of Isotope 217°'s The Unstable Molecule. Naturally, Isotope 217° is Bitches influenced (not the other way around), but since I'm more familiar with Isotope at this point, that's the connection I drew in my head.
Today's playlist:
Clearlight - Symphony
Rush - Signals
The Who - Quadrophenia
Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Miles Davis - Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (discs 1 and 2)
Solaris - Marsbéli Krónikák
I was surprised at how much I liked some of the Rush stuff. I was also surprised at how little I liked some of the other Rush stuff. I hadn't listened to Rush in a while (save for Counterparts), but as it stands now, the band seems to either hit-or-miss with me.
Every hard rock band that wants to get a record contract should be required to write a dissertation on why The Who's "5:15" kicks so much ass.
No, I haven't joined BMG and received Complete Bitches Brew Sessions yet, but I do have the set in MP3 format. What's interesting is how much Disc 1 of the album reminded me of Isotope 217°'s The Unstable Molecule. Naturally, Isotope 217° is Bitches influenced (not the other way around), but since I'm more familiar with Isotope at this point, that's the connection I drew in my head.
Tuesday, March 6
I'm typing this with a Calculus book in my lap, perfecting my implicit differentiation (well, at least learning it well enough for an exam tomorrow).
Today's rotation:
Asia Minor - Crossing The Line
Höyry-Kone - Huono Parturi
Änglagård - Epilog
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin!
Low - Songs For A Dead Pilot EP
Kenso - Zaiya Live
The Änglagård and Banco are classics. Picked up the Änglagård after Minion (an online comrade that I may often reference here) started praising the song "Höstsejd" from the album Epilog (I always sit up and take notice when Minion praises prog outside of the "prog mainstream"... I think he's grown more receptive to it since I've eased off of my prog-pimp ways. He still doesn't care for Italian... well, "classical-influenced" Italian at least. I think he likes the DFA songs he's heard. DFA's just symph-fusion that happens to be Italian).
I'm going to have to listen to the Höyry-Kone some more. A lot more. It's very schizophrenic and constantly changing (though I hear that the band's debut album is even more varied!). Kind of hard to get a grasp on the material when it refuses to sit still stylistically. I understand that they're a blast to see live... I can imagine!
Now, the Asia Minor is just divine. How I wish this album were more widely available! It's on Musea, so it's easily mailorder-able, but I wish it could find it's way into record stores the way Magna Carta and Metal Blade releases have lately (though, believe it or not, I've seen recent Cuneiform and Laser's Edge releases in Tower Records! Hot damn!). It could be a lot more popular than it is. The band is Turkish, but sing in not-too-accented English. They play a very pleasing brand of symphonic - definitely influenced by the '70s British scene, but with very identifiable Middle Eastern influences, too.
There's a little discussion going on at RMP (rec.music.progressive newsgroup) about overrated bands. The discussion started with just prog bands, but somebody mentioned listening to REM, Cranberries, and Smashing Pumpkins in the early/mid '90s, and that has sparked a tangent discussion about those bands (primarily REM). Half of the participants seem to think REM (specifically, "Automatic for the People") is fantastic, while the other half dislikes it. Most interestingly, the divide isn't between "progsnobs" and those less "prog-inclined" (ugh, that's a terrible term, but bear with me). Rather, there are so-called "progsnobs" (also a terrible term, which hardcore prog fans have basically taken upon themselves in a tongue-in-cheek fashion) on both sides of the divide.
I don't own Automatic for the People, but I'll pick up a used one sometime. I have Out of Time, which I recently listened to after a long absence, and decided that it's sorta "ehh". AFTP is supposedly superior, so I'll give it a shot whenever I can find a cheap copy.
There is a *ton* of jazz available from the BMG music club. I'm going to need about four memberships to get everything I want. Need to hit up some friends to allow me to have a membership in their name (which I'll pay all associated costs for and all... hell, they can even pick a CD for themselves for their trouble). First targets will be two John Coltrane sets (the 4 CD "Complete Village Vanguard Years" set and the 3 CD "Impulse! Years" set) and Miles Davis's "Complete Bitches Brew Sessions" 4 CD set. That's one membership right there. So much music, so little time...
Monday, March 5
In the CD changer today:
DFA - Duty Free Area
Slint - Spiderland
Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
I'm trying hard to "get" Slint. They're called the godfathers of post-rock (much the way Marillion can be considered the godfathers of neo-prog). And while there are definitely moments when Slint and I connect, so far those moments have proven to be too few and far between. Spiderland needs some more listening time before I make this opinion concrete, but that's where I'm at right now.
Mi Media Naranja, on the other hand, is a different story. I've been addicted to that album since Day One. So much, in fact, that I fear burnout might be setting in. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I should have this afternoon. I'm going to shelf it for a while. I need to listen more to E Luxo So, fixed::content, and Prazision anyway.
The DFA album is one of those CDs that I'll put on in my car when there's a non-progfan in the passenger seat (which is, basically, *anytime* that there is someone in the passenger seat). Duty Free Area rocks. The uptempo jazz/rock blend should appeal to damn near anyone. The Italian vocals aren't overbearing (though the song that has Deus Ex Machina's vocalist Alberto Piras on guest vocals might irritate some - interestingly enough, that song is sung in no less than four different languages, alternating each line). It's just a wonderful album that makes for great driving music.
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