Music General Music Discussion Catch-All

[Curt McGirt]

5 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Love Will Tear Us Apart and West End Girls is about as good as it gets. I asked a pal who was working at a grocery store, and complaining about the repetition of bad music, what was a song he'd heard over and over that he could still get down with. Heart of Glass was his answer. Curious what song(s) might fit that bill for our @Curt McGirt ?

Tons really. Stuff you wouldn't expect too, like "Barbie Girl" or Ace of Base. So far I've also been exposed to "Sultans of Swing" at work, which I could listen to on repeat and never tire of, and the Cardigans as I was walking in the door which was a total time-warp just like the Cake song. At my old job it was a constant battle with the radio (basically a fight against the evil of WIXY, the local pop-country station whos actual tagline is "WIXY While You Work"... FUCK OFF) and as a result I ended up absolutely battered by "Hotel California", "November Rain", an enormous amount of '80s rock/pop hits, and you know what? I didn't mind so much. Hearing "Heartbreaker" for the zillionth time has never made me tire of it. As much completely underground and totally unaccessible music as I listen to, I still have a big heart for a well-written song with huge hooks. These songs still get radio play for a reason.

[HarryArchieGus]

On 3/25/2024 at 9:05 PM, Curt McGirt said:

Tons really. Stuff you wouldn't expect too, like "Barbie Girl" or Ace of Base. So far I've also been exposed to "Sultans of Swing" at work, which I could listen to on repeat and never tire of, and the Cardigans as I was walking in the door which was a total time-warp just like the Cake song. At my old job it was a constant battle with the radio (basically a fight against the evil of WIXY, the local pop-country station whos actual tagline is "WIXY While You Work"... FUCK OFF) and as a result I ended up absolutely battered by "Hotel California", "November Rain", an enormous amount of '80s rock/pop hits, and you know what? I didn't mind so much. Hearing "Heartbreaker" for the zillionth time has never made me tire of it. As much completely underground and totally unaccessible music as I listen to, I still have a big heart for a well-written song with huge hooks. These songs still get radio play for a reason.

Completely with you on the Sultans of Swing. I have a 7 inch archiving this wonderful recording. Wouldn't mind adding the 'Walk of Life' to my collection too. Stuff like 'Barbie Girl', Cardigans or AOB get locked in my head, and I hate it. Heartbreaker - Zepp, Stones or Benatar? I similarly admired great pop songs, but as I said certain jingles are not welcome. I don't know what I would do if I were forced to listen to Pop Country. 

[Curt McGirt]

There are of course some hits that I desperately never want to hear again in my entire life. I think my #1 is probably "Sweet Child 'O Mine". If I never heard it again I'd be so happy. That goddamn cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is right there with it, so GnR is 0-2. 

Edited March 27 by Curt McGirt

[Dolfan in NYC]

Happy New Beyonce Album Day to those who celebrate.

[supremebve]

On 3/27/2024 at 6:20 PM, Curt McGirt said:

There are of course some hits that I desperately never want to hear again in my entire life. I think my #1 is probably "Sweet Child 'O Mine". If I never heard it again I'd be so happy. That goddamn cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is right there with it, so GnR is 0-2. 

This could be a whole thread.  Sweet Child O Mine is not on my list, but I've never regularly listened to rock radio.  For me, I never need to hear Biggie Smalls' "Hypnotize" ever again, despite being a huge Biggie fan.  

[zendragon]

there's a ton of stuff off the back in Black, Pyromania, Hysteria, 1984, The Wall, DSOTM, and AFD albums that get played incessantly on rock radio

[HarryArchieGus]

Anybody not in Canada talking about songs you don't ever want to hear again, come on up and have a listen to our 40% Canadian Content or CANCON as it's known here. You'll be begging for GNR opposite Cody Rhodes' favorite band Our Lady Peace. I guess you guys did get the Barenaked Ladies, yeah? 

[Curt McGirt]

Yep. Unfortunately.

Back in Black needs to be banned except for "Rock n Roll Ain't Noise Pollution".

[zendragon]

6 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Anybody not in Canada talking about songs you don't ever want to hear again, come on up and have a listen to our 40% Canadian Content or CANCON as it's known here. You'll be begging for GNR opposite Cody Rhodes' favorite band Our Lady Peace. I guess you guys did get the Barenaked Ladies, yeah? 

we got them for about one week...

 

[Curt McGirt]

That was far too long.

[Curt McGirt]

19 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

40% Canadian Content or CANCON

I could handle that, as long as it's comprised of Voivod, Razor, Blasphemy, Exciter, Slaughter, Anvil, Sacrifice, Axis of Advance, Sacramentary Abolishment, After the Bombs, Hellbound, Ballast, Inepsy, Languid, Skeleton, SNFU, Dayglo Abortions, Propaghandi, Cryptopsy, Born Dead Icons, Massgrave, Collapsed... and yes, Rush and Triumph. And I'll give DOA and Gorguts a pass even though I don't think they're very good  

[Curt McGirt]

And of course, the best band to come out of the country... Decontrol  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt2LqOknrxU&pp=ygUXZGVjb250cm9sIHRoZSBmaW5hbCB3YXI%3D

[HarryArchieGus]

3 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I could handle that, as long as it's comprised of Voivod, Razor, Blasphemy, Exciter, Slaughter, Anvil, Sacrifice, Axis of Advance, Sacramentary Abolishment, After the Bombs, Hellbound, Ballast, Inepsy, Languid, Skeleton, SNFU, Dayglo Abortions, Propaghandi, Cryptopsy, Born Dead Icons, Massgrave, Collapsed... and yes, Rush and Triumph. And I'll give DOA and Gorguts a pass even though I don't think they're very good  

To be clear, very big fan of lots and lots of music of my fellow Canadians, but I was talking about CANCON! Imagine a condensed roster of talent based on your country's worst. That's CANCON! And the kind of repetition that leads to despising even a pretty great rock n roll album like Back in Black. That's CANCON! 

And here's my list of favorites off the top of my head: Leonard Cohen, Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, The Organ, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Alex Zhang Hungtai/Dirty Beaches, Skinny Puppy, Fifth Column, Rick White/Elevator to Hell, Eric's Trip, Julie Doiron, (90s) Sloan, Syrinx, US Girls, Cousins, Jack Scott, Soupcans, The Famines, Kyle Bobby Dunn, You'll Never Get To Heaven, Slow Attack Ensemble/Dreamsploitation, Motherlode, Majestics, Jackie Mittoo, Noel Ellis, Johnny Osbourne, Gino Soccio, (honorary) Rupa, Earth Roots and Water, Wayne McGhie, K. Leimer, DOA, The Haunted, Alexander 'Skip' Spence, JK and Co, Buck 65, (honorary) Jackie Shane, The Band, Sikimuit, Buffy Sainte Marie, Willie Dunn, Willie Thrasher, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Terry Jacks/The Poppy Family, Laurice/Grudge, Ronnie Hawkins, The Ugly Duckings, The Bent Wind, Bruce Haack, Christmas, Mark Templeton, Sarah Davachi, Loscil, Tim Hecker, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, etc. etc. etc.

[Curt McGirt]

So your radio basically can be 60% actual good music but has to be 40% Velveeta. Or whatever food analogy I'm trying to make. If picked off the street and forced to guess, I'd probably say the Velveeta would be lesser Rush albums and Nickelback. Maybe Helix.

They could easily just have 40% Neil Young and friends and I'd be happy. And how did I forget Steppenwolf, the Guess Who, and motherfuckin' BTO were Canadian?!

[HarryArchieGus]

Let's be clear Rush in Canadian radio terms is 2 or 3 songs at best. I hate those 2-3 songs - especially you Tom Sawyer. Lots of Guess Who. Neil's repertoire is like 6 songs maybe? I won't hate on Old Man, Heart of Gold, Southern Man, Rockin in the Free World, Harvest Moon and CInnamon Girl, but the repetition is sickening. BTO, sure. I spent a lot of time in Chicago in the early aughts, so I'm aware things are bad all over, but it's just a little bit worse here. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Takeo Moriyama's East Plants... Moriyama is a Japanese jazz drummer who plays avant-garde jazz. I struggle a bit with anything that's too avant-garde, but there are certain free jazz/spiritual jazz artists whose work I enjoy. This record wasn't too challenging, and I felt it was a fairly engaging jazz record. 

Echo & The Bunnymen's Porcupine... man, it's been a long time since I've listened to Echo & The Bunnymen. It's a welcome return. This is one of those albums that gets overlooked because it's sandwiched between two of their more popular LPs. A lot of the comments about this record I find to be baffling. It's often described as a "prickly" and difficult listen. That's not my experience. Love the guitarwork and Ian McCulloch's vocal work.

Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires? Love the Minutemen, but I think I prefer their EP Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat from this year. This is definitely part of the Minutemen back catalogue you should listen to, though, especially if you've only heard Double Nickels.

The Go-Betweens' Before Hollywood... speaking of bands I love, here's one of Australia's greatest bands, The Go-Betweens. This was their breakthrough record. It still has post-punk elements as opposed to being full on jangle pop, but the signature songwriting is there and I adore Grant McLennan's vocals.

Miharu Koshi's Tutu... this a Japanese art pop record produced by Haruomi Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame. It's an interesting record as it continues to build on the techno kayo sound while offering up quirky art pop that stands in stark contrast to the standard idol pop of the day. Not all of the songs are winners, but it's interesting to compare this to some of the other idol stuff from '83.

Opposition's Intimacy... this is what we like to hear, a post-punk record with a bit of emotion. The closer, In the Heart, was particularly gripping. 

Mark Stewart + Maffia's Learning to Cope With Cowardice... this was a harsh sounding mix of dub, post-punk and industrial, but it got its message across. 

Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones... I've never really jumped onto the Tom Waits bandwagon. I've listened to most of his records, and I like and respect them, but I can't imagine a scenario where I'd want to put this on. You can't relax to it. You can't chill to it. You can't dance to it. It's a record you need to pay attention to like watching a film or reading a book. I'm more interested in catchy hooks these days. 

[odessasteps]

I like how that Tom Waits  album has a song called “rain birds” which I guess you could nicely pair with “Rain Dogs.” 

[Ace]

On 3/29/2024 at 3:55 PM, supremebve said:

This could be a whole thread.  Sweet Child O Mine is not on my list, but I've never regularly listened to rock radio.  For me, I never need to hear Biggie Smalls' "Hypnotize" ever again, despite being a huge Biggie fan.  

I worked for a few short weeks in a music store attached to a Montgomery Wards. The entire time, the playlist was The Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over", Des'ree's "I Ain't Movin' and Sheryl Crow's first album.

 

"All I Wanna Do" makes me want to tear my ears off.

 

[zendragon]

13 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Let's be clear Rush in Canadian radio terms is 2 or 3 songs at best. I hate those 2-3 songs - especially you Tom Sawyer. Lots of Guess Who. Neil's repertoire is like 6 songs maybe? I won't hate on Old Man, Heart of Gold, Southern Man, Rockin in the Free World, Harvest Moon and CInnamon Girl, but the repetition is sickening. BTO, sure. I spent a lot of time in Chicago in the early aughts, so I'm aware things are bad all over, but it's just a little bit worse here. 

Then you are well aware that 97.9 The Loop just should have had the tag line "All AC/DC ALL the time" and yhea we get a lot of those same three Rush songs in the lower 48

[odessasteps]

Seeing the version of this in Indianapolis may be my #1 concert memory. 

 

[HarryArchieGus]

14 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Echo & The Bunnymen's Porcupine... man, it's been a long time since I've listened to Echo & The Bunnymen. It's a welcome return. This is one of those albums that gets overlooked because it's sandwiched between two of their more popular LPs. A lot of the comments about this record I find to be baffling. It's often described as a "prickly" and difficult listen. That's not my experience. Love the guitarwork and Ian McCulloch's vocal work.

Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires? Love the Minutemen, but I think I prefer their EP Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat from this year. This is definitely part of the Minutemen back catalogue you should listen to, though, especially if you've only heard Double Nickels.

The Go-Betweens' Before Hollywood... speaking of bands I love, here's one of Australia's greatest bands, The Go-Betweens. This was their breakthrough record. It still has post-punk elements as opposed to being full on jangle pop, but the signature songwriting is there and I adore Grant McLennan's vocals.

Mark Stewart + Maffia's Learning to Cope With Cowardice... this was a harsh sounding mix of dub, post-punk and industrial, but it got its message across. 

Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones... I've never really jumped onto the Tom Waits bandwagon. I've listened to most of his records, and I like and respect them, but I can't imagine a scenario where I'd want to put this on. You can't relax to it. You can't chill to it. You can't dance to it. It's a record you need to pay attention to like watching a film or reading a book. I'm more interested in catchy hooks these days. 

Nice variety. I'm a high voter on the Echo and the Bunnymen catalog from 1980-1984. And I appreciate the variation that the old guard may have struggled with. In 2024, it just feels like slight variation. Also, highly recommend the Peel Sessions 1979-1983 - that's the new most overlooked. Some superior raw takes to less appetizing Crocodile studio versions.

Minutemen are also pretty perfect. Tho, I'm realizing now I don't know much about their swansong. 

I too love the Go-Betweens. They age like a fine wine. Their first two albums Lullaby and Hollywood were always the hardest to come by. It's only recently with streamers that I'd heard either. Still working on both.

I was just looking at the sharply packaged Souljazz Records Mark Stewart comp last night, and thinking about putting it on. I'll consider this trigger motivation.

Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones might be my favorite of his albums. Sentimentally chosen in part as my introduction to his kooky world. I'm very into that last scenario you wrote of, and indeed see Waits LPs as movies. Cutting away all the distractions of life and immersing in music is still a goal of mine daily. You could easily cherry pick songs for what you're looking for. Maybe you should see how you feel about Closing Time? More direct, less variation, very chill, just a piano and old Tomcat. 

[Curt McGirt]

16 hours ago, Ace said:

"All I Wanna Do" makes me want to tear my ears off.

*silent scream*

My mom bought that CD and it was endless. I should have broke it, scratched it, "lost" it, something. A friend brought up The Division Bell on Facebook and that's another one the folks bought that I'd be happy to never hear anything from ever again. And as far as work goes, I'm reminded of Shania Twain at the grocery store... fuck... Walmart radio is almost just total background white noise considering the focus I have to put on doing the actual work right now. 

Minutemen talk made me put on The Punch Line. I think that's probably my favorite out of their stuff that I've heard. Still missing a listen of a couple, including the two brought up here.

[odessasteps]

The classic rock/AOR playlist where I’m eating lunch has produced some true heavy rotation hits, including Come Together, Dont Fear the Reaper and more relevant to the board: 

 

[Curt McGirt]

Ooof, I was just reminded of Sirius. Ozzy's Boneyard is so crappy for Van Halen and Aerosmith these days. And then you got Tom Morello and Duff and Wife playing stuff that isn't even metal. I'd rather listen to Little Stevie's channel Underground Garage. Is it so hard to make a channel that is just '80s metal without the hair and the AC/DC? It's sad when Metal Mayhem on MTV2 Friday nights has more variety than Ozzy's own radio station.

Another gripe, pulling out some 7''s reminded me that it irritates me to no end when people don't designate an A or B side (or put tracklists on B side and think you are gonna play the side with the art in the middle on first when it's the other way around half the time) and especially, don't designate 45 or 33 1/3 speed. 

Edited April 1 by Curt McGirt

[odessasteps]

Since I posted that, I’ve now heard CSN, Queen (we will rock you), Billy Joel and currently Bob Seger (old time RnR), so that’s two wrestling themes.
 

add to the list: Cream, Tommy James

Edited April 1 by odessasteps