Music General Music Discussion Catch-All

[Curt McGirt]

On 7/15/2023 at 7:24 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

The Lords of the New Church's Is Nothing Sacred? This was another post-punk act that veered into gothic rock. One of the most fascinating aspects of 1983 music is the different forms that punk is splintering into. The Lords of the New Church formed out of the ashes of the punk band, The Dead Boys, and there style morphed to the point where you have synths on this record and strong new wave leanings. Punk wasn't dead in 1983, but it was barely recognizable from its 70s heyday. 

Good record though I prefer the debut. Punk still isn't dead btw and I guess there are still some '77 style bands out there, but definitely more hardcore, crust, Oi!, street punk... really the latter two subgenres are closest to original punk. 

On 7/17/2023 at 1:38 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Sonic Youth's Confusion Is Sex... early Sonic Youth record. Noisy. They didn't quite have the melody and structure of their later records. It's amazing to think that within a few short years they'd become one of the most important groups of the alt-rock movement.

I lo-huh-huuuuve this record. A nightmare of awkward dissonance and discomfort. I just wished this was attached to my vinyl copy like my CD. 

The title track is perfect.

[ohtani's jacket]

Waterboys' Waterboys... I always quite liked the Waterboys. They were unfairly compared to U2, and when they blew up it was because of their big music become popular, but  I always felt like Mike Scott was a songwriter with something to say. This was raw Scott. He didn't even have a proper band, but he had a handful of songs ready to unleash on the world and you could already tell he was ambitious.

UB40's Labour of Love... UB40 are one of those bands I would never claim to like but sing along to whenever they came on the radio. I was surprised by how many of the songs I knew on this record. While there's an element of white guys pinching another culture's music, I can definitely understand why the group was popular. 

Killing Joke's Fire Dances... I don't think Killing Joke fans like this album very much, and I can understand that, but again, context... It was extremely difficult for late 70s bands to continue producing successful LPs in the early 80s. There were all sorts of pressure to add synth sounds to the production and follow the New Wave crowd. Post-punk bands were particularly lost around this time as they weren't at the cutting edge anymore. Killing Joke didn't quite get things right on this album, but it did lead to the more successful Night Time record in '85, so you can view this as a decent transition album if you wish. 

The Plimsouls' Everywhere at Once... Decent power pop record with elements of a few other styles I like thrown into the mix -- garage rock, jangle pop, and rockabilly. None of the tracks stood out to me, but the music wasn't bad.

The Stranglers' Feline... I liked this a bit more of a second listen, but on the whole, I'd say this a lot worse than the Killing Joke's LP while being in a fairly similar predicament. 

Einstürzende Neubauten's Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.... I have my limits, and here they are... This was noisy crap. Sorry if you're a fan.

Circle Jerks' Golden Shower of Hits... this held up pretty well, but it's not as hard as you'd expect. The songs are short but have a pop ring to them that I wasn't expecting.

ABC's Beauty Stab... now we're getting into the territory of music my father listened to. He had an ABC cassette tape that he practically wore out listening to in the car. Little OJ used to hoon around in the car singing "Blame Cupid, Cupid!" out the window. This was a step down from the Lexicon of Love record and didn't have any bangers on it, but it reminded me of my dad who's ailing at the moment, so it was a nice trip down memory lane.

Kajagoogoo's White Feathers... Too Shy is a massive tune. If there's a song that instantly takes you back to 1983, that may be it. Unfortunately, there's nothing else on this LP that remotely compares to that song. What a song though. 

[odessasteps]

As a kid, I didn’t realize how many British bands were covering Afro/Caribbean artists, whether it was reggae or ska or what have you. 

[Infinit]

I was on stage to see Ice Cube perform tonight!! Total bucket list moment

 

[Travis Sheldon]

Did he do the classic song "Fund The Police"?

[supremebve]

11 hours ago, Travis Sheldon said:

Did he do the classic song "Fund The Police"?

Ice Cube is one of a long list of people that think they're revolutionary when what they are is just contrarian.  They don't actually have a point of view, they just want to go against everything everyone else thinks.  If you love the police, it's "Fuck the police."  If you hate the police, it's "Come on now, you don't think we need police?"  I want everyone to go back and listen to Death Certificate, my favorite Ice Cube album, and ask yourself if this person has a political idealogy other than fuck everyone who isn't me or mine.  Honestly, when someone you think is on your side says something that makes you understand that they are only on their own side, check their history I bet you they are just a contrarian.  They have no real philosophy behind anything other than, this is what I want to do, fuck anyone who disagrees.

[Curt McGirt]

On 7/22/2023 at 4:22 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Killing Joke's Fire Dances... I don't think Killing Joke fans like this album very much

...and go figure, it's my favorite Killing Joke album. 

[Travis Sheldon]

15 hours ago, supremebve said:

Ice Cube is one of a long list of people that think they're revolutionary when what they are is just contrarian.  They don't actually have a point of view, they just want to go against everything everyone else thinks.  If you love the police, it's "Fuck the police."  If you hate the police, it's "Come on now, you don't think we need police?"  I want everyone to go back and listen to Death Certificate, my favorite Ice Cube album, and ask yourself if this person has a political idealogy other than fuck everyone who isn't me or mine.  Honestly, when someone you think is on your side says something that makes you understand that they are only on their own side, check their history I bet you they are just a contrarian.  They have no real philosophy behind anything other than, this is what I want to do, fuck anyone who disagrees.

There's reasons Eazy-E was my favorite.

[supremebve]

11 hours ago, Travis Sheldon said:

There's reasons Eazy-E was my favorite.

All hail that bastian of principles Eazy-E.  Lol, like what you like, but if you listened to N.W.A. and thought, "Eazy, that's my favorite," we listen to music much differently.  Say what you want about Dr. Dre and Ice Cube as men, as political thinkers, or as anything else, they are still DR. DRE AND ICE CUBE.  Let's not get any of this twisted, there is one reason we know either of their names and it ain't because they are up for citizenship awards.  It's because they are all-time great talents in their genre.  I see their flaws as people and have no problem pointing out those issues, but they stand as pillars in this hip-hop shit.  My point with the above statement is mostly about understanding that someone who makes dope music, might also be a fucking dope in other parts of life.  I'm done being disappointed in people's opinions about anything else when all I actually care about is the art they create.  I literally don't really care about Ice Cube's opinions unless he's rapping them, and then I only care if the song is good.  I just see him for who he is at this point, good and bad.  

[ohtani's jacket]

Sun Ra and his Outer Space Arkestra's A Fireside Chat With Lucifer... I've been ignoring 1983 jazz, largely because my interest in jazz barely extends into the 70s let alone 1983, but I couldn't resist the title for this LP. This includes the amusing track Nuclear War, which has awesome lines like "if they push that button, your ass gotta go," and "gonna blast your ass so high in the sky, you can kiss your ass goodbye." The rest of the record is forgettable. 

Negative Approach's Tied Down... I have no idea where this fits into the history of hardcore punk or thrashcore, but the vocals are great. It's also fast, and 16 minutes long. That ticks all the boxes. 

James Blood Ulmer's Odyssey... People say this isn't Ulmer's best album, but I frigging loved it. This is jazz fusion using a mix of rock, funk and electric blues. Totally up my alley. I really need to listen to more Ulmer albums.

Kath Bloom & Loren Mazzacane's Restless Faithful Desperate... Very folky, very singer-songwriter-y. Not bad if you like that type of music but felt fairly out of place in 1983.

Turbo's Dorosłe dzieci... Turbo are a Polish heavy metal group. Once again, we love the fact that metal spread around the world. I don't think you can really expect a Polish group to be ahead of the curve, but I guess you never know. To my ears, this was solid 1983 metal in the hard rock/NWOBH vein. 

Wally Badarou's Echoes... OK, here's where it gets very musician's musician-y. Wally Badarou is a French musician who worked closely with Level 42 and was a session musician and producer on a bunch of 80s stuff. If you're at all interested in the music behind synthpop and not just the karaoke friendly hits, then this is worth listening to. This dude was right at the cutting edge and exploring all sorts of new electronic sounds. 

Soft Selection 84... this is a compilation album of Japanese minimal synth and minimal wave tracks. Some of them are poppier than you'd expect. Not bad.

Monsoon's Third Eye... This is kind of ethnic psychedelic pop. It's hard to describe. It's almost as if the group was trying to mix Bollywood sounds with modern dance music. The Tomorrow Never Knows cover is probably the key to understanding this record. Ever So Lonely was a big enough hit that they were able to appear on Top of the Pops, which was a pretty big deal as you didn't see too many singers wearing a sari on TOTP.

Virna Lindt's Shiver... Swedish art pop. Sounds a bit like ABBA meets Blondie. I was neither moved here nor there, but I can imagine this being an extremely cool discovery if you like chic records. 

[Curt McGirt]

Tied Down is pretty classic but this is REALLY legendary in the annals of '80s US hardcore: 

negative approach - negative approach 7" - YouTube

(Goddamn embedding won't work again... grumble grumble)

Tied Down I always thought sounded too clean and never actually bought a copy of. The EP though? I put that shit on a tape with I think Poison Idea's Pick Your King EP on the back side and sold it for $3 a pop at local shows years ago, just so the kids got exposed to the greatness. I also did an Anti Cimex tape but I can't remember what was on the back of that, maybe I got the bands mixed up. 

God, this 7" still makes me want to punch someone directly in the fucking face. 

Anyhoo! I've never heard Turbo for some reason and need to rectify that. I was actually listening to Kat, also from Poland who always are mentioned in the same breath as Turbo, last night. 

[Curt McGirt]

Ah, I think I put Siege - Drop Dead with NA. Cimex and PI were on the other tape.

EDIT: Hey, this Turbo record is really solid. Great bass playing, especially on the slower/more ballad-y stuff. Strong vocals and guitar harmonies too. 

I  Eastern European Metal (Mediterranean Too)

Edited August 2, 2023 by Curt McGirt

[twiztor]

Hot Take Friday:

while i like the Danzig-era Misfits (and fully admit their place in history), i find myself enjoying the '90s Only-era Misfits more. Less experimental, sure, and way less influential obviously, but i find them more fun to listen to. 

[Chaos]

I finally caved and got a turntable setup after years of putting it off while developing a small collection. The thing that reengaged this for me was I was on a beach trip with my current partner and her kids. While in 30A, I went to the indie record store there that's kind of priced sadly for the 30A crowd and not necessarily the hobbyist (it's still a neat spot there in Seaside). Anyways, I bought each of them an album on vinyl.

I decided to at least just get a basic set up and maybe upgrade certain pieces from there over time. For now, I kept it around $400 and got a uturn basic orbit turntable (with preamp) and Edifier R1280DB speakers. A sound guy I know recommended me some higher priced klipsch speakers that were on sale, but by the time I'd have bit the bullet, they went back up (was at $370 and reg was $500).

Everything should hopefully get here next week. I'm kind of excited to start this process and play some stuff that's just sat in a cheap crate for the last few years. 

[Curt McGirt]

5 hours ago, twiztor said:

Hot Take Friday:

while i like the Danzig-era Misfits (and fully admit their place in history), i find myself enjoying the '90s Only-era Misfits more. Less experimental, sure, and way less influential obviously, but i find them more fun to listen to. 

[Curt McGirt]

3 hours ago, Chaos said:

I finally caved and got a turntable setup after years of putting it off while developing a small collection. The thing that reengaged this for me was I was on a beach trip with my current partner and her kids. While in 30A, I went to the indie record store there that's kind of priced sadly for the 30A crowd and not necessarily the hobbyist (it's still a neat spot there in Seaside). Anyways, I bought each of them an album on vinyl.

I decided to at least just get a basic set up and maybe upgrade certain pieces from there over time. For now, I kept it around $400 and got a uturn basic orbit turntable (with preamp) and Edifier R1280DB speakers. A sound guy I know recommended me some higher priced klipsch speakers that were on sale, but by the time I'd have bit the bullet, they went back up (was at $370 and reg was $500).

Everything should hopefully get here next week. I'm kind of excited to start this process and play some stuff that's just sat in a cheap crate for the last few years. 

I hope everything works out for you! Buying new stuff can be a toss-up. I've gotten cool looking, newfangled record players before that flat just wouldn't work; I keep coming back to the trusty Audio-Technica group. Even got a double-deck cassette player and one of the decks broke within a couple months (though that could have been user error). 

[Chaos]

2 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I hope everything works out for you! Buying new stuff can be a toss-up. I've gotten cool looking, newfangled record players before that flat just wouldn't work; I keep coming back to the trusty Audio-Technica group. Even got a double-deck cassette player and one of the decks broke within a couple months (though that could have been user error). 

Yeah, I thought about going with the LP120, but both models have increased in price since I looked at them in the past. (The 60 is closer to what the 120 used to be).

Uturn was a crowdfunded deal, and it seems like it's mostly had good responses. I think the cartridge and the stylus are both AT products.

 

[odessasteps]

More relevant this year, thanks to Oppenheimer 

 

[Cobra Commander]

The Fall Out Boy modern version of “We Didn’t Start The Fire” is pure dogshit. Like it’s taking an already overrated song and it’s even worse now.

[odessasteps]

 

[Curt McGirt]

I went and dug up the lyrics to that remake. 

As Dean once so beautifully wrote, "You can now vomit directly on your shoes."

[JLowe]

On 8/6/2023 at 9:06 AM, odessasteps said:

More relevant this year, thanks to Oppenheimer 

 

I'm a huge fan of early Depeche Mode and pretty much anything Vince Clarke has done but the synth riff on Enola Gay is maybe the single filthiest in all of synth pop (we are not including Kraftwerk in this genre, for the record).

[odessasteps]

Have you heard the John Peel sessions version? I only found it yesterday. 

[Brian Fowler]

Similar to what I was saying a couple weeks back about Larry Nassar, I never want to celebrate a person being stabbed, but it's damn hard to feel sorry for Ian Watkins, who was apparently held hostage in a prison cell, beaten, and stabbed repeatedly Saturday. Police yesterday said, contrary to initial reports, his injuries are not life threatening, but it sounds like three prisoners really did a number on him.

(If you aren't familiar with Watkins and why he is in prison, Google cautiously because it's sick and depraved stuff.)

[ohtani's jacket]

Green on Red's Gravity Talks... this was a really great Paisley Underground album. I'm not even a fan of the 60s psychedelic music that inspired this, but I still enjoyed it. Dan Stuart is my kind of songwriter -- just rambling about things at a mid-tempo pace while sounding vaguely like Lou Reed and Mick Jagger. 

Tangerine Dream's Hyperborea... I like Tangerine Dream. I went through a phase where I listened to a large chunk of their discography, but that was a long time ago and I got into a groove where I was in tune with the music they were making. This album didn't stand out in the context of quickly listening to as many 1983 albums as I can cram into a week, but if you were to give it multiple listens I imagine it would be rewarding. 

Necros' Conquest for Death... Necros were a mid-west punk band from Ohio and pretty decent. Not the heaviest record I've heard, but I imagine this was the type of thing that metalheads were listening to get their fix. 

Raul Seixas' Raul Seixas... Raul Seixas' look was better than his music if you ask me, but if you're a fan of standard rock 'n' roll then he was continuing to fly the banner in 1983.

Silly Wizard's Kiss the Tears Away... Scottish folk music. I can appreciate this on a certain level, but it's not something I'd choose to listen to. 

Yoshio Ojima's Club... I wasn't actually aware until I started this project of mine how much experimenting was being down with synth music at the time. Ambient music isn't really my thing, and neither is minimalism, but I added another little fact about music to my brain so that's something.

Abdullah Ibrahim's Zimbabwe... speaking of things I didn't know, how about the long history of jazz music in Cape Town? I had no idea that Cape Town used to be the equivalent of New Orleans, and I've never head anything by pianist, Abdullah Ibrahim, despite the fact that his music helped Cape Jazz gain more commercial exposure in the 1970s. Pleasant stuff, but I'd have to dig a bit deeper to get a grasp on the music from this area.

Polansky y El Ardor's Chantaje emocional... this was a Spanish new wave/post punk record that was ranked the 1005th best album of 1983 on Rate Your Music. I thought it was great, but bear in mind I like pretty much everything from Spain from this era, and I can't understand anything that they're singing about so I could be recommending you total crap. These guys only released one record before breaking up, which is a shame.

Faust'o's Faust'o... similar deal, but this time it's Italian, has more of a singer-songwriter vibe, and Faust'o had a long career. This was an exciting LP. I would definitely listen to more of this guy's stuff. 

Offenders' We Must Rebel... this sounded great, but the vocals were weak. The music deserved better, imo.