Latest music you've picked up...

nathanm · « **Reply #100 on:** 9 Nov 2004, 02:56 am »

You're right, I corrected my post.

Lost81 · « **Reply #101 on:** 13 Nov 2004, 12:59 am »

Bought Nick Cave's Abattoir Blues / Lyre of Orpheus[/i] recently. It is a 2 CD set, with Abattoir Blues containing the louder, grittier songs, and the the slower, ballad tracks residing in the Lyre of Opheus.

In particular, I love the track, "The Lyre of Orpheus."

Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed
Wondering what to do
With a lump of wood, a piece of wire
And a little pot of glue
O Mamma O Mamma

He sawed at the wood with half a heart
And glued it top to bottom
He strung a wire in between...

The chorus is "Oh, Mama!" In the beginning, the chorus sounds strained, strange and awkward. Later it sounds funny as Cave continues with his parody of the classical tale of Orpheus.

Orpheus went leaping through the fields
Strumming as hard as he did please
Birdies detonated in the sky
Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees
O Mamma O Mamma

In the end, Cave attenuates his voice and transforms it into a lament of sadness. This album is definitely better than his previous release, "Nocturama."

One of my housemates picked up Eminem's Encore[/i] at 12 AM at Towers Records this morning (there was a long line for it!). It is also a 2 CD set. Hmm... maybe there is an upside to the social phenomenon of MP3-trading and ripping after all--artists and record companies have to work harder to pack more value into their albums. The insert for this album, for example, is more like a beautifully printed booklet with glossy colored photographs and lyrics than a simple fold-out with the song list.

I must admit that Encore is funny. (This is coming from someone who generally doesn't care for rap). In an interesting parallel to Nick Cave , who took an ancient Greek myth and talked crap about it, Eminem took current events and celebrities and talked sh*t about them. It is incredibly funny, and when one takes the lyrics apart and examines them, there is a method to his madness (apologies to Polonius

). By the way, in the section where Eminem is talking to the police officer, he does it with a very thick Middle Eastern accent. Talk about politically incorrect!

Mary Kate and Ashley used to be so wholesome*
Now they getting older, they’re starting to grow bum-bums
I go to the movies and sit down with my popcorn
Police saying, FREEZE... DOING DOING DOING
What do you mean freeze? JEEZ I just got my seat
I have ticket, look I put away, my zipper’s zipped
Please do not remove me from this movie theatre, please
I did not even get to see Mary Kate’s shower scene
I didn’t mean to be obscene or make a great big scene
And don’t treat me like I’m Pee-Wee Herman
This movie’s PG, Mr. Office, I demand to see my attorney
I will simple plead innocent, cop a plea, and be free
Free, yes free, right back on the streets
What you mean my lawyers with Michael, He’s too busy?
I am Triumph, Britney Spears has shoulder’s are like man
And I could say that and you laugh cause there’s a puppet on my hand

The way you shake it
I can’t believe it, I ain’t never seen an ass like that
The way you move it, you make my peepee go DOING DOING DOING
Hilary Duff is not quite old enough so I ain’t never seen a butt like that
Maybe next year I’ll say ass and she’ll make my peepee go DOING DOING DOING

In the end, I think the joke is on the consumer because here is a young adult who is making millions by fronting and talking smack, and legions are making him a multi-millionaire for it.

I also came across Voltaire when I picked up a music sampler by Projekt. The man is incredibly funny. His lyrics are even creepier than Nick Cave's Murder Ballads. It is all the more creepy when he sings them to unbelievably beautiful melodies and violins (lots of violins). The melodies are incredibly seductive and sound light-hearted. You find yourself singing along to them without thinking about the contents of the lyrics, and it is only later that you realize... "Wait a minute! What the hell am I singing? OMG! That's sick and just wrong!" I realize Halloween is over, but Voltaire is just incredibly funny. Unlike Cave in Murder Ballads, where his persona is clearly serious, in Voltaire's songs, the artist comes across as mocking the very genre he hails from (i.e. Goth)--which only renders the listening experience all the richer (and funnier):

Two examples:

Ex Lover's Lover

I wait for the day when I finally defile
the bodies of my x lover's lovers.
I'll pile high to the sky
the bodies of my x lover's lovers
Die die die die die die
die die die die die die die
watch them die.

I saw you with him. You looked so happy.
All of that can change, cause i am so lonely
and I have lots of time to send you straight
to the Devil. I'm taking my time
to plan your demise.
What if I were to cut you up and mail each part
to a different town? It would take the most
brilliant private eye the rest of his life
just to put you together.
a piece in each mailbox all over the planet
from Moscow to Tokyo to Guadalajara.

Dead Girls (don't say "No")

I don't expect you to understand me
I'm not an ordinary man
and I have seen things with these eyes
you'd never comprehend
see for yourself now
take those living women
they have never shown me any kindness of any kind
its not my fault i look this way
I try to talk to them
they look at me and walk away
so really is it so strange that

dead girls like me
can't you see?
only dead girls like me
oh, dead girls like me
can't you see?
only dead girls don't walk away from me
sad as it seems

have you ever tasted love like this?
cool and smooth have you ever been accepted unconditionaly?
have you ever loved someone who didn't hurt you, didn't harm you?

There's no pain and there's no pressure
no humiliation
there's no fear and there's no shame
there's no pulse now is it so strange?

-Lost81

rosconey · « **Reply #102 on:** 2 Dec 2004, 11:28 pm »

creed greatest hits-2 disk set-

one a cd and the other a dvd iwth videos for each song

cd sounds well recorded

havent done the dvd till now

Lost81 · « **Reply #103 on:** 5 Dec 2004, 07:36 am »

More software for my aural nervosa...

The Thin Red Line - Soundtrack - Hans Zimmer
- An interesting change from the usual war movie soundtracks. This time, Zimmer's treatment is quieter and more sparse, as opposed to his usual trademarked Wagneresque approach of overwhelming pomp (e.g. "Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down," etc). Think of this as a companion to Nick Glennie-Smith's excellent score to "We Were Solders."

Millennium Actress (Sennen Joyu) - Soundtrack - Susumu Hirasawa
- Satoshi Kon does it again. 3 treatments of this excellent anime film's melodramatic main score, each done in a different manner. Think of this film as the anime companion to Akira Kurosawa's motion-pictures. By the way, this is the other film that shared the 2001 Japan's prestigious Agency of Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festifal Animation Grand Prize with Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away."

Symphonies Nos. 10 & 11 - Dimitri Shostakovich
- Sparse, heavy, poignant Russian music. No. 10 in E minor op. 93 was used to evoke the Stalinist era after the death of the dictator in 1953. Symphony No. 11 in G minor op. 103 is a memorial and a lament for the peaceful demonstrators massacared in St Petersburg on the orders of the Tsar on 9th Jan 1905.

Das Lied von der Erde - Gustav Mahler, featuring the voice of Kathleen Ferrier
- An incredible aural experience: experience terror, despair and finally hope through the incredible voice of contralto, Kathleen Ferrier, and tenor Julius Patzak.

Symphony No. 9 in D major - Gustav Mahler, conducted by Leonard Bernstein
- Perhaps Mahler's darkest work: the entire symphony, from beginning to end, is focused on death. The last movement, with its deliberate slowness mimicking the awful process of dying (for those of us unfortunate enough to know what a death-rattle sounds like while standing helplessly by the bedside in a hospital ward) is absolutely terrifying.

The Best of Rachmaninoff - Rafael Orozco Philharmonic Orchestra
- One of the greatest pianists of his generation, and the last great Russian Romantic composer in the tradition of Tchaikovsky. Nikolay Zverev, Rachmaninoff's master in the Moscow Conservatory, included such musical greats as Anton Rubinstein, Safonov and Tchaikovsky in his circle. Listening to "The Isle of the Dead" while drunk and a loaded gun within easy reach would be a very bad idea. On the other hand, if you worship Kurt Cobain, and desire a seat at his right hand...

Romeo and Juliet - Sergei Prokofiev, conducted by Seiji Ozawa, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
- If you haven't been treated to a Russian composer's treatment of the Bard's play, then you don't know what you are missing. (Prokofiev also composed some music for "Antony and Cleopatra," but his role was incidental.)

Future Song - Cranes
- The lament of a little girl's voice echoing from the depths of some abandoned steel mill. Discordant and yet melodic, disturbing and yet memorable, tragic and yet sweet. Dwell into this if you can appreciate the Italian concept of "contrasti" and possess an open mind.

Music from "The Thin Blue Line" - Philip Glass
- It took 15 years and the attention of a small company, Orange Mountain Music, before the score to Errol Moriss's groundbreaking film is re-released without the annoying dialogues present in the movie (i.e. Nonesuch Records' 1989 release). This film is famous because it actually resulted in overturning the murder conviction of a young man named Randall Adams, who had already served 11 years for the murder of a police officer (in 1976)--which he didn't commit.

Bang on a Can: Music in Fifths / Two Pages - Philip Glass
- Music for those of us with bad music taste and are acolytes of tautology...

-Lost81

JoshK · « **Reply #104 on:** 17 Dec 2004, 01:50 am »

Von Bondies!
The Black Keys!!
The Killers!

Good stuff Maynard...

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #105 on:** 5 Jan 2005, 05:55 am »

Josh,

How is that Von Bondies album?

The killers new album is pretty good, though I got it with the Stills and Modest Mouse, both of which I like more.

I just picked up my fourth copy of Beethoven's Apassionata- this one by Alfred Brendel. I really like Brendel.

Michael

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #106 on:** 5 Jan 2005, 05:59 am »

Quote from: mcrespo71

I just picked up my fourth copy of Beethoven's Apassionata- this one by Alfred Brendel. I really like Brendel.

Michael

Mike....And I thought you were only a "rocker".....

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #107 on:** 5 Jan 2005, 06:08 am »

Oh, not at all, though I do listen to about 70% rock. I just don't fool around wasting my time on audiophile schlock or crappy ass jazz that seems to proliferate among the high end audio set! I was force fed classical as a youth and it grew on me later. I've got a modest classical collection- maybe 200 LP's/CD's. Perhaps about the same for jazz- though you won't find one F***** Diana Krall LP in my collection, but I do have Norah Jones first one on LP

Michael

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #108 on:** 5 Jan 2005, 06:13 am »

Quote from: mcrespo71

Oh, not at all, though I do listen to about 70% rock. I just don't fool around wasting my time on audiophile schlock or crappy ass jazz that seems to proliferate among the high end audio set! I was force fed classical as a youth and it grew on me later. I've got a modest classical collection- maybe 200 LP's/CD's. Perhaps about the same for jazz- though you won't find one F***** Diana Krall LP in my collection, but I do have Norah Jones first one on LP

Michael

Expect the percentage to decrease as the years go by.... hey, it happens....

....but there's alot of good music out there, just have to look and listen....

mjosef · « **Reply #109 on:** 14 Jan 2005, 09:11 pm »

I figured my collection of late has been larking vocals. I tend to favor instrumentals, jazz, orchestral or world music... So I made a determined effort to add some more female vocals...here are a few I recently picked up. *Maria Antonakos 'four corners no walls' nice lush soprano reminds me of >*Sarah Brightman 'Classics' and 'Harem' , *Patricia Barber 'Live in...France' this was a surprise, I really liked this cd, I don't own any Diana Krall(?) but I have seen her in concert once openning for Cassandra Wilson, and I thought Patricia B might be along the same, but she was quite good on both vocals and piano.Sheryl Crow 'The Best of', like they say a change could do you good. if Sheryl represents country, this would be my first country cd. Bjork 'Medulla' still getting used to this new Bjork's, I love her earlier stuff.
I have four disc coming soon: Enya 'the best of', *Dawn Upshaw 'Voices of light-Messiaen, Debussy & Golijov', Renne Fleming 'Handel', Etta James 'Blues to the Bone'.
If anyone has any other female vocalist/artist to recommend, comments are welcome. I liked all those I purchased, those I marked with an* were new to me and a pleasant surprise.

budyog · « **Reply #110 on:** 15 Jan 2005, 04:54 pm »

A few disc that have been close to my machine lately:
The Finn Brothers "Everyone is here" I am going to the show in "Nashville" 2 /19/05 anyone else?
Willie & Lobo All disc, Just saw them in La Cruz, Mexico 1/2/05 Blowaway performance in a quaint beautiful setting called the "Black Forest"
Graham Parker "Your Country"
Bowie "Reality"

Eric · « **Reply #111 on:** 17 Jan 2005, 08:50 am »

Josh Turner and Julie Roberts

Digital · « **Reply #112 on:** 17 Jan 2005, 01:01 pm »

Best of John Lee Hooker 1964 to 1975 - Great stuff, excellent production & mastering too! Hey Budyog, I second the Willie & Lobo post, saw them a few months ago at a little cafe here called the Dream Cafe - fantastic duo!

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #113 on:** 17 Jan 2005, 01:16 pm »

Quote from: mjosef

So I made a determined effort to add some more female vocals... *Patricia Barber 'Live in...France' this was a surprise, I really liked this cd, I don't own any Diana Krall.....

I haven't heard Barber's "Live in France" but have other CD's of hers; if you're interested in hearing Krall, there's the "Live in Paris" CD or DVD that might appeal to you (personally, I LOVE it, but I like all Krall). One CD you might check out is Terence Blanchard's "Let Get Lost" since it's the trumpet player duetting with Krall, Jane Monheit, Cass Wilson and Dianne Reeves as well as doing some great instrumental tracks. Even if you don't like one of the particular vocalists, there are still the other tracks you might like. "Let's Get Lost" was one of the early albums avauilable on SACD.

Hegemony · « **Reply #114 on:** 18 Jan 2005, 10:17 am »

hi All,

I think this is my first post on this forum, I have however learnt alot and gained an insight into the world of HiFi as a medium-term lurker.

I just picked up this album 'Bob Dylan - The bootleg series volume 1-3 rare and unreleased 1961-1991'

I am a newcomer to Dylans music (apart from the more famous and mainstream tracks) and these cd's were a revelation. I have enjoyed a bit of a voyage of discovery through this series.

Cheers,
Russ

ohenry · « **Reply #115 on:** 18 Jan 2005, 01:28 pm »

"Miracle Mule" by the Subdudes. The boys are back together and the music is good. This was one of Stereophile's albums of the month recently, but don't hold that against them...

I've always enjoyed their minimalist approach to the eclectic mix of songs having blues, folk, rock and cajun influences. I saw them about a year ago performing most of this album and highly recommend seeing them live if you can.

Also, I picked up Doyle Bramhall's "Fitchburg Street". It contains great covers of R&B favorites in a Stevie Ray Vaughan manner. His son, D. B. II appears on a few tracks playing guitar (that's the reason I bought it). Good stuff on this one.

I'm having a little trouble getting into Wilco's Yankee... I appreciate the music and recognize that it's good on a number of levels; maybe I'm just too old? I'll keep listening though.

OTOH, I think I'm too young to fully appreciate the latest Crosby and Nash double. Great sonics and wonderful harmonies occurring during tired, rehashed and half-baked song themes from 35 years ago. After a few months of listening, it hasn't gotten better.

mjosef · « **Reply #116 on:** 18 Jan 2005, 09:10 pm »

I have one cd of Terence, old one from the early 90's. I will check out the 'Lets get lost'. I just received the new Diana Krall and one by Jane Monheit 'Taking a chance on Love'.
Here is another batch of female artists/vocalists I just received:
Sandy Denny 'Anthology', Sinead O'connor 'Am I not your girl?', Sophie B. Hawkins 'tongues and tails', Joan Arden 'Happy', Sarah Vaughn 'Dreamsville'.

Living in the City has its perks, I was walking by the Virgin Megastore couple days ago, and decided to pop in and browse around...the bargin hunter I am, I gravitated toward the "clearance " rack, and lo and behold all the clearance cds were reduced to .99cents. Well ended up spending over forty dollars. The music selection run the gamut from classical to punk with a shattering of World and folk. In that buy I found a couple cds of female vocalist worth mentioning; one of a Spanish singer Maria Salgado 'Siete Modos de guisar las Berenjenas', very enjoyable music even though me no hablar espanol...and the other, Vince Benedetti meets Diana Krall 'Heartdrops', very good music, Diana's chops seem better then than now...I find her new cd 'Girl in the other room' too ummm safe(?), I lost interest before it ended...

I have so much 'new' music to listen to now...

Andrikos · « **Reply #117 on:** 18 Jan 2005, 09:19 pm »

"Mediocre Generica" by Leftover Crack (2002)
ABSOLUTELY F@&%$ING BRILLIANT!!!!

Anyone who would find a combination of Ska, punk, heavy metal riffs and solos, death metal growls, piano and a whole slew of virtuosy music interesting, PICK IT UP!!!!

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #118 on:** 18 Jan 2005, 09:47 pm »

Quote from: mjosef

I have one cd of Terence, old one from the early 90's. I will check out the 'Lets get lost'.....

There's quite a bit of music & video on the Sony site for "Let's Get Lost."

BTW, Jann Arden's earlier CD's "Living Under June" & "No Time For Mercy" are very good if you find "Happy?" enjoyable.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #119 on:** 23 Jan 2005, 03:56 am »

Well , besides these classical selections, I purchased a few Jazz cds :

HEY HO, LET'S GO !!![/list:u]i miss my old friends