What Are You Listening To Now v8.0

[Blind_Justice]

Sadly played to death and beyond, at least here in Germany. It's basically his signature song at this point which is too bad because "Don't Pay The Ferryman", "High On Emotion", "Fire On The Water" or even "Spaceman" have more legs than "Lady In Red".

 

[Blind_Justice]

@MetaBob I see what you did there.

Current obsession: Ghost - Skeletá

Some people, especially metal heads, seem to hate Ghost with a passion. I love love love them - the contrast between very poppy song structures and melodies and some dark lyrics just works. I liked them when they were slightly Mercyful-Fate inspired and I absolutely adore them since they've included a very unhealthy dose of '80s plastic from "Impera" onwards.

"Skeletá" is still a good album, a lot of hook lines other artists would die for. But I feel there's just two really great songs on it (Peacefield and De Profundis Borealis), there's two ballads on there and both SUCK. The remaining six are pretty good.

 

[iwatchus]

I have been listening to this several tines recently -- FMC in WIP is named Angie and the song has fit my mood many days

 

[Blind_Justice]

Well, since I have a keyboard in front of me, here's another one.

https://lulusuicide.bandcamp.com/track/hi-im-ready-to-die

Lulu Suicide - Hi, I'm Ready To Die

I love video games. I love video game music. I especially love video games when they make me go out and buy music, as is the case with this one. There's this little gem called "Crime Scene Cleaner". It's exactly what the title suggests - you play as a struggling janitor who helps a student with a... fatality related accident's fallout, only to be recruited by the local kingpin to clean up several very messy situations. So you grab your mop and your sponge and trash can, collect bodies and evidence and get rid of all. The. Freaking. Blood. Also, you can more or less subtly improve your own situation by looting the crime scenes. And here's where the music comes in. In every mission, you can find tapes containing bits of background music and Lulu Suicide''s work is heavily featured.

So, for those of you who do play video games, have a strong stomach and tolerance for black comedy, check out Crime Scene Cleaner, on PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

I'm generally receptive to goth music and these guys mix some pop sensibilities with tastefully harsh guitars. The female singer might be an acquired taste but she fits the general quirkiness of the music perfectly. "Finance You" has VERY strong Heavenwood vibes, there are traces of The Cure, Sisters Of Mercy and even some J-Pop in there. Fascinating stuff. @Bramblethorn - give them a listen if you've got time.

 

[MetaBob]

@MetaBob I see what you did there.

 

[MetaBob]

Warren Zevon: Sentimental Hygiene

This was after Warren's popular peak and even some of his so-called die-hard fans call it "obscure". In a Zevon-related online discussion with one self-described expert, a decade ago, I quoted a lyric at him: "Leave My Monkey Alone". He said 'How does that relate? Where did that come from?' He'd never heard the album before.

I listened to it when I learned that it was basically Warren fronting R.E.M instead of Michael Stipe, sometimes augmented by his usual studio co-conspirators. He also has his usual eclectic posse of backing musicians and vocalists: Neil Young, Bobby D, Brian Setzer, Don Henley, Mike Campbell, Stan Lynch, Michael Stipe, Jennifer Warnes, Flea, etc. I think it rocks.

Here's a full playlist:

His next work, Transverse City, is also worth a listen. It's a dystopian concept album with a different eclectic cast of guest musicians and vocalists:

 

[HordHolm]

I'm not a fan of Country in the slightest (hell, I'm a Brit living in the middle of Europe - shitkicker hats and rodeos are a bit thin on the ground here), but I do like a clever bit of wordplay, and this has it. I've no idea why the youtube algorithm stuck this under my nose, but it seems like it's worth sharing.

 

[DrunkPugsley]

I've been on a big M83 and Sloppy Jane kick lately.

 

[carolheadcase]

 

[MetaBob]

Another band from the same batch from (roughly) the same place and genre; Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit hit, and suddenly the Seattle music scene that quickly got dubbed "grunge" broke, with other bands getting dragged into the spotlight with the help of a hit Cameron Crowe film that highlighted music of that time and place. They all knew each other and had great albums being released, but each band's sound was unique: Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and these guys (among others), who had a hit song, a superb album handy, and hated each other enough that they were planning to break up, but held off for a bit longer and made this (full album playlist) before the inevitable crash:

I'm especially partial to Track 6 through cans with the volume cranked:

 

[Bloodandglitter]

My new obsession:

However I love some Morcheeba and Sneeker Pimps!

Since you like Sneaker Pimps, do you like IAMX?

 

[Bloodandglitter]

I can't stop listening to Bring It On by Gomez. It's such an amazing album from start to finish.

 

[Comentarista82]

Leave it to a master like Paul Gilbert to reimagine and improve a song with his mad guitar skills:

 

[MetaBob]

Another band from the same batch from (roughly) the same place and genre; Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit hit, and suddenly the Seattle music scene that quickly got dubbed "grunge" broke, with other bands getting dragged into the spotlight with the help of a hit Cameron Crowe film that highlighted music of that time and place. They all knew each other and had great albums being released, but each band's sound was unique: Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and these guys (among others), who had a hit song, a superb album handy, and hated each other enough that they were planning to break up, but held off for a bit longer and made this (full album playlist) before the inevitable crash:

I'm especially partial to Track 6 through cans with the volume cranked:

I think the next great Seattle band was destined to be The Gits:

Then there was tragedy, not drugs this time, at least not directly: Mia was r*ped and m*rdered. I fucking hate the world sometimes.

The surviving members of the band toured later as "Evil Stig", which is "Gits Live" backwards. Joan Jett sang Mia's vocals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ZglAd4jWw

All respect to Joan Jett, who earned all respect, but I think Mia's versions were better.

 

[NotWise]

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction with Dolly Parton, Pink, and Brandi Carlile. I like their version.

 

[Comentarista82]

Nothing better than seeing a happy Reacher!

 

[ChloeTzang]

I'm going to bore you all with one of my favorite pieces of Chinese classical music - an Erhu cover of "Rain in Jiang Nan"

 

[MetaBob]

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction with Dolly Parton, Pink, and Brandi Carlile. I like their version.

Somebody made a documentary about it:

 

[Bramblethorn]

Vale Ozzy.

 

[Blind_Justice]

@Bramblethorn Yep, Lem & Ozzy can now rock out together again.

Ozzy - Bark At The Moon

Part of my metal upbringing. It was song 2 on a mixtape a classmate gave me to "get you something proper to listen to". As if my collection of '70s electronica and early Brit goth wasn't proper... *shakes head*

 

[MetaBob]

I might be about to go deep into a bluegrass rabbit hole, but there's this Czech guitarist named Slavek Hanzlik. Twelve years ago I bought a couple of his CDs from a record label that's now defunct (John Delgatto's Sierra Records) at a steep discount. The discount certainly factored into my decision to buy the CDs, but there's also the musicians he worked with, including Tim O'Brien, Stuart Duncan, Béla Fleck, and the greatest dobro player of all time: Jerry Douglas. The two albums are titled "Summer Solstice" and "Fall of My Dreams". With one exception, the songs on these two CDs are original instrumental compositions. The one exception is "The Yellow Rose of Texas", which I think is beautifully done and somehow wormed its way into my head this morning without me having heard it for a year or two:

The two original records are now hard to find, but some of their music was collected and re-compiled later, including this playlist which seems to represent a re-issue of "Fall of My Dreams":

Maybe the best part of my order of these two CDs being fulfilled was that an unordered extra copy of one of the CDs arrived. I turned around and gave that extra copy to a mando-playing friend of mine. Spread the joy!

Oh wait, I remember how "The Yellow Rose of Texas" made its way into my head today: I saw a small potted yellow rose in my local store this morning and decided that I needed to have it. I used to make toast and tea for my ex-wife when she slept in on weekend mornings before she filed for divorce, and would include a flower when I could:

 

[ItsJustMeApathy]

Took the train to Chicago last Friday for my youngest daughter's birthday, came home, by train, last night and this came on my spotify playlist. I LOVE this version of this song.

 

[dirk2024]

Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond

 

[ElectricBlue]

The guitar player from Golden Earring just died.

Radar Love was a constant on the radio back in my school days. Best driving song ever - well, second after Roadhouse Blues from The Doors.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Right now, nothing, but I just returned from a smoking blues concert by David Gogo. Two acoustic guitars, one 90 years old and the other ten years older.