thenewgreen and I were recently discussing music in one of the favorite music threads and he was throwing some recs around (as was just about everyone in the thread). I had the idea that maybe a Sunday-afternoon music thread where everyone tosses out something that they discovered -- new or old -- during the past week could generate some excellent discussion.
I'll start us off with a link to Oh Darlin', a track by the longtime singer/songwriter Blaze Foley. I love the influences present in this track and the album it came from -- listening to it reminds me of old-style Robert Johnson songs, simplified Delta blues, Lead Belly, etc.
Thanks, all! A strange and wonderful variety of music in this thread so far.
This isn't exactly "this week" but these are the bands that I have gotten into recently. Hammock, more specifically their most recent album Departure Songs. It is a sort of crazy long post-rock/ambient album. My favorites from it are: Ten Thousand Years Won't Save Your Life and Tape Recorder Dead Rat Orchestra, again post-rock (I guess it might be that time of year?). I first heard about this band when they toured with Godspeed You! Black Emperor earlier, and never really gave them a listen until recently. You can find their bandcamp here. They've also released what was supposed to be a soundtrack recently, but I can't find anywhere easy to stream music from it. I'd recommend taking a listen to this Finally, after seeing Les Miserables I definitely went and downloaded a version of the musical and have been really enjoying listening to that.
Recommend Seam, "The Pace is Glacial" - similar overall vibe but with a bit more energy and some actual, y'know, songs ;)
I checked out the links. Listened to Dead Rat Orchestra for a bit and found it sounding both ghostly and familiar. Don't think its my "bag" but I still appreciated it. You know, I've never seen or heard any of the music from Les Miserables. Is it wonderful? I suppose it must be given all the praise it has received over the years. How was the film?
The movie was really rather incredible. I went into it not really exactly sure what to suspect, I had grown up occasionally hearing music from Les Mis played by my parents but am by no means a musical person. The music was great and the visuals were spectacular. The only downside is that it is rather long, and I was sort of expecting it to wrap things up quicker than it did. A few of my fav songs: Master of the House, Red and the Black, and I Dreamed a Dream
Thanks for the links.The movie was really rather incredible.
That's good to hear because I think my wife is interested in seeing it and I would like to surprise her by taking her. I actually really enjoy a good musical. I never seek them out but when they find me, I'm glad for it. I guess it's because I grew up watching Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music on a weekly basis. Give me a good narrative through song any day.
This week I've been listening to songs about change. Bowies "Changes" was an obvious choice but then I threw in Sandro Perri's Change, which I've already mentioned to you. But then I discovered a Donovan song that I've never heard before called..... you guessed it Changes. -Cool tune. Like almost all things Donovan, it is pretty cheesy but I enjoyed it.
Have you seen Dylan in "Don't Look Back"? The Donovan/Dylan exchange is classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc6HcA6kEJc
YES - I was going to mention it! Please tell me you linked the scene with the bottle. EDIT: ah, no, you linked actual music. I can't seem to find a yt clip of the part where Dylan flips his lid because Donovan or someone left a bottle/can lying around, but I'm pretty sure it's right before that. Not 100%.
HA. That's a great scene and I'm very familiar with it. In college scrimetime introduced me to Don't Look Back along with (and I'm eternally grateful for this one) The Last Waltz. I would have never known that Van Morrison is actually a Leprechaun with a penchant for kicking. Who knew?
The Last Waltz is a gorgeous documentary. (I would say rockumentary if I didn't despise that term.) I've loved Van the Man's music from an early age; I have a vivid memory of seeing a picture of him from the '80s and realizing for the first time that not all rock gods look like rock gods -- some look like drunken Irishmen. Which is a-okay with me if they produce Moondance. EDIT: In a somewhat similar vein to The Last Waltz and Don't Look Back, have you seen footage of the Concert for George? One of the best lineups of musicians in one place ever, and feat. McCartney on the uke. Here's another favorite moment, never been sure why. So much to like from that night.
Read Levon Helm's brilliant biography This Wheel's On Fire if you want the real dope on what happened in the Last Waltz. He claims Robbie and Martin Scorsese holed up alone in a cutting room for months doing monstrous amounts of coke and wound up with a finished product that looked more like Robbie Robertson + 4. Screw-ups in the recording sesh resulted in them having to completely redo Rick Danko's bass parts in post-production. Oh, and Levon wasn't happy about Robertson's attempt to cut Muddy Waters set down in favour of Neil Diamond, who he was producing an album for at the time. Levon exploded when he heard this and said "Someone phone Neil Diamond and tell him we don't know who the fuck he is!"
Come Dry Your Eyes is one of the only songs I consistently fast forward through on the Last Waltz.
I've certainly read it -- and once you go back and watch some of the tightly-framed free-flowing interviews of the whole band together, they gain a lot of subtext with the knowledge from the book. But it doesn't diminish the music for me at all, luckily. Although it's a goddamn shame because Muddy Waters > Neil Diamond forever.
Although it's a goddamn shame because Muddy Waters > Neil Diamond forever.
Very true. His performance in the Last Waltz was the first time I saw him. I was/am amazed by the man.
Introduced me to Paul Butterfield and Dr. John!
Although it's a goddamn shame because Muddy Waters > Neil Diamond forever.
Very true. His performance in the Last Waltz was the first time I saw him. I was/am amazed by the man.
scrimetime, is This Wheels On Fire something you've read?
I've never watched the Concert for George in full, only in snippets. I will though. Thanks.
Damn. That sounds interesting but way too labor intensive. Why? Because if it were that conceptual, I would have likely recorded those songs myself.
This might not count as I was previously familiar with the album, but "Live Leaves" by Unwound (aka UNWND) is something I discovered just today. Released by Chicago's Numero Group, this is a compilation of live recordings from around the period of production for the band's fantastic "Leaves Turn Inside You" double-album. It's great stuff in the studio but I was surprised how good these live versions are, there's quite a bit of added 'heft' and clarity of vision on display, combined with the less refined, more rambunctious energy from their earlier days as speed freaks for labels like Gravity and Troubleman.
"Live Leaves" by Unwound on Spotify Denise James released an album in the year 2004 called "It's Not Enough To Love" and it was widely panned, which is a shame because the sounds here pre-date a lot of the hip 60's pop throwback of acts like Best Coast and the Dum Dum Girls, just to name two of dozens. Solid songwriting and all the right retro touches in the production make this a welcome sunny respite from the winter doldrums.
"It's Not Enough To Love" by Denise James on Spotify
Video for "Love Has Got Me Crying Again"
Recently I've begun listening to music with no lyrics. Peaceful meditation music, which has been wonderful for studying for me. In particular, Lotus. With songs like Flower Sermon Another band is Animals as Leaders. With songs like CAFO