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Author: breno
Date: 09-10-07 23:34
Altered Images + Aztec Camera = the Scottish Twee scene
Jesus & Mary Chain + Cocteau Twins = Shoegaze
Joy Division + Siouxsie & the Banshees = Goth
Joy Division + New Order = the Cure
Kraftwerk + Black Sabbath = Industrial
Kraftwerk + James Brown = Hip Hop
Sex Pistols + Chic does not = Duran Duran
REM + Gram Parsons = Alt.Country
Post Edited (09-10-07 23:36)
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Author: satchmykels
Date: 09-11-07 04:59
syd barrett + silver apples = legendary pink dots
silver apples + elvis = suicide
harry wayne casey + al jourgensen = trent reznor
joy division + sha na na = interpol
Post Edited (09-11-07 05:14)
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Author: Michael Toland
Date: 09-11-07 11:06
Queen + Nirvana + Rush + Metallica + Jeff Buckley + Prince + [pick your favorite classical pianist here] = Muse
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Author: breno
Date: 09-11-07 13:26
Hey Michael
Fill me in on Muse - I didn't pay much attention to them after their first album, when they just got lumped in with the also-rans in the Baby Radiohead sweepstakes, but apparently since then they've become a bit of a big deal and I've really paid them no notice at all. Are they worth any attention?
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Author: Michael Toland
Date: 09-12-07 09:36
I used to dismiss them as Radiohead clones as well. But now that I've listened to the albums more deeply, I think that's inaccurate - the singer sounds more like Jeff Buckley than Thom Yorke (sometimes to the point of unintentional parody, admittedly), and not every band that likes big, sweeping anthems is ripping off The Bends.
It kind of depends on your taste. I'm not just being flippant about that combo above - they really do encompass all those influences. (The Prince influence is new - you've probably heard their Prince-channeling alt.rock radio hit "Supermassive Black Hole" by now.) I would argue you have to have a taste for bombastic progressive rock as well - in England they're lumped in with the new prog movement.
I like the way they incorporate the more anthemic side of underground/indie rock with the huge melodies and hooks of arena rock, but that's not to everybody's taste. Bombast is the key word here - when they're on, they make the Waterboys sound like Belle & Sebastian. (That sentence probably makes Ira cringe.) I like that when it's done well, and Muse does it very well. But if you want subtlety in your music, you won't find it on Muse's records.
I'd recommend finding a listening post (or online file) with their latest album Black Holes & Revelations. It's their latest and most eclectic album, with the aforementioned Prince rip-off, erm, homage, plus the Big Pop Song "Starlight," the U2-channeling "Invincible" and the ridiculous yet irresistable "Knights of Cydonia," which manages to mash up Metallica, Queen and Dick Dale. This one also sublimates the classical piano flourishes, which sometimes sounded out of place on the prior records.
If I have any complaint, it's that the band still hasn't quite forged its own identity out of its myriad influences. Often it sounds like it's just demonstrating its mastery of its record collection. But there's a lot of talent there, and I suspect Muse will fuse its tastes into one distinct whole eventually.
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Author: breno
Date: 09-12-07 23:31
Thanks - that's good info. Guess I'd better check into them again, especially since I've been predicting a revival of The Big Music of the mid-80s for years now, and may have been ignoring the band who's actually been doing it all along.
Although the thought of anyone who makes the Waterboys sound like Belle and Sebastian should frighten more than just Ira.
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Author: Jermoe
Date: 09-13-07 20:16
Several years ago, a friend of mine got way into Coldplay. I made the mistake of saying to him Coldplay just sounded like "those English guys who love Radiohead almost as much as they love Jeff Buckley," thinking that would end the discussion. I had to sit through the first two Coldplay albums and prove my point. This was made all the more challenging since I don't especially care for Radiohead or Jeff Buckley.
Although I still think I was right.
Radiohead + Jeff Buckley = Coldplay
.38 Special x (April Wine+Loverboy) = Nickelback
Thin Lizzy + Fugazi + post-punk = Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
The Replacements - charm + Satan = The Goo Goo Dolls
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Author: satchmykels
Date: 09-13-07 22:25
>
> The Replacements - charm + Satan = The Goo Goo Dolls
nah, more like...
soul asylum + stone temple pilots = goo goo dolls
the goos were a better live band than the mats. hehe
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Author: zwirnm
Date: 09-14-07 21:51
Funny, re: Ted Leo, I wrote in 2005, for a different discussion board, "I feel like I'm supposed to like Ted Leo, and feel bad that I don't. He's got all the right influences, the right minor-label cred, covers Split Enz (!), favors the right political leanings (should I say, the left political leanings?), has got a lot of energy, etc. Yet his yelped lead vocals make me feel like he should find another lead singer for whatever band he wants to write songs for. Harsh, I know. "
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Author: Jermoe
Date: 09-14-07 22:13
I actually considered replying to Michael Toland's post, but thought the better of it. Now that zwirnm's thrown the proverbial hat into the proverbial ring, here goes:
You're right.
Ted Leo is completely over the top. His voice is "an acquired taste" at best.
I could note that he's the only American to use the word "mews" in the history of recorded music, but why bother?
He's sincere, though. He means it, man. Like Billy Bragg, or his fellow District of Columbian, Mr. MacKaye, part of the charm is how sincerely he holds his convictions.
And he's a much better singer than Billy Bragg.
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Author: Paganizer
Date: 09-14-07 22:50
oddly enough i was listening to Living with the Living when i clicked back over here
i was indifferent to ted...until the new one
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Author: Paganizer
Date: 09-15-07 00:26
To recycle what Michael said better than I could,
He's got all the right influences, the right minor-label cred, favors the right political leanings, has got a lot of energy, etc.
But it just never stood out for me either for more than a couple tracks per LP. Living with the Living was the first Leo Rx release for me that got better after a few spins. I think it would have been better with some trimming (I have the 2-disc set and there's some arguably superfluous material) but there are several tracks on my best-of 2007 list. This is the album on which the potential formerly suggested finally gels in one place.
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Author: Michael Toland
Date: 09-15-07 12:33
Actually, zwirnm said it, not me.
I agree wholeheartedly. I feel the same way about so many acts these days...right influences, sincerity, political stance I usually agree with, etc...yet somehow the music just isn't grabbing me.
Wilco's a prime example. I respect the hell out of those guys, and actually think they're a terrific live band, but never listen to their records.
I might pick up Living With the Living, though. Sounds like it's a good starting point if I want to try Leo again.
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Author: Paganizer
Date: 09-15-07 14:47
what's kinda weird is
I notice that Leo Rx gets lumped in with punk rock, if not hardcore in conversations.
People into hardcore get disappointed, then people that aren't skip him.
It's a rock album in the tradition.
edit:: or, as Ira says:
"A musical cyclone that spews out traces of Squeeze, Plimsouls, Jam, Clash and many others (including, gulp, Culture Club)".
Post Edited (09-15-07 14:52)
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Author: HollowbodyKay
Date: 03-29-12 10:26
Quote:
that petrol emotion/aztec camera + suicide = woodentops
Paris cafe jazzbo + hardcore punk = Woodentops (live album only)
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Author: HollowbodyKay
Date: 03-29-12 15:06
Quote:
Although the thought of anyone who makes the Waterboys sound like Belle and Sebastian should frighten more than just Ira.
The Waterboys - Bob Dylan + Prince Herbert of Swamp Castle + a wet noodle = Belle & Sebastian
...
I showed my work.
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Author: Michael Toland
Date: 03-29-12 17:10
"Several years ago, a friend of mine got way into Coldplay. I made the mistake of saying to him Coldplay just sounded like "those English guys who love Radiohead almost as much as they love Jeff Buckley," thinking that would end the discussion. I had to sit through the first two Coldplay albums and prove my point. This was made all the more challenging since I don't especially care for Radiohead or Jeff Buckley."
I've never really heard Buckley in Coldplay, personally. As far as Radiohead being a progenitor, I think it's more accurate to say The Bends by Radiohead.
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Author: Delvin
Date: 03-30-12 10:55
Agreed, Mister T. Reno's Coldplay précis discusses that connection very well.
My wife commented on that, too, while listening to The Bends during a long drive. She said, "I can hear how Coldplay stripped a lot of the angst out of Radiohead's sound and lyrics, gave it a more universally accessible feel and took it to the bank."
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Author: nosepail
Date: 03-30-12 11:40
If my girlfriend made an observation like that, I would feint with delight. She's a keeper, Delvin!
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Author: Delvin
Date: 03-30-12 14:53
Why yes, she is! I'll tell her ya said so, Nose.
Like I once said on this board: the right new wave girl came along at the right time. (I knew that when we both expressed a love for Roxy Music on the first date.)
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