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totaji
So Watcha Listening too?
May 26, 2009 06:49PM
Give me some stuff here guys. What am I missing?

Me: downloaded a comp from a 80's power pop band called Candy. Excellent. The album is called Teenage Neon Jungle. Check out the track "Sound of a Broken Heart" They look like Ratt but are pretty sweet.

Listening to quirck-intensive indie rock Grizzly Bear. Their new one is getting raves. Not my bag per se but I am going to give it time.

I also picked up Miles Davis' Live-Evil recently. Easily his most difficult work. Listening to it has made me retreat into his Jack Johnson sessions (my comfort zone) Miles Davis is a fulltime job. I could work 40 hrs a week at listening to him and I still would feel like a newbie.

So what else is out there these days?
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hoip chiggs
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 26, 2009 07:49PM
I heard the new Camera Obscura album, My Maudlin Career, while merely standing in a record store. It's great. I'm gonna buy it one of these days.
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Delvin
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 26, 2009 09:08PM
I picked up the CD Please Describe Yourself by Dogs Die in Hot Cars. Jermoe gave props to this band on the recent "All killer no filler" thread, sop I picked up a copy. (Thanks Jermoe!)

Excellent CD. Great tunes, that sound a bit like classic XTC in spots. One song even has an "apples and oranges" line in the chorus, which XTC has gotten some mileage from in the past. (Well, duh, of course in the past ...)

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Michael Toland
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 12:41PM
I remember hearing a bit of DDiHC and not being impressed. But I didn't sit down with the album and listen back to front, either. All the praise on this board has me thinking I need to track down a copy and make the effort.

*Later that same day* I'll be jiggered, it's on sale on the Amazon Marketplace for a penny (plus shipping). Sold!



Post Edited (05-27-09 15:51)
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wade
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 07:37PM
I enjoyed the Dogs Die... CD, too. Too bad they self-destructed. Not sure if they had a second one in them.

Actually, they did. They've made a contest of sorts out of it.

[dogsdieinhotcarsalbum2.blogspot.com]

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blasmo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 07:50PM
Nice. Many thanks for the news.
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mats84
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 03:48AM
I've been listening to Phoenix "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" which is pretty good. New Wavey-ish pop. They're from France.......singer sometimes goes into a weird affectation........maybe because he's French. I may find this annoying in about a week.

Also been listening to the Pete Doherty solo record which I liked from first listen a couple months back.

For older stuff........I picked up this cheapy Kinks compilation called "Story of the Kinks" at a flea market for $1 ........even though I had most of the songs already. I really love this album - 24 songs, all from the '64 through Lola-era.........all sequenced in an interesting, fresh way (non-chronological).

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Michael Toland
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 07:27AM
I'm listening to the new Warlocks at this very moment. It's both more goth and more shoegazer than their previous work. Their best since The Phoenix Album, I think.

New New York Dolls album is quite good, with a lot of variety and maturity. Ignore the haters.

New Jill Sobule record is excellent. What an underrated artist.

New Dexateens album is great.

New Church album is great, even more psychedelic than usual.

The new Drones album Havilah is incredible.

I also recently discovered Elliott Murphy, thanks to a download blog posting Aquashow. That record is every bit as good as its rep would have you believe. How I missed this guy all these years I don't know.

Also listening to a lot of 80s power pop obscurities, like the Crash Street Kids, the Windows, the Reactions, Mod Lang and the Eastern Dark (if they count as power pop). Thank the gods for all those bloggers with USB turntables.
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nosepail
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 02:10PM
Oh My God. I have been listening to Into The Music almost exclusively the last couple weeks. Actually, I dont listen to the entire thing. Just the last 3 songs on repeat. So deep and soulful and healing. Just what I need of late...
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Jermoe
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 08:27AM
Delvin, I'm glad you've enjoyed Dogs Die in Hot Cars.

The last couple of days, I've been listening to various Wilco demos posted on Aquarium Drunkard. It's unfortunate that Jay Bennett's death led me to finding them. They've also just posted some Neko Case live @CBC stuff I'm about to jump into.

As for (fairly recent) proper releases, I've been enjoying the aforementioned Neko Case's Middle Cyclone, Gemma Hayes' Hollow of Morning (it's about a year old, but it's still in heavy rotation–spare and lush at the same time), The BPA's I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat (Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook + David Byrne, Iggy Pop and many, many more) and 1990s' Kicks...

I picked up Yep Roc's latest Nick Lowe comp (Quiet Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe) for like $13 or $14 on Amazon MP3...I already had some/most of the 49 tracks, but it's a pretty worthwhile overview of one of the greats.

A couple of outstanding vintage live albums, too: Modern Lovers' Live at the Longbranch and More and Wire on the Box: 1979...
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blasmo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 11:09AM
I enjoyed the Dogs Die... CD, too. Too bad they self-destructed. Not sure if they had a second one in them.

More "HiTunes" lately: Johnny Nash's original "I Can See Clearly...", which is one of the greatest pop singles ever to have its awesomeness sucked out by overuse. Listen to it closely, without some bullshit end credits or montage sequences in the background, and it's simply the happiest song ever. Hothouse Flowers did a decent cover that overstays its visit, and should end a minute sooner.

Into the Music -- I've never had the entire CD, but bits and pieces of it from Greatest Hits comps since the album got ruined in a flood years ago. This is amazing stuff. Own it. Why are you bothering to read the rest of this when you could easily be listening to it? Morrison's best?

Other than that, listening to a lot of My Bloody Valentine. Did you know you can fit Loveless and the two important EP's on one 80 minute CD? Loop it.

You know who I can't stand? Lady fucking Gaga. I get it, trust me. It's still not good. Why did dance music completely lose its intelligence after 1992-3?

At some point, I will buy newer music.
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Delvin
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 11:55AM
Into the Music is probably my favorite Morrison album.

I'll probably write a Dogs Die in Hot Cars review for this site soon.

For now, though, the sun is shining here for the first time in five days. So it's time to get outside on my lunch break and enjoy it!



Post Edited (05-27-09 13:56)
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Jermoe
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 03:26PM
Oddly enough, thanks to this thread, I was trying to track down my Morrison cache on lala.com a few minutes ago and stumbled upon some Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus 50th Anniversary reissues that just came out from Sony/Legacy:

[blogs.creativeloafing.com]

AH UM!
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Michael Toland
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 03:32PM
Mingus Ah Um is one of my favorite jazz records. "Better Git It in Your Soul" is one of my favorite songs, genre be damned. I've not heard Mingus Dynasty, alas.

Time Out is famous for "Take Five," of course, but it's also got the glorious "Blue Rondo a la Turk." A lot of Brubeck's work is all technique and no soul, but this album's an exception.

Sketches of Spain is just plain gorgeous.
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totaji
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 03:49PM
Sketches of Spain is Davis' most underrated work if that is possible. I woke up to that album for a long long time.

I must get Into the Music. I'm a Van fan but never delved into anything after the mid 70's. Albums like Common One left me cold. maybe I need to reevalute with Into the Music.

I was checking out that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Sort of reminds me of the Strokes in a wierd way. I can't put my finger on it. It's pretty groovy.

I'm not a New NY Dolls Hater, but I couldn't think of a good reason to listen to the last one more than once. Is this one better.
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Michael Toland
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 06:58PM
I think it's better, but I don't know if you'd like it if you didn't like the last one. The new one has more out-and-out rock & roll, but it's got plenty of R&B-influenced stuff, and even a sort-of Latin ballad. Again, I think it's really good, but if you're looking for a return to the s/t or Too Much Too Soon aura, you won't get it.

It also has a reggae remake of "Trash" which, while not terrible, is one of the most utterly pointless pieces of music I've heard recently. That might be a red flag. But that's what CD skip buttons are for.
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M. Johnson
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 28, 2009 04:07AM
Totaji said

Quote

I'm a Van fan but never delved into anything after the mid 70's.

What?! Van's very best work was done after the mid 70's! [Unless you count the work he did before the mid 70's]

Seriously, an entire lifetime of great music came out of him post-Into The Music.

Forget best-of's- get the live albums (not Astral Weeks Hollywood Bowl,) live with them a while and then go back and pick up the essential Avalon Sunset; No Guru, No Mentos, No Teacher; Too Long In Exile; and Down The Road.

If you like any one of those, there are at least another few I didn't even mention that you'll like.



Post Edited (05-28-09 06:07)
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satchmykels
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 04:44PM
my favorite album of the year:



[www.myspace.com]

but don't bother if the words "minimal" and "synth" frighten you.
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satchmykels
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 27, 2009 04:47PM
as for the old...a minimal synth classic from 1984:



[mutant-sounds.blogspot.com]
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blasmo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 28, 2009 07:00AM
Hymns to the Silence is also good, but way too long (double LP/CD). Buy it used and cut it down to size. Too Late to Stop... is an awesome live album. No Guru is still the best thing he's done since Into the Music, and is almost as good as Music, but that's just me. It's more focussed than some of his later works.

I was also surprised by how good the new New York Dolls album is.
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STEVE
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 29, 2009 10:17AM
i missed most of dylan's incredible voyage in my younger years.
so i'm spending the rest of this year and if need be, my entire middle ones; listening, viewing and reading about THE MAN.
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totaji
Hey Steve
May 29, 2009 02:36PM
Hey Steve I envy you! There is so much Dylan to enjoy out there. What are into right now?
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STEVE
Re: Hey Steve, whadup! what i been listening to
June 04, 2009 01:28PM
the lucy show'z '05 words&music comp. retro 2da max yeah?
one song sounds like lazy j&M chain, then the next three might thrill ya with equally fabulous combinations of; REM/chameleons, oMd/the furs, early cure/peter gabriel.

i keep it on my 80's shelf, in between john otway and the underTONES.



Post Edited (06-04-09 15:31)
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zoo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 29, 2009 11:28AM
Been digging into my old (pre-Starfish) Church collection after viewing a live clip of "An Interlude" on youtube.

Also been spinning the first two Orange Juice albums.

Will need to hear the new Simple Minds eventually...Kerr keeps mentioning in the same breath as Real To Real Cacophany, so my interest is piqued...we'll see.
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STEVE
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
May 29, 2009 12:08PM
crikey, thats two church reefer (he he) ences!
And if that new album is as psychedelic, (thinking television personalities) as MT says...

then it looks like (from the movie 'the castle'),
"everyones kicked a goal."
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zoo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 10, 2009 09:21AM
The new Church album is EXCELLENT. Finally got it a few days ago and can't stop playing it.

Kerr's hype aside, the only thing I've heard off of Graffiti Soul is the lead single "Rockets" which didn't exactly fire mine up (rockets, that is)...sounds like a Black and White rehash. I still have high hopes for the album, though. Listened to Empires and Dance last week and hope the new stuff comes even close. They really miss Derek Forbes in the band, IMO. He was a key component of their sound back in the day.

As for McGeoch...listened to the Armoury Show CD recently. What inventive playing. He is definitely missed.
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Tom_Violence
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 02, 2009 11:13AM
Quote

A lot of Brubeck's work is all technique and no soul

That's a cliched criticism that is really only applicable to some of Dave's very early work. Listen to "Audrey" from Brubeck Time and tell me there's no soul there.

If we're talking about all technique and no soul, what about Coltrane's Ascension?
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HollowbodyKay
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 02, 2009 09:21PM
The new Viva Voce is pretty good, but it's probably not going to get me foaming at the mouth any time soon. Not sure if the George Harrison guitar mimicry is a plus or a minus.

The Church! I went back for the first time in a few years. "A Month Of Sundays" made it's way onto the MP3 player. Gawd! I did love that band. Saw 'em on the Starfish tour. They were ...legendary. Sure wish a copy of Kilbey's "Unearthed" would turn up on CD in the local record store.

Almost bought a 2 CD VU comp today, but no "Lady Godiva's Operation," so no sale. I might still go back and snag it.

The latest Wire CD caught me by surprise. I even asked "who is this playing now?" to the kid behind the counter. Color me beet red, but I'd never have guessed it in a million years.
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madisdadi
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 03, 2009 11:13AM
newbies:
wilco
dylan
new york dolls
tori amos (wife's pick stuck in changer)
elvis
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Aitch
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 03, 2009 07:13PM
This could be a thread all on it's own. I got this Bella Union sampler and really liked The Czars track on it, I thought it had a kind of Bad Seedsy quality to it. Then I see The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People second-hand and get quite excited and grab it. After a few listens, the jury is out, but I'm perservering.
Had a similar thing happen when I first heard His Name Is Alive's Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth and bought Mouth By Mouth second hand.
It's true on both occassions the album I got was from a different period to the song I heard.
We'll see. I'll see if they grow on me.
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Delvin
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 04, 2009 07:48AM
I got to see The Church on their last two tours (at least, the last two that came through Denver). One electric show, one unplugged show ... both marvelous. I'll have the good fortune of seeing them again, later this month.

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Michael Toland
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 04, 2009 03:29PM
They came to Austin on that unplugged tour. That was a great show - very loose and relaxed.

I've never seen them in full electric mode, though. It drives me crazy that they're not coming here on their current tour.
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Jim Donato
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 09, 2009 09:00AM
Having heard the EPK for Graffiti Soul, the new Simple Minds album, the band have pulled a rabbit out of a 30 year old hat! I now understand why Kerr was so hyped on his blog. To these ears it sounds like the album that might have followed New Gold Dream or should have followed Sparkle In The Rain. While I would pay hundreds for an album as amazing as Empires + Dance or Sons + Fascination, this - as they say, ain't hay! There is also a UK 2xCD with a disc of quickie covers called Searching For The Lost Boys wherein they cover tunes from the likes of The Stranglers, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Magazine, Neil Young (again) and...The Beach Boys...?

Speaking of Magazine, that is what I was listening to this morning on the work commute. The spectacular Complete Peel Sessions disc. Pretty amazing stuff with very different arrangements from all of those talented players. Man, I miss John McGeoch. One of my favorite unsung postpunk guitarists. I can truly say that I have and enjoy every album he plays on.
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breno
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 09, 2009 11:56AM
Jim, I hope you're right. I've been burned by a couple of other Simple Minds' supposed returns to form, so I'm maintaining an optimistic skepticism towards it, if that's possible. I just listened to Sons & Fascination the other day and would love for the band to put out another album that could credibly be mentioned in the same breath.
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Jermoe
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 09, 2009 03:07PM
Well, Brad, it looks like OMD will be opening for Simple Minds this fall:

[blogs.tampabay.com]

I must admit, I'd shell out some serious coin for that.
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breno
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 09, 2009 09:50PM
Yeah, I'd heard that, but so far can't find info for US dates. I know they won't come to St Louis, but would surely hit Chicago, and I'd definitely head up there for that.
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nosepail
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 09, 2009 10:01PM
You would "shell out serious coin" for a Simple Minds / OMD twin bill? Hm. Never thought I would hear such a sentiment.....
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blasmo
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 10, 2009 04:29AM
Well, better that than the REO/Styx/.38 Special tour, which might as well take up permanent residency at the OKC Zoo Amphitheater.
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HollowbodyKay
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 16, 2009 03:36PM
REO? Styx? After just those two, I'm craving a .38 special.

Styx might be the only "classic rock" band that sends me running to the radio to kill the volume for the duration of the "song."

How I do loathe Styx. And the jerkoff from Biology class who was always mocking me for liking R.E.M. and said they'd never be as "big" as REO can pucker up and kiss my ass across time and space.

Can I copyright that expression? I like it.
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Jermoe
Re: So Watcha Listening too?
June 10, 2009 07:09AM
I would indeed. I can get my live fill of "Enola Gay" and "Glittering Prize" in what will most likely be a fairly intimate setting? That's my dream concert circa 1982-85. I might even take the cute girl from Geometry class (my wife)...
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