the "random music thoughts" thread

[bluefox4000]

11 minutes ago, Timbale said:

I have only dipped my toe into newer prog, and I haven't really been moved by any of it.  Judging myself in relation to others on this site...I would say I'm in the minority in that Rush is just about the heaviest music I listen to - I am not really into metal at all.  Because of that, some of the newer prog I've heard is heavier than I'm into.

 

But I also think it comes down to songwriting, and I think what those bands you listed have in common (I'm not particularly into ELP, but I think they're good) is that they have good songwriting at their core.  I think (biased, yes) that is particularly true for Genesis - like a lot of prog, it's not immediately catchy like pop songs are...but the melodies get inside you on repeated listening and are deep and beautiful.  The end section of Supper's Ready is some of the most powerful, emotional songwriting (and performing) I've ever heard.

 

I like Dream Theater but prog metal has never been my thing.  as i don't think it's a marriage that really works.  It all just seems like an excuse to be really heavy only now for a longer song leangth, lol

 

But the thing is i like some classic Metal but metal is not who i ever was as a fan of music.  i was more classic prog, classic rock, AOR, 70's singer/songwriters, soft rock.  so i suppose that's why prog metal turns me away a bit.

 

plus classic prog had rich melodies too.  amongst the impeccable playing.  Prog Metal is more often than not just look at how fast i can play.  Forgetting to write a song in there, lol

 

Mick

Edited August 31, 2023 by bluefox4000

[grep]

I've probably posted this in the last month..maybe.

Van Halen III is actually a really good record.   I never considered it back when it came out. Third singer, meh...    But holy shit - this is neat.  Good songs, and Cherone really does a good job. 

I think I'm going to have this one in rotation for a while now. 

[BastillePark]

Bands like "Animals As Leaders" and Joe Satriani are great musicians but I'd never see them in concert. I can only take so many instrumentals in a row. 

[bluefox4000]

3 hours ago, BastillePark said:

Bands like "Animals As Leaders" and Joe Satriani are great musicians but I'd never see them in concert. I can only take so many instrumentals in a row. 

 

i do not like instrumental albums.  an instrumental on an album with vocals a la Rush i can take but whole albums like that no.  it's why artists like those you mentioned don't appeal to me.

 

Mick

[ST3V]

10 minutes ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

i do not like instrumental albums.  an instrumental on an album with vocals a la Rush i can take but whole albums like that no.  it's why artists like those you mentioned don't appeal to me.

 

Mick

Larks Tongues has just the right amount of vocals plus ingenuity that it works

[bluefox4000]

3 minutes ago, ST3V said:

Larks Tongues has just the right amount of vocals plus ingenuity that it works

 

 

that has just the right amount and they're REALLY good instrumentals and they never ramble on which instrumentals can do. it seems like they're on there because they flow with the album.

 

Mick

[J2112YYZ]

3 hours ago, bluefox4000 said:

 

i do not like instrumental albums.  an instrumental on an album with vocals a la Rush i can take but whole albums like that no.  it's why artists like those you mentioned don't appeal to me.

 

Mick

 

Same here. Vocals help to make a song human and give it it's own personality. With all instrumental bands everything sounds the same after a few songs. There's nothing to separate one song from the other since all their doing is jamming in every one.

[grep]

On 9/1/2023 at 9:35 PM, J2112YYZ said:

 

Same here. Vocals help to make a song human and give it it's own personality. With all instrumental bands everything sounds the same after a few songs. There's nothing to separate one song from the other since all their doing is jamming in every one.

Which is why Satrianni and Vai don't get a lot of rotation over here.  Yeah, they are technically amazing.  But the onslaught of endless instrumentals wears thin - as good as they are.  

Small doses.  

Same thing for Stu Hamm - amazing player, but see above.

[BastillePark]

Jimmy Buffet was more about the party than the music. Same with The Grateful Dead and more recent Sammy Hagar.

[bluefox4000]

16 minutes ago, BastillePark said:

Jimmy Buffet was more about the party than the music. Same with The Grateful Dead and more recent Sammy Hagar.

 

 

i disagree a bit.  in his early days he had great tunes.  Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season is one of my favs by anyone.  i do agree however. he devolved a bit later on into the king of the novalty song

 

Mick

[invisible airwave]

Sirius XM 80s on 8 Deep Cuts:  "No radio or MTV number ones!"

 

*proceeds to play One More Try by George Michael*

 

Uh, that went to number one on BOTH.

[J2112YYZ]

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by J2112YYZ

[Union 5-3992]

I've added a bit of a twist to my "new album every day" thing I did last year. One of the major problems I ran into last year was a lack of time to truly digest a record. The real stand-outs were ones I liked immediately.

 

I swapped to "one album a week, but I have to listen to it 7 times". Albums I otherwise would have written off after a single listen are now growing on me. I'll even stick to it through bad albums to really make sure I hate them.

 

I'm hoping to make it to near 100 albums still. I've been listening to a lot despite the 7X rule.

Edited March 1 by Union 5-3992

[Union 5-3992]

Seeing Primus in '21 really woke me up to Les Claypool. I liked some of his stuff before but now that I've poured over his discography, the man really has a great catalog. Oddly some of his biggest misfires are with his main band, Primus.

[J2112YYZ]

Why is Tom Petty radio on Sirius XM playing something other than Tom Petty? Listen, I'm not selecting that channel with any other expectations than hearing Tom Petty when I put it on.

 

That is all 😄

[Entre_Perpetuo]

2 minutes ago, J2112YYZ said:

Why is Tom Petty radio on Sirius XM playing something other than Tom Petty? Listen, I'm not selecting that channel with any other expectations than hearing Tom Petty when I put it on.

 

That is all 😄

A crime against music if I've ever heard of one. Petty time is Petty time.

[BastillePark]

Talking with someone this morning about "dark" songs and 1 person asked me if Rush has any songs that would be considered dark and I mentioned "Red Sector A".

[pjbear05]

On 3/1/2024 at 5:26 PM, Union 5-3992 said:

Seeing Primus in '21 really woke me up to Les Claypool. I liked some of his stuff before but now that I've poured over his discography, the man really has a great catalog. Oddly some of his biggest misfires are with his main band, Primus.

The Big Eyeball In The Sky by the Colonel's Bucket of Bernie Brains is sick!

[Timbale]

This is an observation that I approach as a drummer...although I'm sure it holds true for other instruments as well.  There is a whole scene of very, very good players who are revered as all time greats who, for my taste, have consistently made music that feels really lame to me.  I guess it's kind of yacht rock or "dad" rock, with maybe a dash of fusion...but when I was a teen, reading Modern Drummer religiously every month, I would read about studio guys like Jeff Pocaro and how amazing they are (and I'm not an idiot - I wouldn't for a second diminish the insane skill that he had) - and then I'd listen to Boz Scaggs or Toto or Steely Dan and it all seemed so lame to me... like people who think they're cool who really aren't.  It's a style of music that feels very square to me.  And then there was the sort of electric jazz fusion of the 80s that drumming monsters like Dave Weckl played that also just felt kind of embarrassing, despite the unbelievable skill involved.  I don't know...I guess being a kid who loved BANDS like Rush and Zep and The Who, the whole scene felt very un rock&roll.  In a way, I think of it a bit like the music of Celine Dion - she is an astoundingly good singer technically...but she's kinda using her powers for ill.  :)

[tangy]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:50 PM, BastillePark said:

Jimmy Buffet was more about the party than the music. Same with The Grateful Dead and more recent Sammy Hagar.

It's a fine line between any concert being more about the party than the music.

 

At least for good shows!

[tangy]

On 6/8/2024 at 11:31 AM, Timbale said:

This is an observation that I approach as a drummer...although I'm sure it holds true for other instruments as well.  There is a whole scene of very, very good players who are revered as all time greats who, for my taste, have consistently made music that feels really lame to me.  I guess it's kind of yacht rock or "dad" rock, with maybe a dash of fusion...but when I was a teen, reading Modern Drummer religiously every month, I would read about studio guys like Jeff Pocaro and how amazing they are (and I'm not an idiot - I wouldn't for a second diminish the insane skill that he had) - and then I'd listen to Boz Scaggs or Toto or Steely Dan and it all seemed so lame to me... like people who think they're cool who really aren't.  It's a style of music that feels very square to me.  And then there was the sort of electric jazz fusion of the 80s that drumming monsters like Dave Weckl played that also just felt kind of embarrassing, despite the unbelievable skill involved.  I don't know...I guess being a kid who loved BANDS like Rush and Zep and The Who, the whole scene felt very un rock&roll.  In a way, I think of it a bit like the music of Celine Dion - she is an astoundingly good singer technically...but she's kinda using her powers for ill.  :)

Dig deeper into the dan.

 

The royal scam

Katy lied

Can't buy a thrill

[tangy]

I listen to instrumental music everyday.

 

Seen a bunch of great instrumentals shows. 

 

Yeah, instrumental music is commercial suicide but I find it has its time and place.

 

Particularly metal instrumentals. A little jazz.

 

Ozric Tentacles are easily my favorite. 

[Timbale]

1 hour ago, tangy said:

Dig deeper into the dan.

 

The royal scam

Katy lied

Can't buy a thrill

I had a friend who loved early Who (a band that I completely adore), but he really hated the Who Are You album, and pretty much everything that Townshend wrote after that.  I remember him saying "as soon as Pete learned a couple jazz chords and tried to write "serious" music, it all went to hell."

 

Now, I don't agree with that at all -- but I get what he meant.  I can see why he would say that, being a lover of the early stuff.  But it's somehow related to how I feel about Steely Dan.  It's like it's too clever for its own good.  I sorta wanna say to them, "just go be in a jazz band, stop writing pop songs with all your stupid chord extensions in there".  😉

 

I'm being a smart ass...but there's just something there that irks me, despite all the talent clearly on display.

[Timbale]

1 hour ago, tangy said:

Dig deeper into the dan.

 

The royal scam

Katy lied

Can't buy a thrill

But I will try.

[Steevo]

On 6/8/2024 at 6:46 AM, BastillePark said:

Talking with someone this morning about "dark" songs and 1 person asked me if Rush has any songs that would be considered dark and I mentioned "Red Sector A".

 A few more that weigh heavy would have to include Afterimage, The Pass, Nobody's Hero and the underrated Available Light...all perfect Rush songs imo.  It's a good topic I haven't seen before.