Music I can't believe I'm just discovering

Sports & Music

Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Music I can't believe I'm just discovering

Post by RetroRomper »

I've started to listen to a random assortment of music ripped from SACDs (audiophile warning ahead: the mastering is supposedly uniformly better since its one of the selling points of the media,) and in so doing, have accidentally stumbled upon music that I've never been exposed to, but can't believe I've missed out on.

Here I am, documenting my little trip down, down, DOWN into the depths of musical flava.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

Hearing Hiromi Uehara play "Another Mind" was a breaking point for me: its apparently a classical piece that was also the theme to an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion and that was the hook for me to look deeper, and see that there was far more eccentricity and talent behind it the artist.

Having little coverage in the West from what I can tell, Hiromi has this manic talent where she can lay down a synthesizer, smile wildly, and perform jazz as if she was born with the melody in her head. I mean, watch the video and we are talking about a real life version of Whiplash!

Anyway, her music is chaotic without being simply noise, and there is a kind of madness in her performances and style that screams through your head as you listen to it.

This is why she is the #1 artist I can't believe I haven't heard!
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

Another song from a Rock n' Roll group that bathes itself in innuendo? Maybe, but here is what really confused me: this isn't a Rock n' Roll song per say, fitting more into Soul Music or motown with its simple background vibe, female chorus, and story driven lyrics. This also explains why I never actually knew it was a Rolling Stones song, putting it more into the late 40s and early 50s bin of soul singers.

The mind fuck here is that the Rolling Stones aren't (in my mind at least) an actual rock and roll band: as being one of the earliest bands in the genre, they are more a fusion (much like Elvis Presley was) of the earlier genres, pulling influences from everywhere to create a very unique sound.

That is my argument about why the Rolling Stones are a soul band!
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

Thinking about it, there are maybe three or four ways to take this song:

*Intellectually
*Culturally
*Genre
*Historically

To open myself up to ridicule and "Reasons Why I'll Never Be Able to Run for Office," the idea of Satan has always intrigued me: he is afar more sympathetic creation than the idea of a perfect being, dealing in and of the affairs of humanity. My affinity for this song kinda comes from that perspective, but, BUT it also illustrates to me why the Rolling Stones were considered "vulgar" in pushing these ideas in a conservative era.

Hearing it then kinda opened me up to a time and place I will never experience, which was pretty amazing and once again a bit of a MIND FUCK. The music itself I find really simple: a bit of maracas, repeating chorus, and the lyrics themselves laid over all these simple elements.

While there have been more complicated and intellectually stimulating songs on the subject (Neutral Milk Hotel and Cake sang extensively about Satan and his place in society,) this song really did perk me up and made me appreciate... Well... Music, that much more.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Post by pinback »

the Rolling Stones aren't an actual rock and roll band
Right, I'm out. Retro, thanks for the hot sauces over the years. Hope things turn out well for you.

Jonsey, big day coming up. You've always been good to me and I wish you all the best.

Paul, you keep on quoting tax rules and regulations.

Flack, I'll always remember our mornings together on the IRC channel, awkwardly trying to engage in conversation.

The rest of you, you'll always hold a special place in my heart. Keep hope alive, keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars.

P-dawg out.



The Rolling Stones are not a rock and roll band. This is the whitest thread that has ever existed.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Post by pinback »

RetroRomper wrote:Thinking about it
Do you see? Do you see how this is your problem, kind of with everything?

If you are thinking about Sympathy for the Devil, you are doing it very, very wrong. You are Tdarcos quoting legal precedent in a thread about pussy.

Don't be Tdarcos quoting legal precedent in a thread about pussy.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

Another "New Age" artist that samples everyday sounds and turns them into muddy sounding beats? Nope! Kind of. This specific song overlays actual scrawling, paper tearing, with stomping and a bit of synth to make a rather complicated (in a layered way) song. It can sound muddied on lo-fi equipment, but each beat, each little reverberation of sound that needs actual attention and intellectual rigor to break apart, adds to its depth in both the listeners mind and as a melody in and of itself.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Post by pinback »

Well, that's just awful. I don't want you listening to that. Go back to the Stones immediately.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

pinback wrote:
the Rolling Stones aren't an actual rock and roll band
Right, I'm out. Retro, thanks for the hot sauces over the years. Hope things turn out well for you.
Okay, yes, they ARE a Rock n' Roll band, but they were Rock n' Roll before it was an actual thing: I'm just sitting here, appreciating the mixture, the fusion of genres that went into the genre they defined.

And ya, this is a thread for all the Crackers out there :: fist pumps chest ::
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

Opening with a really lovely, heavy electric guitar / bass which plays with a really wide sound stage, this song becomes kinda trite ("good horse" is just an obvious substitute for "finding myself a good man.") But the vocals are clear, dynamic (you can hear the trailing off of her breath and of the instruments,) and it ends up being a FUN song from the Cardigans, their strongest aspect that I can say applies to alot of their music.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Post by pinback »

I have discussed the matter with Retro offline, and this is now the greatest thread in this BBS' history.

I will lay low, and allow it to unfold. Sorry, I didn't... I didn't know.

I didn't KNOW!!

Paul, don't post here.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

This is a special PINBACK REQUEST as I noted I've never heard Stairway to Heaven or really any Zeppelin music.

Quite a bit of this song bangs on your head like like a hollow drum and coalesces into a coherent form what I see as hair bands: vaguely about sex, a loud sound with quiet drum / cymbal solos, and the combination of stereo effects really brings this one down to earth for me. Its also strange that they have stronger beat, more loud drum and vocals than the toned down sound of the Rolling Stones - the latter didn't have loud percussion nor too many guitar effects, instead substituting sound that compliments instead of being the focus of.

Led Zeppelin obviously had a lot of influence in determining where music went to in the 80s and feels like a the second step (one up from the Rolling Stones maybe) in foundation Rock N Roll (where you have louder sounds and more energy behind the music.)
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

James Taylor isn't new to me, except the last time I listened to him was in a car ride from Santa Maria to El Toro in... 1993? Hearing his smooth vocals brought back those memories of listening to a mix tape my mothers friend made with her, but now this song slapped me from the right because of the subject matter (post 2016 election crud) and the sentiment where its hard to tell if the singer is being sarcastic or not because of the memory he is describing. THEN we get what sounds like bongos or wood stocks or similar in the chorus, juxtaposing a completely different and even confusing note to the song.

James does a good job using his laid back sound to describe his impressions of a memory then using it as a bit of a jumping off point to relate to the listener, if not confusing them as if this was a GOOD or BAD memory.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

After listening to the intro to Nektar's Journey to the Center of the Eye, I had to confirm that...

1. They weren't a Japanese band.
2. The actual year this music was produced in (71' apparently)

Because this synth pop rock techno THING could have easily been a far upscale version of any scene or club song since the early 90s'. The twang of the guitar that sings on its own while a synthesizer plays over it and the drums melt into the medley, telling your ID that "hey! We're here!" is magical. After listening to too much Yes in my life time, the synth does sound dated (its modulated to sound more like an organ,) good god does the guitar and the overall dynamics makes up for it. It even ends on a chaotic note that gives way to the rest of the album, reminding me of how the Olivia Tremor Control played off their own transitions.

This is officially a 'WOW' award winning single.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16178
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Post by AArdvark »

as I noted I've never heard Stairway to Heaven or really any Zeppelin music.

OK, now I'm out.




THE
C-YA!
AARDVARK

User avatar
RetroRomper
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Someplace happy.

Post by RetroRomper »

[youtube][/youtube]

This one came up so randomly on my playlist that I didn't even know who the artist was originally, but there was so much to enjoy about this song:

*The sound stage (as they say in headphone lingo) is HUGE.

*The complexity and overlapping of instruments lets me engage in the music in ways normally only classical lets me.

*The song itself overpowers the lyrics, making them almost trite. For what crudely amounts to a pop song, this is truly remarkable.

*Elton John's voice has deepened over the years, adding a different dynamic and letting the music reverberate on a number of levels depending on which version you listen to.

*The version I listened to, drowned out the lyrics in the sound stage and dynamics of the music itself, as opposed to letting them reverberate. But this really highlighted the fact the music takes center stage, which for a pop song is still pretty weird.
"Don't you DARE get me started on RetroArch!"

This has been a...
RETROROMPER CLASSIC TM

User avatar
Jizaboz
Posts: 4811
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by Jizaboz »

Alright, I'm out now too.

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I'm back in. Got no issues with Elton John.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Post by Flack »

[youtube][/youtube]
"I have to go home."
"You are home."
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16178
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Post by AArdvark »

This just came on Netflix a little while ago. Quite fascinating. I never really loved The Rolling Stones but it's enlightening to see where they came from. I can't imagine all the riots and crazy things happening at a concert today.

lousy version
[youtube][/youtube]

Post Reply