Non-Classical Music Listening Thread!

[AnotherSpin]

King Crimson: Starless And Bible Black



I don't listen to this very often; it's very good musically but I find it a little depressing .

My first favorite King Crimson LP many years ago. Now it's probably Red.

[AnotherSpin]

Well I did not have people 5-10 years older than me to influence my music interests. I have mostly figured things out myself and that's why it has been a slow and long process.

Well at age 53 I don't know who Flaubert and Maupassant are. Quick googling reveals they were 19th century French authors. I haven't explored Led Zeppelin, Anthony Braxton or Frank Zappa. I have heard some Jethro Tull. I don't know who Rajneesh is. I read my father's science fiction books as a child (Stanislaw Lem, Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, etc.). I had time for books because there weren't much else to do back then (no endless Youtube videos to watch    ). In adulthood I have read very few books, mostly the math/physics/engineering textbooks for my studies in the University in the 90s.

I have always been different from others too (Aspergers/autism I think). At young age I developed an obsession for the architecture of Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto. I have books about his architecture. I even tried to get accepted to study architecture in the Helsinki University of Technology (renamed as Aalto University maybe 10-15 years ago). The main building of the university is designed by Alvar Aalto (Otaniemi campus, 1964). I failed to get in, but instead I was chosen to study electric engineering there and it was so cool.

I also LOVED Legos as a child. I build a lot of stuff from Legos and whatever money I had I used on Lego sets and of course I was given sets as Christmas present.

Music had near zero place in my life before high-school when I finally got interested. I even hated music notation and classical music, because for me those things represented old obsolete undeveloped times. I wanted to look forward. In time I understood how my taste in music differs from that of the masses and how much there is "alternative" music out there to the mainstream garbage force-fed to people.

I have certain idea about Aalto's works, and I think his furniture design resonates with me more than his architecture.

[Todd]

Some lighthearted AI fare:

Followed by something reliable that is guaranteed to please:

[NumberSix]

Oof. Why is David Gilmour's music so breathtakingly beautiful and yet somehow so stunningly boring at the same time?

I am guessing this is what people think of The Division Bell and thus have hated it for 30 years?


It might yet grow on me, this new Gilmour record. I don't know. These days I bounce around so much that no individual record gets the attention it might deserve.

That's the drawback to having every album ever, easily available.

[SimonNZ]

Curious how much easier the three discs of this set go down compared to Dylan's two earlier single discs of Sinatra/Crosby repertoire. Once again I played all three parts in a row, but have never wished either of the earlier two even one track longer.

[SimonNZ]

Cuba: I Am Time

playing the first of the four discs, which covers the legacy of Nigerian Yaruba traditions

[steve ridgway]

Tangerine Dream: Phaedra Out-Takes 2

[AnotherSpin]

Oof. Why is David Gilmour's music so breathtakingly beautiful and yet somehow so stunningly boring at the same time?

I am guessing this is what people think of The Division Bell and thus have hated it for 30 years?


It might yet grow on me, this new Gilmour record. I don't know. These days I bounce around so much that no individual record gets the attention it might deserve.

That's the drawback to having every album ever, easily available.

After Waters left Pink Floyd, something strange happened. Gilmour's guitar lost its meaning; the endless repetition of the sound discovered in the '70s turned into impotent self-parody. Waters' meaning was left without music, gradually transforming into the screams and yells of a man hurt by everything and everyone.  Gilmour and Waters should come together again, to reunite the two incomplete halves, but Heraclitus won't allow it

[KevinP]

Some lighthearted AI fare:

No AI needed:

[71 dB]

SPOTIFY:

Vangelis - Mask (1985)

This felt like return to the mid 70s sound/style for Vangelis. I am not very fond of this side of his artistry.

I have certain idea about Aalto's works, and I think his furniture design resonates with me more than his architecture.

Alvar Aalto is pretty well-known around the World.

[Todd]

No AI needed:

Untrue.  Last I knew, unlike Ruthie Foster, John Denver was world famous, one of the biggest musical artists of the 70s, and known for his gentle folk music.  Hence the value in juxtaposing his style with the slow, grinding heavy metal of Black Sabbath and contrasting a simulacrum of his vocal style with that of Ozzy Osborne.  Hopefully the channel goes the other way and has Ozzy sing "Rocky Mountain High" (naturally) mimicking his solo days, perhaps mashing it up with "Flying High Again".  Parody is not the same as a remake.  Unless you are implying that Ms Foster is so bad that her version accidentally tips over into parody.   

[steve ridgway]

After Waters left Pink Floyd, something strange happened. Gilmour's guitar lost its meaning; the endless repetition of the sound discovered in the '70s turned into impotent self-parody. Waters' meaning was left without music, gradually transforming into the screams and yells of a man hurt by everything and everyone.  Gilmour and Waters should come together again, to reunite the two incomplete halves, but Heraclitus won't allow it

One thing I don't miss about rock music forums is the endless argument about what was the last good album by each artist .

[AnotherSpin]

One thing I don't miss about rock music forums is the endless argument about what was the last good album by each artist .

What's there to argue about? The last great album featuring both Waters and Gilmour was The Wall

[71 dB]

One thing I don't miss about rock music forums is the endless argument about what was the last good album by each artist .

This "last good album" craziness applies other music genres too. Some people say Underwater Sunlight is the last good album by Tangerine Dream because the singing in Tyger was too much for them. Some People say LP5 is the last good album by Autechre because the sophistication of Confield was too complex for their mind.

An album made in 1972 is a manifestation of the musical principles of a band affected by the time it was created in. If the same band made an album ten years later in 1982, that was a manifestation of the more or less same musical principles of a band affected by the another time. The World was not the same in 1972 and in 1982. That's why an album from 1982 sounds like another  album from 1972 only is making it sound like it was made 10 years earlier was the artistic intent, which is hardly ever the case.

The question is do people like only the manifestations or do they also like the creative principles behind those manifestations. People who merely like the manifestations are likely to dislike later manifestations (albums) due to how the ever changing World has an effect on them. People who also appreciate the creative principles are more likely to accept and appreciate also later albums despite of increasing differences compared to prior albums. People who followed a band from the beginning tend to appreciate the first few albums the most while people who discovered a band later can more easily appreciate albums from different eras.

[AnotherSpin]

This "last good album" craziness applies other music genres too. Some people say Underwater Sunlight is the last good album by Tangerine Dream because the singing in Tyger was too much for them. Some People say LP5 is the last good album by Autechre because the sophistication of Confield was too complex for their mind.

An album made in 1972 is a manifestation of the musical principles of a band affected by the time it was created in. If the same band made an album ten years later in 1982, that was a manifestation of the more or less same musical principles of a band affected by the another time. The World was not the same in 1972 and in 1982. That's why an album from 1982 sounds like another  album from 1972 only is making it sound like it was made 10 years earlier was the artistic intent, which is hardly ever the case.

The question is do people like only the manifestations or do they also like the creative principles behind those manifestations. People who merely like the manifestations are likely to dislike later manifestations (albums) due to how the ever changing World has an effect on them. People who also appreciate the creative principles are more likely to accept and appreciate also later albums despite of increasing differences compared to prior albums. People who followed a band from the beginning tend to appreciate the first few albums the most while people who discovered a band later can more easily appreciate albums from different eras.

One can view the work of any musician or group through the lens of a life cycle. Birth, nurturing, rapid growth, prime, resting on laurels, stagnation, aging, decline, and death. The prime is characterized by a perfect balance of flexibility and control. Before the prime, flexibility dominates; after the prime, control takes over. The period of flexibility lacks responsibility. The period of control lacks the ability and desire to take risks, to try something new. Before the prime, there's an ascent; after the prime, a descent. This can be applied to any person, any organism—biological, social, etc.

[NumberSix]

After Waters left Pink Floyd, something strange happened. Gilmour's guitar lost its meaning; the endless repetition of the sound discovered in the '70s turned into impotent self-parody. Waters' meaning was left without music, gradually transforming into the screams and yells of a man hurt by everything and everyone.  Gilmour and Waters should come together again, to reunite the two incomplete halves, but Heraclitus won't allow it

I love this! Is it Plato's Symposium that talks about how everyone is but a half, looking for their other half to make a complete person (or soul?).

Your explanation fits my emotional experience of the music.

[NumberSix]

One thing I don't miss about rock music forums is the endless argument about what was the last good album by each artist .

Now it's just endless arguments about which Beethoven cycle is best or HIP/modern or what constitutes Romantic vs Late Romantic and so on. 

[NumberSix]

One can view the work of any musician or group through the lens of a life cycle. Birth, nurturing, rapid growth, prime, resting on laurels, stagnation, aging, decline, and death. The prime is characterized by a perfect balance of flexibility and control. Before the prime, flexibility dominates; after the prime, control takes over. The period of flexibility lacks responsibility. The period of control lacks the ability and desire to take risks, to try something new. Before the prime, there's an ascent; after the prime, a descent. This can be applied to any person, any organism—biological, social, etc.

Indeed. Plus, as a musician ages -- and the more successful they might become -- there's tremendous pressure to maintain. You can't take risks because now you have a family or an army of supporting staff and band members. Or you have a reputation to preserve.

The Stones, for instance, have IMO not made bad music from 1989-now. But most of it's not very adventurous -- or even interesting. It's competent, and I happen to like a good chunk of it when the mood strikes. But I suspect they don't push boundaries anymore because they feel they have a lot to lose. (or maybe they've just been out of ideas for 3+ decades)

[AnotherSpin]

I love this! Is it Plato's Symposium that talks about how everyone is but a half, looking for their other half to make a complete person (or soul?).

Your explanation fits my emotional experience of the music.

Yes, Symposium.

Love as the desire of separated halves to be reunited. Love = integration.

[NumberSix]

Desert Rose Band: Greatest Hits

I started this one yesterday, but I let myself get distracted and didn't make it far into the album. Today, I have been listening to -- and enjoying -- a lot of Beethoven, so some steel guitar should be a nice change of pace.