Hi everyone. I'm happy to try my hand at a listening list for the following week. Before I start the list proper, I thought I'd start by introducing myself a little bit so you have an idea where I'm coming from.
As you might have guessed, my name is in fact Cameron. I'm 31, and I've been a member here for about 3 months but I lurked for quite a while before joining. What initially attracted me to BEA was just the opportunity to find suggestions of important albums that I hadn't heard, and certainly it's been really valuable in that regard. Now I'm slowly starting to discover other cool things about the site - specifically, the community. I've been reading everyone's ULL for example. I tend to be more of a watcher than a participator.
But anyway, just a few quick facts. I'm currently studying musicology as a grad student. I play piano and percussion, but long-term my goal is probably to work in the music department at a university. Growing up, my dad was a professional jazz drummer - he played with people like Robben Ford, Jimmy Witherspoon, Mose Allison, and so forth; the most famous person he ever did a gig with was Chuck Berry. When my mom was younger, my she was a flutist. For this reason I grew up hearing a ton of jazz/blues and classical music.
I guess I'll start by listing a few of the albums that were most special to me as a kid - some of these are really well-known and well-loved, and others are pretty obscure.
My dad picked up this album because he had to play one of the songs on it for a wedding gig. 4-year-old me loved it. I also loved the music videos for "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" - the latter was the first song I ever truly adored. When I finally got my own personal CD player about ten years later, this was the first album I bought, and I think the first thing I did was listen to "Big Time" on repeat about 20 times in a row.
Seriously, how could any kid born in the '80s not find this awesome?
When I was about 6 or 7 I went to an Amnesty International concert which had a bunch of big names - but I only cared about Peter Gabriel. When his set was done and Bruce Springsteen came on, I said "OK, we can go home now."
I heard these album a lot as a kid. For those who don't really know Linda Ronstadt, she's probably the most versatile mainstream singer. I mean ever. Mariachi music, salsa, vocal jazz, Philip Glass, country, pop, rock... and she sounds great doing it all. But don't take my word for it, take Billy Crystal's.
My love for this album convinces me with a certainty that nostalgia is the single greatest factor in what music we love. If I had heard it for the first time today I know I would consider it mediocre, cheesy '80s synth-jazz. but because I got the album as a kid and listened to it over and over I'm now honestly convinced that these are some of the best, catchiest jazz instrumentals ever written. But that's also why I tend to be skeptical of albums adored by certain people; if I get my hopes up too high for anything, I'm usually disappointed. It takes time to form a bond with music, and for this reason almost any music can be worthwhile and valuable if it appears in one's life at the right time.
I was a bit of a weird kid. As a preteen I adored Steely Dan (I still think they're probably the second-greatest band ever to exist, after the Beatles).
Speaking of the Beatles, Yellow Submarine (the movie, and therefore the music as well) was definitely a staple of my childhood. Some other movies I grew up with: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Pete's Dragon, the Star Wars movies, and, weirdly enough, An American Werewolf in London (great flick).
I used to cry to the Eleanor Rigby scene as a kid. I guess I was a sensitive boy.
A local band where I grew up. I know both the cover and the title sound cheesy, but this is some of the best purely instrumental "world beat" that has ever been recorded, and this combined with my interest in Peter Gabriel basically convinced me from a young age that the whole world had interesting music to offer. Along with a love for classical music, this basically means that I'm open to listen to just about anything from any era... or at least I'd like to think so.
This year (spurred on by the BEA best-of-year lists after finally becoming a Level 8 member) I've decided to really plunge in and listen to a lot of new releases, something I've never actually consciously done before. I've put together a very short 10-song playlist on Spotify of some of my favorite songs of this year. As you can see, I like pop, I like hooks, I like production. I'll take a catchy, well-produced single over lo-fi grunge almost every time. There are lots of reasons for my tastes and I thought about going into them here but I don't think people really need to hear all that. _________________ Here's my 2014 chart
Last edited by CameronMB on 09/22/2014 14:18; edited 1 time in total
Alright, so I'm working on a few different listening "projects". This was the year that I finally decided to try to stay caught up with new releases. I listen to so much music that often I never hear important albums from the current year. So after some concentrated listening I've heard about 120-130 albums from 2014 and so far I have to say that I'm enjoying actually knowing about the music other people are talking about.
Right now I'm going through the top BEA albums for 2014 and just listening to them in (approximate) order, at least those I can find on Spotify. Today I checked out three albums; none of them are likely to make my final Top 100 of the year, but that's ok, I've discovered some really cool music this year (I'll talk about that in a future post).
As a fan of the ass, I happily condone this album cover. Unfortunately, the music itself didn't do much for me. Not bad, but hard rock like this isn't really one of my favorite genres.
Believe it or not, this was actually the first Mogwai album I've ever heard. There were definitely flashes of interesting music, but from an overall perspective this was an entire album of mostly mid tempo, 4/4 rock instrumentals (with just a little variation) and I couldn't really aurally grab onto anything that I loved. That said, and knowing my fondness for hooks, what would be a good next Mogwai album for me to check out?
This was my favorite of the three albums I listened to today. It was a nice surprise - for some reason I was expecting it to be metal of some sort (maybe it's the cover), but instead we had a moody female-led sort of post rocky dream poppy thing going on.
I'm REALLY looking forward to listening to Syro tomorrow. I am a lifelong fan of Aphex Twin (around the age of 15-16 I was obsessed with the mid-90s trilogy of I Care Because You Do, Richard D. James Album, and Come to Daddy.)
Every day I also try to check out an album by a group I'm already familiar with. One of my favorite albums is They Might Be Giants' Flood so today I listened to Lincoln for the first time.
After two listens I found it quite the enjoyable album although it obviously hasn't grown on me the same way Flood did. What I really appreciated here is how TMBG are the masters of sublimating dark, serious, or touchy lyrics underneath bubbly, catchy, whistlable melodies. My favorite example on Lincoln is the last track here, "Kiss Me, Son of God":
I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage
Called the blood of the exploited working class
But they've overcome their shyness
Now they're calling me Your Highness
And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"
I destroyed a bond of friendship and respect
Between the only people left who'd even look me in the eye
Now I laugh and make a fortune
Off the same ones that I tortured
And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"
I look like Jesus, so they say
But Mr. Jesus is very far away
Now you're the only one here who can tell me if it's true
That you love me and I love me
I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage
Called the blood of the exploited working class
But they've overcome their shyness
Now they're calling me Your Highness
And a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"
Yes a world screams, "Kiss me, Son of God"
I also appreciate TMBG's ability to make their point musically and not drag things out. Lincoln has 18 tracks but is less than 40 minutes long. Likewise, Flood crams in 19 tracks (at least 14 of which are very good) into 43 minutes.
Finally, I also try to listen to classical music of some sort every day (and by 'classical' I refer broadly to anything from the Western concert music tradition from before Bach through contemporary composition). Today I checked out an album of chamber music by Chen Yi, a Chinese-born composer whose works combine Western classical music with elements of her cultural experiences in her home country. This falls towards the conservative side of contemporary classical music (not necessarily a bad thing) but I don't think it's the best introduction to her work.
Since I would love to share some of my favorite music with you, I'd also like to recommend an album for anyone who loves 80s soul/r&b/funk.
Jeffrey Osborne is one of the all-time great soul singers. His debut album, by far his best, is filled with a mixture of soul, funk, and r&b all filtered through his very strong voice. The songwriting is great, but the album really isn't widely recognized (I added it to BEA because nobody has it on any chart), possibly because it does have its dated, slightly cheesy moments (especially lyrics-wise). Still, it's produced wonderfully, and I can't recommend it strongly enough. Here's a taste; play it loud and dance:
When I say I like hooks, basically all I mean is that given a choice between a band's "deepest" album and their "most accessible" I prefer to start on the most accessible end and work my way in. _________________ Here's my 2014 chart
Unlike many here, I have no nostalgia or "skin in the game" when it comes to the Pixies. This was just the second Pixies album I've heard, after Doolittle. To be honest, I found both albums pretty forgettable. I know, I know, I suck.
I've been a pretty hardcore Aphex Twin fan for my entire adult life; I discovered him around the age of 13 or so and haven't looked back. I've tried to get almost every note he's recorded under every moniker (from Bradley Strider to The Tuss to Gak to Polygon Window to AFX to Mike & Rich to... well, you get the idea). I tried really hard not to get too excited about Syro but it was inevitable that I'd be really stoked.
Frankly, I think anybody calling this one of Aphex Twin's best albums needs to go back and listen to Richard D. James Album to hear what a truly vibrant, engaging, creative, and original album of electronic music sounds like. Syro is very good - it would be inconceivable for an Aphex Twin album to be bad - but it just doesn't have the soul, the timbral variety, the humor, the true weirdness of a classic Aphex Twin album. Still probably going to be in my top 20 of the year, though.
For my money, the Four Tops are the best group ever to emerge under the Motown label, narrowly beating out the Supremes and the Temptations. Levi Stubbs' voice is legendary, and they seemed to have a knack for getting some of the most memorable tunes of the classic Motown era, from "I Can't Help Myself" to "Bernadette" to "Standing in the Shadows of Love" to "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" - honestly, it really didn't get any better.
This was my first time hearing Still Waters Run Deep - an interesting album from 1970 which has some pretty progressive touches such as connected songs, environmental sound effects, and recurring lyrical themes, though it was released about 1 year and 2 months before the much more famous What's Going On. While Gaye's album is probably 'better' I actually enjoyed this one just as much. One highlight is a fantastic cover of the Supremes classic "Reflections". All in all a strong album from a great group.
I've actually specialized in studying the extremely important but largely forgotten composer Spohr during my time in musicology. Hahn's disc is the best-selling Spohr disc of all time (not surprising considering her star power). The Paganini concerto is very good, as well, at least if you're fond of early romantic violin showpieces, but the Spohr is the one of real historical interest.
Finally, I'm using each day to promote a 'little-known' album that I think deserves some love. Today I'm going to plug a real obscurity, Post Global Music - in actuality a set of four remixes of Aerial M's Wedding Song, albeit nearly 40 minutes in total length.
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
I don't want to say too much about this album except to strongly encourage you to listen to the track below.
To be honest, I found both albums pretty forgettable.
lolno.
Well Indie Cindy is pretty much Trompe le Monde's less focused kind of sloppy collection of songs anyway. I mean it's okay for what it is, but I could be okay with someone calling Indie Cindy forgettable. But Doolittle is TIMELESS man.
Quote:
For my money, the Four Tops are the best group ever to emerge under the Motown label,
I'll take that money and smack you with it, because while the Temptations and the Supremes both reinvented themselves (and made quality energetic records) this band became pretty stale after Still Waters Run Deep (ironically the one you are listening to). A focus on uneven collabs and the occasional decent record really can't compare to the energy and care put into the Supremes/Temptations 70s material. By the time Night Lights Harmony came out they had lost it.
Also, I'd wager for my money that both the Temptations and Supremes 60s output were far more well-arranged and crafted than The Four Tops as well.
I do like the Four Tops though, don't get me wrong.
I do like the Four Tops though, don't get me wrong.
And I love the Temptations and the Supremes. To be honest, I probably can't argue with you when it comes to the post-1960s music. Talking about the Four Tops, I really was mostly talking about the 60s golden age.
I agree some of the music of the Temptations was more cleanly produced, but I think the raw production on the Four Tops' tracks is one of their strengths (and I usually prefer more sophisticated production). I'll take Stubbs' voice over Ruffin's any day. But I also thought I'd try to be a bit more precise about it.
I ranked the 1397 songs Motown released as singles between 1959 and 1970. Excluding duplicate songs (e.g. stereo and mono versions of the same songs), looking at my top 25 singles from that group, here's how the artists break down:
Diana Ross & The Supremes - 8
Four Tops - 6
Temptations - 3
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - 3
Martha & The Vandellas - 2
Stevie Wonder - 2
Jackson 5 - 1
So I'd be much more open to an argument for the Supremes over the Four Tops in terms of quality in the 1960s. Thanks for making me reconsider this. I'll still take the Tops over the Temptations, though, at least in the 1960s.
As for Pixies, I'd love to love them, I've just yet to run into any music by them that moved me in any way. I'm open to thoughts about why they are worth the time. _________________ Here's my 2014 chart
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