What MUSIC are you listening to?

Well man, I think this is all blown way out of proportion by some soft-skinned people. And it's not like arrogant assholes is a new phenomenon in rock music lol. At the end of the day I'm gonna listen to Down Colorful Hill and not think about any of this shit AT ALL.

Hex Sinister wrote:

JonJacob wrote: I listened to a bunch of Sun Kill Moon recently... very disappointing. I'm kind of sick of these overly whipmy sounding singer songwriter dudes that have no oompf to their voices. His playing was ok and the lyrics were tolerable but the singing just drove me nuts. It's in key and all that but it just sounds way to sensitive and saccharine to me.

War on Drugs Suck My Cock is good lol.

I never thought of Kozelek as saccharine sounding, that's wierd. I was going to say you should try Red House Painters but if you don't dig Mark ,well, it's probably useless. I know how you feel though, the vocalist is the #1 thing that will kill a band for me. Well, that might be exaggerating a bit but generally (I'm way too picky, a hater of everything lol).

I might like him in other contexts who knows. The only album I know is "Among the Leaves" and like I said, it's ok. But there's a sincerity in his voice that is too serious. If you ever listened to Leonard Cohen think of how he sings Chelsea Hotel No 2 or Famous Blue Raincoat... it's the kind of songwriting that Kozelek is going for but with a small dose of humour in the delivery. With Kozelek's super personal lyrics he needs to lighten up a bit... even the jokes fall flat for me. Something about all of his fans being guys with Tennis Shoes and not pretty girls... but he sounds honestly hurt by it.

As for the asshole thing you can tell by the way he sings about women that there is something demeaning going on there. But I tend to not care about that shit unless it's really serious.

But I did like War on Drugs last album in a B version of Springsteen kind of way and his voice may be even wimpier... so I am not consistent in my likes and dislikes.

Funny enough, in the Blood Bowl Nurgle thread Sydo was talking about an album that still feels new, but are actually really old. I mentioned in that other thread that for me it's Morrissey's 'Vauxhall and I'. I bring it up, because I've been listening to it a lot again lately and damn is it a fine album. I can't believe it's been over 20 years since it was released.

The lead single in the us was 'The More You Ignore Me' which I always remembered for having the little girl in the boots and Angelic Upstarts shirt.


But for my pound, the strongest track - and one of my favorite Morrissey songs of all time - is Speedway.

Damn, such a great song.

2015 is actually the 20th Anniversary of Southpaw Grammer. I didn't take to this one as well, and looking at this video again for the first time in about two decades I remember him doing interviews, maybe with Q...I dunno, where he was cutting himself for photos. I don't recall the reason, but this was during the time he was flirting with skinhead and hooligan culture.

Vauxhall is a great album. Solo Morrissey has more good stuff than a lot of people give him credit for by focusing on the (admittedly amazing) Smiths catalog.

All you need as evidence for Morrissey as a solo artist is one of the singles collections. Most of those tracks are just as good as anything The Smiths did. Vauxhall is by far his best record..."You Are the Quarry" was surprisingly great.

Sparks have a song called "Lighten Up, Morrissey".

Just picked up Brandon Flowers second solo disc, The Desired Effect. Looking forward to giving it a spin. From what I've heard it's pure 80s power pop. He's actually come out and said that it feel like the follow up to Hot Fuss that people were expecting the Killers to do. Though I'm glad this album is coming out now. I feel like the guy has matured a bit as a song writer (not much, but some) and he has found his voice. He seems more comfortable in his own skin and who he is as a musician.

It's summer time and this is the type of shit I'm in the mood for as I head for the beach and get ready to soak in some sunshine.

The single sounds like the end credits theme for a summer movie, circa 1988. Either that or a more Springsteen-influenced Billy Ocean.

Streaming the lead single off the upcoming Sword album, High Country.

www.theswordofficial.com/

I was playing some mindless FIFA last night and I finally connected my PS4 to Spotify. It's a perfect match, playing a brainless videogame and listening to music.

It's amazing how you come back to an album you haven't listened to much for many years but meant a lot to you in the past. If it's great, it still means a lot but the meaning has changed. I listened to Neutral Milk Hotel's Aeroplane Over the Sea last night for the first time in years... it's one of my top 5 albums. I was listening to it and while its basics hadn't changed, it's a pretty straightforward narrative album in some ways, I had a really different perspective on it and the emotions contained in it. What struck me these days is the howling intensity of the album... at one time I could identify with that kind of emotional intensity, but these days I've mellowed so it's interesting but it's harder to relate directly. More of a reflection on being younger for me.

Gary Sax wrote: It's amazing how you come back to an album you haven't listened to much for many years but meant a lot to you in the past. If it's great, it still means a lot but the meaning has changed. I listened to Neutral Milk Hotel's Aeroplane Over the Sea last night for the first time in years... it's one of my top 5 albums. I was listening to it and while its basics hadn't changed, it's a pretty straightforward narrative album in some ways, I had a really different perspective on it and the emotions contained in it. What struck me these days is the howling intensity of the album... at one time I could identify with that kind of emotional intensity, but these days I've mellowed so it's interesting but it's harder to relate directly. More of a reflection on being younger for me.

I was just listening to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea the other day, for the first time in years. Some of the tracks held up just fine, but Holland, 1945 fell flat. The opening of the song is just great, and then it loudly meanders from there.,

I just got the new Third Eye Blind album, Dopamine. Yes, that group still exists. It's pretty simple... if you like them, you'll like the album. If you don't, you won't.

Shellhead wrote:

Gary Sax wrote: It's amazing how you come back to an album you haven't listened to much for many years but meant a lot to you in the past. If it's great, it still means a lot but the meaning has changed. I listened to Neutral Milk Hotel's Aeroplane Over the Sea last night for the first time in years... it's one of my top 5 albums. I was listening to it and while its basics hadn't changed, it's a pretty straightforward narrative album in some ways, I had a really different perspective on it and the emotions contained in it. What struck me these days is the howling intensity of the album... at one time I could identify with that kind of emotional intensity, but these days I've mellowed so it's interesting but it's harder to relate directly. More of a reflection on being younger for me.

I was just listening to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea the other day, for the first time in years. Some of the tracks held up just fine, but Holland, 1945 fell flat. The opening of the song is just great, and then it loudly meanders from there.,

See, for me that song completely holds up. I mean, now that I'm older, the album is about such a laughable premise: emotionally troubled man reads Anne Frank, reflects/learns about the Holocaust, writes album. What carries the whole thing is the complete, unsarcastic buy-in, the devastating emotional directness of the album. Looking back, I don't have that kind of intensity about anything anymore---I'm too removed and intellectual about almost everything. But that's why I still love the album. I remember when I was that in touch with the intensity of my emotional experiences. That kind of thing comes and goes now that I'm in my 30s.

It sounds like I'm some sort of dead inside drone when I reread what I've written, but that's not true at all. I'm a thousand times smarter and I understand/can analyze my emotions much better. I wouldn't go back for an instant, I'm a much better person now.

My kids are on a 70s rock rampage right now. Sweet in particular. Every time we get in the car, we have to listen to "Ballroom Blitz", "Fox on the Run", "Action" and "Teenage Rampage". Now they're wanting KISS and AC/DC.

Why do people allow small children to listen to shit like the Wiggles instead of real music?

Michael Barnes wrote: My kids are on a 70s rock rampage right now. Sweet in particular. Every time we get in the car, we have to listen to "Ballroom Blitz", "Fox on the Run", "Action" and "Teenage Rampage". Now they're wanting KISS and AC/DC.

Why do people allow small children to listen to shit like the Wiggles instead of real music?

I grew up with '70s rock, so I am terribly biased in favor of it. Mainstream '70s rock is great. It's very direct and accessible and loaded with hooks. It's like a sugar rush. But so many years have gone by and I have moved on to other music, so now '70s rock is like total guilty pleasure music. I can only enjoy it in the privacy of headphones.

That said, I bet your kids would love some ELO and early Styx. Definitely try Mr. Blue Sky and Come Sail Away. EDIT: and Queen. Definitely the big hits from Queen.

Oh, they are already big Queen fans. "Bicycle Race" and "Don't Stop Me Now" in particular.