What MUSIC are you listening to?

Why have I not ever listened to Scott Walker? I've always heard him name-checked by Bowie, Marc Almond, Mark E. Smith, Jarvis Cocker and all these folks that I like. He cut a record with SUNN O))) last year. He's done Jacques Brel covers. Perfect storm and all that.

So I finally typed in his name on Spotify and lo, I started with the old Walker Brothers stuff...mostly better-than-average Everly Brothers style 60s pop with some orchestral and country tones. Very good overall, and I did not know that he did "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More", which is one of the best songs of the 60s.

But then I hit "Nite Flights"...it was something of a comeback record that they did in 1978. But in the interim between their "almost as big as the Beatles" minute in the UK and this record, I guess Scott Walker decided to get hip with it. The result is that he wrote and sang the first four songs on it, which are nothing like the remainder of the album. It's avant garde art rock not far removed from Bowie's Berlin period (so it's kind of a recursive chain of influence here). You can CLEARLY hear this record as a link between that and Eno up through maybe Japan and Pulp and on to LCD Soundsystem. The title track is AMAZING. Just blew my mind. But it was familiar, and I realized that it was a song that Bowie actually covered on "Black Tie, White Noise" (quite possibly the only record he has ever recorded- including the Tin Machine stuff- that I have not listened to 10k times). There's that recursion again.

But then the rest of the album, written by the other Walker Brothers, shows a band struggling to keep up with a frontman/songwriter that has just left them in the dust. Almost as if 1972 Eno were suddenly hired to front an aging 1960s rock act.

So I'm going through all of that stuff now, of course the documentary isn't on Netflix anymore that I used to pass over all the time.

I love it when I find something old that I've never really listened to before...and it turns out to be incredible.

Your mind is about to get BLOWN! One of the most bizarre discographies in pop music, period. My favorite way to introduce folks to Scott Walker in 15 minutes is to play "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", then "Next", and then "Farmer in the City".

I never noticed The Avalanches before. Their music is okay and their videos are fun:

I've recently been listening to Sirius/Xm satellite radio. Frankly it blows. The only benefit would be not having to search for a radio station every 20 min. as I drive around but the reception is very intermittent, the variety is limited (how much Duran Duran can one man stomach), and the sound quality is weak.

However, one good thing is that I have rediscovered the Pet Shop Boys. Man I dig a lot of their stuff.

I'm in a very chill mood this morning, to go with the cold front that just moved in, and with that Pet Shop Boys song.

I love me my Sirius radio. Coffee house, Stern, good times

I don't listen to Stern, was never a fan, so I've got the "mostly music" package.

Driving along, I'd say it fades at least 50% of the time. Not too bad when I'm parked for the night.

Also, the compression on the audio is such that the quality of sound is atrocious. Read an article that the output is something to the effect of 2% of what a normal CD puts out with the only mitigating factor being the audio modifications done by your stereo. After switching to my iPod on Friday, I can attest that the difference is quite noticeable.

Also I figure, if I drop my subscription I can use the money to up my phone's data plan and stream Spotify or something similar.

I picked up Hayes Carll's 'Trouble in Mind' - he's been compared to Townes Van Zandt far too many times and it's unfair. He's good, but that level of poetry is generally only seen in artists like Leonard Cohen or Townes... it's not exactly common. Hayes is good though, there's some serious charm in his songwriting style even if he does seem like he's trying just a touch too hard. There's real feeling in there and he writes a good tune. It's slightly regressive in that it almost sounds like he could have released it in the seventies but there is a small hipster sensibility going on underneath that betrays it's date.

I also picked up the new Deafheaven and it's great stuff. A little more approachable from a metal head perspective but maybe less approachable from a pop perspective. For example my wife prefers their first album (she's not a metal head but loves the Pixies) whereas my brother who loves himself a good riff prefers their new disc. Both great albums. I don't feel they step on each other's toes, which is nice as they are both worth owning this way.

Then my brother has a guitar student who's into some of the same hip hop as me (Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle, Death Grips etc...) so we've been sharing hip hop artists through my brother and yesterday I listened to Mick Jenkins who is a pretty interesting artist. The album I've been listening to is called 'The Water' and there's some great stuff on it. It kind of reminds me of what Kendrik Lamar is doing these days but a little less production heavy (smaller budget too I bet).

The whole thing is on youtube too;



Lastly when I'm driving in the truck these days I put on Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. It's his most popular release and for good reason but I have't listened to it in awhile, prefering instead to hear him play someone.. anyone other than Bach (who I love but I've heard Gould play far too much) it was nice to go back. That album is as perfect as they come and no one plays like that. There is something really progressive and experimental about how he approaches the piano, no one sounds quite like him and he makes all these old pieces feel really fresh... even over 50 years later. It's amazing. Here is a clip of him playing it in 1981.. this recording is generally preferred by older people while his original one is more exciting this one is more contemplative. I still prefer the older recording (does that mean I'm still young?) but both are brilliant.

As I'm painting up and collecting Dreadball, I've been listening to a lot of synthwave. It's great stuff, but I feel too many artists go the easy way out and just pick classic 80's movie lines or themes and compose a song around it. That music's good, but not super creative in some aspects. College is heads and shoulders above the rest as his compositions sound current, modern, but inspired from yesteryear's sounds.

Anyway, there is a track that calls out an 80s film that I just can't get enough of. Night Runner's Nuclear Countdown from the album Starfighter. With its haunting Miracle Mile intro to the atomic bomb explosion at the end, it really gives me the sense of dread I often felt living on military bases back during the Cold War.

I can't find the track on youtube, but it's on their bandcamp page. The whole album is worth checking out. Particularly if you're playing a game with any sort of near future/post-apoc vibe.

nightrunnermusic.bandcamp.com/album/starfighter

omg, has anyone been checking out THE CHAIN SMOKERS???

check out the tracks Good Intentions, Let You Go. Kanye.

i think these could be some of the best tracks of 2015. Don't be lazy, listen to the songs...

Phil Spector Christmas album. Still by far the best Christmas record ever made.

Love that noo yawk accent Ronnie has in "Frosty the Snowman" and "Sleigh Ride"...gives the songs just a wee bit of proto-punky sneer.

I started listening to Hiromi Trio's new album 'Alive' and it's pretty fucking brilliant. Ostensibly jazz but there is some obvious metal, pop, classical and lots of other stuff thrown in there. Clearly she is a virtuoso piano player but it feels to me like a lot more than that comes through in her pieces. It's kind of inaccessible music but it's done in such a way that it still resonates with non-musicians. I don't think it's strictly music nerd fare. There's some pretty kick ass power in some of these pieces. Totally worth checking out even if your not a jazz head.

Holy shit this guy can sing. I totally forgot how awesome this song is and especially how amazing the lead singer is. One of the best rock voices I've ever heard. I've listened to this practically on repeat for the last day.

Fun fact- he went on to write "The Wind Beneath My Wings."

I'm listening to nothing but Queen. With occassional Merle Haggard.

Ha! I thought that was a Devo original.
I can't be blamed....the subject and sound sure sound like it's one of theirs legit.



A buddy texted this morning asking if I want to go see All Them Witches at the end of the month. All Them Who? Never heard of them until today, but I like what I'm hearing.





This track in particular. My favorite at the moment. It's the violins that do it.