OT: Watcha Listenin' To? Part VI

[dragonoffrost]

It's a cover but holy hell that guy's pipes. Yes he sings with Trans Siberian Orchestra and that seems to be requirement for anyone who sings with them. Rosa (guest vocalist) is also a TSO Singer.

I checked out a few of their other songs last night during my commute and will say Animal Drive had a definite Queensryche vibe with a few of their original material songs.

 

[DancingPanther]

New album from Kid Cudi. It's ok. 6/10. 2 really good songs.

New album from Chance the Rapper (and Jeremih). Jeremih is annoying to me, mainly because it seems like he overstays his welcome on songs. But it's ok.

Add 2 more mediocre albums to the pile from two of my favs.

 

[trostol]

 

[trostol]

 

[Appleyard]

One of the best songs off one of the best ever post-punk albums. Insane live too.

Absolutely amazing rhythm section, (was never quite as good after the bassist left... and then the drummer sadly died in the 90s.) alongside great lyrics.

One of my fave drummers ever.

 

[trostol]

 

[DancingPanther]

New album from Kid Cudi. It's ok. 6/10. 2 really good songs.

New album from Chance the Rapper (and Jeremih). Jeremih is annoying to me, mainly because it seems like he overstays his welcome on songs. But it's ok.

Add 2 more mediocre albums to the pile from two of my favs.

Ok so Kid Cudi's album has grown on me tremendously. I'm bumping it to an 8/10 and saying there's 6 really good songs on it

My favorite is this one. It's a short listen, only 2 and a half mins.

 

[Appleyard]

Insane song to choose to cover.

One of the best songs off the best albums ever in Astral Weeks. And a very unique song for that album... looking forward.

But awesome in its own way. The violin and mandolin are amazing... and the emotion is pretty special. (and shoehorning part of Blackbird in the end is somehow inspired.)

One of the better covers I have ever heard.

And I will raise my hand up into the night time sky
And count the stars that's shining in your eye
Just to dig it all an' not to wonder, that's just fine
And I'll be satisfied not to read in between the lines

And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And I will never, ever, ever, ever grow so old again
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing

 

[Maurice of Orange]

New track Alfred’s theme from Em’s side B album music to be murdered by.

 

[Young Sandwich]

Insane song to choose to cover.

One of the best songs off the best albums ever in Astral Weeks. And a very unique song for that album... looking forward.

But awesome in its own way. The violin and mandolin are amazing... and the emotion is pretty special. (and shoehorning part of Blackbird in the end is somehow inspired.)

One of the better covers I have ever heard.

And I will raise my hand up into the night time sky
And count the stars that's shining in your eye
Just to dig it all an' not to wonder, that's just fine
And I'll be satisfied not to read in between the lines

And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And I will never, ever, ever, ever grow so old again
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing

That violin really is amazing. Such a great cover.

Speaking of covers, Dawes does a cover of Fisherman's Blues that is pretty awesome. Feels like a whole different song.

 

[macleish1974]

I saw Clapton in, I think, early 2001? Bryce Jordan Center, and it was the best mixed live show I've ever seen. It sounded great even way back in the cheap seats where I was. Nothing was overpowering, and the great Steve Gadd was on drums.

The only thing that ruined it was some tremendously drunk lady sitting nearby that felt the need to sing along to just about every song.

I saw Clapton twice: Cream...still love ther version of Spoonful and in Blind Faith with Bonnie and Delaney as opening act. Concert was ok... Elton John concerts were something else. Did like the Yellow Brick Road tour concert. The late sixties , early seventies at the local clubs like the Stone Balloon, the owner was Bill Stevenson, whose ex-wife Jill will soon be First Lady. Don't believe all the stories.....Bill had more coke than Rico in Scarface. Never wore good clothes at the Stone, sticky floors, spilled beer, odds someone throwing up on you. The bathrooms where a sight to behold; the " ladies" room was even worse with tampons all over the place....but the good news: always good bands to dance to' plus the odds of you going back to your apartment with someone were high. Though the next morning could bring some interesting revelations..Then there was always the Venetian Lounge; lovingly called the Veneral Lounge. High on the list were the Red Barn, Brandywine Room , and the best place for a Rusty Nail [ the drink] was the T Bar. All of my great past is long gone....of course I could go all the way back to the Newark, Elsmere, and Claymont Fire Halls with their shennigans....All except the T Bar were all icons of northern Delaware.

 

[trostol]

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

 

[DancingPanther]

Ok so Kid Cudi's album has grown on me tremendously. I'm bumping it to an 8/10 and saying there's 6 really good songs on it

My favorite is this one. It's a short listen, only 2 and a half mins.

At 00:42 of this song, Scott fools our ears, and that shit is f***in tite. The way music works is you travel to and from the tonic note. The first note in the scale. Normally you rock up and down the scale between the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Start at the first note, ebb up to 5 (or 4 both are acceptable) and there's tension. Those tones are called the dominant and subdominant tones of the scale. When you hit those you want so badly to go back home to the tonic tone. That's what "resolving" is. You hear it in church music. "Ahhhhhhh-mennnnnn" is usually F => C. Subdominant to tonic. It works just as well as dominant to tonic because the subdominant is the same distance below the higher octave tonic note that the dominant is above the bass tonight note. C D E F G A B C (F is 4 steps below high C, G is 4 steps above low C) Your ear wants to hear you go back.

Similarly when you rock up to the 3rd note in the scale, the median, your ear wants to keep going. It expects you to continue the journey up to the subdominant or dominant. But kid cudi doesn't do that. In the key of Gb he stays on the median tone (Bb) instead of using it as a passing note to travel to the subdominant B or dominant Db. It's jarring, especially when the melody prior to and after that continues with the musically normal ebb and flow from I to IV or V and back again. It gives you a floating feeling and eggs you on. It's such a beautiful melodic element and I will literally fight anyone who writes his talent off thinking he's just another hip hop artist. f***.

 

[trostol]

 

[DancingPanther]

New track Alfred’s theme from Em’s side B album music to be murdered by.

I've been preoccupied with MotM3 but this is next

 

[trostol]

 

[Rebels57]

Pretty cool compilation of weird 80s new wave/alternative/post-punk Christmas songs:

 

[macleish1974]

Top Billboard Pop 40 that I have on 45: And how many can you remember from the 60s...

1. Stoned Soul Picnic- 5th Dimension
2. Big Girls Don't Cry- Four Seasons
3. Higher and Higher- Jackie Wilson
4. Secret Agent Man- Johnny Rivers
5. Wild Thing- Troggs
6. Sweet Cream Ladies- Box Tops
7. Dizzy- Tommy Roe [ must have heard this 5 times an hour on AM car radio]
8. Pinball Wizard- The Who....yes on 45!
9. Time of the Season- Zombies
10. Sweet Soul Music- Arthur Conley
11. Gitarzan- Ray Stevens.......another one which I heard 5 times an hour
12. Bobby's Girl- Marcie Blane
13. South Street- Orlons .......of course.......if you need to know why....then you ain't from Philly
14. Dance to the Music- Sly and the Family Stone
15. Quarter To Three- U.S. Bonds
16. Eli's Coming- Three Dog Night
17. Love Can Make You Happy- Mercy....big in Philly
18. Shake a Tail Feather- James and Bobby Purify
19. It's Your Thing- The Isley Brothers
20. Love the One You're With- Stephen Stills......not sure who the backing band is.....on this 45
21. Oh Happy Day- The Edwin Hawkins Singers......if you love gospel.......;-)
22. Spirit in the Sky- Norman Greenbaum
23. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye- Steam......still one of my favs
24. I Got You Babe- Sonny and Cher.......Sonny actually wrote the song
25. Rag Doll- Four Seasons
26. The Pied Piper- Crispian St Peters........going to summer school in '65 [ took Biology to get it out of the way]
27. Mrs. Brown you Have a Lovely Daughter- Herman's Hermits.....heard them in the summer of 2008 at a free outdoor concert in Albany, NY
28. One/A side Chest Fever/B side- Three Dog Night........Chest Fever was a Robbie Robertson [ the Band] song
29. Fortunate Son/Down on the Corner- Creedence Clearwater Revival
30. Twistin' Postman- Marvelettes
31. No Time- The Guess Who
32. I Love You- People- local Philly song....do not know if it went national
33. Turn! Turn! Turn!- The Byrds
34. Fire- Crazy World of Arthur Brown
35. Tell Tommy I Miss Him- Marilyn Michaels.........Brill Street tune
36. Woodstock- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
37 Monday, Monday- The Mama's and Papa's
38. Tracy- The Cuff Links......bubblegum all the way baby! ;-)
39 My Baby Loves Lovin'- White Plains....another bubblegum
40. 1,2,3, Redlight- 1910 FruitGum Company........most of the bubblegum "genre" was really two people Katz and Kasenetz.......my fav was Quick Joey Small.......unfortunately I could not find it in my collection
41. Hey, Paula- Paul and Paula.....they had a few more songs....more or less like this one.
42. I Had Too Much To Dream (last night)- The Electric Prunes
43. Do You Know What I Mean- Lee Michaels- fav at parties in the notorious Ivy Hall Apartments near the U of Del.- Today the cops would arrest us all.......
44. Come On Down To My Boat- Every Mothers' Son
45. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do- Neil Sedaka.......had to put in at least one Sedaka song.....
46. Hungry- Paul Revere and the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay. I guess by this time everyone know who was the real leader and singer of the band. They were featured on some beach show.
47. Red Rubber Ball- The Cyrkle.........supposedly the new Beatles.........one song and out!
48. This Guy's In Love With You-Herb Albert; yeah sappy song, but when your first true love's favorite song you sorta have to buy it.........
49. Incense and Peppermints- Strawberry Alarm Clock
50. Walk Away Renee- Left Banke-
51. Mellow Yellow- Donavan
52. Angel In the Morning- Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts
53. Lola-the Kinks
54. Vehicle- The Ides of March.......another party song
55. Like To Get To Know You- Spanky and Our Gang
56. Think- Aretha Franklin
57. The 59th Street Bridge Song- Harpers Bizarre.......written by Paul Simon
58. Night Time- The Strangloves......kind of a garage band song
59. The Little Old Lady From Pasadena- Jan and Dean.......about a 1963-64 SuperStock Dodge.......if you have one of these cars......in mint condition.......$150,000-$200,000 today!
60. Green-Eyed Lady-Sugarloaf....one of the first songs about ecology/environment : Green eyed lady: Earth
61. I Heard It Through The Grapevine- Gladys Knight and the Pips.......one of the hundred or so Motown songs I have
62. Light My Fire-The Doors.......we booed when they played the 2:52 version on the radio. You had to wait till real late at night to hear the "real" version of the song.
63. The Horse- Cliff Nobles & Co. ........ a true Philly song.
64. Funky Broadway-Dyke and the Blazers........a take on Wilson Pickett's version. Truly remarkable remake
65. My Girl Sloopy- Little Caesar .......another one which is a take on the McCoy's version. Truly Garage Band of the 60s stuff
66. Catch Us If You Can- Dave Clark Five.......had to put at least of their songs....
67. This Old Heart of Mine ( is weak for you)- Isley Brothers.........first true love's song......cannot bear to listen to it without.....you know what I mean.......
68. Peppermint Twist- Parts I and II- Joey Dee and The Starliters........good take on the original
69. Boogaloo Down Broadway- The Fantastic Johnny C, another Philly soul classic
70. Beep-Beep- The Playmates........one of the many comic/funny songs of the 50s......
71. Black is Black- Los Bravos.....still one of my favs
72. I Want To Testify- The Parliaments.............George Clinton's group.....gets down and dirty
73. Soulful Strut- Young-Holt Unlimited.......instrumental....."groovin' " song
74.Hot Smoke & Sassafrass- The Bubble Puppy........how many remember this song? me and.....
75. 96 Tears- ? & the Mysterians.........they wanted to name it 69 Tears.......producer and label [Cameo] said no way!
76. Percolator- Billy Joe and the Checkmates.......1961,62 dance song, many memories at house parties. House parties were big and to get invited [ by invitation letters scotch taped to your front door no less!] to Sally M.'s house was like an honor party lights, paper plates cake and ice cream......dancing and more dancing and in the shadows: spin the bottle and 7 minutes in heaven........
77. Hang on Sloopy- The McCoys
78. The Loco-Motion- Little Eva, another Brill Street song, Gerry Goffin
79. Love Makes A Woman- Barbara Acklin, another first love song
80. Funky Nassau- Part I and II- The Beginning Of the End.....a garage band song
81. You Where On My Mind- We Five.....think this was on Rhino's first Nuggets album
82. Get Together-YoungBloods.....more or less a summer of 67 love feast in SF.
83. Classical Gas- Mason Williams..........one of the best instrumental's ever
84. Liar, Liar- The Castaways..........another garage band song from the 60s
85. Funky Broadway- Wilson Pickett
86. Hanky Panky- Tommy James and The Shondells........raw
87. Grazing In The Grass- Hugh Masekela- another instrumental
88. Little Girl-Syndicate of Sound , still one of the best garage band songs, that could more or less keep a beat, guitars in tune and a drummer that was fairly decent.
89. Louie Louie- The Kingsmen........still plays on my turntable without too much noise and pops......
90. She Loves You-Beatles.......sort of rare since it was on the Swan label and not Capital label.......the label has a little ditty "don't drop out"......I assume school.

Those were the fun ones.....of course I have all the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Motown and Beach Boys 45 rpms. Plus hundreds more that are too embarrassing to list that I purchased, or I just don't remember them.

 

[trostol]

 

[deadhead]

Top Billboard Pop 40 that I have on 45: And how many can you remember from the 60s...

Those were the fun ones.....of course I have all the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Motown and Beach Boys 45 rpms. Plus hundreds more that are too embarrassing to list that I purchased, or I just don't remember them.

What's scary is I remember about 90% of them, which just goes to show how ancient I am.

 

[deadhead]

Even today, I hate the sound you get in large outdoor stadiums and even NHL/NBA type arenas. No matter how good the tech is, the buildings just aren’t designed for sound. Luckily in my local area, there are 3 really nice concert venues that seat between 500 to 10,000. All 3 are great places to see and more importantly hear shows.

That why the Dead put together their Wall of Sound with Owsley as the sound engineer (he was brilliant, not just as a chemist) but the economics were prohibitive.

Which is why I stick to soundboards on bootlegs, the only audience tapes to me that are worth listening to are small clubs, mostly jazz, where they allow the mics to be placed around the stage. Otherwise the sound (ignoring the idiots screaming near mics) is always muddy.

 

[BiggE]

That why the Dead put together their Wall of Sound with Owsley as the sound engineer (he was brilliant, not just as a chemist) but the economics were prohibitive.

Which is why I stick to soundboards on bootlegs, the only audience tapes to me that are worth listening to are small clubs, mostly jazz, where they allow the mics to be placed around the stage. Otherwise the sound (ignoring the idiots screaming near mics) is always muddy.

Agreed, I much prefer soundboard recordings as well, unless, as you pointed out, it’s a very small, well mic’d venue. Blues/Jazz club recordings are the best example of the latter as their audiences are usually respectful of the music and keep quiet during the performances.

 

[Beef Invictus]

That why the Dead put together their Wall of Sound with Owsley as the sound engineer (he was brilliant, not just as a chemist) but the economics were prohibitive.

Which is why I stick to soundboards on bootlegs, the only audience tapes to me that are worth listening to are small clubs, mostly jazz, where they allow the mics to be placed around the stage. Otherwise the sound (ignoring the idiots screaming near mics) is always muddy.

It's always remarkable how awful crowd recordings are. You can't hear the deafening music, but it will pick up the guy ripping a fart 50 feet away.

 

[deadhead]

It's always remarkable how awful crowd recordings are. You can't hear the deafening music, but it will pick up the guy ripping a fart 50 feet away.

There are people who swear by audience recordings as more "authentic," but I want to hear the music, you can't reproduce the concert experience b/c it requires duplicating the drugs, the hot girl on her boyfriends shoulders shaking her ta-tas, the crowd buzz, etc.

FM recordings range from great to terrible, both whether you can get the pre-radio (not compressed) feed and how they mic the audience (many have too much audience sound).

To me, what is exciting about bootlegs is hearing a group "raw" without all the studio tricks they use to cover up flaws, you can see who can really sing and play and who is faking it.

Little Feat has some great concert recordings on the Live Music Archive (completely legit site)
Browse: Top Level > > Live Music Archive

One of the best live singers is Linda Ronstadt, which is not surprising, since it turns out she recorded most of her records "live" in one or two takes with a band in the studio.

The biggest issue I find is digi-noise, different sources, one is just bad levels, but a big issue is the rise of the cassette in the 1980s and 1990s - you can salvage reel to reel tapes but not cassette tapes, which is why many 1960s recordings sound better than those from the 1990s.