Currently listening to...
I'm fairly sure there isn't one of these threads running at present; if there is, apologies. Anyway, here's a place to wax lyrical about the music you've had on your CD players/i-pods etc. in recent times, and whether it's floating your boat or not. Here's mine to start the ball rolling...
Scott Walker- Climate Of Hunter, Scott 3, Scott 4; I love all of these- 'Sleepwalkers Woman' and 'It's Raining Today' are pure perfection.
Neil Diamond- Twelve Songs; found this going cheap in a charity shop, heard good things about it (there's even a snippet of a rave review from Word on a sticker on the front). Enjoyed the first play- like the stripped back production, vastly different to most of the other stuff of his I've heard....
David Bowie- Outside; some truly fabulous music on it- 'The Motel', 'I Have Not Been To Oxford Town', 'Hallo Spaceboy', 'Heart's Filthy Lesson'- but it's just that bit too long, in my opinion.
Simple Minds- New Gold Dream; someone mentioned this on another forum, thought I'd give it a spin as I hadn't played it for a while. Enjoyed it a great deal, especially the single 'Promised You A Miracle'.
Marillion- Somewhere In London; this one's a DVD and it's a real knockout. After watching a performance like this, one is left staggered how they are not taken more seriously in the UK- I think they are better now than they've ever been.
Yes- The Yes Album; an old favourite, giving it another dusting down...
Genesis- A Trick Of The Tail; again, a long-time favourite of mine that I play on a very regular basis.
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This weekend,
I've been spinning the new Nick Cave and Elbow albums. I've been waiting for the Cave one and at first listen, it's sounding pretty good.
Before that, I was listening to a quite a lot of Tegan and Sara, that's right up my street. Female + smart + pop. Really hits the spot.
Today 24/02/2008
1) Justice (Band) - Cross (Album) (Especially 'Valentine')
2) Utah Saints (Band) - Something Good (Track) (a remix of Kate Bush's 'Cloudbusting' that will smash the lips off your face)
3) Alarm Will Sound (Band) - Acoustica (Album) (A symphonic reworking of Aphex Twins switchboard crackle and piano compositions.)
Courtesy this site:
I have been listening to Ernest Ranglin, because of the jazz stream, and re-listening to Mi Tierra/Gloria Estefan, having decided to download it, seeing as I had recommended it in the equivalent World Music stream. And I have a long list in my pocket of I thought they were going to be huge, and best guest appearances.
You don't get that in the Beano!
Elbow...
...have to say they didn't grab me at first. Somebody mentioned them on another forum, though, and I read Stuart Maconie's impassioned piece about them in the latest Word so I gave 'Cast Of Thousands' another listen. I thought it was great, played it a fair few times over the past few days. This lot are in a far higher orbit than the likes of Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol to my ears.
I might sound a bit like a journalist but...
I had to review the new Laura Marling album for a rather high-brow literary supplement (OK, OK, it was the student newspaper) so have had that on heavy rotation all week. It really is very good, comparisons to Adele and Duffy are unfair and misguided, I'd highly recommend it
Been
re-visiting earlier Shelby Lynne on the back of the Dusty album and enjoying every minute, especially 'I Am Shelby Lynne'.
Also picked up a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 'Anthology', which turns out to be excellent (there's just not enough time to listen to all this stuff...), and now wish I was in a convertible driving from Tuscon to LA instead of sitting in a an office in London.
Apart from those, got the new Sheryl Crow (jury is out, much like it was over Wildflower, though that grew, ho ho) and Vagabonds by Gary Louris, he of Jayhawks fame. Rather nice...
Reeling In The Years
Recently I've been giving Steely Dan a blast, having burnt car copies of the first two discs from the Citizen box set, and I must say it's bloody great to hear them again. The quality of the first two or three albums is staggering.
This morning I drove to work listening to a Caravan compilation brim full of tracks from a wide range of their albums; another band well worth a revisit, full of humour and skill.
The other treat in the CD changer is a copy of Spirit's Future Games, a title I have had for many years on vinyl. On CD it really comes alive either on headphones or in the car, where the exaggerated stereo image suits the complex sound staging and myriad samples on the album. Randy California was a brilliant player, and this rather neglected title demonstrates that fact well.
Recent Picks
This week I've been mostly listening to:
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (prompted by some recent discussion on this site)
Nick Cave - Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus (bought it 2 years ago, finally got round to playing it)
Santana - Some Cheapo Compilation (some very good stuff, some ropey sound quality, can't complain at £2 for a double CD)
The Clash - London Calling (hadn't played it for years)
British Sea Power - Decline of... (first time I've played them -hadn't realised Pixies were such an influence on their sound)
Crystal Castles: Monday Electro
Crystal Castles: A reverberant Toronto based two-piece who use itchy bleeps generated by a Gameboy soundchip and a head-raging drum beat that evokes a maniacal migraine which disrupts the core. Like the a living, breathing incarnation of pain goose stepping with a pixelated elephant, whos trying to collect Polo's.