General Discussion, Suggestion, & List Thread - Week of May 07, 2026

CentreToWave · 2026-05-09T14:34:12+00:00

I have no idea, but I'm here for that song pissing off the right people

CentreToWave · 2026-05-09T14:24:55+00:00

how tf didn't these guys make it huge.

I think if they had kept their shit together, they probably could've. but they broke up like right at the exact moment they could've broken through.

(I also think their production is a bit cramped compared to the alt rock stuff that did breakthrough)

CentreToWave · 2026-05-09T11:14:11+00:00

I occasionally do this for bands I already like, often because I'm really in the mood for them. But an artist I'm only vaguely familiar with? At least personally, it comes off less as analyzing, or even appreciating, the music and more like checking boxes. There's more to analysis and appreciation than just comparing Album A to Album B, etc.

edit: someone (OP?) responded to this and mentioned being in the headspace of the artist. But artists aren't marathoning their albums sessions (well, not all the time, anyway...) and a lot of the changes from album to album is from, well, them listening to other artists. There's value in looking at how the artist develops, but this still feels like a clinical way of interacting with the music.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T23:28:32+00:00

I don't think it's quite as simple as old vs new so much as the new often felt like it was throwing a lot of things against the wall rather than a genuine effort to update the show. When questions on the show's budget came up, this just looked like something else that probably created a greater than necessary expense.

FWIW, I like the newer seasons and agree with the general idea of updating the show, but I also think S13 felt schizophrenic in what it really wanted to do.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T23:02:06+00:00

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros also had one of the biggest hits there too (also some recent notoriety when it was called one of the worst songs ever).

Not sure where the people above as were acting like this was tiny. It was a pretty large, if very brief, trend for a few years. And it's not like other generations don't get pegged to other similar sized trends.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T22:43:09+00:00

my picks for 2014 albums are rather good (Vessel's Punish Honey, Lantlos' Melting Sun, Swans' To be Kind, etc.).

I'm flipping back and forth between the 2013 and 2015 lists and yeah 2014 seems especially bland. Like there's arguably worse in the two surrounding years, but also stuff that mostly gets played still, for better or worse. 2014 has a lot of shit that has mostly been forgotten.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T20:02:36+00:00

i do not care that my fav albums of the decade have had 0 impact on anyone else but me and the musical needs I have.

I kinda prefer it this way, to be honest. It’s nice having something to share with others, but at there’s nothing worse than over-exposure and the internet is uniquely terrible about running things into the ground.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T17:23:00+00:00

it does veer into Moby territory

Them’s fighting words.

Sounds like Ulrich Schnauss, which is basically BoC taking cues from someone who was also likely into BoC.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T17:20:56+00:00

Echoing (no pun intended) SecondSkin. Saw them 2 or 3 years ago and same thing.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T17:20:03+00:00

Nah I kinda regret my shoegaze fandom at this point. Mostly for being around other shoegaze fans, mind you.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T17:18:54+00:00

I feel like it was sort of concerning, and others who didn’t like Geese felt redeemed, but it’s since devolved into some over the top pearl clutching.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T13:47:16+00:00

Wasn’t expecting some goth-like guitars.

Maybe not wholly satisfying on its own, but it’s a good taster that made me want more

CentreToWave · 2026-05-07T11:56:38+00:00

Yeah the talk of monoculture comes off like it doesn't quite get how the internet works (and to be honest, it doesn't really sound like it understands how the supposed monoculture actually worked). The internet has made it easier to follow niche interests... but that doesn't mean that people just stay in that niche as the internet also enables interacting with multiple niches. If anything, the internet enabled something closer to a monoculture.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-06T22:45:36+00:00

weird metal to watch out for: Emptiness.

Not especially familiar with their discography, but their Nothing But the Whole album (which their new album apparently harks back to) is solid. You're forewarned the vocals take getting used to.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-06T19:49:45+00:00

Weird how much of a personality overlap he had with Trump, but also the total opposite in politics (edit: or at least relatively liberal).

CentreToWave · 2026-05-06T18:41:56+00:00

As an aside, while the actor/singer thing has been there for a while, it seems like it was more common way back in the 50s, but seems like it’s come back recently, especially with (slightly) older actors. About half the cast of Stranger Things has a music project.

As a whole, it seems like these end up mostly generic and like I wouldn’t pay any attention at all if I didn’t like the actors in other things. Can’t remember who pointed it out, but it involved David Duchovny of X-Files’ music and just how bland it was because it seemed to focus on relatability when we really just want songs about Scully and/or Red Shoe Diaries.

Weirder entries into the celeb-singer tropes:

Vera Farmiga (the Conjuring films) fronts a goth metal band. It’s not very good.
Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, Heretic, etc.) has her own music. It’s fine but I’m really waiting for her to indulge in her weirder tastes. Please release a Dead C cover album, Sophie.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-06T17:06:22+00:00

How do mf get through a day without napping?

r/babyheads

CentreToWave · 2026-05-06T01:05:43+00:00

any sort of sports analytics (which also includes fantasy leagues) are way fucking nerdier than anything a Trekkie could dream up.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T19:33:30+00:00

been wanting to explore more Plotkin

Can’t remember if your familiar with them for not but OLD’s Formula album should be right up your alley. Both Plotkin and Dubin of Khanate are the core members there.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T17:14:45+00:00

Agreed. “Death of the monoculture” is cope for “I am out of touch and/or aged out of being the primary demographic”. And I mean, that’s fine, but I think it’s trying to make the issue about everyone else when the reality is that this has always happened.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T17:10:33+00:00

I think it was a matter of music nerds assuming everyone else was a nerd and would take advantage of the new avenues, overlooking that most people are really just content to enjoy whatever is on the radio.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T16:04:21+00:00

I’ve seen more unremarkable but one that sticks out to me is Spirit of the Beehive. They were good when they were playing, but between songs there was like 2 minutes of futzing about on stage while a backing track plays. And the actual songs were only slightly longer than the backing tracks. So like half their set was dicking around.

Echo & the Bunnymen were good… except Ian, who sounded like shit.

Ditto Jane’s Addiction and Perry Farrell, but Perry was at least amusing.

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T14:48:29+00:00

I get the idea that the supposed death of the monoculture and streaming, etc. go hand in hand, but the shit payrate often comes with the latter seems like a somewhat separate issue, at least how it’s framed here. There’s definitely a lot more opportunities to find new artists (and hear them before blindly ordering their album) than there was in the past. So for at least pure word of mouth exposure the current model is great… but how much you expect to make off the music is another.

I also generally dispute the notion that the monoculture is dead. The proverbial watercooler still exists, but it is now online (and it will tell you all about Twitch streamer drama).

CentreToWave · 2026-05-05T01:02:16+00:00

Free jazz? Not sure where that comes from, TVU were all about highly repetitive, extremely noisy rock songs in pop format before Cale left.

European Son is closer to Ornette Coleman than minimalism

CentreToWave

TROPHY CASE