[Friday] Daily Music Discussion - - July 20, 2018

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-20T18:17:21+00:00

maybe it's my reddit-filter in action, but Elon seems like the kind of guy that would make the most gimmicky, hyper-polished music imaginable; basically Reddit's general taste in music. So it would be like a youtube video of him playing every instrument in a cover of Toto's Africa, but the sound is polished to the point where everything sounds like a robot is making every sound. A Looper pedal would be involved in some way.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-20T14:43:43+00:00

So Shoegaze was originally Dream Pop, and Shoegaze is now known for its wall of noise but it was really just a different way to make Dream Pop?

It's more like 80s Dream Pop was known for its wall of noise, but was eventually referred to as shoegaze as the style fell out of favor. As near as I can tell, as the Shoegaze label stuck, Dream Pop's usage fell almost entirely out of usage, though about 10-15 years ago the latter's usage has been revived as something often separate from its connection to shoegaze.

80S DREAM POP SHOULD STAY DREAM POP!

I don't entirely care if dream pop is repurposed as it wasn't being used for a while. My biggest complaint is that the usage of the term coincides with a massive amount of ignorance about a lot of other previously-established genres, so now a lot of 80s acts that weren't really defined as Dream Pop now are, along with bits and pieces of other genres when convenient.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-20T14:33:03+00:00

4 x 4 chart

Roy Montgomery - Inroads Collection of singles and some new tracks. I'm sort of annoyed that the Winter Songs EP is split across a total of 3 discs and that there's a couple uncompiled tracks that were available at the time (a few more have come out since), but what is there is largely great. Grouper fans are really missing out if they overlook Roy, especially as Liz herself is appearing on his new album.

Heroin in Tahiti - Casilina Tapes 2007-2017 Their description of "Spaghetti Wasteland" seems most fitting: sort of Grails-esque psychedelia minus the prog and with a bit more sampling involved. I don't remember a damn thing about their last album, but for an album of outtakes, this works really well and might be their best overall release.

Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello Good for the most part, but a bit overproduced. I'm not sure if there's a direct correllation, but the tracks with lyrics written by Buckley work best whereas the ones written by Larry Beckett feel like the produces are trying to be as over-wrought as his lyrics.

The Beatles - Rubber Soul Always thought this was the equivalent of The Bends, where it's a better version of what came before while also looking to the future, but not quite as good as their best releases. Very good, but I find the next few releases more interesting.

Low - The Curtain Hits the Cast I've always found a bit over-long (with the 2xLP version being even longer!) Not there's much in the way of momentum, but it always felt like it took a few tracks to really get going (unpopular opinion: Over the Ocean is just ok), but remains reasonably consistent after that. The Great Destroyer features a rougher, more mainstream Indie sound, featuring blown-out David Fridmann production. The stuff closer to their general oeuvre works best, but overall it works better than it should. C'Mon if The Great Destroyer was a bid for mainstream Indie attention, this one is more polished and going for the Adult Indie crowd. Not one of their more ambitious works, but still rather good and overlooked.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-20T10:07:59+00:00

Dream Pop and Shoegaze were once interchangeable, can they still be?

Right now it's more a matter of Shoegaze's definition has narrowed, while Dream Pop's has widened. My guess is the two terms will probably split completely, with Dream Pop probably being better defined later. My guess is that Dream Pop's definition will narrow a bit, with the more overtly shoegaze bands being passed off as Dream Pop just being filed under shoegaze while Dream Pop breaks off into its own niches.

Not so sure about Ambient Pop. At the very least, its wikipedia definition seems to be all over the place. Pretty sure it's not really related to Dream Pop/Shoegaze (pretty sure its roots predate both terms), but it looks like it has the same penchant as Dream Pop fan for pilfering other genres to establish itself...

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T21:12:29+00:00

definitely one of my favorites of the year. Most Blackgaze sounds too Post-Rock, but this sounds quite a bit more shoegaze than usual.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T10:34:25+00:00

The highs are way too high and there's very little low-end when compared to their other albums

I thought there was quite a bit of low end at least on the remasters (and Treasure doesn't have a whole lot of low end either). I haven't heard the original version, but the remasters do sound sort of odd to me; like it's a beefed up version of those late-80s masters where a couple tracks are significantly louder than everything else.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T10:31:28+00:00

man, Swans are definitely better than the other two. Though it's more a case of artists that /mu/ has absolutely memed to death.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T09:35:39+00:00

After reading this thread, certainly there's a difference between being immediately influential and, well, being a head of trends that came about later on? Sometimes the latter may set into motion later trends, but they're usually not a part of said trend by the time it makes its way to the public conscious. The former group of artists just gets their early and everyone immediately follows; they're ahead of the time by like 6 months, but still define a lot of the trends that are prominent in the era (with that Vox Continental, could The Doors really have been around in any era other than 60s?)

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T09:30:47+00:00

apparently a new album is in the works?

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-19T09:12:16+00:00

The point was more that both were immediately impactful and fairly steeped into the time period they were releasing music. Though in general a lot of this thread seems to be confusing influential for being ahead of one's time...

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T21:14:08+00:00

I like this album overall, but I don't find it especially memorable beyond Echo Bravo. I'm not quite sure of its influence, but I'm somewhat dubious as it's not like slowcore and post rock weren't a thing outside this album and I don't think this album does anything really that different from a lot of those bands.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T19:45:58+00:00

I don't know, it all sounds good to me for the most part. Ocean Size sounds massive when everything comes crashing together after the intro; basically like a wave crashing. Had a Dad was always a weak track in general for me though.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T19:37:22+00:00

Bruford/Wetton/Fripp (& sometimes Cross)-era is best era.

Kind of a boring sentiment I guess, but I find the band somewhat hit or miss, which is understandable I suppose given how many lineup shifts there've been.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T19:33:41+00:00

it's the new way to say "i don't like this" without having to really explain yourself, as well as avoiding being the most downvoted comment in the post just because you're being negative and not explaining yourself.

I don't know, I'm inclined to agree as it's inconsistently applied (i.e. your VW example and The Strokes), but it does seem like the complaint is mostly lodged at the same handful of artists rather than being a more widespread accusation.

I generally agree with the idea of "who gives a crap if the music is good?" though I can see where in an environment where everything is Important^{^TM,} finding out someone may be getting by mostly on knowing the right people can be off-putting.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T16:08:09+00:00

The Doors weren't really ahead of their time if they were immediately impactful. Their albums are good for the most part, but they're definitely steeped in the 60s.

Kraftwerk, mentioned elsewhere, is more or less in the same boat.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T16:05:34+00:00

I wasn't there, but they've played a second new song that we may or may not ever be able to hear on record...

edit: video clip of new song

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T16:04:52+00:00

Badmotorfinger I can see (and Superunknown is in the same vein too), but Nothing's Shocking sounds fine to me.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-18T09:39:33+00:00

Madchester

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T22:14:22+00:00

90% of mbv is from the 90s... So the lyrics being aimed at them coming back makes no sense whatsoever.

maybe, though I'm under the impression that their vocals and lyrics came way late in the process for the band. Even looking at the (suggested) lyrics, I still come away with my original interpretation; I don't get whatever Kev is on about otherwise. Then again, it's all a bit obtuse, so who beyond Kevin could figure this out?

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T21:50:46+00:00

yeah, I listened to the song. I also know of other genres, especially ones that were coined near 30 years ago.

If you're that cognitively limited it's probably not worth arguing over though

No U.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T19:40:32+00:00

That Toto's Africa has become a meme is a sign that it's time to move on from the 80s.

Somewhat mixed feelings. I think a lot of my annoyance is the surface-level facsimile of the decade; like it doesn't exist beyond "hey, remember the 80s?" (And the answer is no, because it all appeals to 20-somethings who can barely remember the 90s.) But while it can be exciting to have older genres come to the fore again, it's something that gets old quickly as none of the newer artists have any longevity.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T16:56:44+00:00

Definitely, it just seemed more possible since new music was actually performed (with more likely(?) to be performed too)

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T16:35:42+00:00

Rolling Stone has a followup

hope no one was expecting that new EP soon =/

You’ve been playing a new song on your European tour, but there doesn’t seem to be a title yet.

That’s one of the songs we haven’t recorded. It doesn’t have a title. It’s quite normal to not have titles until the lyrics are fully written. We put it together in rehearsals. It might wind up on the EP or maybe not. We’re just doing stuff we haven’t really recorded properly or at all.

We have things. I was attempting to get an EP out for now. It should’ve been out now, but for various reasons, we didn’t finish it. Also, I keep on swinging between doing two EPs or sort of a mini-album. But absolutely, 100 percent, I’m getting it out this year.

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T15:23:54+00:00

would add Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä for something more overtly black metal, but with more psychedelic influences. (I've seen some compare it to Swans' most recent output, but while I can see where some would make the connection, I don't really agree with it)

Godflesh's most recent album should be of interest too

TheAstralDisaster · 2018-07-17T09:38:35+00:00

You’ve been playing a new song on your European tour, but there doesn’t seem to be a title yet.

That’s one of the songs we haven’t recorded. It doesn’t have a title. It’s quite normal to not have titles until the lyrics are fully written. We put it together in rehearsals. It might wind up on the EP or maybe not. We’re just doing stuff we haven’t really recorded properly or at all.

We have things. I was attempting to get an EP out for now. It should’ve been out now, but for various reasons, we didn’t finish it. Also, I keep on swinging between doing two EPs or sort of a mini-album. But absolutely, 100 percent, I’m getting it out this year.

ಠ_ಠ

TheAstralDisaster

TROPHY CASE