What are you listening to right now?

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Great song, and yes his voice sounds as fresh and wonderful as ever. It's basically a repeated chorus with Stevie Wonder's harmonica and a few other embellishments chucked in, but great chorus!

Got to get this album, and also fill in a bunch of gaps in my collection. There seems to be a pattern here - great bands who I totally loved part of the music from, but never followed through. It's a happy balance to have lots of good new stuff to check out, but never a dearth of back catalogue to explore. The problem is finding the time to play it all.

With gap-filling in my mind, and the realisation that as I hurtle towards my mid-century there's a bunch of undoubtedly sublime Paddy MacAloon classics I haven't even heard, would you mind submitting in order of brilliance your ranking of all his albums? I'd really appreciate that. I Pole do join in if reading too, please! (And anyone else who digs Paddy.)
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Jack of All Parades »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeESTBFuBkM

This from today's Expecting Rain site and a small gem and supposedly about the great man. Hope you enjoy other fans. :wink:
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Also gorgeous, clearly this is a must have album. the songs all seem fairly simple and repetitive in structure, but as ever the tunes and the arrangements are just perfect.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Was wondering, IP or anyone else, if you had any comments on Manics' Rewind The Film. Have liked what I've heard - the title track with Hawley sounded great, and on Later this week the opening two songs impressed (haven't seen the end of the show's third song, could be an old classic as often happens). More mellow, introspective, etc. I'm not an out and out fan, but I've liked a lot of what they've done. Seems to be a good year for folks from the past, distant and less so, releasing strong new records, Manics, Sprout, Franz, et al.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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I've been a fan since I first heard Motorcycle Emptiness more than 20 years ago and I'm always happy to hear new stuff from Manic Street Preachers. They've been through their ups and downs and I've liked all their sides - dark, tense, depressing albums like Holy Bible and lighter efforts like excellent, hit-laden Postcards From A Young Man.
The new one must be the most un-Manic thing they've ever done. As you say, more mellow, acoustic, reflective. I love the Hawley track and I thought Show Me The Wonder is one of the catchiest songs this year, but the rest of the album is no less satisfying, with beautifully-arranged and sung Anthem For A Lost Cause another fave of mine.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Jackson Monk »

Mysterious (tune above) by Paddy is about Bob Dylan. The Songs of Danny Conway is about Jimmy Webb (another great songster hero of mine).
Interesting that Otis talks about the simplicity of Paddy's songs. I would concur and that is exactly what I love about them. The combination of his gorgeous voice and the simple beauty of his songs. I think creating a beautiful memorable melody is quite a difficult thing to achieve. Elvis used to be able to do it in abundance. maybe he still can but chooses not to bother - I sometimes think he thinks it's below him! That's not a criticism by the way. In answer to Otis's request for an ordered preference on Prefab:

1. Steve mcQueen - simply classic)
2. Jordan (The Comeback) - So so underrated. I recall listening to this on my walkman whilst lying on the beach when I was island hopping with my nutty girlfriend in the Cyclades in 1991...heaven....apart from the nutty girlfriend.
3. Andromeda Heights. Lost it's way on 'side b' but has some wonderfully beautiful tunes and lyrics. Perhaps over-produced but still worth it for the opening 4 tracks and the tile track. Damn cheesy at times...I love it.
4. Swoon. Quirky and wonderful. Fun to listen to after listening to the Steve McQueen re-recording because it shows you how much Paddy's wonderful voice has matured.
5. The Gunman and other Stories. Some dreadfully embarrassing moments (Farmyard Cat???) coupled with the fantastic ballads. Still light years ahead of the opposition.
6. Protest Songs - Out-take album with some great tunes (Dublin..Tiffanys..Pearly Gates). This album contains a collection of songs that first appeared as B sides or were not considered good enough for inclusion on any albums at the time. Don't let this put you off as there are some wonderful haunting songs, underpinned by Paddy's lyrical genius.
7. Langley Park to Memphis. Worth buying for 'Cars and Girls' alone. This was the commercial era and my least favourite. Jumping frogs indeed.
8. Let's Change the World with Music. - Has a few moments (Music is a Princess) but the House-style production is shocking and kills it for me.
The new album is too new to assess in the order...give me 6 months. i Trawl the Megahertz is a great album but not really a Sprout record.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Thanks to both gents for MSP and PF comments. I will refer back to that list.

Am loving this this second:

http://www.aclfestival.com/

Wilco, the best live band in the world. Art of Almost. Mind-blowingly good.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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... well that was fun. Austin City Limits seems to be a great event, not too big, two weekends with lots of good acts. Earlier this evening I watched the Stones in Hyde Park expecting it to be a bit tired and tedious as they appeared to be at Glasto, and actually it wasn't, it was just classic stuff. Maybe helped a lot by the impressive set and the very well shot film, but they just seemed to be loving it and wanting it to be as good as it could be. In interviews which topped and tailed it they talked about it being their return to Hyde Park after 1969 and the last night of the tour. You'd have thought that was enough live music viewing for one evening, but I couldn't resist watching the Wilco stream. Like the Stones, you could have guessed the setlist in advance, all the classics, but delivered as freshly and potently as possible. They just seem to get better as an incredibly gelled musical unit. Each component excellent, and the combined effect something besides. I will never tire of watching the remarkable drumming of Kotche and guitar of Cline. Both out there, both sublime musicians.

I seem to be spending more and more of my time obsessing over music.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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The Dukes of Stratosphear - 'Chips From the Chocolate Fireball'
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Anyone know anything about this erotically-charged pair of Canadian folk rockers?

http://whitehorsemusic.ca/music/

Holy crow, she can really sing!
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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I have heard them on WFUV as a suggestion and was quite impressed. She can sing in a very strong, pure and rootsy voice and he pairs well with her. Throw in his sinuous guitar on that Gretch and you have a strong combination. I like this tune-

https://soundcloud.com/sixshooterrecord ... -got-a-gun

and the one from the new record "Achilless Desire":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLT0W_4cebg

She packs a sneaky right hand in that fun video.

They also do an evocative piece on that old war horse "Un Canadien Errant" which I am certain must pull at your heart strings. Thank you for sharing. That second record is a keeper.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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I don't have any of their earlier work and have only been vaguely aware of them until now; I'd pegged them as the sort of sweet-sounding folkies that I generally stay away from (preferring my folk music to be of the down-and-dirty Harry Smith Anthology type). But the new record, which I bought yesterday, is strong across the board. Perhaps a shade over-produced, and the rhythm section is disappointingly plodding - but that's all just background stuff to the real star attractions, i.e., the two vocalists, the reliably striking guitar work, and the engaging songcraft. There's something about their choice of chords that just holds the attention and gives the songs an indelible foundation; and I swear there's more than a hint of "British Invasion" to their chordal and melodic choices. They also aren't afraid to work a little technology into the mix, whether in the form of programmed beats or vocal distortion - and I think this enhances the proceedings, making for a richer palette than the usual "folkie" formula. I find this record exudes the energy and excitement that you only get from young bands rounding in to form and revelling in what they do. There is a manifestly smouldering sexual chemistry here too - if this husband and wife team is not hot to trot over each other, they're doing a damned good job of faking it! :wink: Really enjoyable stuff.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

Post by Jack of All Parades »

PD-that record has begun to haunt me- I am currently listening to the new Arcade Fire "Reflector". There is simply too much to absorb as it it is two packed discs of material. This one is going to require quite a few listens.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Jack of All Parades wrote:PD-that record has begun to haunt me- I am currently listening to the new Arcade Fire "Reflector". There is simply too much to absorb as it it is two packed discs of material. This one is going to require quite a few listens.
I suppose I will lose all credibility hereabouts in confessing to never having fully "gotten" Arcade Fire...yes, yes, they are clearly a strong and sophisticated band, and the one album I own, "The Suburbs," has much good stuff on it ("Sprawl II" is magnificent, a real standout); but that record, anyway, suffers from a general lyrical humourlessness that tends to bore me, such that I listen only to bits of it at a time. It doesn't surprise me that Bowie champions them, because he's another "conceptual" critics' favourite whose music has never fully turned my crank; but again, I'm obviously a weirdo considering the canonical status of both artists.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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No loss of credibility with me as I, too, fail to get the Bowie canon. Arcade Fire has grown on me over the years thanks to my oldest daughter and Otis. I still remain resistant to Neon Bible, though, The Suburbs richly deserved its honors. I know what you mean about humor. Initial listens to the new album show some creeping into the lyric-there is fun on the dance floor in some of the rhythms. :wink:
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Spending time with the just released and remastered"Moondance"- expanded edition. Delicious and worth the $13.99 plunked down for the two disc set as the two outtakes merit owning and it is sheer wonderment to hear the variations he put on individual songs in the alt takes sections. The sound is spectacular. It is a record that is sheer vocal joy combined with the horn arrangements-timeless and constantly listenable. I even bought a $7.00 copy of the remastered original disc to give to my one daughter who loves Van.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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This piece that appeared in Slate this week gets at my growing frustration with the new Arcade Fire album:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/musi ... iewed.html
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Jack of All Parades wrote:This piece that appeared in Slate this week gets at my growing frustration with the new Arcade Fire album:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/musi ... iewed.html
Interesting review (is it - vaguely but intentionally? - reminiscent of Greil Marcus's "What is this Shit?" review?). The overall impression is one of a certain ponderousness, both from the band and from fans who for some reason feel impelled to inquire into what the band means. That's the sort of "meta" rock that I've always been suspicious of, and that suspicion is what's led me to keep this band at a somewhat respectful arm's length. I don't like music that feels like work, conceptual or otherwise.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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PD- there is a 'soulless' quality to much of the album. I do not think the reviewer is going the Marcus route but he clearly is underwhelmed by most of what they released. It is just not fun and I really think they underutilized his wife as a singer. They also could have explored the Haitian rhythms more on the record. A big step backwards and an album suffering from 'bloat' in my opinion.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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I have it on order, but from Amazon Marketplace, so no auto rip! Can't therefore comment. Am very excited about it, though. Reactions seem to be pretty mixed. I normally agree with most of what the Guardian's A Petridis writes, but he was sniffy here, saying 'they have plenty of ideas, but don't know which ones are good and which are bad, or simply aren't listening to anyone trying to tell them'. I will withhold all judgement. I do love James Murphy/LCD Soundsystem, though, and am in favour of them heading more towards the dancefloor as on some of The Suburbs. One commentator said they thought it was better sequenced and more successful as a result than that predecessor. Gets a generally high Metacritic response. More in a while on this one, but I bet there'll be some outstanding stuff on it, they're simply too good and creative to do anything less.

I finally got the Sprout's Crimson Red, and yes, with auto rip. I was atypically in the car today and so managed to play it twice through.
Jackson Monk wrote:Mysterious (tune above) by Paddy is about Bob Dylan. The Songs of Danny Conway is about Jimmy Webb (another great songster hero of mine).
Interesting that Otis talks about the simplicity of Paddy's songs. I would concur and that is exactly what I love about them. The combination of his gorgeous voice and the simple beauty of his songs. I think creating a beautiful memorable melody is quite a difficult thing to achieve. Elvis used to be able to do it in abundance. maybe he still can but chooses not to bother - I sometimes think he thinks it's below him! That's not a criticism by the way.
I agree with this and other praise above. This is a sublime album with some absolute standout tracks. Mysterious, as above (I thought Paddy was writing about himself!), Billy, also above, and Best Jewel Thief in the World just leap out as top tunes. 10 songs and all of them good. An album you can easily swallow in one gulp and want to hear again at the end of it. Confirmation once again that MacAloon is a huge talent and has lost none of what made him special, and I'm not sure his voice has ever sounded quite this good before. One of the best voices in the business.

The only thing that bothers me about it is the programmed drumming. Oh dear. For all the work involved, surely easier to get a session drummer in to do the business, or resume contact with the excellent former Sprout drummer Neil Conti? Or imagine Pete Thomas on it! Hell, I'd have done it well enough myself and nicer than a dull machine for free! A song like Billy is a gift to a drummer, but instead we get a stiff machine. Fine for electronica, some dance music, etc., but infinitely inferior to the real thing for classic pop songs. A real shame, makes them sound a bit demoish. Often the sounds and the production seem a bit stuck in the 80s. Sondre Lerche, who I know as a name only, has some interesting things to say about this and the drum programming (I found this googling to see if anyone else had found them to be a scar on the record). I like his review:

http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/so ... fab-sprout

2013 is looking great overall for some old talents to have released cracking records: Bowie, Lloyd Cole and now this. (I wouldn't class Wise UP Ghost in the same company as these three, far too patchy, and I agree with what you say, Jackson, Costello needs to rekindle his mojo for a cracking tune, only Tripwire shows this on WUG).
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Otis- I will be most interested in your take on "Reflektor" once you have had a chance to take it all in. I continue to play it but I find it greatly 'labored'. What should I feel be a joyous celebration of 'dance' and 'fun' is far too studied and overwrought. PD and the reviewer I posted I think are not far off as to the problem with the album- it is largely humorless.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Is humour a requirement of great music? No.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Good points Otis and I'm glad you liked the PS album.

Apparently the budget for Crimson/Red was miniscule and he made the whole thing himself. Part of me wonders if the real reason wasn't his famed hatred of trying to express to others what he wants in the studio!
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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Never managed to get the Arcade Fire thing. Tried really hard. Same with Grizzly Bear.

Currently re-discovering my love of Sinatra's 'In the Wee Small Hours'. Superb....and as cool as it gets.
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Re: What are you listening to right now?

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I guess those points figure in terms of Crimson Red being done how it was. At the end of the day, it's the songs that rise above all else. I lover this quote from the Sondre Lerche article: "Highlights such as "Adolescence" and "Billy" inhabit a lyrical tenderness and melodic freshness that, despite the cheap drum sounds and often clumsy, stiff programming — or perhaps because of those things — transcends time and production aesthetics. In interviews Paddy has explained that he’d rather write another song than learn a new recording software with hipper sounds."

I played the album 2-3 times on Monday, and have since been abroad with no access to it, but found endless moments in the last two days where snippets of the songs came into my head, and a little leap inside as I reminded myself I'd be able to enjoy it again tonight. Off I go...
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