Topic: The Music Thread

@LordSteev Oh it’s a strange genre that uses distortion and loads of pedals to create a kinda hazy sound. Bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Jesus and Mary Chain and stuff. It isn’t always necessarily rock either as a lot of the influences are rooted in Phil Spector’s pop productions and it in itself has influenced the early 2010s chillwave and hypnagogic pop sounds like Tame Impala.

@LordSteev Are you a guitarist yourself then? I imagine you must be pretty good. I share your thoughts and feelings about Vinnie Moore by the way.

@nessisonett Thanks for the explanation! Some day, I'm going to have do some real digging into all of these roots/offshoots in the way music has become classified. It seriously bothers me when someone mentions a genre and I have no worldly idea of what they're talking about. At some point, I went through a long stretch where nothing new really moved me and the end result was sadly I don't follow some of this as closely as I used to.

@TheBrandedSwordsman

I still play on occasion, but nothing like I used to. Here's how old I am. Remember the Pretenders? Remember how they were hot, then they were not, and then they were again? When they weren't, they were playing clubs instead of arenas. I was in a band that got to warm up for them at one of their club shows. We were under-age at the time and had to sign a no-alcohol waver in order to play.

At one time, I was a graduate of the 'Hammer on Pull off' institute of higher learning, lol.

Seriously, I think I used to be pretty good, but that came with playing hours a day everyday. I still plunk around on an old SG, but I can't make my fingers do what they used to, and don't devote nearly enough time to it anymore.

How 'bout you, do you play?

@Kidfried Yeah, I’ve listened to a couple of Korean albums over the years of varying styles but that album is just so different from anything I’ve listened to in a long while.

@LordSteev I was certainly born in a different era to you, in that case, but, yes I play, I subscribe to the Allan Holdsworth school of four-notes-per string legato playing, I am obviously not as good as he was, no one ever can be, but I like to think I'm not that bad, probably closer to Kurt Rosenwinkle ,who is also influenced by Allan.

@LordSteev I take it you're not a fan of jazz guitarists though? Although Holdsworth, John McLaughlin and particularly Guthrie Govan should be worth your time as they are all basically shredders most of the time.

@Kidfried Yes! Really looking forward to this album too

@TheBrandedSwordsman

There is no music that I hate, but there are many styles that for whatever reason just don't move me. I hate saying this, because I know some of the most respected musicians across many instruments are Jazz players, but I've never been able to really sink myself into it. Heck, some of the best rock guitarists have some roots in jazz, so it's not like I've never tried to like it. Jazz and Country just don't do it for me. I love classical, love folk, love metal, love reggae, love blues, even monk chants! Sorry man.

@LordSteev Do you like John Fahey and/or Robbie Basho, with regard to the folk, then? And with regard to the classical, how do you feel about Shostakovich and Stravinsky?

Just come across this and abolutely loving it. Gives me Mars Volta vibes

@LordSteev that’s a nice list there, with Schenker in particular being a bit underrated in my opinion. Yeah, at the risk of upsetting anyone, I tend to agree with you. Songwriting is equally as important as musicianship and there was something beyond nostalgia about that era that stands the test of time in an unparalleled way. Matt Bellamy is a modern day rockstar whose guitar playing absolutely blows me away. I go to a lot of shows, but seeing Muse live made me feel like a kid again - just blown away and in awe. If you ever have the opportunity, they’re worth seeing live, no question.

Sounds very cool

@TheBrandedSwordsman

I really like Basho, he seems to fool around a lot with harmonics, and I love how he kind of injects a hint of sadness or longing (melancholy) in to much of what he plays. As for Fahey, nothing wrong with him, but he doesn't really push my buttons. Unique style, uses his right hand more like a banjo player than a guitarist and makes me wonder if he didn't start there.

Don't really know anything about Shostakovich or Stravinsky. For classical, I really like Bach and how sometimes frantic he was. As to which individual conductor or symphony, I don't follow it close enough to know who's best. I'll buy discount Bach albums when I find them, and haven't paid enough attention to who's actually preforming them.

As for classical guitarists in general, can't go wrong with Andres Segovia, I sort of look at him as the "godfather' of classical, many great current players studied under him. I also like Julian Bream and Christopher Parkening, both of who play a lot of Bach, and Jason Vieaux has some real creative stuff, too.

@Jimmer-jammer Hey bro!

I hadn't heard too much Muse, so I looked them up and checked out a few songs, and came away impressed. Listened to a live version of a song named Invincible, thought it was ok, then listened to a live version of Knights of Cydonia, and was just blown away! Loved the composition of that song. Bellamy's got a great voice that at different times reminded me Rob Halford, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, and David Bowie. Listened to a studio track called Dead Inside and thought it was a nice blend of rock and, I don't know, Techno Funk? I like the way he strings songs together, though, so I'll probably pick up an album or two. Knowing what you know about the kind of music I like, which albums would you recommend?

@LordSteev Yeah they’re brilliant. I liked them for a long time but it wasn’t until I saw them live that I realized how special they really are, especially in today’s music scene where I find the live show often doesn’t reach the quality of recordings. Muse is that band that blows their (already impressive) recordings out of the water. Also I find Matt’s lyrics smart and refreshing. ‘Dig Down’ and ‘Something Human’ are recent lyrical highlights. The electronic aspect to their music isn’t just a track or anything either. They have wired Kaoss pads (midi controllers for modulation) into their guitars, among other tricks, to pull it all off live. Granted, they do have a fourth touring member with them as well but it’s all very impressive nonetheless.

Some modern bands that spring to mind that might be worth checking out:

Queens of the Stone Age (‘...like clockwork‘ is a personal favourite album)
Royal Blood (a twosome with a huge sound and really brilliant bass pedal work going on)
Them Crooked Vultures (a super group with Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones)
Ryan Adams (I really enjoy his 2014 self titled album, recent controversies aside)

Don’t want to overload you but a couple extras:
He is Legend
The Sheepdogs
Monster Truck
If even one of these resonates with you then mission accomplished! 😜

@Jimmer-jammer

I really like Royal Blood, esp. the first album, but when I mention them, no one's heard of them! I was wondering if you could recommend any Muse albums, specifically. But by god, I'm going to check out some of the others you've mentioned, and thanks for that! I bought the first Queens of the Stone Age album, but didn't get into it enough to try any follow-ups. Curious about Them Crooked Vultures; Grohl is a talent for sure, but I found Foo-Fighters to be a bit too radio friendly.

Here's a few newer groups I've found I can tolerate:

Bullet for my Valentine
Greta van Fleet
errr...short list, I guess.

@LordSteev ha! I misunderstood you’re question but appreciate your gracious reply!

Now that I’m thinking about it, Muse has to be one of the hardest bands to to recommend on an album by album basis, as each album really does offer something different from the next, and they are all epically meandering at some point in each of their runtimes. They truly don’t have a “bad” album. With that said, ‘Drones’ has become a personal favourite over the years, followed by ‘The 2nd Law’, albums that I didn’t immediately fall in love with but have stuck with me over the years.

I dig Bullet for my Valentine too. Greta Van Fleet is on another level altogether. I was going to recommend them but saw in a previous post you were already familiar. Also, I was trying to recommend bands that carry the spirit of classic rock into modern music, not so much directly emulate it, not trying to sell Greta short or anything.

@Jimmer-jammer @LordSteev Surely it's Origin of Symmetry for best Muse album? I really like Absolution and Blackholes & Revelations too though!

I saw them headline Leeds in 2006 and at Wembley are year or so later. Great band.

@LordSteev just to briefly add to that (and actually answer your question 🤪), ‘Drones’ is definitely a more guitar oriented album and I feel like it’s the best place to start for you based off of my interpretation of your music tastes 👍