Topic: The Music Thread

Why are ZZ Top's early albums so much better than their later ones?

@nessisonett Did you listen to the later Elder albums yet? (Lore, Reflections Of A Floating World and Omens) Could you tell me what you think if you have listened to them/when you do? I found them to be brilliant prog albums. Do you play any instruments? As you seem very into music. Also, what do you think of death metal? Like any bands in that genre?

@Draco_V_Ecliptic I have to admit, there are some genres that just aren’t my thing and I’d probably say prog was one of them. I can enjoy the classics but I wouldn’t seek out albums that sound similar. Death metal’s an interesting one, I have to be in a certain mood which I’m rarely in, so Death are maybe the only band I’ve listened to that encompass death metal as a genre. They’re pretty good though.

I played French Horn in school but it’s like the worst instrument, it’s seriously difficult to learn, it sucks the moisture from your mouth, it barely gets any time to shine and it’s a nightmare to clean out. At the same time, the range is crazy so if you keep your ears peeled then you could hear it at all ends of the orchestra in terms of pitch. I also dabble with guitar, like literally every guy ever but I haven’t played in ages so I’d need to build calluses on my fingertips again. As I’ve said, I’ve been working on a game for months now so eventually I’m going to have to write a soundtrack and I guess I’ll have to start playing again in preparation. I would say I’m definitely into music but I would never call myself a musician, plenty people are way way better than I am and definitely more dedicated.

@nessisonett Death are a great band. I don't listen to metal any more but when I did they were one of my favorites for a while. I really enjoyed Human and the albums they released after that, but I'm aware that some people prefer their earlier material.

I used to play the guitar up until recently, too, I was in rock bands, and then I recorded some Bill Orcutt-style meanderings recently, posted them on my Soundcloud. Soundtracking your album should be great fun, but overall the music scene encompasses too many elements of which I'm not a fan, and should probably stay away from - a hedonistic lifestyle probably isn't too much fun or too good for any one in the long run.

Also, I'm working on a few game design documents myself right now, one of which is based on the X Files, so that should be interesting, and I've got another one based on Berserk, they are all just ideas right now until I get my own company going, which I'm planning to do with the assistance of crowd-funding, if enough people are interested in my few and far between ideas.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Seeing my uncle go through the ups and downs of being in a bona-fide rock band when I was younger definitely meant I very quickly realised it wasn’t a career for me! It’s always funny when he gets his royalties every month, the letter includes a list of places where your music has been played, so you can see that a radio station in Vanuatu played one of your songs 😂😂

The only moment of the day in which I need to hear some music is when I write. If it's sci-fi, I listen to some smooth sovietwave:
https://vill4in.bandcamp.com/album/--6

@andreoni79 Very cool, I’m a big Kino fan and it’s strange seeing the renewed interest in Soviet post-punk/new wave due to those Russian Doomer playlists on YouTube. Those Russians really know what sci-fi music should sound like 😂😂

@nessisonett That's really cool man, I think that your uncle picked a great career, but, arguably, like yourself and myself - it's not for everyone. Anyway, what was the name of the band? And which one is your uncle? I'll check them out online.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Dananananaykroyd, they did actually meet Dan Aykroyd in an airport once which was pretty cool. He was flattered if confused. Highlight of their career was probably being on the Fifa 10 soundtrack. Back when he was releasing his own stuff before he was in the band, I actually appeared on one of his songs aged like 4 so I’m technically on iTunes and published in the British Library for a haiku about Chuck Norris.

@nessisonett Cool! I'll have to check them out, I have heard of them ,people I used to know used to be into them, but I just never got round to checking them out. I think I either played live with them in a band I was in called Minutes To Midnight, or saw them live on a separate bill, I have a distinct memory of seeing their name on a poster at a venue I've been in.

@nessisonett Your uncle was in Dananananaykroyd? Nice. Their first album was amazing. One of the bands of that era I was gutted I didn’t get to see live as I was a student in London and spent far too much money on gigs.

As if Hey Everyone! is 11 years old though..

@Thrillho I was gutted that they broke up before I was old enough to go see them, they played T in the Park basically every year. I always forget that they were relatively big, that whole scene along with Los Campesinos and Johnny Foreigner had a rabid fanbase. His stories are probably why I first wanted to go to Japan, he toured over there with Melt Banana and all the photos and random stuff he brought back fascinated me. I really can’t believe it’s been 11 years either, I went to HMV when it released to see all the copies on the shelves and it really feels like yesterday!

@nessisonett Ha, I’ve seen Los Campesinos! several times live but I’ve found their last two or three albums to be a bit meh. Never quite got on board with JoFo.

Frightened Rabbit are still my favourite Scottish band of the last 10 years and I loved them live; I must have seen them live five or six times from solo in store sets to seeing them at Glasto. Scott’s death was the first celeb death that really hit me.

One smaller festival I used to go to a lot actually had LC! followed by Frightened Rabbit headlining their main stage. That was awesome for me!

No way I remember Dananananananananananananakyroyd. I don't remember how many na's are in it though.

@nessisonett Again, really cool about your uncle. What do you think of Slayer? They're death metal too right? Or, arguably, 'thrash'. Hell Awaits vs Reign In Blood, in your opinion, which album comes out on top?

@LN78 Hahaha, I loved cousin in red.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Reign in Blood wins every single time, I’d say it’s one of my favourite metal albums ever. They actually played Raining Blood on Jimmy Fallon’s show which was odd but pretty hilarious. They’re really down to earth guys which is funny because you expect these ones to be as crazy as their personas.

@nessisonett Yeah, you would, wouldn't you? I read that Tom Araya's a committed Christian. Which is obviously surprising at a superficial level due to the nature of their lyrics. I know Kerry King is opposed to organized religion, from reading about that online as well, and those two things don't mesh easily. Perhaps Tom Araya is simply a Christian who doesn't follow organized religion?

@nessisonett Where do you place Seasons In The Abyss in their back catalog?

@Draco_V_Ecliptic I’d probably say it’s my second favourite. To be honest, you can’t really go wrong with their first 5 albums. Like I said, I don’t really listen to much metal though, a lot of it isn’t really my thing. I’d take stoner metal or drone metal over your traditional Metallica or Megadeth. I’d probably say my favourite metal albums were Pink by Boris, Welcome to Sky Valley by Kyuss and City by Strapping Young Lad. They’re all completely different albums, different flavours of metal but I could listen to them any day of the week.