Topic: The Music Thread

@nessisonett Which would you say are your favorite artists from both genres?

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Hmm, they’re such wide genres that it’s hard to say. I love Charles Mingus so I’d probably say him for jazz and for rock, it could be anyone really. In terms of ‘rock’ rock, it would be Built to Spill or Pavement.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Kino recently since it was the 30th anniversary of the frontman Viktor Tsoi’s untimely death a week or so ago. He really was the voice of a whole generation of Soviet teens and his death cemented his status as one of the greats. Can’t even remember where I heard about them but I’ve been into their stuff for years now, from their jangly early work to a bleak, crushing final album released posthumously. What’s especially impressive is that Tsoi was half Korean and his father grew up in exile due to Stalin’s deportation of Koreans so for him to become possibly the most important face in Russian music of all time, it’s quite the story. It’s probably reductive to call him the Bob Dylan or Kurt Cobain of Soviet Russia, his popularity was, and still is, unfathomably enormous. Kino’s song ‘Группа крови/Blood Type’ was voted the #1 Russian rock song of all time. It’s even on GTA IV’s OST although I think it was removed as part of the great culling of 2018 due to the licensing. Tsoi was definitely a poet though, having read several translated lyrics it’s easy to see why they resonated with so many people as they deal with themes of daily struggle and the pursuit of liberty. Given that the band’s rise coincided with Glasnost, it would have felt like the soundtrack to a time of great change. For his lyrical delivery to still impact me considering I barely speak a word of Russian, I think that’s genuinely impressive and speaks to the nature of good music that it can transcend things like a language barrier. While I have wanted to visit Moscow for years, due to certain somewhat obvious reasons I haven’t been but I do think that I’d take the time to visit the Tsoi Wall, a memorial to the man with messages from fans written down its length. If anything, it would be nice to pay my respects to a man who truly stood out amongst one of the most tumultuous periods in world history.

@nessisonett Thanks I'll check out those albums. I'm on a Bob Dylan jag at the moment, can you recommend any albums similar to Self-Portrait? (i.e mostly just him and an acoustic guitar rather than the electric, full-band stuff)

@nessisonett Really enjoyed your eulogy for Tsoi, it sounds like he was truly a great character. The language barrier is difficult for me to overcome personally, and Rammstein's music is impenetrable to me for that very same reason. Do you like any of Rammstein's music?

@Draco_V_Ecliptic I’m a Rammstein skeptic. It just sounds ludicrous to me. They sound like Right Said Fred singing along to an industrial metal soundfont.

Bob Dylan though, I could never get on with Self-Portrait, he’d released so many incredible albums and then seemingly decided to put out a late 60s/early 70s Elvis album. The version of Like A Rolling Stone on that album is rather painful. I typically avoid his albums that sound remotely like that one 😂

@nessisonett Lol!, I like that album, but I am open ears about his previous work that you deem incredible, could you suggest a couple of albums? I'm already familiar with Blonde On Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited & Bringing It All Back Home.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Well those 3 are his best albums without a doubt but I’d probably recommend The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, that has some great songs and laid the foundations on which those albums would later build on.

@LN78 Yep true, Blood on the Tracks is a solid album.

I finally listened to Sara Bareilles' 2019 album called Amidst the Chaos earlier this evening. I'd been wanting to give it a proper listen for a while after thoroughly enjoying the singles to have come out of it, but I didn't think to do it until today. I thought it was a really solid album. Sara is easily one of the best songwriters in the biz as far as I'm concerned, and her ability shined through here as well. Lots of fantastic lyrics and meaningful messages. It was definitely a bit of a departure from her usual style, but I think she adapted her voice really well to fit the new style. She also just has such a lovely voice that I can't help but want to listen to, and in a world where I listen to many singers who I love but sound so very pushy with their vocals, she's a breath of fresh air in terms of how she just sings everything seemingly with ease. Definitely recommended if you're looking for a nice, chill album to listen to on an evening.

@nessisonett Could you give Narrows' 2 albums a listen & compare them for me? I have my own opinion but I'd like to know which you think is the stronger offering. They are called New Distances and Painted. If you don't like New Distances then you don't have to listen to Painted as well, I just thought you might be into them as they are a quality hardcore rock band.

P.S If you're a completionist why don't you try their split e.p with Retox & everything else they've done, Blood Python off the Retox e.p is terrifying.

I am a fan Eurobat songs.
I knew Eurobeat songs from Para Para Paradise, Dance Dance Revolution and Dance ManiaX. All of those games from Konami.
Also, i like any songs that got Eurobeat remix whether official or fan made.
Here are examples of Eurobeat songs i listened.

@Anti-Matter I never knew I needed a Eurobeat remix of How Will I Know until today. While I’m not sure I could listen to that stuff for more than 5 minutes at a time, I do have an appreciation for proper school disco music.

@nessisonett Do you like any of the 70s disco stuff? Disco inferno, etc. I used to be very into that before I discovered rock, somewhat embarrassing now that I look back on those days.

@Draco_V_Ecliptic Oh yeah, I definitely have a big appreciation for disco and funk. All the best gay bars have a soundtrack pretty much exclusively Donna Summer, Earth Wind and Fire and Bee Gees. I’m very proud of my original Saturday Night Fever vinyl despite literally everybody owning it, it’s just a cool thing to own. Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie is the greatest song of all time.

I've been listening to a lot of Zappa recently, planning to get his latter 70s work on vinyl. Are any of you Zappa heads on here? Which are your favorite albums?
I've been listening to him whilst getting into guitar-centric rock, been listening to Guthrie Govan as well, particularly his work in The Aristocrats, for the same reason.

@Tjuz Do you like any jazz in general?

@Draco_V_Ecliptic I don't really listen to any jazz usually. I pretty much exclusively listen to female pop, but there are obviously exceptions here and there. I have nothing against jazz, though, and I'd certainly be open to trying out more of it. Any recommendations?

I like Bubblegum songs with silly lyrics and catchy sounds.
I knew those songs from Dance Dance Revolution games as the licensed songs during old DDR era were mostly Eurodance and Bubblegum songs from European artists.
These are my favorite Bubblegum songs that i have ever played on DDR Arcade and PS2.