What Are You Listening to Now 7.0

[SeraphNocturne]

Thank you. My cousin is a drummer, WAY better than me. He's given me a few tips. The rest is online videos and self taught.



Lars doesn't play a lot of standard riffs. His signature is very... unique.


Ah, I wouldn't worry. Nobody cares about that around here, do they?

You're totally right about that, I don't really think a music conversation on a music thread is really the worst case of hijacking done in AH.

Like I said earlier though, practice makes perfect, especially when learning an instrument! I play flute, piano and violin... I won't really count myself as an actual guitarist until I can play through scales without having to reference tab. -chuckles-

Best thing you can do is not to compare! You could leave him in the dust in a year with enough determination! It's always nice to have music friends along to help you on that journey, though. And the jam sessions are top knotch.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

My inner voice trying to tell me to make better choices.

My inner voice has duct tape on her mouth! I've been letting the shoulder devil call the shots.

 

[Djmac1031]

You're totally right about that, I don't really think a music conversation on a music thread is really the worst case of hijacking done in AH.

Like I said earlier though, practice makes perfect, especially when learning an instrument! I play flute, piano and violin... I won't really count myself as an actual guitarist until I can play through scales without having to reference tab. -chuckles-

Best thing you can do is not to compare! You could leave him in the dust in a year with enough determination! It's always nice to have music friends along to help you on that journey, though. And the jam sessions are top knotch.

I tried guitar once. Couldn't make my fingers do what they were supposed to lol.

I've been playing drums for fun pretty much right now.


Despite what my few clips may have shown, I still have a long way to go.

And at some point I'll need to learn how to read music lol.

There's an online drum tutorial thing that teaches all that, but it's a subscription thing and I can't afford it right now.

So I'm just watching YouTube videos and getting pointers from there for now.

 

[AnonyMissWriter]

My inner voice has duct tape on her mouth! I've been letting the shoulder devil call the shots.

Girl same.

 

[MetaBob]

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Complete Sessions

This was the first (and perhaps only) time that Duke and Louis recorded in-studio together. It happened in 1961, late in their careers, when both musicians were in their 60s, and might have been the last time Louis' trumpet was consistently featured -- in his last 10 years he increasingly fell back on his vocals.

From memory, since I sadly can't locate the CDs after a recent move, this was Duke Ellington sitting in with Louis' band playing songs composed by Duke. This was at the label's invitation since the handwriting was on the walls for both aging but still-great jazz giants, and an opportunity to record them together in near-top form might never come again. Two of the songs had not previously been recorded, both written for and about Louis: "The Beautiful American" and "Azalea". Both are stunning, in my opinion, but for me the highlight is "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good". At its end, when it hasn't been edited out (it's present in this version) you can hear Duke say "That was a good one" in the background, so it's not just me.

Louis hadn't played many, if any, of these songs before, and was tired of playing just his hits whenever he had a live gig. He wanted to stretch out and try his chops on what was for him new material, the way he had so often when he was younger and seldom could in his latter years. I believe it was recorded in a single day even though for all but clarinetist Barney Bigard (who was in Louis' band at the time but formerly played with Duke), it might have been their first time playing these songs.

I'm actually listening to the Deluxe Edition, which also includes a second CD of false starts and alternate takes with between-take talk between bandmembers and/or the producer. I've long thought that this might be the best music I've ever purchased.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Complete Sessions

This was the first (and I believe only) time that Duke and Louis were recorded in-studio together. It happened in 1961, late in their careers, when both musicians were in their 60s, and might have been the last time Louis's trumpet was consistently featured -- in his last 10 years he relied increasingly on his vocals.

From memory, since I sadly can't locate the CDs after a recent move, this was Duke Ellington sitting in with Louis' band (at the label's invitation, of course, since the handwriting was on the walls for both aging but still-great jazz giants, and an opportunity to record them together might never come again) playing songs composed by Duke. Two had not previously been performed, both written for and about Louis: "The Beautiful American" and "Azalea". Both are stunning, in my opinion, but for me the highlight is "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good". At its end you hear Duke say "That was a good one" in the background (you can hear it on the version I ripped from my CD, anyway), so it's not just me.

Louis hadn't played many, if any, of these songs before, and was tired of playing just his hits whenever he had a live gig. He wanted to stretch out and try his chops on what was for him new material, the way he had so often when he was younger and so seldom could in his latter years. I believe it was recorded in a single day even though for all but clarinetist Barney Bigard (who was in Louis' band at the time but formerly played with Duke), it might have been their first time playing these songs.

I'm actually listening to the Deluxe Edition, which also includes a second CD of false starts and alternate takes with between-take talk between bandmembers and/or the producer. I've long thought that this might be the best music I've ever purchased.

My tastes in music have been all over the place lately. -laughs-

Wow, what a great share, thanks MetaBob! An additional thanks for the bonus information about this piece. I'm a sucker for most powerful voices and sultry crooners of jazz. Louis Armstrong was an amazing, iconic voice of his era--definitely one of my favorites. I can't really decide if I like to hear him sing, or play the trumpet more. This is the first song I heard by him, a long time ago relaxing with a crowd much older than I was at some party I probably shouldn't have been attending.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

Originally by Peggy Lee... this is probably one of my favorite modern renditions (popularized by Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

 

[MetaBob]

Following up something I posted to another thread about Bruce Springsteen covers (I've used a few fragments of his lyrics -- among many others -- in some of my stories), I mentioned that Ryan Adams had covered Springsteen's entire Nebraska album. Which got me thinking about Ryan Adams. His music, not his antics.

Here are three from his Whiskeytown days (I know him best from his earlier stuff), plus a cover of one of his solo songs with a story of its own: Mac McCaughan, who had a band named Superchunk and a side project named Portastatic, organized an album titled "Songs for Sixty Five Roses", a benefit for Cystic Fibrosis, "Sixty Five Roses" being what a 4-year-old boy who had the disease called it in 1965. Portastatic did an upbeat cover of Ryan Adams' "Oh My Sweet Carolina" that I think is just dandy.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

 

[SeraphNocturne]

 

[Winter_Fare]

 

[UsuallyPresent]

Sad news, there, if not very surprising.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Love the odd Nina Simone song - this one is just sooooo good

 

[ChloeTzang]

But what I'm actually listening to right now is Babymonster and "DREAM".

BABYMONSTER (베이비몬스터), is a pre-debut South Korean girl group from YG Entertainment. The group consists of Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Ahyeon, Haram, Rora and Chiquita. Their selection process was turned into a reality show, and they debuted in the 2nd quarter of 2023, and "DREAM" was their pre-debut single, released on May 14, 2023. Their youngest member, Ahyeon, is 16, and started training with YG Entertainment when she was 11. The selection process was really tough - Pharita for example was chosen out of 1,226 applicants in July 2020. They're one of the most anticipated new K-pop groups of 2023.....

 

[MetaBob]

Redirecting my contribution from a hijacked thread to here, where it belongs, someone replied to my mention of Drive-By Truckers. Here's my reply to that person:

I once worked for a company that owned a music streaming service. A side benefit was full access to all of their music, which was as comprehensive as any company's. I even had internal database access so I could do fancy queries that were unavailable to the general public. I discovered more about music during that time than I had since college, and used my enhanced access to make a lot of fun playlists, like "Songs Named for Years" (ex: 1968, 1985) and "Songs Named For Musicians" (ex: Patsy Cline, Joe Strummer, Alex Chilton, Antonio Carlos Jobim -- that last one is by Elliott Smith's band Heatmiser). One morning I woke to find that 6 of that service's top 10 playlists were mine. One stayed in their top ten for several years. After a few misunderstandings with overworked curators, one finally figured out that my suggestions had merit and they started making my suggested changes to mislabeled content, addressing more than 100 corrections in just a few months because some were pretty embarrassing, like using a photo for one artist as the profile pic for a different artist. You're welcome, Dave Alvin. Granted, some of these errors weren't their fault -- they were propagated from the record labels.

Anyway.

Drive-By Truckers (DBT) was one of the bands I discovered then. I called them "my favorite new band." Their early stuff was spotty, rough, and sometimes hilarious, but included some real gems, then they did Southern Rock Opera that I thought had two truly great songs and several more that continue to inform me. Jason Isbell joined as a third lead guitar/composer for two albums and they hit what I thought was their artistic peak. It's almost a shame they're so good live, because it can obscure how great some of their lyrics are. Warning: some of these songs demand to be cranked.

And because I can't resist a segue to something different but related for a fourth video, I should mention Slobberbone, who toured with and became friendly with the members of DBT (Patterson Hood of DBT even guested on Slobberbone's Lazy Guy). I learned just recently that Stephen King has called their "Gimme Back My Dog" one of the three greatest rock songs (the article I just linked also just made me look up "jejune" ... thanks, Steve!). While I already marveled at how well "Gimme Back My Dog" did relentless allegory in a country/Southern rock song, this was pretty high praise. So here it is:

I also like some of their other songs a lot, like Engine Joe, Pinball Song, and the piteous Back from Slippage, an album that may have been named for a theme from the same Stephen King novel (Black House) where he praised "Gimme Back My Dog".

Peace be to guitarist Jess Barr's family and friends.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter (album)

As far as extreme metal goes, I'm a bit at odds with Black Metal. Most artists in that genre confuse "being underground and evil and metal as fuck" with having horrible, tinny mixes, as if they recorded their shit on a broken four-track lodged in a troll's stomach deep in the Norwegian forest at half past four under a somewhat full moon. The troll also ate the mikes.

So, if I end up listening to Black Metal, I tend to go for the slightly polished stuff. Immortal's fifth album is relatively easy on the ears, with songs which evoke brutal battles between vikings and trolls and frost giants. They're basically delivering a fantastic Bathory blowjob and I'm in the right mood for that. At the heart of winter, in eternal ice, there is no pesky greenery to trigger my fucking allergies. Just vikings and trolls and ...stuff. Mead would be nice, to get horribly drunk.

 

[Blind_Justice]

But what I'm actually listening to right now is Babymonster and "DREAM".

BABYMONSTER (베이비몬스터), is a pre-debut South Korean girl group from YG Entertainment. The group consists of Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Ahyeon, Haram, Rora and Chiquita. Their selection process was turned into a reality show, and they debuted in the 2nd quarter of 2023, and "DREAM" was their pre-debut single, released on May 14, 2023. Their youngest member, Ahyeon, is 16, and started training with YG Entertainment when she was 11. The selection process was really tough - Pharita for example was chosen out of 1,226 applicants in July 2020. They're one of the most anticipated new K-pop groups of 2023.....

With a name like that I expected the Korean answer to Babymetal. What I got was a tepid piano ballad. Talk about being blue-balled.

 

[SimonDoom]

Wagner, Gotterdammerung, Siegfried's Reinfahrt.

 

[Blind_Justice]

AC/DC - Back in Black

 

[Handley_Page]

Good, old-fashioned, Boogie Woogie.

 

[Handley_Page]

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Complete Sessions

I'd love a copy of that !

Meanwhile, the Duke reminded me of this:

 

[Blind_Justice]

Manowar - Secret Of Steel

Sadly, these guys have turned into a self-parody about twenty years ago. But their first six albums are absolute treasures. But please, for all that is holy and forged in fire and steel, avoid their MM... revisions. For some reason, Joey DeMaio decided he needed to re-record the old classics. Not a bad idea, only he does it on a shoestring budget, with the worst imaginable drum programming possible. And Eric Adams is no longer in his prime. He sounds bored and tired. So even if the mix is slightly tighter and less cardboard-y than the originals, the rest is a very poor showing. Get the original albums (Battle Hymns, Into Glory Ride, Hail To England, Sign Of The Hammer, Fighting The World and Kings Of Metal) and enjoy some of the finest TRUE FUCKING METAL ever made.

Everything else ranges from "a matter of taste" (Triumph Of Steel) to "holy hell, what the fuck were they thinking?" (everything else).

 

[jaykaythree]

For all that is holy and forged in fire and steel,

That line alone is pure poetry.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Gatekeeper - From Western Shores

These guys are poised to dethrone Manowar sooner rather than later. Their debut "East Of Sun" was very rough, very primal. The new one is a bit more refined, full to the brim with fantastic harmonies, passionate singing and some great, headbangin' guitar riffs. Highly recommended!

That line alone is pure poetry.

I just borrowed one of Manowar's classics. Their lyrics are full to the gills with lines like these. It's even an inofficial drinking game in the metal community. Take a shot each time "brothers", "metal", "steel" and "fight" come up and I guarantee you won't make it through one album, let alone all six.