Desert Island X: Group 1 Listening Thread

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It was hard to remember specific songs and it got a bit exhausting by the end of the disc. But I guess that's sort of the point, which is fine.

More evidence that I missed the boat, since no, that's really not the point at all. They apparently bleed together into one same sounding sonic blob to everyone who isn't me.
 
IWB, my friend, we will just never see eye-to-eye on music. Your first disc was pleasant enough - and I will definitely add my voice to the praise for that Morphine song, that was awesome - but it's still not music I'm ever really in the mood for listening to. That's just a personal preference. Soul music has been a blind spot of mine for a long time, which is not good considering how much I love hip-hop but many of the songs you had didn't really do it for me. Some I'd obviously heard before, like Four Tops, Sweet Soul Music, Do the Twist, Twist and Shout, and they're great pop songs, but it's music I don't generally seek out.

I won't sugar coat it, I hated the second disc. I've got some mates who would enjoy it, but I did not enjoy it at all. To me it all sounded like it could be from the same compilation, it definitely ran together. But there was one positive to come out of it - until I looked up The Oppressed on wikipedia I had no idea that skinheads could be anti-fascist. I thought they were all neo-nazis/fascists. So that was something I learnt :up:
 
:lol: that makes me a lot less cranky. For some reason I'm totally cool with the assessment "I hated this," or "less said about disc 2, the better" from nielsgov.

It's the way gump called it reactionary, scared off by album titles, that irks me into giant walls of text (poorly written on my phone, at that).

That last part about googling the oppressed makes me happier than I think it would have if you'd actually liked any of it. let's be honest, the playlists I make for DIs are for me, getting to inflict my music taste on people I know are going to not dig the bulk of it. Sort of goes back to that whole goofy walk if text and what I was getting at.
 
Seems skinhead originally started as just a subculture, like mods, rockers, etc. I wonder when that changed. I blame Russell Crowe

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It's the way gump called it reactionary, scared off by album titles, that irks me into giant walls of text (poorly written on my phone, at that).

That last part about googling the oppressed makes me happier than I think it would have if you'd actually liked any of it. let's be honest, the playlists I make for DIs are for me, getting to inflict my music taste on people I know are going to not dig the bulk of it. Sort of goes back to that whole goofy walk if text and what I was getting at.

Oh, I'm really sorry it came off the wrong way. I was being sarcastic with the reactionary stuff. I just found the song titles pretty funny in a weird way.
 
Oh god I forgot that movie existed.

Like I tried to convey earlier, I titled the list "roots & boots." Roots, being both the beginnings of my own interest in music, as well as the place that the "boots" (which is more accurate than calling it "roots & mohawks," given the general kind of punk rock represented, which is mainly doc marten wearing skinhead music, except for like maybe the SLF song) half comes from. But unless you knew that going in, or do some googling as cobbler did, it was silly of me to think anyone would make that connection. A first half ska playlist would have been more accurate, lyrically if not sonically, making that gap better bridged.
 
I'm guessing, because I still haven't heard it, that IWB's list "runs together" because of unfamiliarity with the genres. :shrug:.

Gonna listen to this now.
 
I'm pretty nervous that people unfamiliar with certain sections of my list will tune out and think it's all just 80s sounding stuff.

But then there are LOTS OF HITS too, so maybe it won't be so inaccessible.
 
About halfway through the first disc, IWB, and I'm really enjoying this. I picked this point at which to comment, because, from here, I know (and love) most of the remaining tracks. Standouts from the section up to Otis Redding track were the aforementioned, and "None of Us Are Free".
 
On Padj's list:

I really enjoyed this list. It started really strongly with a bunch of bands I'm unfamiliar with but now need to check out. The transition from Wire into Caribou was unexpected and flawless.

In fact, this whole DI list did a fantastic job from moving seamlessly between genres. Going from Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield to dream-pop to the rhythmic vibe of the later numbers, wrapping up with classic prog bands was a journey full of unexpected twists that was never jarring. I'd say the only weak point was Roxy Music into Cate Le Bon, mainly due to how abruptly the former ends. Otherwise, awesome set.

Now, on to Laz.
 
Oh, I'm really sorry it came off the wrong way. I was being sarcastic with the reactionary stuff. I just found the song titles pretty funny in a weird way.

Everyone keeps saying that about the song titles. I guess I just don't see it.
 
Axver has that same reaction every time I make fun of deathgrowls. He just doesn't get why anyone would find them humorous.

IWB's list kicks ass so far. I'm three tracks into disc 2.
 
More evidence that I missed the boat, since no, that's really not the point at all. They apparently bleed together into one same sounding sonic blob to everyone who isn't me.
I suppose I misinterpreted your comment about wanting to remind us that you like punk music with the second half of the list.
 
People will likely have the same complaint about my list, at least the first third or so. It's all sort of minimal/deep house so I expect a few will hate that, though I find all the songs to be really good and interesting in their own right.
 
And for disc 2, overall, enjoyed it quite a bit, though, I hate to say it, it does get a bit tiring after awhile. Well worth it, though, because "Freedom's Dead (For You Not Me)" was my favorite song on the whole playlist (if only you'd used Sam Cooke's version of "Sweet Soul Music" :tsk:).
 
First disc is perfect. Second disc is simply too much. Everything is fine, but there's far too much of it.

It's funny to hear what IWB's tastes were like as a kid...what happened? :wink: Seriously though, punk disc was a lot of fun. It shouldn't be a surprise that I got a lot out of it, I recorded a punk album this year.
 
I suppose I misinterpreted your comment about wanting to remind us that you like punk music with the second half of the list.

Oh ok, I think i just misread. I thought you were saying the point was that it's supposed to all sound the same.
 
Laz:

Logical digressions and movements through an eclectic set of tracks are always what get me. Exciting choices and deeper cuts from folks I want to listen to more of (Faces, Van Morrison, Saint Etienne). This jives with my sensibilities while also introducing more gateways to geekery. I'm a fan.

Killer tracks: "Freedom of '76" by Ween, "Glad and Sorry" by Faces, "Stepping Out Queen Part II" by Van Morrison, "Zipcode" by Saint Etienne

IWB:

I dig the whole conception of your list, splitting between a particular nostalgia and current taste. The R&B side explores a lot of micro sounds within that sphere, Stax, Motown, Phil Spector jams, the "Twist" phenomenon. Shit, seriously, any time I hear "Twistin' the Night Away" I can't grin like an idiot. Knowing how you approached that side helped me appreciate the second half -- the same strategy applied to a different set of tracks. Unfortunately, they just weren't for me. I liked being exposed to 'em though.

Killer Tracks: "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robison & The Miracles, "Cohesion" by Patriot, "Baby, I Need Your Loving" by The Four Tops, "None of Us Who Are Free" by Solomon Burke, "Sweet Soul Music" by Sam & Dave

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Joey's then I'll be on Padj's list.
 
Laz:

I'm unfamiliar with most of the artists on this playlist, even the ones who I've heard of and are popular. Even had you used less deep cuts it still would have been off my radar. That whole last section of the first disc, the last four or five songs or so, that probably was the part that stuck with me more than the rest. The Van Morrison and Beach Boys songs were excellent, and they are both artists that I am largely unfamiliar with so it was nice to hear. In the second disc, you mix in some songs I already like (Los Campesinos! and PJ Harvey) mixed in with some new tracks I hadn't heard by bands I like (the M83 one for example). Everything on this list was pretty good, though I wouldn't say there were many standouts, which may have been the result of it being deeper cuts. My favorite tracks were probably Van Morrison, Beach Boys, Los Campesinos!, and The Twilight Singers.
 
Joey:

Because this is the list with the most tracks I'm familiar with (I was able to load half the list straight from my own iTunes library), I focused more on the execution of the theme here. You can hear evidence of your theme immediately in this playlist. There's a frenetic, almost paranoid energy to the early tracks that effectively works with what you are trying to do, either in the vocal delivery, the composition of the music, or both. It dissipates a bit as the playlist moves on, as it transitions to a more grindy bass and synth sound in some of the tracks, though songs like Climbing Up the Walls keep some of the spirit of the theme going. If I had one criticism of the list, it's that it sort of lives in the same space the entire time as opposed to going from one place to another. Even something more up-and-down would seem a bit more appropriate for a theme of insanity as opposed to sort of lingering in a constant panic. But this is more nitpicking. Nicely done and a solid use of a lot of artists I'm a fan of.
 
Joey:

Because this is the list with the most tracks I'm familiar with (I was able to load half the list straight from my own iTunes library), I focused more on the execution of the theme here. You can hear evidence of your theme immediately in this playlist. There's a frenetic, almost paranoid energy to the early tracks that effectively works with what you are trying to do, either in the vocal delivery, the composition of the music, or both. It dissipates a bit as the playlist moves on, as it transitions to a more grindy bass and synth sound in some of the tracks, though songs like Climbing Up the Walls keep some of the spirit of the theme going. If I had one criticism of the list, it's that it sort of lives in the same space the entire time as opposed to going from one place to another. Even something more up-and-down would seem a bit more appropriate for a theme of insanity as opposed to sort of lingering in a constant panic. But this is more nitpicking. Nicely done and a solid use of a lot of artists I'm a fan of.


Agreed with the bulk of this, though I have to admit I can't get into Porcupine Tree at all. Silly-ass name, too.
 
Just finished Padj's playlist.

Thoughts:

I really liked the beginning up until Sparks. Sad Lovers and Giants is a band I have just been getting into. Feeding the Flame is one of their better albums. When Sparks hit the playlists just became a little uninteresting to me because I felt like the playlist got a little repetitive. Then I gain interest again around Stereolab and Husker Du. I am not too fond of too many girl singers but I did like the PJ Harvey and Liz Phair songs. I really enjoyed the Spanish, Brazilian, and Italian influential songs sung in different languages. I try to look at life half full and it just seemed to agree with me musically. But my favorite stretch was Paulo Conte to Jehtro Tull. Great job, Padj. I am in the middle ground which it comes to this playlist. The flow was great and changing of the genres was seamless. I am not big into a lot of female singers but overall, it was quite enjoyable. :)
 
Gump, I'm really disappointed there's no Courtney Barnett on your list.

Well I'm finished this group. Padj, I enjoyed your list in parts, not overall, I'm afraid. I definitely appreciate your entry because again it's a list that contains a lot of non-B&C touchstones, at least to my ears. Wasn't a big fan of the start, but good god Caribou-Cults might be my favourite 1-2 of the competition so far. Really need to listen to Our Love. Cults was a band I had dismissed a bit but that was a really good tune.

Wasn't much into the next section of the list, but the Cocteau Twins track brought me right back, might need to seek some of their work, and that track up until Tom Waits was pretty inspired, I thought. Unfortunately from then on you lost me a bit again.

Nothing bad on the list - just some sections that didn't do much for me I'm afraid. But overall, it's definitely a :up:
 
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