Random Music Talk CXIX: Donko Blocko

[cobl04]

But yeah, let's get excited about SOE lololol

 

[lazarus]

Careful, you're turning into Axver wrt your "favorite" band.

 

[iron yuppie]

Oh my God Andromeda is wonderful. Ascension is a lot of fun too.

Those are the only ones I'm listening to until the album drops.

I listened to Plastic Beach for the first time in ages yesterday and will just say that Rhinestone Eyes is a tremendous song.

 

[prbiker15]

New Gorillaz album confirmed. Humanz is out on April 28.

Gorillaz Announce New Album Humanz Featuring Grace Jones, Danny Brown, Mavis Staples, More | Pitchfork

Of what's been released so far, Andromeda is the strongest one. Glad we don't have to wait so long for the album.

 

[LemonMelon]

I listened to Plastic Beach for the first time in ages yesterday and will just say that Rhinestone Eyes is a tremendous song.

I listened to it as well yesterday. Empire Ants is one of my favorite songs of the decade.

Great album.

 

[cobl04]

Empire Ants is phenomenal. I'd also like to shout out Sweepstakes, that's an absolute belter of a song.

Careful, you're turning into Axver wrt your "favorite" band.

Except I don't think U2 would even rate in his top 10 anymore. Whereas for me they will always be #1.

 

[Axver]

Hmm. I think I would put U2 in my top ten. Not top five, not at all, but they'd scrape into the ten.

But for all the song and album ranking I do, I find ranking bands to be enormously difficult. Songs and albums can be fairly compared, but how do you compare a band who put out, say, two great albums and did little else before vanishing to a band who have a lengthy but patchy career and a legacy of great live shows?

 

[cobl04]

Band rankings, eh....

1. U2
2. David Bowie
3. Radiohead
4. Outkast
5. Pink Floyd

After that it's pretty arbitrary. Sufjan, LCD, The National, Kanye would all be up there. But I think I can pretty safely say I wouldn't have The Beatles in my top 10.

 

[mikal]

1. U2

2. Pearl Jam

3. Radiohead

4. Everything else

 

[martha]

1. Bruce
2. Radiohead
3. U2
4. The Who
5. Russian Circles
6. The War on Drugs



I'm almost ready with my top 11 albums list.

 

[LemonMelon]

Bands:

The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
U2
Big Star
Radiohead

Solo acts:

Neil Young
David Bowie
Beck
Joni Mitchell
Kanye West

 

[DaveC]

there's no way i can rank bands for the same reasons axver mentioned. the verve is without a doubt my #1 favourite, but past that the rankings and order change so frequently in my head that i stopped trying a while ago.

 

[prbiker15]

Bands:
1. U2
2. Coldplay
3. The Beatles
4. Rush
5. The Police

Solo:
1. Madonna
2. Billy Joel
3. Prince
4. David Bowie
5. Phil Collins

 

[IWasBored]

The Beatles, The Clash, Springsteen are an interchangeable top 3.

A tier below that would probably be the smorgasbord of Mark and Rob Lind bands.

Then probably Rancid, The Who, The Magnetic Fields share a tier of favoriteness.

NYHC as a general genre

Xiu Xiu

Against Me, Social Distortion, Hudson Falcons, The Bruisers, this is a pretty big tier and the point where this loose definition of a list totally falls apart and starts blurring into a list of bands who put out one or two classic (imo) albums within specific sub genres of punk rock that I'd put on a favorite album list rather than an actual "favorite" bands list, but don't really know how to separate the two.

I've been listening to a fair amount of Lady Gaga lately she'd rank higher than U2 for me these days. But otherwise, just imagine a favorite music pyramid instead of a list.

 

[nielsgov]

Mount Eerie with a 9, p4k's highest 2017 score thus far

I listened to Real Death for the first time a few minutes ago. And I literally started crying my eyes out. I can't remember the last time a piece of music did that to me. It's absolutley devastating. Just him singing that last simple line: I love you. Wow

I can' t bear listening to the whole thing now. I'll have to do it some other time.

 

[mikal]

Never really got into the Gorillaz but some of the conversation a page back convinced me to give them a shot. Great stuff!

 

[BoMac]

Listened to the four new Gorillaz tracks and I like them all, though Andromeda is clearly my favourite. I'm very excited for the new album.

I was unaware, however, that Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn have patched things up. The two were on stage last night performing "We Got The Power", which Gallagher collaborated on. Didn't Gallagher once publicly wish Albarn get AIDS and die?

 

[cobl04]

I listened to Real Death for the first time a few minutes ago. And I literally started crying my eyes out. I can't remember the last time a piece of music did that to me. It's absolutley devastating. Just him singing that last simple line: I love you. Wow

I can' t bear listening to the whole thing now. I'll have to do it some other time.

Really??!?! Wow. I hope I have a similar reaction. Did you relate to it on some level or is it just that powerful?

 

[nielsgov]

Really??!?! Wow. I hope I have a similar reaction. Did you relate to it on some level or is it just that powerful?

Luckily, I can't relate. I was just imagining if something like that would happen to me.

At the end he tells this heart-breaking story about a package arriving after his wife's death, something she ordered for their daughter.

His lyrical approach is similar to Benji so I guess it'll be up your ally.

 

[Joey788]

While I figure out my album list for the other thread, my artist ranking as it stands today:

1. U2

2. Radiohead

3. David Bowie

4. St. Vincent

5. Nine Inch Nails

6. Arcade Fire

7. Los Campesinos

8. The National

9. Porcupine Tree

10. Elbow

 

[bono_212]

In a car driving to San bernadino and the guy driving has been listening to speed metal the whole trip, which has actually been fun, BUT, he just turned on Babymetal. I think this is my first time hearing them, but this shit is awesome, Hahah.

 

[Axver]

Oh god do I hate Babymetal. The name, the stupid songs, the aesthetic, everything.

On the ranking of bands, I can do tiers kind of like IWB but anything beyond that is difficult. I don't know if I could even say who my #1 is. I usually say Alcest, because they make the music closest to what I would make if I had the ability. But as passionate as I feel about any individual band, none stands clearly ahead of any other.

Tier 1, bands for whom I would travel any distance to see live: Agalloch, Alcest, The Chills, Crowded House, Pinback, Porcupine Tree, Pure Reason Revolution

Tier 2, mainly other big long-term favourites: Anathema, The Bats, Caspian, The Cure, God Is an Astronaut, The Hotelier, Ladytron, A Place to Bury Strangers, Ride, Russian Circles, The Shadows, U2, The Verve

Tier 3, either new bands I'm really passionate about or long-term favourites that don't quite sneak into the higher tiers: Alpine, The Church, Explosions in the Sky, Flyying Colours, Grimes, Hideous Towns, Isis, Jimmy Eat World, Joy Division, Medicine, Priest, REM, Save Ends, Split Enz, Swervedriver, Thrushes, Turnover

 

[LemonMelon]

In a car driving to San bernadino and the guy driving has been listening to speed metal the whole trip, which has actually been fun, BUT, he just turned on Babymetal. I think this is my first time hearing them, but this shit is awesome, Hahah.

I'm 100% positive I've recommended Babymetal to you in the past. They're absolutely ridiculous.

 

[bono_212]

Oh I know you have, but I've never listened to it and that wasn't the venue I was expecting to hear them.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

there's no way i can rank bands for the same reasons axver mentioned. the verve is without a doubt my #1 favourite, but past that the rankings and order change so frequently in my head that i stopped trying a while ago.

Likewise, I don't think I've bothered with that for quite a long while. I would have a group of artists I'd put into the category of being big favourites but that's it.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I was unaware, however, that Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn have patched things up. The two were on stage last night performing "We Got The Power", which Gallagher collaborated on. Didn't Gallagher once publicly wish Albarn get AIDS and die?

I think they've both been friends for a good while now.

 

[Mack_Again]

NOPE i can't like Babymetal

 

[mikal]

Looking back, I can't believe Pitchfork gave Demon Days only a 6.9.

 

[david]

That's back when Pitchfork's snark was at an all time high.

 

[mikal]

That's back when Pitchfork's snark was at an all time high.

Yeah, good point. I'm surprised they haven't gone back and reviewed it again to fix their mistake.