Random Music Talk CXVIII: Grabbing America By The...

[LemonMelon]

If you had put Cheap Trick above Low, we would have had some serious problems. Low is probably in my top 5 albums ever.

Seems like you have a lot more affinity for the classic rock staple stuff than I do. If I'm ever 50 years old and drinking Coors Light in a Home Depot parking lot, maybe I'll start listening to Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan.

Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan have enough cultural cache to have crossed over to the PBR-in-a-Whole-Foods-Parking-Lot demographic as well.

 

[lazarus]

Yeah, if you think those two artists are only liked by classic rock oldsters, I think your sampling size is limited.

Most hipsters I know are into Fleetwood Mac, probably less for Steely Dan but still a fair number of 20-30 somethings.

 

[cobl04]

If I'm ever 50 years old and drinking Coors Light in a Home Depot parking lot, maybe I'll start listening to Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan.

Man this REALLY undersells both bands.


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[iron yuppie]

Fleetwood Mac is responsible for some of the most saccharine bullshit ballads I have ever heard in my life. If anyone wants to tell me where the value is in songs like Don't Stop or I Don't Want to Know, I'm all ears.

 

[LemonMelon]

I'm not a big Don't Stop fan. Someone else can handle that one. I do love the increased energy in the outro and Buckingham/McVie's shared "don't you look baaaaaaaack" vocal flourish.

I have, however, taken a major turn on I Don't Want to Know in recent years. I used to find that one to be filler, but now it's a track I'm very warm to. For one thing, I love the simplicity of the arrangement. Unlike so much overproduced 70s pop rock, everything is up front and hits hard. The light touches of electric guitar that accentuate moments of tension are extremely effective. The melody is sweet and charming, serving as a deceptive counterpoint to some very honest, heartbreaking lyrical content, particularly considering it's Buckingham and Nicks singing together.

It's a chirpy song about two people that love each other but simply can't work together as a couple. It's one step away from "la-la-la-let's get a divorce!" and I find that contrast fascinating. Good song. Anything but saccharine when you break it down.

 

[iron yuppie]

Yeah I'm just trolling at this point I guess. Something about Fleetwood Mac really irritates me, and part of it is probably all the melodrama among their members and how they felt the need to sing to each other about said melodrama.

 

[LemonMelon]

I mean, you could make that argument about the Beatles too. They sniped each other all the time in the press and on record (particularly George; Savoy Truffle and I Me Mine spring to mind) and it's part of their legacy and development.

On the other hand, I could understand someone thinking Rumours was overrated for that reason. I think it adds a pretty intriguing layer to it, personally.

 

[cobl04]

I think it's the melodrama that separates them; seeing them in person, all of them on stage together last year really drove that home for me in an amazing fashion.

Their roll call of hits is arguably better than any other band I can think of. And 90% of them are really good songs. Christine McVie is the one weak point in my eyes, pretty much all my least favourite Fleetwood Mac songs are hers.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Christine McVie is the one weak point in my eyes, pretty much all my least favourite Fleetwood Mac songs are hers.

I was nearly going to say something like that, with the corollary that nearly all my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs have Stevie Nicks in them.

So yeah, far from a fan of Don't Stop.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I draw the line at Steely Dan though; every time I hear them, I reach for my pistol.

 

[cobl04]

That said, she does do Songbird, and I thoroughly enjoy Little Lies in spite of its sheen.


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[LemonMelon]

There are plenty of great Christine McVie songs.









But yeah, sure, her average wasn't as strong as Buckingham or Nicks' when the band was at its commercial peak. I think her ballads (Oh Daddy, Honey Hi) were the real problem; they were pretty simpering and weak compared to the fiery work that Nicks was churning out (Gold Dust Woman, Sisters of the Moon) and when you put them side by side, Christine's material can seem flat. Christine had great melodies though and a gift for layering vocals.

 

[Mack_Again]

I know you guys are passionately about Fleetwood Mac, the band I kinda like for quite a while, but I want to hear about metal albums from this year that you liked. I wasn't really caught up with metal records this year, so.

 

[Axver]

I know you guys are passionately about Fleetwood Mac, the band I kinda like for quite a while, but I want to hear about metal albums from this year that you liked. I wasn't really caught up with metal records this year, so.

I'm working on my album rankings at the moment, and these are the metal ones in contention (the order gives a rough idea of my provisional ranks too, with Alcest likely to be my #1):

Alcest: Kodama
Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas: Mariner
Sylvaine: Wistful
Helms Alee: Stillicide
Oak Pantheon: In Pieces
Astronoid: Air
Russian Circles: Guidance
Trees of Eternity: Hour of the Nightingale
Lotus Thief: Gramarye
The Morningside: Yellow
Numenorean: Home
Borknagar: Winter Thrice
Kokomo: Monochrome Noise Love
If These Trees Could Talk: The Bones of a Dying World
Fallujah: Dreamless
Bossk: Audio Noir
Cairiss: Fall
Oathbreaker: Rheia
Kvelertak: Nattesferd
Skyforest: Unity

A lot of this stuff leans towards atmospheric black metal, blackgaze, sludge metal, and post-metal.

There's also some punk and hardcore in my draft if you're interested in anything heavy, not just metal.

 

[Mack_Again]

I'm working on my album rankings at the moment, and these are the metal ones in contention (the order gives a rough idea of my provisional ranks too, with Alcest likely to be my #1):

Alcest: Kodama
Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas: Mariner
Sylvaine: Wistful
Helms Alee: Stillicide
Oak Pantheon: In Pieces
Astronoid: Air
Russian Circles: Guidance
Trees of Eternity: Hour of the Nightingale
Lotus Thief: Gramarye
The Morningside: Yellow
Numenorean: Home
Borknagar: Winter Thrice
Kokomo: Monochrome Noise Love
If These Trees Could Talk: The Bones of a Dying World
Fallujah: Dreamless
Bossk: Audio Noir
Cairiss: Fall
Oathbreaker: Rheia
Kvelertak: Nattesferd
Skyforest: Unity

A lot of this stuff leans towards atmospheric black metal, blackgaze, sludge metal, and post-metal.

There's also some punk and hardcore in my draft if you're interested in anything heavy, not just metal.

Thanks, Ax. Thank you so much. I'm still making this "best album of 2016" thing as well. Pretty tough job, though.

 

[Axver]

I don't know how much of it is your bag though. Hope you like some of it at least!

 

[LemonMelon]

I've been meaning to listen to that Oathbreaker record, but I keep hearing people say that Second Son of R is by far the best song on it, so maybe I'll just check that song out and see how I feel about it before dedicating a whole hour to the album.

How does the new Saor record compare to Aura? That was one of my metal favorites of 2014.

 

[Axver]

I've been meaning to listen to that Oathbreaker record, but I keep hearing people say that Second Son of R is by far the best song on it, so maybe I'll just check that song out and see how I feel about it before dedicating a whole hour to the album.

How does the new Saor record compare to Aura? That was one of my metal favorites of 2014.

I honestly have only listened to it as a whole and couldn't even tell you what tracks have which names.

The new Saor is good but won't make my list. A bit cheesy on the Celtic influences at times.

 

[Mack_Again]

I checked out some of the songs from that Alcest's album and I immensely like them. I also checked out Oathbreaker's album. I like it but I still don't know how much i can get into it.

 

[bono_212]

There are some very bad Fleetwood Mac opinions floating around in here. Tssssssk

To Pimp a Butterfly knockoffs in the years to come. Who has the talent, time or budget to compete with those?

Oh there's already plenty of these. Just because they're not as good doesn't mean they're not still knockoffs.

Hell Bruno Mars already ripped off King Kunta for his most recent hit.

 

[Mack_Again]

TPAB knockoff is def. coming to us. it doesn't have to be the exact recreation. people will probably superficially take those jazz-hip hop fusion thing and assume that's why that record was great.

 

[lazarus]

There are some very bad Fleetwood Mac opinions floating around in here. Tussssssk

Fixed.

 

[lazarus]

There are plenty of great Christine McVie songs.

But yeah, sure, her average wasn't as strong as Buckingham or Nicks' when the band was at its commercial peak. I think her ballads (Oh Daddy, Honey Hi) were the real problem; they were pretty simpering and weak compared to the fiery work that Nicks was churning out (Gold Dust Woman, Sisters of the Moon) and when you put them side by side, Christine's material can seem flat. Christine had great melodies though and a gift for layering vocals.

Agreed on all of this.

Think About Me is my second favorite track on Tusk after Sara, and similarly, Hold Me my favorite on Mirage after Gypsy (not that there are many contenders).

And I think the two best songs on Tango are hers, the aforementioned Everywhere and Little Lies.

 

[david]

Just now chiming in on the Television/Verlaine discussion a few years back. Every so often I revisit Jeff Buckley's Sketches.... album. The tracks he did with Verlaine have such a dreamlike production to them but unfortunately only a couple songs from their sessions only made it to the Sketches album. Jeff wasn't pleased with their sessions, and well, he died.


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[Moonlit_Angel]

And I think the two best songs on Tango are hers, the aforementioned Everywhere and Little Lies.

"Little Lies" is one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs.

 

[david]

Just now chiming in on the Television/Verlaine discussion a few years back. Every so often I revisit Jeff Buckley's Sketches.... album. The tracks he did with Verlaine have such a dreamlike production to them but unfortunately only a couple songs from their sessions only made it to the Sketches album. Jeff wasn't pleased with their sessions, and well, he died.


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*a few pages back. Not years.


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[lazarus]

Rick Scott asks Florida tourism board head to resign over Pitbull payout · Newswire · The A.V. Club

Spoiler

 

[Mack_Again]

Mozart 225


Ah, look at that.

 

[mikal]

http://www.complex.com/music/2016/12/ceelo-green-phone-explodes

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[GirlsAloudFan]

You are such a fucking weird dude, mikal.

You forever destroyed any legitimate standing you had for me on this board when you said you don't like women vocalists.

And you haven't really helped yourself at all after that. Just give it up. Go away please. That's my Christmas wish. My Christmas wish is that you stop posting here forever.