Desert Island X: Group 1 Listening Thread

[bono_212]

And now I accidentally closed the second post. I give.

I'm really enjoying the list. It's got a nice flow and feel to it and there are a number of songs I enjoy a great deal. I'm especially fond of that Gems track, and will be checking out more.

 

[IWasBored]

I'm almost positive that my playlist is going to have the same problem, fwiw, IWB.

same problem as what? you've got eels, tina turner, and afi on there. i haven't listened to it yet but there is no possible way i can see that all sounding like too much of the same thing.

 

[bono_212]

same problem as what? you've got eels, tina turner, and afi on there. i haven't listened to it yet but there is no possible way i can see that all sounding like too much of the same thing.

, I meant in regards to the end. I've listened to it through twice since I submitted it and both times I felt like the end went on a little too long, but maybe I shouldn't have said anything until you all heard it, because now you have preconceived negative notions!!!

 

[bono_212]

Alright, Padj, finished up now. I appreciated what you were trying to do from Tom Waits > End, but it really just wasn't my cup of tea, unfortunately, though I did love the closer. Doesn't detract from an overall great listening experience, though. Good stuff .

 

[IWasBored]

, I meant in regards to the end. I've listened to it through twice since I submitted it and both times I felt like the end went on a little too long, but maybe I shouldn't have said anything until you all heard it, because now you have preconceived negative notions!!!

on the contrary, it means i have absolutely no idea what to expect but i'm going to go listen and find out now.

 

[bono_212]

Yesss....all according to plan.

 

[PhilsFan]

I listened to Padj's last night and thought it was solid. As someone who is very focused on lyrics, songs in another language are tougher for me to get into, but I appreciated the changeup it threw into things and it's not like it was a long part of the list. I think this is the first Cate Le Bon track I've actually listened to even though I saw her open for Warpaint back in March. I think my favorite song on this list that I hadn't heard before was the GEMS song, and this list also served as a reminder that I really need to get into Tom Waits at some point. Anyway, nice work.

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

Just finished Tracks of My Tears on IWB's Playlist Part 1.

I really like this playlist and I can see your diverse musical tastes from Ducky Boys to Smokey Robison. I have always loved soul and I really like my Johnny Rivers' greatest hits album I give a spin every now and then.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first, the transition from Secret Agent Man to Walk, Don't Run was a little rough. So was Strychnine to Buena. The flow was hit or miss throughout the playlist. My favorite stretch was 7-10.

Good news now: The Solomon song was sweet soul fun. I knew about half of the songs and I liked the ones I didn't know. Everything on this playlist is better than any Maroon 5 song on the radio today. The radio actually used to be good then (I wasn't around then but I hear so) and in the 90's. And today's radio is just ok compared to previous decades, in my opinion.

More listening on the way...

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

Finished Part 1, IWB. 13-15 was my favorite stretch.

Nice to see familiar artists that I hear about but don't know too well (Buddy Holly) and artists I know I love (Beatles, The Who.) Great job, IWB. Puts me in a good. I was already in a good mood, so in a better mood then. Thank you.

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

Ok, IWB, I finished your Part 2.

I agree with what other people have said, it is a little wearisome after some time and when I hear a couple songs I feel like the next one doesn't change that much musically for me. I like some punk like Bad Religion and Alkaline Trio but I have to be in the mood. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it today. Sorry, IWB. Just not my cup of tea.

But what stood out for me was definitely your part 1.

 

[liamcool]

Dug the first half of Laz's list. I'm not sure if I'd agree with it being the aftermath of a party, though - the first like seven songs made me want to get up and groove about. I also really dug the Lemonheads song, which I was not expecting to like so much. After that, it sort of dies down and gets a little away from what I was liking, and so I wasn't massively into it, but it ends really well with that Van Morrison song. It's very Neil Young-ish.

Will give second half thoughts later on.

 

[namkcuR]

Padj

Really, really enjoyed this. Impeccable flow, and lots of great songs. Highlights were the post-punk one-two punch of Sad Lovers & Giants and Wire(that Wire song was really good), Roxy Music and Cate Le Bon, the whole stretch from Liz Phair to Cocteau Twins, Metronomy, and the closing two songs, Caravan and Jethro Tull(I really dug that Jethro Tull song). All of these were new to me, so that's good. As a side note, I thought Metronomy sounded a lot like Arcade Fire. Like, at first I thought I was listening to an Arcade Fire song I'd never heard, that's how much I thought the guy sounded like Win Butler. This is a good thing, btw, I love Arcade Fire, so this means I like Metronomy if they always sound like that. Also, I dug hearing that handful of songs in other languages. It's always interesting to listen to songs where you don't understand a word and it doesn't seem to matter because you're still enjoying it. Good job!

Joey

Just in terms of sonic cohesion, I think this is one of the best DI lists I've ever listened to. These songs sounded like they were supposed to be on a list together. The industrial theme, carried out from beginning to end with such discipline, created a real atmosphere. It actually put me in a certain state of mind. From your introductory paragraph, this seems like exactly what you had in mind. So, for this listener anyway, you accomplished what you set out to do. That is an accomplishment. Favorite songs - Climbing Up The Walls, Zero, Intervention, and of course Exit are old favorites, while the Porcupine Tree and National songs were my favorite new discoveries(I've never heard the National sound quite like that before, that seemed so much more…colorful than they usually are). Also, the NIN, Bowie, and Bat For Lashes songs were nice re-visitations of songs I hadn't listened to in a long time. Great job!

Others coming tomorrow....might be late tomorrow night though, I'm traveling. Nearly finished listening to Laz's list now, but it's too late right now to type my thoughts out. Will listen to IWB's list while traveling tomorrow and post my thoughts probably late tomorrow night.

 

[lazarus]

- You actually got me to enjoy something by Steely Dan, good job. Equally surprised to find how much I enjoyed that XTina track.

Yeah, that Dan song was actually fairly popular back in the day, but because it's not on a studio album doesn't get as much attention. And I hoped the Xtina would go over well; the song was co-written with Santigold and it sounds much more like her stuff. Inexplicably, Christina left it off the album proper and it was only on the bonus disc.

- Not surprising, the Bash and Pop song, after you gave us a setup for who they are.

I also put this right next to the Faces track, to highlight the similarities. I think the Bash & Pop could easily pass for something from that era.

- That wasn't what I was expecting Ween to sound like.

- Things I didn't care much for: Nelly Furtado, she really just never seems to work out for me. Also the transition from Phoenix to Steely Dan, in what was otherwise a pretty flawless piece of work.

Ween sounds different on practically every song, so you're rolling the dice every time. They're really worth checking out.

I was worried about that transition The Phoenix track has an abrupt ending because it segues directly into the following song on the album. I could have found some way to edit it but didn't really want to "cheat" in that way, plus it would have been a lot of work.

- Stricken City is that band you turned me onto a couple years back, right?
- I clearly need to hear more Eno/Cale.
- The closer and the song by Sarah Shannon remind me a bit of some of my favorite songs that played on the Quiznos radio, so that made me wonderfully nostalgic.

I discovered Stricken City through a Pitchfork review that sounded intriguing. Was able to order their CD from the UK for a very low price, and it even came with a DVD. I have definitely hyped them a couple times.

Can't stress enough how good the Eno/Cale album is. Very pleasurable

And I think many people would enjoy Bettie Serveert if they tried an album or too. Singer sounds a lot like Jenny Lewis, and like one of their main influences the Velvet Underground, they can do delicate ballads just as well as their long jam-outs. They were a fairly popular indie band in the 90s due to being on Matador, and the albums Palomine or Dust Bunnies would probably be a good place to start.

Dug the first half of Laz's list. I'm not sure if I'd agree with it being the aftermath of a party, though - the first like seven songs made me want to get up and groove about. I also really dug the Lemonheads song, which I was not expecting to like so much. After that, it sort of dies down and gets a little away from what I was liking, and so I wasn't massively into it, but it ends really well with that Van Morrison song. It's very Neil Young-ish.

When I finished the list I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to pick up the pace again, or keep the fun going for a few tracks longer. But I got more caught up in the transitions then the overall picture, I suppose, and there were too many mellower tracks that I couldn't bear to part with.

 

[lazarus]

Finally, my own notes:

IWB: Roots is easily one of the more pleasurable listens I've had, including going back to last year's DI. Many of these aren't deep, sophisticated tracks per se, but the collection certainly sticks out among the alternative/indie stuff that is so commonplace. Refreshing. A good mix of seminal "oldies" artists with some names that should have a lot more airplay. My one quibble would be that the trilogy of "twist" songs were a little too familiar in that they're all fairly overplayed compared to most of your other selections. Oh yeah, and I'm not sure if the anachronism of Morphine's presence works among all these classic acts.

Boots isn't so much a challenge, but as others have pointed out, a lack of familiarity with the genre can lead to an impression of redundancy. That said, I didn't find myself disliking much so it wasn't a difficult listen. I was surprised at how much Roger Miret sounded like Rancid, and then I was wondering how come you didn't get a lesser-known Rancid track on here. I'll agree with whoever singled out Cocksparrer; definitely one of the stronger cuts on here. Also dug the Sham 69 and the Criminal Class USA. And I liked hearing the trumpet on the Stage Bottles track.

Joey: I appreciate your conceptual approach having to do with atmosphere more than lyrical content or theme, and on that level it's certainly a success. I think a few people complained about Chelsea Wolfe as an opener, but I didn't have that problem. Wasn't familiar with her work but I found it intriguing. About half of the stuff I was already familiar with and for the most part liked hearing in this context (though I have to agree with LM on Intervention). Many other tracks were by bands I'd heard a lot about but hadn't had the chance to check out, like Savages, The Horrors, Bat For Lashes, EMA. I guess the downside would be that because you were selecting for tone, some of the tracks (for me) weren't representative of the artists' better work. But overall, some impressive transitions and a good blend of the familiar and "exotic".


Going to give Padj's entry another spin tomorrow (it was the first one I listened to) as there were even more artists I was new to, as well as ones I hadn't even heard of before, and would like to make more specific comments.

 

[LMP]

I had to track down that Velvet Tinmine compilation. Good lord.

 

[iron yuppie]

Laz, the second half of your list was as fluid and dynamic as the first. Again, the unfamiliarity of many of the artists kept me engaged, and I greatly enjoyed the little throw-back stretch toward the end (any excuse to have Nina Simone on one of these lists is a good one). I could not for the life of me get your list to unzip, so I put together a YouTube playlist, which might have resulted in me getting strange versions of some of the songs; the Sarah Shannon track especially felt completely out of place, so I'm thinking it probably wasn't the version you intended. I also was not able to find the closing track anywhere, but the Twilight Singers acted as a perfect conclusion - definitely a band I need to look into. You're clearly one of the most eclectic music fans here, and the list reflects that in the best way possible.

 

[bono_212]

Finishing up with Joey, here.

 

[phanan]

Laz:

I know I have heard that Warwick song before, and it's driving me fucking crazy that I can't recall when I previously heard it. But a great opener, as others have said. Looks like the UK label that released that compilation has a few others. Might be worthwhile to go through that whole series at some point.

The rest of Part 1 consisted of many artists that I'm familiar with, but not necessarily the specific songs you chose, which was your goal anyway. Obviously know Undercover, really the only great song from that album. Hearing Luscious Jackson brings me back to the 90's in a fond way - we promoted their first two albums nonstop at the music store I worked in back in the day. Fun times. Although I used to get irritated when people confused them with Veruca Salt, for whatever reason.

Really dug the Christina song, and I don't normally care for her. But that was a good jam. Always great to hear FM, although as was previously stated, the transition from Phoenix didn't really work. Obviously, not much you can do about it if you really wanted that specific song on there. Ween is a band I've just never enjoyed, but you followed that with the Lemonheads, who are fantastic. Saw them back in 1993 at a spring fling type of event at school, and they fucking rocked. I even had a special Lemonheads t-shirt for that event, and I lost it shortly after. My only memory of it is from a pic now.

Anyway, moving on. Really like the Blue Öyster Cult track. At some point I will dig into the rest of their stuff. Strong showings by The Faces, Beach Boys, and Van really finished this part off in style. Just a great listen almost all the way through.

Part 2 was a bit more hit or miss for me. Love me some M83 and New Order, but I'm also one of those exceptions around here that doesn't care for Los Campesinos! or PJ Harvey - I know, sacrilegious. You've been championing Deap Vally for a while now, and it's easy to understand why. Great fucking sound, although it seems like it should go on a bit further. Is that the only version of that song? Almost felt like an early fade out you'd hear on a promotional single or something.

The transition from Au Pairs to Stricken City was a bit rough due to the suddeness of the former's ending, but really dug the latter song. And including anything from Eno is always a plus in my book.

I almost put a Saint Etienne track on my playlist, but it didn't quite fit. Love this track; always dug her voice. Also liked the inclusion of Nina Simone, and it worked well after Amy Winehouse. Finally, I remember that Bettie Serveert album, but hell if I can recall anything from it. It didn't give me any impression either way at the time, but I guess I'll have to give it another runthrough at some point.

So Part 1 was awesome, Part 2 ok.

 

[LemonMelon]

New thread going up in a few hours.

FWIW, if you can't get your rankings to me today, that's fine. I'm not announcing who went through until after all five groups are done, so nothing is set in stone until then.

 

[IWasBored]

Damn, I'm going to take that as high praise from laz. Especially since his quibbles with disc 1 I can totally agree with. Morphine doesn't really belong, and who hasn't heard twist & shout/the twist a million times.

You know why there's no slightly more obscure Rancid song? Because I forgot. There should have been, especially given the nature of ridiculously long-winded novel I wrote you guys in my short-lived thread for their new album. All the personal importance I attribute to that band being the foundation of what I was essentially getting at with disc 2 in the first place, goes back to Rancid. Kind of like a DI or two ago when phanan pointed out he was surprised not to see a single dropkick murphys song on a list. I got sidetracked by all the other stuff (probably because my list-making strategy needs some work), and left them off. Dammit.

I love that first Roger Miret & the Disasters album. In a lot of ways, I wish he'd stop trying to make more Agnostic Front albums, and stick to stuff like the disasters. All their albums have been these great homages to their roots and the roots of punk rock, in addition to being solid songs (there was a bit about the 2nd album I didn't particularly care for, but overall still decent).

 

[LemonMelon]

Holy fuck I love Padj's list. There are 10 songs on this list that I hadn't heard before and most of them have been really good. GEMS, Sad Lovers & Giants, Juliana Hatfield, Lush...all great. Very natural flow with only a few transitions I was iffy on (Juliana Hatfield into Lush was probably the best choice you could have made with what you had but still a little clunky, Metronomy into Tom Waits was definitely forced). I have no idea how you made Caribou work, but you did. I also really dig all the prog and Tropicalia near the end. Caravan

 

[nielsgov]

So Laz, I actually listened to your list twice as I listened to it in the worng order the first time around. The fact I was a bit more familiar with the songs the second time definitely wasn't a bad thing and surprise, surprise the flow was a lot better.

I'm seemingly the only one who didn't like the opening track. It gets going for me with the Rolling Stones track followed by Here. Didn't mind the next two songs but I didn't love them either. I pretty much enjoyed everything from there on out though. On Fire showed me a side of Phoeix I didn't know of havig only heard the last two albums. I could say something about every track but that would get a bit long so I'll just say I enjoyed the mellower vibe at the back-end of part 1 and have added a lot of those artists to my must-chck-out list.

The opening duo of part 2 was probably the highlight of your mix. The first song had a great climax that segued brilliantly into the opening of the M83 track. Don't Save Us From the Flames has been my jam of the past few days. I'm in love with that song. Didn't even notice the similarity to Use Somebody until I read some Youtube comments. Other than that, I liked everything bar Polly Put the Kettle On. So all in all, a very good contribution.

 

[LemonMelon]

Laz, just started your list. Funny, I have a somewhat distant connection to Cotton Jones. My mom's best friend's son is the lead singer. I've been over at his house countless times, went to a wedding with him a few years ago. We chatted about Harry Nilsson over cake.

 

[gump]

Padj: As others, I really enjoyed your list, especially the fact that it covered artists that we don't always talk about here. I honestly don't know how you managed to go from Chico Buarque to Belle and Sebastian in two steps. Seriously. Buarque's inclusion, by the way, hit a soft spot. He's one the big Brazilian musicians of my father's generation, so he would be on constant rotation growing up. Juliana Hatfield and Lush were great discoveries. Off stuff that I already new, Cate Le Bon, Caribou and Speedy Ortiz worked great in the context of the playlist.

 

[LemonMelon]

I'm not completely finished with Laz's list but about a third way into disc 2, I'm really feeling it. Though I would love to take a crack at sequencing disc 1 (everything made sense as a whole, but certain songs maybe would have fit better earlier or later on the list, like that Phoenix track), the songs were generally of very high quality. I loved that Van Morisson song and hadn't heard it before. So good. What I didn't like was that MIA-sounding Nelly Furtado song. What the hell is going on there?

Up to the Au Pairs song (which rocks) on disc 2. Everything is flowing great and I already got one great discovery out of the Johnny Foreigner track.

 

[bono_212]

Well, Joey, here's my thing: I like this list and most of the songs on it (I've never liked The Prodigy), but what I don't get is the concept. If there was no concept, this would be fine. Because you mentioned the concept, I sorta feel the need to judge it to the concept, and for most of the playlist, I thought you stuck to the general idea, song or two aside (such as the Bowie track), but for the entirety of the Decemberists - National stretch, I didn't really feel like it was well executed.

So, not exactly sure how to rate, as far as that's concerned.

Loved the Chelsea Wolfe and EMA songs, especially, though.

 

[iron yuppie]

IWB, the first half of your list is one of my favorite DI entries I've heard. There was a nostalgia factor to it for me, as my dad used to listen to a lot of those songs in the car when I was a little kid. I need to look into Morphine, because that was a standout track for me. On to part 2 today.

 

[iron yuppie]

Padj, there was an eccentricity to this list that made it consistently enjoyable. I never knew quite what to expect next, but as a whole the list still managed to hang together, which is an impressive feat. I listened to this three or four days ago, so I'm struggling to remember specific songs that stood out (though I was glad to see Gems on there, which was arguably the best EP of last year), but overall I appreciate the willingness to craft a list that will stand out from the crowd.

 

[Joey788]

Laz:

I really enjoyed your list, with the second half being one of my favorite stretches so far. The segment from Johnny Foreigner to Brian Eno was pretty perfect and featured many songs I didn't know. Why didn't that PJ Harvey song make the album? It's fantastic.

I also greatly enjoyed how you mixed in newer songs with the classic rock numbers in the first half. It really showed a continuous thread through music history. Even the songs I thought I wouldn't like, such as Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse worked really well.

The only weak points for me were the Phoenix/Steely Dan transition and the Van Morrison track, which I just couldn't get into. Otherwise, this was a great listen.

 

[nielsgov]

Padj:

To start off, I love the title+artwork. And now the "important" stuff, the music. Your list had an amazing variety. It's incredible how many different genres you managed to cram into 110 minutes without the transitions sounding forced or anything.

I enjoyed the post-punk opening and the transition to Silver, although it seems weird on paper, worked well. It's easily one of my favorites of the new Caribou album so that was great. The following section of your playlist was my least favorite. The Cate Le Bon track especially was not my thing.

From Stereolab onwards though it got better again. The stand-outs for me were Speedy Ortiz and Cocteau Twins. Two bands I need to check out. And general I loved the more dreamy section the best.

The more exotic songs at the end weren't my thing either sadly. It wasn't bad but it's just not something I listen to or greatly enjoy. I did like the peaceful ending of the last few tracks.

So all in all, I enjoyed your list and from the perspective of discovering of new music it'll certainly be one of the best. I really want to check out all of Total Control, Wire, Speedy Ortiz, Liz Phair, Cocteau Twins, GEMS and Belle & Sebastian. The variety also meant there were sections I didn't enjoy but that's par for the course I guess.