Random Music Talk CXXIX: Gump attends a concert

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Have we any sort of midway through the year favorite album lists? I was really on top of music in January but have really fallen off in the last few months and feel like I'm missing a lot. Though getting concerts back this summer/fall will make it easier to keep up with what's going on. I have already purchased tickets to six or seven shows.
 
All I know is that if Phoenix manages to release an album this year, I might have 3 French bands in my 2021 Top 5 when it’s all said and done.
 
Have we any sort of midway through the year favorite album lists? I was really on top of music in January but have really fallen off in the last few months and feel like I'm missing a lot. Though getting concerts back this summer/fall will make it easier to keep up with what's going on. I have already purchased tickets to six or seven shows.

In no particular order:

The Weather Station - Ignorance
Black Country, New Road - For the First Time
black midi - Cavalcade
Feu! Chatterton - Palais d'argile
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises
Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
Genesis Owusu - Smiling With No Teeth
Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror
Squid - Bright Green Field
Jane Weaver - Flock
 
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Three that have made an impression on me:

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: Carnage
Spirit of the Beehive: Entertainment, Death
Skee Mask: Pool
 
I was going to add Japanese Breakfast and Wolf Alice to my list, but let's give it another couple of weeks. They are so good though.

"Savage Good Boy" is a wonderful counterpoint to Grimes.
 
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Thinking of Shouter, as I listen to Sir Lucious Left Foot The Son of Chico Dusty, as he was the only one who agreed with me at the time that it was the best rap album of 2010.

I don't think that anymore, MBDTF has stood the test of time and is clearly superior, but this is comfortably the best OutKast-related project since Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
 
I should also say that for fans of dream pop, the new Sweet Trip album is really good, despite it's length (I can't deal with 60+ min albums these days).
 
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So I haven't heard the Japanese Breakfast album yet, but I watched her TV performances from last week, and I found her voice a little flat? The music and lyrics were fine but I'm not sure she's a very engaging singer.

Maybe it was nerves of performing live nationwide, idk.

Will still probably check out the album as it's been getting such raves.

In other news, with some trepidation I heard Liz Phair's Soberish, worried that perhaps the reviews were being too kind in hoping for a comeback. The first stretch of songs didn't really bowl me over, but on the back half it really picks up quality-wise and it's an impressive collection of songs.

However, it does seem like there are too many "relationship" type songs and I miss when she was writing about more abstract ideas, portraits, etc. While Guyville was approaching much of it from a romantic angle, Whip-Smart and Space Egg have such a variety of subject matter. Having said that, Soberish is still worthy of attention in that she really does try to use the studio as a sandbox, and her unique guitar tunings and sonic presentation still stand out.

The current 76 on Metascore seems fair enough, taken as a complete package if you're not concerned so much with there being a bunch of all-time classics on it.
 
I need a thread for midway lists so I will be compelled to get my list together. I've listened to a LOT more music this year than the last couple and I have thoughts to share.

One of which is that I'm very impressed with James' new album, and that was completely unexpected.
 
Apple introduced lossless quality streaming today in Apple Music. So I’m listening to The Joshua Tree with AirPods in. There’s a bit of oomph and some newish clarity. Anyway, goodbye data!
 
Apple introduced lossless quality streaming today in Apple Music. So I’m listening to The Joshua Tree with AirPods in. There’s a bit of oomph and some newish clarity. Anyway, goodbye data!



Hopefully Spotify will follow suite.
 
Apple introduced lossless quality streaming today in Apple Music. So I’m listening to The Joshua Tree with AirPods in. There’s a bit of oomph and some newish clarity. Anyway, goodbye data!



Just a heads up but I’m pretty sure Bluetooth is not lossless, so probably you’re not getting the full value of lossless steaming.
 
Just a heads up but I’m pretty sure Bluetooth is not lossless, so probably you’re not getting the full value of lossless steaming.



This is correct. Gotta get wired for full fidelity. That said, lossless through Bluetooth sounds better than mp3 through Bluetooth.
 
Yep, I’m in my office this morning and I’ve been doing a regular non headphone re-listen of some of my favorite albums I been listening to a lot lately.

I think my first listen of TJT last night via headphones just forced me to REALLY listen to the album again. Also, I think Apple has their own master too. Maybe I was noticing subtle things with the Apple Digital master.
 
Yep, I’m in my office this morning and I’ve been doing a regular non headphone re-listen of some of my favorite albums I been listening to a lot lately.

I think my first listen of TJT last night via headphones just forced me to REALLY listen to the album again. Also, I think Apple has their own master too. Maybe I was noticing subtle things with the Apple Digital master.



I don’t think Apple has their own master - they have a leveler across all music though that is digital. If the album is above a certain LUFS level, they just turn down the volume. If the album is below a certain LUFS level, they add a limiter to bring it up. Basically so albums from any period theoretically sound similar in volume. Spotify does similar. It’s kind of an affront to the loudness wars, but artists have found a way around it by focusing on keeping certain “loud” frequencies loud while cutting “quiet” frequencies. This effects the overall LUFS minimally, but the actual perceptible volume might be different in practice. It’s unfortunate really, because it means instead of just making an album how a band wants it to sound but slamming the volume, artists are literally removing multiple decibels from frequency ranges and boosting others, which I believe is why sibilance has gotten way worse in recent years. Just to sound a little louder than the song that got played beforehand.
 
I don’t think Apple has their own master - they have a leveler across all music though that is digital. If the album is above a certain LUFS level, they just turn down the volume. If the album is below a certain LUFS level, they add a limiter to bring it up. Basically so albums from any period theoretically sound similar in volume. Spotify does similar. It’s kind of an affront to the loudness wars, but artists have found a way around it by focusing on keeping certain “loud” frequencies loud while cutting “quiet” frequencies. This effects the overall LUFS minimally, but the actual perceptible volume might be different in practice. It’s unfortunate really, because it means instead of just making an album how a band wants it to sound but slamming the volume, artists are literally removing multiple decibels from frequency ranges and boosting others, which I believe is why sibilance has gotten way worse in recent years. Just to sound a little louder than the song that got played beforehand.



Interesting…
 
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“We’re gonna need a bigger boat”
 
Can someone tell me how far back the dance-y, jaunty, piano/horn thing goes?

I ask because I just heard Lorde's new song Solar Power (it's good!), and was like, this is just Loaded by Primal Scream. And then I googled Lorde Solar Power Primal Scream and saw reviews that mentioned Loaded but also Freedom 90 by George Michael, which I of course know but never actively seek out, and that sounds very similar too. And I figured Primal Scream were so revolutionary, so I assumed Loaded came first, but Freedom did. So was Loaded inspired by George Michael? Or were they inspired by something that goes back further? There's also plenty of Rolling Stones in all of this, were they the first? Did they popularise it?
 
Can someone tell me how far back the dance-y, jaunty, piano/horn thing goes?

I ask because I just heard Lorde's new song Solar Power (it's good!), and was like, this is just Loaded by Primal Scream. And then I googled Lorde Solar Power Primal Scream and saw reviews that mentioned Loaded but also Freedom 90 by George Michael, which I of course know but never actively seek out, and that sounds very similar too. And I figured Primal Scream were so revolutionary, so I assumed Loaded came first, but Freedom did. So was Loaded inspired by George Michael? Or were they inspired by something that goes back further? There's also plenty of Rolling Stones in all of this, were they the first? Did they popularise it?


I've noticed a lot of stuff by Primal Scream sounds like they copped it off of George Michael.
Tell me with a straight face "Moving On Up" doesn't sound like "Faith".

But I mean, it sounds like you're describing gospel/soul music, if I'm understanding your comparison point correctly. There's a lot of influence from 60s/70s music from those genres in their music.
 
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in popular music, that goes back at least as far as early-60s james brown. i'm sure the line can be traced back much further through his influences.

 
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