Something Completely Different

I'd like to do a journal that's closer to Twitter for a few reasons:

1. I very frequently want to post, but feel like half-assed posts serve no one, and therefore I post nothing
2. I don't think a post that's dense benefits the community, so have a nugget to digest. And hopefully it will become a conversation
3. My music posts feel out of place on SCD. So I'm just going to put the suggestions here
4. It seems like it's kosher to post non-music stuff so expect that here too I guess. I have no other journal these days.

Heilung is an experimental folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany. Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Iron Age, and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplified history from early medieval northern Europe". Their music is usually about Germanic deities, The Jǫtnar, and valkyries. "Heilung" is a German noun meaning "healing" in English.

I weirdly love this Gregorian chant style music. Obviously, this has no real tie to Christianity, but you get the idea. It not being in English helps it to be more musical. I don't need to understand or listen to the words. In a weird way it sort of unearths a lot of thoughts I haven't thought about in a long time. Things I tend to try and save for the moments of deeper introspection. I'm not sure what that says about the way my brain processes the music.

It almost feels like a less anxious form of paranoia. I don't understand what the words are. So why do I think they're talking about the death of my mother; or the women I dated decades ago and a wonder about if they ever think of me? Why does this music I don't understand bring up my own mortality? I don't hate it. It's nice to have someone to talk to, even if I can't talk back. Maybe the lack of pressure to respond is where the comfort comes from.

Anyway - check out Heilung. Let me know what you think.

Tripped over this on Spotify. It's getting a lot of press, and while nothing about it is bad, the most interesting thing about it IMO is that its a slick overproduced vocal, and a pretty trope-y composition, but the samples underneath are clearly false, it almost tempers some of the saccharine out of the vocals.

And the math doesn't seem that wild. Samples have been in music for 40+ years. But somehow it helps this would-be retro act put a fresh coat of paint on the Chevy.

Quote from: TheBig3 on Oct 30, 2023, 03:44 AMAnyway - check out Heilung. Let me know what you think.

I love them. I saw them live in NYC right before the pandemic and they were fucking incredible.

Jesus, I can't even imagine what they're like live. And right before the world ended too. Anything you'd recommend?

I've never been a massive Beatles fan. A fine band, but the level of dick sucking over the years has been off-putting. E.g. the local classic rock station does/did Breakfast with the Beatles on Sunday mornings, and the idea that my coffee would be improved, and my hangover lessened because Rocky Racoon was on, I don't know I guess I resented the implication. Still, Day in a Life is a banger. Let's not pretend they're not good. I just don't think it was what the Boomers told me.

To be honest, if this hadn't come up on my YouTube homepage, I wouldn't have listened to it. But I did, and - it's a Beatles song. If you told me this was on Rubber Soul, I'd have said "yeah ok, I'm not a huge Beatles fan, I just heard it today." You're not getting anything new you haven't heard before. It's good, but if anything it strikes me as the "You know you're right" (Nirvana) of my parents generation.

Cool to hear a new song. Wasn't going to be a Top 10 hit for the band if it came out in the heyday.

I saw a comment online that said "this sounds like an Oasis song - not a good thing." Eh, I don't know about that. You can definitely tell the music was recorded with better technology. But I've said too much. It's a Beatles song. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I still don't like albums.

 

Have you ever listened to someone tell a joke or a story, and afterwards you thought "That could have been 5 minutes shorter, and it would have been more effective"? That's kind of how I feel about albums. Cut to the chase, get to the meat, and cut out the fat. Yes, sometimes an album can be a connected set of songs, all moving together to create a deep tapestry of emotion and painting a beautiful picture. But you have to understand I graduated high school in 2001, and we were buying $20 albums with 18 tracks and 2 good songs. That's just what was done.

 

While there's a lot to dislike about the modern music industry, streaming is a godsend. I get a chance to try things out, song by song. Save a lot of cash upfront (I still haven't been compensated for what the record industry did to my paychecks in the 90's/Aughts), and invest more in going to shows.

 

The one area of streaming I don't think has been fully fleshed out yet is from the artists. Too many artists are still recording music as if it were the 80's. 10-12 songs on an "album." Just stop. Release 2-3 songs at a time. Work on those seriously. Throw out random covers every now and again. If your band got in a fight about how to arrange the track – release both. What do you care? Let the listener's vote. Ok so one of you loses. You can go cry on the pile of money you make from commercial success.

 

Too many people want to be artists through a paint-by-numbers. For every [insert your favorite artist here] there's a 30 Seconds to Mars or Maroon 5 that is just going through the motions. Or Ed Sheeren, my god. That guy is just...Anyway, I think albums are "tradition" and like all tradition, if it goes on too long it just becomes bigotry. Let it go. Write enough bangers to go on tour again. Do side projects. Enjoy yourselves. And remember, if there's no new album, there won't be a mass rush to the beer tent during the middle of your set.

 

This is funny because I've gone through ups and downs when it comes to album listening overall. When I started listening to music it was only singles and the bangers I would listen to. Only after joining up with MB did I get more into listening to albums.

I see listening to albums as a challenge. I challenge myself to listen to the entire album and suffer through it to find the diamond in the rough tracks. Sometimes there are tracks that SHOULD be singles but never get released as a single or get it's own music video. I ended up stumbling into concept albums and I actually loved the album listening experience. I also got more into soundtracks and I loved those as well. They reminded me of like mixtapes and ended up having almost all bangers by different artists.

When I stopped posting on MB and was deep into my depression. Album listening went away. I was back to listening to various one off tracks here and there.  So I get that feeling about being against albums two years ago I got back into listening to albums again. What I would do is listen to an album on New Release Friday and pick up my favorite tracks here and there that would get replay from me instead of going through the entire album again.

Sorry for the absence. Work has been ruining my life. Actually, if anyone has a job lead, please DM me.


This is probably too much masturbation for most people here. But I'm getting sick of soul, and I think I prefer technocratic wankery. This, like a lot of instrumental music, gives up on tone too easily and passages sound like adult contemporary you'd hear in a paint store. Where all the carpets have that one distinct smell. But as much as I hate that, I try to hear the song in a chaotic urban setting. You just need to imagine things a little more psychedelic than you would if you were playing Freddie Freeloader.

Quote from: TheBig3 on Nov 28, 2023, 03:24 AMSorry for the absence. Work has been ruining my life. Actually, if anyone has a job lead, please DM me.

This is probably too much masturbation for most people here. But I'm getting sick of soul, and I think I prefer technocratic wankery. This, like a lot of instrumental music, gives up on tone too easily and passages sound like adult contemporary you'd hear in a paint store. Where all the carpets have that one distinct smell. But as much as I hate that, I try to hear the song in a chaotic urban setting. You just need to imagine things a little more psychedelic than you would if you were playing Freddie Freeloader.

I love Polyphia. A lot of their stuff has such a unique groove to it. I don't think there's anything wrong with not having soul, they're clearly not trying to pretend they have it. I like electronic music above most genres so I'm totally fine with music that is clinical and precise like that.

I've been thinking about this last post for awhile. And I've come to the obvious conclusion that soul is easier to fake, and it's easier to sell records with. Not so mind-blowing, but it's weird how I now have a PTSD-like response to hearing a soulful voice than I do some wankery. Or anything else really.

Where can music go that the BS artists can't find them. They're technical, they're soulful, they're lo-fi, they're indie, their whimsical. Maybe we need a movement where bands start writing about office culture. Not in a supportive or hateful way, just what life is like while waiting for the k-cup to finish, and needing the copier when someone is doing a massive print job. I need a song title like "Lonesome on hold in the conference room" or "10,000 miles and 5,000 packages between me and by baby."

Heartbreak in 4 bars with vague, "everyone can identify" lyrics is just so played out. Did she mean the world to you? Did he make you feel like this was forever. Well it wasn't, and if you bothered listening to other records before making one, you'd have known that. Love is fickle and cruel. But rush hour...that's always there. It's ever-present and miserable and we need to sing about it with a saxophone behind it.

As soon as this kid is less dependent on me, I'm writing an album about life as sung from inside the monkey suit. 

Quote from: TheBig3 on Nov 28, 2023, 03:24 AMSorry for the absence. Work has been ruining my life. Actually, if anyone has a job lead, please DM me.

This is probably too much masturbation for most people here. But I'm getting sick of soul, and I think I prefer technocratic wankery. This, like a lot of instrumental music, gives up on tone too easily and passages sound like adult contemporary you'd hear in a paint store. Where all the carpets have that one distinct smell. But as much as I hate that, I try to hear the song in a chaotic urban setting. You just need to imagine things a little more psychedelic than you would if you were playing Freddie Freeloader.

I love Polyphia and I love this song. The unplugged version on youtube might be one of the most impressive things I've ever seen done on a guitar. And it's not just wankery, the technical skills enable a new level of composition. Plus there's anyway nothing wrong with wankery if it's interesting music.

Quote from: TheBig3 on Nov 30, 2023, 05:19 PMI've been thinking about this last post for awhile. And I've come to the obvious conclusion that soul is easier to fake, and it's easier to sell records with. Not so mind-blowing, but it's weird how I now have a PTSD-like response to hearing a soulful voice than I do some wankery. Or anything else really.

Where can music go that the BS artists can't find them. They're technical, they're soulful, they're lo-fi, they're indie, their whimsical. Maybe we need a movement where bands start writing about office culture. Not in a supportive or hateful way, just what life is like while waiting for the k-cup to finish, and needing the copier when someone is doing a massive print job. I need a song title like "Lonesome on hold in the conference room" or "10,000 miles and 5,000 packages between me and by baby."

Heartbreak in 4 bars with vague, "everyone can identify" lyrics is just so played out. Did she mean the world to you? Did he make you feel like this was forever. Well it wasn't, and if you bothered listening to other records before making one, you'd have known that. Love is fickle and cruel. But rush hour...that's always there. It's ever-present and miserable and we need to sing about it with a saxophone behind it.

As soon as this kid is less dependent on me, I'm writing an album about life as sung from inside the monkey suit. 

You... may be interested in the album I'm currently working on, haha.

Not about office work specifically but it's going to be electronic music themed as a "day in Lexi's life" kind of thing, with a lot of sound effects, percussion and various other sounds being actual samples of me going about my day in my house. Some sounds I've got already include vacuuming, broom sweeps, rubber glove snaps, boiling water bubbles, stacking dishes, that kinda stuff.

So I totally understand the vibe of taking musical inspiration from the mundane. I'll post it here of course. That actually gives me an idea, maybe I'll make a music progress journal or something. So you all can hear my album as it's being made.

(Sorry to advertise in your thread, lol.)

No worries at all. I'd love to hear it. I listen to a lot more music than I talk about here. I'll try anything.

I love your office album idea and also really like mundane style lyrics. As you point out, everyone's life isn't a rollercoaster of drama. Every romance or heartbreak isn't destined and written in the stars.

Some of my favourite mundane lyrics are from Fitter Stoke has a Bath by Hatfield and the North

But just the same, I'm happy just to sit around at home
With Pamela making cups of tea and writing prose
Now anyone can easily see
I'm basically a cretin


Not sure why he's a cretin, but maybe it's because his girlfriend does all the brewing and prosing while he just slacks.

Quote from: Guybrush on Dec 01, 2023, 08:27 AMI love your office album idea and also really like mundane style lyrics. As you point out, everyone's life isn't a rollercoaster of drama. Every romance or heartbreak isn't destined and written in the stars.

I feel you. Though for me, I like to romanticize the mundane. I see my own romance as being written in the stars, something I feel is a grand destiny. It's just that after all I've been through in my life, I get a sense of excitement and adventure just being able to have those nice chill weekends and do ordinary stuff with the one I love. That stuff means a lot to someone like me; speaking as someone who was always treated like an outcast and abnormal by nature, being the sorta-boring suburban homebody I am these days is a novel and exciting experience.  :laughing:

 

Does anyone else feel like established bands get no real publicity? I don't know how better to ask that question, but here's what makes me ask.

I watch a lot of music-related videos on YouTube. Despite the fact that I haven't taken lessons in 20 years, can't really read music anymore, and don't know theory at all, I consume a good deal of music theory videos. Sometimes for instruments I have never played. Which brings me to Radiohead. I was watching Michael Palmisano who goes over how to play videos, and came across Radiohead's basement tapes or something like this: https://www.youtube.com/@Guitargate. I've never really been a Radiohead fan. They're fine, but I have to make the effort to listen to them. They aren't on my playlist, and while I did buy OK Computer and Hail to the Thief, I don't play my CDs anymore.

But these songs referred to, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Weird Fishes / Arpeggi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FKzTblm37g), Nude (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi7SGJGaW8s) were actually really great, and I liked them in a way I didn't like older Radiohead songs. So why am I hearing about them late, and accidentally? Is it the nature of established bands that people assume the built in audience will carry them? Or that everyone has made up their minds? I don't know what it is, what we should call it, or what, in our psychology, gets us to this place, but we should come up with a way to point out when an old band makes different music. I'm sure it's rare, most of them try to go back to their 20 year old selves and recreate the magic (which is really sad).

How about you? Is there an album by an established band you think people should check out, especially if they didn't like that band before?

I feel like I should listen to more Radiohead because I quite like OK Computer, but it's the only album I really know from them.. although I did actually buy In Rainbows when they sold it for pay what you like on the internet. I just didn't listen to it more than probably once.

Quote from: TheBig3 on Dec 09, 2023, 03:15 AMHow about you? Is there an album by an established band you think people should check out, especially if they didn't like that band before?

When this forum first came up, I was gushing about it so people are probably tired of me bringing it up, but those who know a bit of RIO probably know Aksak Maboul as a band that released a couple of really weird albums around 1980. In 2014, over 30 years later, they released a new album (salvaging unfinished material from the 80s) with a completely different sound.

Picking some old favorites, they used to be like this:


On their 2014 release, Ex-Future, they sounded like this:


They've since kept that sound, refined it a bit more and sounded like this on their 2020 release Figures.


I was really fond of the old band and, while I didn't feel like their new sound was for me, I kinda had to give it a decent try and.. it grew on me real fast. I actually really love a lot of their newer material now, but I've wondered how many made the jump or were alienated - or even know about it. Like @larsvsnapster is a RIO guy. Does he know?

Quote from: TheBig3 on Nov 30, 2023, 05:19 PMI've been thinking about this last post for awhile. And I've come to the obvious conclusion that soul is easier to fake, and it's easier to sell records with. Not so mind-blowing, but it's weird how I now have a PTSD-like response to hearing a soulful voice than I do some wankery. Or anything else really.

Where can music go that the BS artists can't find them. They're technical, they're soulful, they're lo-fi, they're indie, their whimsical. Maybe we need a movement where bands start writing about office culture. Not in a supportive or hateful way, just what life is like while waiting for the k-cup to finish, and needing the copier when someone is doing a massive print job. I need a song title like "Lonesome on hold in the conference room" or "10,000 miles and 5,000 packages between me and by baby."

Heartbreak in 4 bars with vague, "everyone can identify" lyrics is just so played out. Did she mean the world to you? Did he make you feel like this was forever. Well it wasn't, and if you bothered listening to other records before making one, you'd have known that. Love is fickle and cruel. But rush hour...that's always there. It's ever-present and miserable and we need to sing about it with a saxophone behind it.

As soon as this kid is less dependent on me, I'm writing an album about life as sung from inside the monkey suit. 

This entire post is the definition of old man yelling at clouds. Bro you are just getting old. You've always been kind of crotchety but your age is enhancing it.

The reason there are so many love songs and greatest love or breakup songs besides as you say it yourself that it is universal. Wtf is wrong with talking about themes that everyone can relate to? Construction workers can't relate to your Office Space wanna be lyrics.

There is a reason why there are decades of music spanning generations about the general big themes that occur in life just with a slightly different sound to appeal to a younger generation.

I see no issues in it.

I would probably poo poo mundane lyrics so badly. Andre 3k is right no one wants to hear about old people going to get a colonoscopy or that you couldn't find your red stapler. Or about the time you were ready to clock out and your boss made you stay late to finish up TPS reports.

Quote from: DJChameleon on Dec 09, 2023, 12:45 PMThis entire post is the definition of old man yelling at clouds. Bro you are just getting old. You've always been kind of crotchety but your age is enhancing it.

The reason there are so many love songs and greatest love or breakup songs besides as you say it yourself that it is universal. Wtf is wrong with talking about themes that everyone can relate to? Construction workers can't relate to your Office Space wanna be lyrics.

There is a reason why there are decades of music spanning generations about the general big themes that occur in life just with a slightly different sound to appeal to a younger generation.

I see no issues in it.

I would probably poo poo mundane lyrics so badly. Andre 3k is right no one wants to hear about old people going to get a colonoscopy or that you couldn't find your red stapler. Or about the time you were ready to clock out and your boss made you stay late to finish up TPS reports.

Shut up

Quote from: DJChameleon on Dec 09, 2023, 12:45 PMThis entire post is the definition of old man yelling at clouds. Bro you are just getting old. You've always been kind of crotchety but your age is enhancing it.

The reason there are so many love songs and greatest love or breakup songs besides as you say it yourself that it is universal. Wtf is wrong with talking about themes that everyone can relate to? Construction workers can't relate to your Office Space wanna be lyrics.

There is a reason why there are decades of music spanning generations about the general big themes that occur in life just with a slightly different sound to appeal to a younger generation.

I see no issues in it.

I would probably poo poo mundane lyrics so badly. Andre 3k is right no one wants to hear about old people going to get a colonoscopy or that you couldn't find your red stapler. Or about the time you were ready to clock out and your boss made you stay late to finish up TPS reports.

I see your point, there certainly is a reason love and relationships are enduring themes in lyrical music. But I do feel Big3 on this as well; I think there is room for songs with more specific topics that maybe most people don't relate to. I'm not against love songs, but sometimes I just want to hear songs about things that are less universal, things I can relate to on a more uniquely personal level.

There's room for songs about broken hearts, and I think there's also room for songs about office work. Maybe Andre 3000 doesn't want to hear those songs. Which is fine, he doesn't have to listen to them. But some of us are sick of love songs.

I'd love to hear a song about doing expense reports by Friday or stealthily using the copier for private purposes. I haven't heard those songs before.

Quote from: Guybrush on Dec 10, 2023, 09:23 AMI'd love to hear a song about doing expense reports by Friday or stealthily using the copier for private purposes. I haven't heard those songs before.

And the possibilities with metaphor...the thought of it is erotic

This is a bullshit post but Pat Finnerty is the last real man in Europe and you need to watch this absolute nuke of Jason Aldean. It's an hour. Find some time, make a drink, and watch it.

I really love this series. I think I posted the Chad Smith/30 Seconds to Mars video before here (outside of the journal) which I think remains the most fun, but my god, hearing a Jazz drummer go in on a Nirvana track with jazz sensibilities is a lot of fun. I think there's an impulse to do the "lol omg he's like, not even close! lmao"

But that's stupid. What's great here is hearing how a completely different player brings out parts of the song that you hadn't heard before. Personally, I'm sick to death of the major Nirvana radio songs. But this drumming - especially the second go-round - made me really feel the Beatles influence on the songs composition. And his fills are so out of place they're almost worth rewinding the tape to hear again.

I don't know how you'll all take this (Or any of these) but I get so much out of cover songs in general, nevermind this sort of dissecting of a track by having a  an unfamiliar player come in, it's just so enlightening. Would love to hear other people's thoughts. Do you enjoy this sort of artificial review of a song?

Ilsey kind of strikes me as a modern day FleetwoodMac. But she has a sound that's just slightly askew from the familiar and she seems to make good use of space in the music, which is something I always enjoy. Musicians don't know the value of a rest anymore. Her voice sits somewhere between Stevie Nicks and Norah Jones.

Her first album came out in October. Thoughts?

Do you ever wonder what it feels like to be able to sing well? Like, "feel" feels. In your nervous system. How would it feel for air to pass through your larynx, and to have it sound good?

Some audioslave song came on the radio on my drive home. When I go in for work I always put on one of the handful of erudite college stations that I live amongst. But when I go home, I want the most bone head rock songs on the playlist. Give me Van Halen or give me death. So there I was, just me and Audioslave and the congested traffic of a stubborn suburb who wants desperately to be a smalltown. You know when a great time to parallel park is, even though you're not very good at it? Fucking rush hour.

I stopped actually singing and just sort of wished I knew how it felt to have breath leave my lungs and have people care. Would the focus point feel like it were higher in my throat? Would it feel richer? As of now, the note never sounds confident, like my voice is in a foreign country trying to order a coffee in a language it hasn't studied in years. But not Chris Cornell. "Bro, have you even heard Slaves & Bulldozers?"

My voicebox has not, apparently.

Sometimes I wish I could sing. But all old singers have lost their edge, like their looks and libido. Maybe that's just sour grapes - who cares about singing when it fades. Still, my Camry knows the truth. In that 5:30pm New England dark, when the lithium headlights blind me, and the music couldn't be any less mentally stimulating, I'll sing in notes foreign to the western canon, and wish that I could marry what is in my heart and what is on the radio.

QuoteForget about clones like Kingdom Come and Whitesnake: as much as any band in existence, Jane's Addiction is the true heir to Led Zeppelin, creating music that's simultaneously forbidding and weighty, delicate and ethereal

I came across that quote forever ago, and it changed the way I thought about bands. I have never really thought about the concept of one band taking over for another, but the idea that Jane's Addiction was somehow related to Led Zeppelin was an interesting enough concept. But to this day I've never really given JA the time of day. I know a few songs, and I get Ritual a playthrough, but they really ended things in 1990 when I was...8 for most of the year. My puritan parents didn't let me buy albums with boobs on them then.

I'm writing this up because I have questions for the room.

1. Do you have strong opinions on Jane's Addiction?
2. Do you accept the statement above - they gave us a Led Zeppelin fix?
3. Are there bands today you think are filling the shoes of [insert group here]?

Quote from: TheBig3 on Jan 31, 2024, 02:02 AM1. Do you have strong opinions on Jane's Addiction?
2. Do you accept the statement above - they gave us a Led Zeppelin fix?
3. Are there bands today you think are filling the shoes of [insert group here]?

I listened to them for a little while, actually around the time I joined up on MB. From my limited experience, I prefer them at their catchy and upbeat. Their well known songs like Just Because and Been Caught Stealing are absolute bangers.

I never thought of them as carrying on the led zep torch. I assume it's got something to do with Perry often singing in a higher pitch/range like Robert?

I think Led Zep were a lot more diverse and successful in their diversity and ambition. JA really have one sound that works for me (and its a great sound). But I might get an itch for guitar rock and then either JA or LZ could scratch it.

About other bands filling shoes, I think the thing I read the most was Radiohead as the new Pink Floyd, but that may have been something that came up around OK Computer. I think Radiohead have worked consistently at changing things up so probably shouldn't be boxed in like that.

One album I thought was very uncanny valley in a bad way was Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear which sounded way too much like Peter Gabriel era Genesis. I got embarrassed listening to it.

1. Not really. But Mountain Song fucking bangs and always will, and they have a few other all-timers for me. Not particularly attached to them though.

2. No, I really don't get any Led Zep vibes from them aside from just being a generally loud hard rock band.

3. There are a few. One that comes to mind is Omerta, a pretty recent band that I think fill the shoes of early Slipknot, at least for me. But they're still fresh enough to be their own thing and stand apart from their influences. Cool band.

Whoever wrote this skit is a fucking genius. Arguments like this are what I live for.

Haha, yeah. That's a good skit.

Early Weezer is good. Undone, Tired of sex, Buddy Holly.

The Africa cover was pointless. It's completely inferior to the original and also doesn't add anything substantially new or interesting, so I find it kinda baffling when things like that get popular.

Quote from: TheBig3 on Nov 13, 2023, 04:58 PMI still don't like albums.

 

Have you ever listened to someone tell a joke or a story, and afterwards you thought "That could have been 5 minutes shorter, and it would have been more effective"? That's kind of how I feel about albums. Cut to the chase, get to the meat, and cut out the fat. Yes, sometimes an album can be a connected set of songs, all moving together to create a deep tapestry of emotion and painting a beautiful picture. But you have to understand I graduated high school in 2001, and we were buying $20 albums with 18 tracks and 2 good songs. That's just what was done.

 

While there's a lot to dislike about the modern music industry, streaming is a godsend. I get a chance to try things out, song by song. Save a lot of cash upfront (I still haven't been compensated for what the record industry did to my paychecks in the 90's/Aughts), and invest more in going to shows.

 

The one area of streaming I don't think has been fully fleshed out yet is from the artists. Too many artists are still recording music as if it were the 80's. 10-12 songs on an "album." Just stop. Release 2-3 songs at a time. Work on those seriously. Throw out random covers every now and again. If your band got in a fight about how to arrange the track – release both. What do you care? Let the listener's vote. Ok so one of you loses. You can go cry on the pile of money you make from commercial success.

 

Too many people want to be artists through a paint-by-numbers. For every [insert your favorite artist here] there's a 30 Seconds to Mars or Maroon 5 that is just going through the motions. Or Ed Sheeren, my god. That guy is just...Anyway, I think albums are "tradition" and like all tradition, if it goes on too long it just becomes bigotry. Let it go. Write enough bangers to go on tour again. Do side projects. Enjoy yourselves. And remember, if there's no new album, there won't be a mass rush to the beer tent during the middle of your set.

 

Although I'm older than you and therefore should not, I actually agree with you. I was brought up on a tradition of albums, but that was only because that was all we had. And even then I certainly am familiar with the idea of the duff tracks, the tracks you skip over, the ones you listen to and hope hope hope there are going to be better, and the oft-repeated ritual of the first, or maybe first and second being great, and then the rest of the album taking a nosedive. Making albums was - and probably still is - as you hint at, kind of an excuse for artists to dump any old crap they have on the disc/mixtape/insert as appropriate to your age and era, and really, should not an artist be trying with every bone in their musical body to make EVERY track good? If a writer writes a crap story he or she is not happy with, do they include it in a collection? No. Usually. Stephen King excepted: that man can write but boy can he turn out some turkeys! So if you dont' think a song is up to scratch, why include it?

I find myself listening to albums for one reason only - well, two, but one main one: to review. I also listen to what I can once through (especially new ones or new ones by artists I like) just to see what they're like, but yeah, overall if I'm listening it's shuffled playlists. An odd song may make me want to listen to an album again, and there are some you really just can't listen to out of context with tracks, such as Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, The War of the Worlds or the first side of 2112, but generally, yeah I do agree. So many albums now are 20 or more tracks, with often very little meat in among the offal. So I would support your initiative. Now all we need is funding.

Cool idea for a journal by the way. Good to see you writing again.

Ghosts of a forum I once knew.

I came across a really fun article today. "How Clutch Became The Phish Of Hard Rock (https://www.stereogum.com/2256401/how-clutch-became-the-phish-of-hard-rock/columns/sounding-board/)"

It's fun because I love comparing bands, and the less obvious the better. It's fun because I love Clutch and it's rare to find someone who appreciates them period, nevermind as much as you do. And it's fun because I like reading about people's passions.

But then it hit me that Plankton wasn't around anymore to appreciate the article with me. If you knew Plankton back on MB, great. If you don't, it's not imperative, he was just one of the few people I "knew" who appreciated a band I liked, and one day he vanished. And now what do I do with this great musical treasure I've found except to mourn the loss of an internet friend.

Music has a great way of bonding people, and Clutch is a band that, if you heard them from a car window as it drove past, you'd probably chalk it up as another post-grunge band trying to sound hard. But Clutch is not that. Humorous, literate, adventurous in a way that I don't hear many other bands date attempt. Humor in music is not easy to pull off. You kind of need some balls to get up there and do it. And you need a way to get through the initial "I don't want people thinking I listen to Nickleback bands" feeling. Few make it to the otherside.

When the White Stripes first started playing, they'd dress up as pieces of candy. And Jack White said "If you can't get past the costumes, you're not going to get the music anyway" (or something like that). There's a similar thing going on with Clutch. If you listen to Willie Nelson and think it's Limp Bizkit redux, well then I don't think there's anything I can do for you.

And Plankton knew. And anytime I heard news about them I'd message him, or post in the thread and hope my Bat signal reached across gotham. Well, my friend, I hope wherever you are, you read that headline and went "oh wtf?" just like it did. But then read it and realized the author is one of us. Good luck, and god bless.

Plankton introduced me to Clutch as well. I went back to MB to see if I had any posts in the thread there and I guess my memory has betrayed me because I didn't have a single post in the thread but going back to the first post from 2005 and seeing all the people that posted in that thread was definitely a walk down memory lane of old MB posters.

Murder Junkie, Jackhammer, 333, crash override, Antonio. I wonder what they are all up to nowadays.

Quote from: DJChameleon on Mar 23, 2024, 10:14 AMPlankton introduced me to Clutch as well. I went back to MB to see if I had any posts in the thread there and I guess my memory has betrayed me because I didn't have a single post in the thread but going back to the first post from 2005 and seeing all the people that posted in that thread was definitely a walk down memory lane of old MB posters.

Murder Junkie, Jackhammer, 333, crash override, Antonio. I wonder what they are all up to nowadays.

Yeah I'll occasionally check back on some of those old threads. Quite a few people I'd love to see join up here. Cardboard Adolescent, Molecules, Satchmo, Isbjorn, not sure where any of them are now, what they're doing, but their posts made an impact on me.