diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | gemini/gemlog/2021-04-27-music-spotlight-awesome-eps.gmi | 106 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | gemini/gemlog/2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi | 69 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | gemini/gemlog/2021-05-05-getting-back-into-radio.gmi | 80 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | gemini/gemlog/index.gmi | 4 |
4 files changed, 258 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-27-music-spotlight-awesome-eps.gmi b/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-27-music-spotlight-awesome-eps.gmi new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5de270e --- /dev/null +++ b/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-27-music-spotlight-awesome-eps.gmi @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@ +# Music Spotlight: Awesome EPs + +It isn't too uncommon for me to stumble across an EP that I put on rotation more or just as much as the full lengths the band releases. I was listening to one such EP tonight while showering and decided to try and catalog a few that really stuck out to me and maybe you'll find worth checking out. + +// Author edit - I didn't expect this to turn out so long - so don't let my rambly fanboying dissuade you from checking out some of these artists/albums/songs. + +## The List + +Here the list in artist alphabetical order. + +* Acid King - Down With the Crown +* Belzebong - Greenferno +* The Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP +* The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony Is A Dead Scene +* Glassjaw - Coloring Book +* Glassjaw - Our Color Green +* Incubus - Trust Fall +* Møl - I/II (Remastered)** +* Starcadian - Saturdaze +* Tina Dico - Far +* Tina Dickow - En Håndfuld Danske +* Whores - Clean +* Whores - Ruiner + +These are just the EPs that I had saved on Spotify. I know for sure I am missing a few standout EPs. + +** I/II is actually their first two EPs remastered in a compilation. Sue me. + +## Damn, Denmark! + +Two artists grace this list from Denmark, and couldn't be more different. Møl, a "Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze" (thanks Encyclopedia Metallicum) and Tina Dickow, a Pop Singer Songwriter. + +### Møl + +Jord - their full length is one of my top listens of 2019 and I/II (being remastered that year) is equally as good. Since they only have the one full length - this is a needed placeholder. + +Both these records are fantastic and while this is technically a compilation of two of their EPs it's phenomenal... if you're into Post-Black metal (think Deafheaven). + +=> https://moeldk.bandcamp.com/album/i-ii [https] Møl - I/II (Bandcamp) + +### Tina Dickow / Tina Dico + +I don't think she has shown up on any of my other music lists - but she's one of my favorite artists. She repeatedly appears on my Spotify Top of the Year playlists and it's in-part thanks to her EP Far. + +The songs off of Far (2004) are included in her two full length albums Notes (2003) and In the Red (2006). But the versions included on Far are ever-so-slightly different and honestly just better. In fact her song "Warm Sand" has been re-recorded on both those full lengths and in its own single version! But won't ever be better than it's appearance off of Far. This record is in English and is mainly her vocals with acoustic guitar backed by a full band. It's a great mellow album. Probably in my top 10 if I ever made a list. + +The second EP of hers I listed is in Danish and a fantastic listen. En Håndfuld Danske is a cover album of various artists songs - most famous of which is fellow Danish band TV-2's "Alt Hvad Hun Ville Var At Danse". What makes this EP standout is the recording. It's very intimate and warm. In fact on the track "Midt Om Natten" the entire track, especially the vocals, are recorded with what sounds like a very hot tube preamp adding this small bit of fuzzy breakup at the peaks. + +At the very least, I would check out her cover of "Alt Hvad Hun Ville Var At Danse" it's beautiful. + +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/16t1CRAKX0Ok7xFlLbMoBs?si=eyH8OhUTQlCHl9IwiAerVA [spotify] Tina Dico - Far +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/3TwWhJAvbj4H1vuYXeFal6?si=My-n7CnUS_y2pw8VXZWWhA [spotify] Tina Dickow - En Håndfuld Danske + +## East Coast US Represent + +Repping the tristate area! Woo woo! I am thankful to have had the pleasure of seeing both The Dillinger Escape Plan and Glassjaw live, multiple times each. + +### The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony is a Dead Scene + +This band should need no introduction - Mathcore legends - The Dillinger Escape plan is the highest energy live show you could ever see live. And what better was this guest vocals EP was played live at their final show(s) in NYC in December 2017. + +In between vocalists - this EP featured vocalist legend: Mike Patton. This EP is really out there. Intense, energetic, insane. Each of the four songs brings a different sound - When Good Dogs Do Bad Things being the most Dillinger of them all. And a cover of Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy to close the album out. + +This also is on my top albums of all time list, and a must listen if you ask me. Turn your volume down before pressing play. + +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/5AY72J4ZHzlIqOYlyJLWuG?si=hFBnSTyMRia37uAlxHZ4EA [spotify] The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony is a Dead Scene + +### Glassjaw - Their EPs + +Glassjaw, a long island post-hardcore band, has released their most experimental work on their EPs, and without a doubt their best produced. Both of these EPs offer some different sounds, but are 100% Glassjaw. Our Color Green is probably my favorite of the two. Coloring Book just got rereleased this year and has reentered my rotation. + +I included both of these because honestly they're amazing and I can't pass up a chance to promote Glassjaw. + +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/1GC93XfkXlBFNJ9MaLRmjH?si=WcJDEsjPTGG2rfx8JTT68Q [spotify] Glassjaw - Our Color Green +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/2X1G1CjQbDTYVPHzmacsry?si=KcnB7Dj8Q-u31-UAeAOB9Q [spotify] Glassjaw - Coloring Book + +### Starcadian + +At least according to what little info they have - they're from Brooklyn, NY. But who knows! If fits my narrative. Starcadian makes "ear movies" and are a welcome entry in the Retrowave genre. They're unique and not obviously aping of other popular 80s tracks. They were featured in my top albums of 2020 though Shadowcatcher wasn't quite as strong as this EP. Beyond this EP Starcadian has released a bunch of remixes on their Soundcloud of which Dark Horse is my favorite and something I pop on every now and then. But the best song is the single version of He^rt - which is featured on this EP. I don't see them talked about much and are honestly mindblowingly awesome! Trust me, one song and you'll be hooked! And at the very least watch the He^rt music video to get the aesthetic. + +=> https://vimeo.com/43356088 [https] Starcadian - He^rt Music Video (Vimeo) +=> https://starcadian.bandcamp.com/album/saturdaze [https] Starcadian - Saturdaze (Bandcamp) +=> https://soundcloud.com/starcadian/katy-perry-dark-horse [https] Katy Perry - Dark Horse (Starcadian Remix) (Soundcloud) + +## I can't think of a clever group + +### The Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP + +I wanted to call this one out in particular because this was a record I listened to a lot with my cousin and learned a few tracks on guitar. It has a nostalgia factor and is a cool concept album. I'm not really a fan of their other music but something about this EP just hit me. The EP is setup as a zombie outbreak each track building upon the story with Outnumbered opening with a radio broadcast about the outbreak. It's classic mid-2000s metalcore. But its a really cool concept album I come back to every now and again. + +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/0EOelfKQ1lEEXleF1czql3?si=aPdMqx5ATF-xVfEgnyHh9w [spotify] The Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP + +## The rest + +I didn't really expect nor want to make a specific call out of each of these - but it just so happens that a few of my favorite bands happen to also have some INSANE EPs that may go unnoticed behind their full length albums. That doesn't mean the remaining EPs aren't also worth checking out. Incubus' Trust Fall is leagues better than their contemporary music (for me) and was a real surprise how true to form the titular track (Trust Fall) and Absolution Calling were. Belzebong's Greenferno I listen to more than their full length and has a great opening track with a great sample. Whores has one full length and two EPs (listed here) and are quite intense stoner metal/rock. And Acid King's Down With the Crown wins the album art award for this list. + +## Conclusion + +I was chilling out this evening listening to music when the realization that I have a lot of EPs saved and decided to write up this post. Then when cycling through them it sort of just unwraveled into this fanboying so I guess congrats on getting this far. + +If you check any of these out and you really like some of them let me know! And what are some of your favorite EPs? + +# Links + +=> /gemlog/ Gemlog +=> / Home diff --git a/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi b/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3e49ba5 --- /dev/null +++ b/gemini/gemlog/2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +# Am I going to listen to metal when I'm 80? + +This is in response to this Rick Beato YouTube video + +=> https://youtu.be/8BR6NovtywQ [youtube] Rick Beato - Will I Still Listen To Metal (Meshuggah, Slipknot, Tool...) When I'm 80 Years Old? + +The premise of the video is really just: +>"I love heavy songs, but as I get older is my taste in music going to soften? Will my hearing affect how I listen / feel the music?" + +He then ends with the question of: +> "Have your tastes changed over the last 10, 20 years? If you're 30 years old do you like the stuff you liked in college or highschool but not any current music?" + +## Are my tastes the same of 10, 15 or 20 year old me? + +Sortof. When I was growing up I was listening to the local rock / alternative station. It played a lot of grunge, alternative rock, and into the 2000s NuMetal. A selection of bands from this time are: Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, Incubus, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chain. + +The local music scene in my town (and much of the East Coast) was moving from punk/hardcore into post-hardcore, ska, and emo. A lot of the shows I would go to in middleschool fell into one of these three categories it seemed. But also discovering music on the internet really opened up for me at this point. So I was discovering bands in each of these genres that weren't necessarily getting any radio play. A selection of bands from this era are: Muse, Funeral For A Friend, The Aquabats, Saves The Day, Ween. + +Into high school the internet became an even bigger resource - but I also left my small hometown and expanded my tastes even further. I had picked up guitar in middle school so I was also meeting other people who played and getting better and learning more songs - so I started listening to more classic rock, at least more seriously. Plus the iPod, so I was accumulating music from my past, and the stuff I was discovering through my friends and the internet. My tastes didn't really change but just widen the bands within the taste I was aware of. A selection of bands: Tool, Psychostick, Glassjaw, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Ten Years After, Paul Gilbert, Racer X, Pink Floyd. + +In college Metalcore started to gain popularity and were bands my cousin was really into. I also discovered genres like post-rock, dubstep, I got back into electronic music like Moby and Daft Punk. The Tron Legacy soundtrack blew my freaking mind. Relative to my earlier years I feel I didn't do too much discovery. This was mostly compounding on my existing tastes. My first year of school I was really involved in the local music scene on my campus but fell out with that crowd (and the venue got shutdown/stopped putting on monthly shows). And then I got really focused on school and being introverted. + +So looking back through time... yes? There were bands and genres I don't really mesh with (NuMetal) as much - but the bands I truly liked (and not just heard on the radio) are still in my rotation. + +## Nostalgia is a hell of a drug + +I honestly wasn't intending on making the previous section so verbose. But I was digging through my old music folder on my hard drive and just came across tons of old files from CDs I ripped in school, to music I downloaded. What stuck out most was some EPs of local college bands that I heard back in school. + +That was only 10 years ago. I can't imagine 80 year old me not rediscovering Tools or Racer X and not having fond memories. + +## But a grandma headbanging is funny + +The goof of this entire question is the idea of a retirement home where in the lobby instead of some big band or jazz (like we think of because we still picture our own grandparents as the "old people" and their contemporary music) we hear Metallica or Rage Against the Machine. + +But Metallica and Rage Against the Machine weren't playing in the lobbies when we were young either! + +Reality is, with the way music consumption is going, someone not even born yet is going to be working the sound system at the retirement home and just search for a playlist that is "popular music from the early 2000s" which will most likely relate to chart performance which means adult contemporary and pop which was NOT metal. + +## Will my tastes change? + +Yes, but that is the unfun answers. As I get older, I get access to newer types of music (RetroWave (ironic?)) and exposed to genres I hadn't had the opportunity of discovering (Doom metal). But will I stop liking the music I ahve been listening too for the past 30 years? Probably not. + +Hearing loss, and high end dropping out most likely will affect my consumption - but I would be interested in seeing a study where if the frequency lost is enough to actually impact nostalgic music? Would my brain fill in the gaps? + +## Still discovering music in old genres + +A few years ago I went to Stockholm, Sweden for work where I lived there for a month. I was living alone, so after work I had time to myself and was browsing wikipedia and Spotify discovering connections between bands and genre histories. One of the ones that really jumped out was emo - since it was a genre that had a resurgence when I was young. I discovered bands like The Anniversay and Jets to Brazil that have at least two albums that I really love now. I spent that entire trip basically listening to 90s and 2000s emo bands rediscovering the genre and while only a few bands stuck it was a lot of fun. + +## Music Discovery + +Writing this post I was thinking about how I discovered music throughout my life. I can certainly say having access to essentially all music at my finger tips via the internet and for free with services like Spotify. I certainly have broadened my musical horizons way further than I did when I was a kid. + +But I do miss the immediacy of things like radio. My entire childhood I had radio by my bed that I would tune to my favorite station and fall asleep to. I drive home from school listening to the radio with my brother and Dad. I had no control over what I was hearing (to an extent) so was forced to "discover" new music. However, the pool was a lot smaller. Most radio stations had a pretty fixed setlist (not as narrow as today) so throughout the week I wasn't really getting too much exposure. + +I use Spotify today as my primary music platform and take advantage of its features to try and discover new music. Using their album/artist radio to try and find new artists in a similar genre is how I've discovered so many Doom metal bands. + +But discovery still exists in its simplist form: socially. I have a playlist that is 575 song and over 46 hours long that my friends and I drop songs we like into. One of my favorite artists of the last few years I found by going to a concert where they were an opener (Kanga). And sometimes by chance on Youtube in a related video (usually a KEXP performance). + +## Conclusion + +I don't know about Rick, but I can't see myself abandoning old genres as I get older. And if I ever get the opportunity to play some extreme metal for some unsuspecting child, I will 100% take it. + +But as for the true question of this post: How about you? Has your music taste changed? Do you see yourself listening to the same stuff now as when you're 80? + +# Links + +=> /gemlog/ Gemlog +=> / Home + diff --git a/gemini/gemlog/2021-05-05-getting-back-into-radio.gmi b/gemini/gemlog/2021-05-05-getting-back-into-radio.gmi new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7029121 --- /dev/null +++ b/gemini/gemlog/2021-05-05-getting-back-into-radio.gmi @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +# Getting back into Radio + +Last week I wrote about "Will I Be Listening to metal when I'm 80" and was excited to see a few other people write their own replies to that query! It made me really nostalgic about the previous ways I was listening to music, and even some older bands and songs I was really into, but most fun for me was radio! + +## Previous post and replies! +=> 2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi 2021-04-29 - Am I Going to Listen to Metal When I'm 80? +=> gemini://gluonspace.com/gemlog/re_am_i_going_to_listen_to_metal_when_im_80.gmi gluon's reply +=> gemini://moddedbear.xyz/logs/2021-04-29-re-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi moddedBear's reply +=> gemini://tilde.team/~benk/202104291528.gmi benk's reply + +## Radio + +One of the things I use to do all the time growing up was listening to FM Radio. There is something about basically having 0 control over what I listen to is reassuring. Honestly, my biggest gripe with Spotify is the lack of "album shuffle". On my iPod all I would do is go to my saved albums and shuffle through them. Hell, even Discogs lets me shuffle which record I listen to. But I just have so many options of what to put on in the morning. So being able to just tune into a radio station that is really nice, even if I don't exactly like the music that is playing. + +### Cognitive deception of radio + +If I put on Spotify and I don't like the music I'll just change it? But I can't call the DJ to change the song. Sure I can look for another station but that is just so much more effort I guess? I feel like the exhaustion of finding a station that isn't a commercial, static, or as the years went on was probably the exact same song, or a christian radio station (here in the US)... Anyway I feel like when its curated it feels more accepting to just try and enjoy whats on. + +I think the same thing is true for television. I would watch a crap movie on Comedy Central at 10pm just because it is on, where if I pulled up a movie on a streaming service I'd turn it off and find something else. + +## WFMU + +I turned to internet radio since I don't have an FM tuner in my house. I decided to check out one of my favorite independent freeform stations from my area: WFMU. + +=> https://wfmu.org [https] WFMU.org + +WFMU streams their radio shows live over the internet, and have for years. They actually have a pretty stripped down website for their actual programming and playlist/comments pages. Some raw basic HTML. Their landing page is snappy but modern, but no ads! + +Their DJs all play different music so honestly tuning in randomly throughout the day is a gamble. I tuned in this weekend and the DJ was playing female fronted pop music. The first track I heard was swing. The next was Jpop. You get the idea. It felt cohesive, they did a great job weaving the tracks together to not feel jarring. And the DJ chimed in every 15 minutes or so (about 5 tracks) which is when I found out what the theme was. But I checked out their playlist page and was able to check out what was playing previously. + +Something I would've killed for as a kid was being able to pull up the playlist and read the title and artist of the song I heard, even though I probably couldn't do anything with that information since I didn't have the cash for a CD. + +## Discovering some gems + +I use to listen to this radio station on the way home from school, or whenever I was in the card and up high enough to get the signal clearly (It broadcasted south of where I live so if I wasn't in the area I wouldn't get the signal clearly). And it was always fun to hear a caller tell a crazy story about how they felt like they betrayed the Misfits by seeing them without Danzig once, or the DJ talking about Dope Jam records, a now closed record store in Brooklyn, New York. But sometimes you'll hear some wild or fun songs. Whenever we were going on a road trip we would tune to 90.1 and just enjoy whatever the DJ was spinning for us. + +Recently, I found two jams that really stuck with me. + +### Tubaluba + +=> https://open.spotify.com/album/39a4CP6pbVrwZEYdp7Vyho?highlight=spotify:track:0zmc1IQIsZ5kt7hT2ok4lq [spotify] Rebirth Brass Band - Tubaluba + +Something you're not expecting is just a brass jam full of life, fun, and just energy. You're driving along and suddenly you're just hit with such a smile and hype that the drive no longer feels like it's going to be a slog. Granted, I was just working, but it certainly felt like the rest of the day wasn't going to be so bad. + +### Pretty Style + +=> https://open.spotify.com/track/298BC3ZpjVrpQplnhwPnMj?si=g9GrkvSiREOUnWtOj89NeA [spotify] Sir Henry & His Butlers - Pretty Style + +This track was a trip for me. Starts off with some piano 3/4 piano with sitar. So for a typical pop song you're throw off a bit. Then reverb washed vocals. The song builds and builds until it switches to 4/4 into a guitar solo that feels honestly modern for 1968 (feels a bit 70s rock) then the beautiful solo turns into an overlay of vocals and crash as the song descends into just chaos. + +For a quick ~4minute song it was a mix of a lot of genres and styles. + +### Nublu Jam, Part 1 + +=> https://chrisforsyth1.bandcamp.com/track/nublu-jam-part-1 [bandcamp] Chris Forsyth/Dav Harrington/Ryan Jewell/Spencer Zahn - Nublu Jam, Part 1 + +This psychedelic 20 minute jam was actually playing while I wrote this. I had to wait before writing my section on Pretty Style, because it's live radio... I can't pause to switch tracks for a second and come back. Sure I have the link I can just pick it back up where I left off, but that ruins the spirit of the song, and the point of my gemlog here. + +My girlfriend was chuckling because I was bobbing along pretty aggressively listening to this. + +And WHIPLASH, next is a country song. + +## Spotify Radio + +I know streaming services offer radio-like features. I actually use Spotify's Retrowave/Outrun playlist when I am facing indecision or racing in F1 2020. And honestly, I've talked about on here that Artist/Album radio was how I do a lot of my discovery. I feel I am a bad user for the service - doing a lot of manually clicking around the related pages and listening to songs. Doing manual work rather than letting the algorithms do the work for me. + +Something I want to do more of is utilize the radio features to get back into discovery, and if I am in a rut, just click one of the daily mixes. + +## Conclusion + +This wasn't really a coherent gemlog. Frankly, I felt guilty being absent from gemini space for so long. This was just something I was thinking about. I honestly have a few logs in the pipeline about some of the stuff talked about on irc/ben's gemcast recently that I want to spend some more time synthesizing. I am in the process of moving so I have been pretty focused on that during my off-hours. + +Do you use and internet radio? Do you have a freeform or independent radio station that you listen to? Is FM very active in other countries still? I never had satellite radio... If you check out WFMU let me know. They're one of my favorite stations and I am very glad I was reminded to check them out again. + +Thanks for indulging me on this ramble. + +# Links + +=> /gemlog/ Gemlog +=> / Home diff --git a/gemini/gemlog/index.gmi b/gemini/gemlog/index.gmi index e7f661f..4b42beb 100644 --- a/gemini/gemlog/index.gmi +++ b/gemini/gemlog/index.gmi @@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ Welcome to my gemlog. I post whenever I do something I feel is worth writing about. I tend to write about music, development and sometimes some personal stuff. I try and make my titles clear to what the topic is. ## My posts - +=> 2021-05-05-getting-back-into-radio.gmi 2021-05-05 - Getting Back Into Radio +=> 2021-04-29-am-i-going-to-listen-to-metal-when-im-80.gmi 2021-04-29 - Am I Going to Listen to Metal When I'm 80? +=> 2021-04-27-music-spotlight-awesome-eps.gmi 2021-04-27 - Music Spotlight: Awesome EPs => 2021-04-26-auto-syncing.gmi 2021-04-26 - Auto Syncing => 2021-04-25-stowaway-2021.gmi 2021-04-25 - Stowaway (2021) => 2021-04-23-re-the-linux-shell-is-not-a-good-automation-platform.gmi 2021-04-23 - re: The Linux shell is not a good automation platform |