The ever-popular "Currently Listening" thread

"Nightfall in Middle Earth" is a great cd in my opinion, especially if youre into Tolkien-themed music. Make sure you check out Savage Circus's "Dreamland Manor", it's Thomen from BG new group, and it seriously rocks. I'm not normally a power metal listener, but this cd is great imho.
You need to also check out Battlelore, they have 3 cds out and are all Tolkien, all the time. Some of their stuff like "Buccaneer's Inn" actually transcends their Tolkien-heavy lore because it's so fantasy-atypical, and more just seems like a typical D&D party sitting around in Ye Olde Tavern at the end of an adventure. It's corny to some, but I seriously love it. I cant recommend Battlelore enough to people who like fantasy metal, as these poor people on this message board can attest to! You should have heard me when I first discovered them, back on our old message board.... I'm stoked, just found out that theyre coming out with a new cd next month!

Two of their videos!
JOurney to Undying lands

Storm of the Blades

Bal Sagoth is good barbarians/dark lords/wizards type fantasy metal as well, but it tends to be pretty extreme, lots of double bass and black metal-style screamy at times. I like it, but it's a bit harsh for most normal people

Ive heard Finntroll once before, and the "folk/polka-metal" thing (there's a sub-genre for ya Mikey!) kinda freaked me out, but I havent given it any real serious listening.

txa1265 said:

I guess I would start by saying that there is a tendency to make up new names for music 'genres' based on a desire of fans for their favorite stuff to seem 'new' and 'creative' based on a label as opposed to the music itself.

Click to expand...

How many emerging genres are named by their fans? I know "shoegaze" was coined by some music journalist, and I'd expect the music press to do most of the duty of grouping and classifying bands. To their fans, local bands are just la cosa nostra, our thing.

Money has no meaning to me musically speaking, nor does the genre seeking identity factor. I would have no reservations whatsoever in putting on my old glad rags and go busking all day in the accoustic enhancing pedestrian underpass in the town centre. With 12 string guitar in hand and cloth cap on the floor (the traditional method) the music would come from within myself, there would be no modernistic interpretations, only raw earthy sounds with hoops and hollers if required, authentic offerings from some years back - there would be no fame seeking necessity - no visions of grandeur - just self expression of the soul conveyed to the listener.

In this track there is less than 5 seconds of lyric to beat stomp (at 3:15) only a momentary (intentional) fragment yet it portrays 100% that progressive folk-rock element wich many sought but could 'not' produce correctly, of course it is applied to the old number retrospectively by a maestro.

"Goin To Brownsville" - Ry Cooder
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TEIwM2AUY0s

@magerette- my problem with Floyd was twofold. First, I thoroughly embraced new wave back then, so PF really didn't fit into my taste at the time. Combine that with the tendency of the "A List richies" to play Dark Side of the Moon endlessly to document their membership in hip and rebellious druggy culture, and PF never stood a chance. These days, I can listen to some of their smoother stuff (Run Like Hell, Learning to Fly (that stupid 2 note guitar riff pulls me in like a bug to a light)), but I still don't much care for their less melodic stuff (Dogs of War that follows Learning to Fly on the cd is the only one I remember by title).

@all- I've got a regular soapbox over at the shoegaze forum about innovation. Many offshoots of the gazer realm can get downright experimental, and some of my fellows put all sorts of stock in such innovation, to the point of turning up their nose at any well-crafted 3 minute pop song. There's nothing inherently wrong with a PB&J sandwich. If ya want to use wheat bread or strawberry jelly for an individual touch, that's fine, but a standard PB&J is timeless if it's done with some care and passion. There's no shame in following a recipe.

ill be getting to see one of my favourites, lisa germano, when she opens up for michael brook at the great american music hall in san francisco tomorrow. saw her a few years back but only caught the last 3 songs as my friends and i were late driving all the way up to oregon. of course we got to see all of david byrnes set, but that was just alright...

Currently I'm listening to A Perfect Circle: "The Package" from the album "Thirteenth Step".

My main musical interest is progressive metal (Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Porcupine Tree) and Tool, but I listen to a lot of different music.

Anyone likes Soundgarden ? This is the clip of my favourite SG song, Fell on Black Days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm596W2qCZg

Not really a grunge fan, but I like "Black Hole Sun".

@curious- what phase was Byrne in at the time? His orchestral stuff?

For me tonight:
"Judy Staring at the Sun" by Catherine Wheel
full song video on YouTube here (it's the single version and unfortunately Tonya takes over the second verse which was actually Rob's best of the song on the album version)

yes he played with the 'tosca strings'. i don't own any of his solo stuff, but i have a couple talking heads cds which i do enjoy now and again. i like his label though--luaka bop. most notably the artist jim white, who i also saw at the great american music hall--he's a good man. anyone who can write songs like 'god was drunk when he made me' and 'if jesus drove a moterhome' is cool in my book. (those aren't my favourite songs of his, just the titles)

http://www.luakabop.com/jim_white/

Cormac said:

Anyone likes Soundgarden ? This is the clip of my favourite SG song, Fell on Black Days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm596W2qCZg

Click to expand...

Unlike dte I'm a huge Grunge fan, and Chris Cornell still has a fantastic voice .

@Samhain--dug the Battlelore stuff extremely. I'm going to have to get some headphones for my pc so I can not freak out the other inhabitants of my house.

@dte -Re; Floyd-you've got a sounder knowledge of their stuff than I do probably-all I know is not to ask which one's Pink. When I first heard them they were raw cutting edge--yes hard to imagine and the alpha high schoolers sneered at them, believe me. The music that now fuels a billion soundalike zombie fm stations once could hardly get airplay.Life is full of little ironies.

I am really getting an education in this thread, and please forgive my digressions and not posting clips and stuff--all music needs an audience, so just file me there.

Jaz has got to have the most eclectic taste in music I know. Grunge, medieval goth, something close to krautrock, something close to doom metal, and heaven knows what else. All over the map. She must be a deranged serial killer in her spare time.

Sammy, you need to post the Battlelore video you've put up before. Magerette needs the full monty to comprehend their dedication to their craft. They're geekdom gone wrong, but they're certainly full-on participants.

Edith points out that Sammy is well ahead and I should pay better attention. Sorry.

I haven't seen anyone bring up Opeth yet. Is it possible that we haven't a single devotee among our legion of prog and metal fanatics?

One of my favorite guitarists - and a most challenging listen on a regular basis - was Derek Bailey. He died at 75 between Christmas and New Years just a few weeks ago. So I re-ripped some of his CD's and loaded them up on my iPod.

This is an interesting collaboration of pure tonal & melodic freedom and wild funkiness ... Mirakle

dteowner said:

Jaz has got to have the most eclectic taste in music I know. Grunge, medieval goth, something close to krautrock, something close to doom metal, and heaven knows what else. All over the map. She must be a deranged serial killer in her spare time.

Click to expand...

A really neat description, especially of my favorite pastime . I just wonder where Krautrock figures into all this? This header describes a collection of bands from so many different genres that you'll nearly always have a hit...

Some of the German electro-industrial stuff you've posted seemed to be an appropriate fit for Krautrock. Being foreign to the genre (pardon the pun), I may have mis-categorized. And yes, the "centers" are so spread out that you'd be hard pressed to find something that wasn't at least "in the vicinity" of one--exactly my point. The key is that your "centers" are pretty specific and varied. You cover the map from the edges.

Seeing that Kraftwerk would fall into the Krautrock category as well, you're right . I love Kraftwerk. I also love Mike Batt, Rick Wakeman and Art Rock in general, most of early and classical music, Puccinis operas, Swing, Enya,xxxxxxxxycvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
ccccccc
cccccvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvc
c
and jjjj children vbvvcb

EDIT: the kid decided to do something else and left the room. Okay, let's continue: 70's disco, glam rock... covering the map from the edges seems like a good description.

"And I glow with the greatness of my hate for you." I wasn't trying to insult anyone in the Oblivion thread, Jaz. Just alluding to (and misremembering) this lyric.

Got a present for Sammy. Got mentioned in the "other genres" section of the gazer board, and the description screamed to be passed along. Who knows, might catch the ear of some of the others around here as well.

"We Hate You" by Electric Wizard

abbaon said:

I wasn't trying to insult anyone in the Oblivion thread, Jaz.

Click to expand...

I suspected as much, and I'm pretty sure you didn't insult anyone. I wouldn't have connected your words with these lyrics, though, mainly because I didn't know them - up to now .