The "Tell Me What to Listen to Right Now" Thread

[Ignatius]

The soundtrack is mostly that Real Human Being song, like six times.

[Ignatius]

Which is a thing about the movie that I liked, should make that clear.

[davy]

Yojimbo - curious what you think of the new Blitzen Trapper.

...I think I just listened to it? There were some inoffensive sounds coming out of my earbuds for a while, and they ended at some point, and I just realized that I had no music on and looked at foobar and saw this album in the playlist.

I guess it doesn't make me feel stabby, which is good.

Harsh!

[davy]

Tell me what to listen to.

I'm at work, so factor that into your calculations.

[YojimboMonkey]

Iron Maiden.

[fishjim]

Tell me what to listen to.

I'm at work, so factor that into your calculations.

Guess that means no Lil B's The Silent President.

What about Simon Joyner's latest or at least very recent - Out into the Snow? It's lyrically dark as Joyner always is but with easier vocals, sort of like Joyner's own Get Lonely. It's also responding to a lot of Rimbaud that Joyner and a lot of other folks have been reading lately.

First track is "The Drunken Boat," and it's a pretty good example of what follows. So maybe try that and continue if you like it.

[davy]

Solid rec. As soon as Nancy & Lee is over, I'll check it out!

[davy]

I was listening to Leonard Cohen earlier, and now I'm listening to this Simon Joyner record, and if I wasn't paying closer attention, I might never have noticed the change.

[fishjim]

I've had the same experience. It used to bother me, now I think it's his half-conscious acknowledgment of influences. On my favorite release, Skeleton Blues, his voice sounds like a cross between Cohen and middle Dylan. If you're as soaked in the lyrics of either of these precursors as most of us are, it's a consistent surprise to hear these derivative voices crooning words as original as Joyner's. So I've come to accept it.

[davy]

I quite enjoyed Out Into the Snow!

Don't know why I still haven't explored Simon Joyner further. On a whim, I went to see him perform a solo show a couple years ago in a tiny tiny bar in Athens called Flicker. He was sitting right in front of me on a wooden chair with his guitar in his lap. It was one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen, every bit as moving as the first time I saw The Gandalfs in 1998.

(That Gandalfs show, incidentally, was also a solo performance involving a wooden chair in a tiny, tiny bar in Athens. The opening act? Simon Joyner.)

[fishjim]

My first Gandalfs was The Coroner's Gambit, on which Joyner collaborates. Gambit is still my pick for greatest Gandalfs, if not necessarily my favorite. Not trying to get a debate going here - it just sounds like you saw the 2 when the chemistry I most respond to was peaking.

[JamesSchneider]

Sometimes I work in a kitchen (30 hrs/week). I'm a vegan, it makes things funny.

Playlist for tonight

Bjork - Biophilia
TL+RX - Tell Balgeary
Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Wavves - Life Sux
Sleigh Bells - Treats
Cursive - Domestica
Xasthur - To Violate the Oblivious
Wolves in the Throne Room - Black Cascade

Any of that is well worth it.

[Andrew_TSKS]

That new Wavves EP is the first record by them I've liked.

[JamesSchneider]

That new Wavves EP is the first record by them I've liked.

I'll chalk that up to the Damian Abraham factor. I've quite enjoyed all of their records, but they're one of those bands that I can really understand not digging.

[davy]

My first Gandalfs was The Coroner's Gambit, on which Joyner collaborates. Gambit is still my pick for greatest Gandalfs, if not necessarily my favorite. Not trying to get a debate going here - it just sounds like you saw the 2 when the chemistry I most respond to was peaking.

Coroner's Gambit is definitely my favorite, though the competition is stiff when you get into those 90s records. The 1998 show was in support of Full Force Galesburg, which was my second Gandalfs record after Nine Black Poppies, which I might listen to right now, thank you very much.

[fishjim]

When I wrote the qualifier "not necessarily my favorite," I was thinking of Full Force Galesburg.

We're vibrating, davy. Do you feel it?  

EDIT: Or maybe not. 'Cause Nine Black Poppies may be my least favorite.

[narlus]

if you are feeling a bit metal-ish, i would suggest either old school (Premonition 13, the new Wino-fronted band) or new-ish (Locrian).

[DanielBurns11]

Really in the mood to listen to some good Alt-Country/Singer-Songwriter stuff right now. Would like something sparse, mellow and slow. I've been listening to American Souled and Songs: Ohia and I guess that's a good reference point for what I'm looking for.

Any suggestions? Davy?

[fishjim]

Freakwater's probably my favorite in that genre, DB.

I'd rank their top 3 as Feels Like the Third Time, Dancing Underwater, and End Time.

[davy]

Doug Paisley, Doug Paisley, Doug Paisley.

[davy]

That said, you might also give Ryan Adams' latest album a listen.

Or one of these:

Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
Scud Mountain Boys - Massachussetts
Deer Tick - Black Dirt Sessions
The Pines
Alela Diane
Avett Bros. - I and Love and You
The Maldives - Listen to the Thunder
The Dexateens - Singlewide
Iron & Wine
Bonnie Prince Billy - I See a Darkness
Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking It Easy

[DanielBurns11]

Awesome, thanks for the quick responses!

[ellaguru]

We're picking I and Love and You as our Avett choice now, davy? Do I need to reverse my knee-jerk dismissal of their "rockier" direction?

[DanielBurns11]

EDIT: Just realized what I said made no sense. Sorry folks, I've had a few rum and cokes, and some beer, and a few whiskeys.


BTW Davy, the Doug Paisley rec was right on! Thanks.

[davy]

BTW Davy, the Doug Paisley rec was right on! Thanks.

Yeah, he's pretty much the best.

I picked that Avett Bros. record because it's the only one I'd really call "mellow and slow," like DB requested. The previous records are all pretty raucous. It's not my favorite, but it has grown on me more than I expected it would.

And I wouldn't say that it represents a "rockier" direction, necessarily. That record is mostly ballads. The next record, though...

It has an aggressive riff, and the instruments are very Nineties rock – what you could call grunge. It's certainly a major departure.