The Syndicate

Oh, sweet! I'll check that out systematically then. Thanks!

As for my history with dataplex, I became vaguely acquainted with Ryoji Ikeda years ago, but only within the past year or so did I really fall in love with his discography. My musical journey started with prog rock way back when, but I quickly became fascinated with unconventional electronic and ambient music via Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Brian Eno etc., and that fascination has only grown and expanded into as many realms of electronic music as possible over the years. Despite relatively eclectic tastes, if I had to point towards just one musical bucket of things that I'm most in love with these days, it's all of the electronic, ambient, and glitch stuff. More than almost anything else, I love music that sets a unique mood and takes me on a journey. So when I revisited this album last year, my mind was completely blown. Personally, I feel it is best listened to on headphones, but I've even listened to it in the car and laptop speakers and it's held up pretty well. I've never had any issue with the high frequencies, but maybe that's just me being a weirdo. speedchuck made a really cool observation that I agree with: this album in particular does something really incredible by splicing and reassembling a bunch of otherwise static bordering on unpleasant glitches and noises and creates something substantial out of it. I don't agree with the assertion that the album should be shorter, but that's perhaps a function of me loving the way the overall album builds as well as a my strange inability to be bothered by any of the frequencies.

I'd give dataplex a solid 4.5 out of 5, with the sole reason it not being a 5 because (1) I'm a stickler with my 5's and (2) I suppose I don't absolutely get absorbed into and love 100% of it literally every time I listen to it, so perhaps it is slightly mood dependent even for me. Compared to other glitch albums like Endless Summer by Fennesz, which I would give a 5 every day of the week, this one lacks just a bit of emotional connection as well. Still, I can assert with confidence that it is an absolutely groundbreaking and fascinating album that always captivates me.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:47 pm On a side note, as of today, I have reviewed/listened to 25 of the 43 albums in this topic. I want to give every piece of music submitted at least one chance to catch my attention and broaden my horizons. I am going to catch up.

I'll be intrigued to hear your thoughts! Be sure to keep me updated, even if via PM to link me systematically -- if you don't want to dump into the thread.

Well, I'm just glad at least you all got something out of it, so that's cool.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:39 pm I'm enjoying this.

WHY AM I ENJOYING THIS

IT DOESN'T FIT MY TASTES

I'll nominate another, but don't feel obligated to put me in the order early again; just add me to the end.


My nomination:

MovingPictures07 - Madvillain - Madvillainy / 2004 / Abstract Hip Hop / 22 tracks / 46:13

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:22 am I may have hated it, but it's still a unique listening experience. I'd recommend it to people who I think have a taste for that sort of stuff.

Hey, thanks for giving it a fair shot.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:45 pm

Epignosis wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:23 pm No.

Just no.

I did 13 seconds. Skipped around.

Alex, is this what you consider music these days?

It's absolutely music. You may hate it or call it pretentious, but it's music. Fight me.

Besides, if you skip around, you don't get to hear how the piece develops, which is pretty awesome if I say so myself. That's part of the payoff.

But I realize how unconventional this kind of thing is, so if you all hate it or don't even want to give it a chance, I get it -- but I would suggest you all give it an honest try so long as you aren't even experiencing something very unpleasant. Considering Jay's feelings for it I'm surprised he decided to slog through the whole thing; I thought it would get some negative reactions or "Wtf", but was obviously hoping not to get anything overly negative. I didn't nominate it without realizing that or without serious consideration first. Nonetheless, I wanted to offer something different with this submission, especially because it's consistently blown my mind and been thoroughly enjoyable for me. I think it's incredible.

nutella wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:13 pm OK now I'm afraid to listen to it.

I have no issues listening to it, so as long as you're not sensitive to high frequencies or listening to it on super high volume, you'll be fine. Maybe I'm just a robot though.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:23 pm No.

Just no.

I did 13 seconds. Skipped around.

Alex, is this what you consider music these days?

It's absolutely music. You may hate it or call it pretentious, but it's music. Fight me.

Yay, dataplex! I love this album. I don't want to say anything about it in detail for now; it's unconventional and I'm curious to see how you all will take to it. I have plenty of thoughts on it though.

And as always, don't be afraid to be honest.

I'm thinking light 3.5 on StE. Steve Walsh's vocals definitely aren't what they used to be which is a shame and a bit distracting, but the compositions are generally good. Icarus II is the highlight. Maybe the album is a bit too long though.

Given I just finished Tull I'm not too far off from hitting Kansas in my reassessment/discography runs anyway, so it'll be cool to revisit it again alongside the rest of their discography.

I should get to it tomorrow; I'm in the midst of a Tull discography run, but after that it'll be StE.

I was never a huge fan of Somewhere to Elsewhere (though I always liked it in the OK to decent range), and over the last handful of years my tastes have grown further and further away from "classic" prog so to speak, but all of that said I'm excited to revisit this one. Haven't even listened to Kansas in general in way too long.

Boomslang wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:35 pm Just dropping in to say I'm a huge Goat Rodeo Sessions fan. To my mind, Chris Thile's work with Punch Brothers has always been about breaking down the classical/bluegrass boundary — "Another New World" and "The Blind Leaving the Blind" are the best examples of that. Partnering with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Duncan makes that trend even more explicit. I think the album could have benefited from more time spent composing, but that's what you get when you have a supergroup trying to work together.

I agree with this.

Sorry, it's been a busy week. Just got done with The Goat Rodeo Sessions now. I'd give it a strong 3.5. Pretty damn enjoyable. Definitely will be revisiting it. Thanks for the suggestion, nutella.

Great stuff as always, Rico! Would be intrigued to hear your take on the other stuff you missed, but would totally understand if you don't have the time to video them.

Good to see you back, [mention]Ricochet[/mention]!

Also, [mention]A Person[/mention], do it.

Listened to Rishloo... I had the opposite reaction to the vocalist than Jay did; Maynard is acceptable IMO, while this guy is less than thrilling. Album was alright overall though, pretty inoffensive but didn't really grab me in any way.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:41 pm I think we should give Rishloo another week. It was interrupted by the holidays.

Good plan, Jay.

My apologies for not getting around to it yet myself; I've been pretty busy, but I have still been listening to a ton of music, just trying to get in whatever last minute 2017 releases I can.

Intrigued to hear Rishloo!

Relistened to A Piece of Strange again today. Excellent album. I was a bit torn (between 3.5 and 4.0), but I ended up giving it the strongest possible 3.5.

speedchuck, thanks for elaborating, that makes sense to me.

A Piece of Strange is a good album for sure. It'll be cool to revisit. Looking forward to it.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:30 pm 38. MovingPictures07 - Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Spoiler: show

Within the first 30 seconds I've been greeted with retro gaming vibes, asian styled music, and various electronic wibbly-wobblies. I have to start the thing over to make sure this is what I heard. Answer: Yes, but there's more!
At least the second song reminds me of gaming sountracks from the early 2000s. Frogger 2, maybe (muh childhood!). Some VVVVVV in the more digital-heavy parts, but still with more substance/style. This is really neat background music, constantly changing and moving and (my favorite word) warbling. I usually have trouble finding good background music outside of soundtracks. Mostly because I'm not into/know nothing about electronic music.
Everything stays that way till Intro//A Cosmic Drama showcases some soft (electronic?) strings and whimsical mood-setting flourishes. Very different than what came before. That mood-setting high feeling continues into the next track. Computer face brings us back brings us back.
I doubt I'll have much esle to say about this album unless something changes. The electronic parts make me feel nostalgic for some reason, and the softer, more moody parts are genuinely good chill mood setters. I do prefer the electronic pieces more, but I can see myself saving this album and putting it on in the background. Not while writing, though. Wouldn't fit my type of writing.
I do have another thing to say. This album is like onions. There are so many laters, so many pieces to the music. It has depth, but it meshes well and doesn't get confusing or overblown.
...And The World Laughs With You has singing, which surprised and pleased me, and a clicking sound in the background, which hurt my ears and made me turn the album down.
I keep thinking I'm done commenting, and then new things are introduced. I underestimated the variety, it seems. Arkestry is more percussive than anything, but pulls together the mood-setting and electronic bits from before with a little sax. It's a little too unfocused for my taste, and anything with that ambient (staticy?) noise in my headphones bothers me. Ends well though.
I appreciate the artistic choices in most of the music tracks, but based on the music videos, I have to wonder if they're marketing this to people that are high? I don't understand that kind of culture or their videos. I just kinda get that vibe from the way it looks, and it sort of taints my perception of certain songs. But when I close my eyes and listen to the music alone, it sounds good. So idunno.
Satellite would be better without vocals IMO. Just didn't jive with me.

From my single listen, I give it a 3.5/5. Were it not for the couple of songs that hurt my ears, I'd have given it a four. Enjoyable background music with enough meat to focus on if I'm listening attentively. Pleasant. Varied. Good.

I noticed in your review, speedchuck, something that has continuously eluded me in my music-loving years. I feel it might be an interesting avenue of discussion, and anyone can join in (not just [mention]speedchuck[/mention]): What exactly constitutes background music?

At least for me personally, I'm not sure I'd ever feel inclined to make the distinction, yet I hear people say that all the time (either that they prefer to or can only listen to something as background music). What makes a piece of music "background music", and is something being background music a desirable or undesirable thing?

Boomslang wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:43 pmFeels like I'm staring into a well, with constantly shifting lights at every single different depth of the well. He does a beautiful job of separating out the frequencies, giving each a distinct sonic profile and momentum. The beats are also consistently surprising within the usual 4/4 meter.

That's... a really cool way to put it.

Good to see you back again, curious to hear your takes on some others as well when you get the chance.

Random trivia about Flying Lotus and Cosmogramma:

- Flying Lotus is the stage name of a music producer named Steven Ellison. He also is a DJ, filmmaker, and rapper.

- Ellison is the grand-nephew of the late jazz pianist, harpist, singer, and composer Alice Coltrane, the wife of jazz legend John Coltrane.

- Cosmogramma contains a healthy mix of both sampling (for example, "Arkestry" includes a sample of experimental jazz musician Sun Ra and His Arkestra, while "Drips/Auntie's Harp" includes a sample of his late grand-aunt Alice Coltrane's "Blue Nile", among many others) and live instrumentation (harp, strings, bass, drums, sax, keyboard, and trumpet).

- This album was initially conceived out of Ellison grieving his mother's illness (hospitalized due to diabetes complications) and death (she died a few months before the album's completion and release). He used to bring his laptop to record various field recordings when visiting his mother in the hospital room. One of my favorite uses of sampling on this album is Ellison inserting his recording of his mother's respirator and vital-sign monitors in the album closer, "Galaxy in Janaki", as a tribute to her.

- The album title comes from Ellison mishearing "cosmic drama" as "cosmogramma". Ellison said of the title: "My aunt had an Ashram in Agoura full of devotees... And I was listening to one of her recorded discourses talking about how once this earthly experience is over, we won't be wearing our costumes anymore..."

- The album includes contributions from Thom Yorke (who sings on "...And the World Laughs With You", which is why I always think that song sounds like a collab with Radiohead), Thundercat (who is known for his solo career and guest bass performance on Kendrick Lamar's widely-acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly), Laura Darlington, Ravi Coltrane, among others.

I could gush about this album for too long.

It's a 5.0 without hesitation. One of my most treasured without a doubt.

Regarding what you said about the tracks being short though, G-Man, personally I've found that it's part of the album's charm, and I typically view the whole album as one whole piece consisting of many little parts that fit together. It's a grower though. I think the first time I ever heard it, if I was rating it based on my current system now, I'd probably have given it a 3.5. It was around listen #10 or so over the span of a few years that it really started to knock my socks off. My appreciation and love for it has grown ever since. It's incredibly immersive.

One of the reasons I chose this album as well instead of a different IDM album is that a common response I get when I've recommended or shown people my favorites in the past is indifference to how inhuman, cold, detached, etc. electronic music is. I don't personally feel that way about any of them, and I don't even view those descriptors as negative, but based on feedback regarding this album, I do think this one is relatively more approachable and "human" to music listeners who aren't crazy like me binging weird electronic stuff on a regular basis. I'd say part of its accessibility is due to the shortness of the tracks; nothing gets overly repetitive like other electronic music often can.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:59 pm I gave the current album of the week a listen just now. It was interesting enough but I don't know that I fell in love with any of the tracks. Some of them were too short. By the time they were over, I had just gotten a feel for them.

Also, the genre title is pretentious and I'm going to have to work past it to listen to the album objectively.

I'll do a review for Charlie Brown once I can find time to give it one last listen with my headphones on.

Ugh. Don't get me started. I'm about the biggest IDM fan on the planet, and even I hate the genre title.

Nonetheless, I would implore anyone not to let that affect their judgment of the music. It only is used at this point because of its widely-acknowledged representation of a specific sound of and approach to composing electronic music that became popularized by Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, and similar acts in the early-mid 1990s. As someone who is intimately familiar with this style and era of music, I would assert that in spite of the awful name, unfortunately the subgenre's usage is accurate and necessary to describe these particular types of music, and that's why the name has stuck around. You'll be better off though to ignore what it stands for. I refuse to acknowledge it by its full name; I just always use IDM as if it's not an abbreviation.

That said, if I have to explain it to people, instead I just try to tell them that it's best to think of it like this: EDM = extrovert (instead of electronic) dance music (i.e., dance music you'll hear at clubs) and IDM = introvert (instead of intelligent) dance music (i.e., dance music you should listen to at home with your headphones). That way it doesn't sound nearly as pretentious and it's certainly a more accurate description of what you're going to get.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:15 am

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:15 am Cosmogramma is one of my favorite albums of all time. A truly exhilarating and unique slice of electronica. Hope you all enjoy it.

Well, I did. Probably going to listen to it again today.

Submission: MovingPictures07 - Ryoji Ikeda - dataplex / 2005 / Microsound / 20 tracks / 55:31 / YouTube and Spotify

This one should be interesting.

Cosmogramma is one of my favorite albums of all time. A truly exhilarating and unique slice of electronica. Hope you all enjoy it.

Definitely worth watching.

G-Man wrote: ↑Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:29 am To get us back on track with this week's album, I was intrigued by speedchuck's comment about being able to listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas any time, not just at Christmas. I associate it with Christmas, so it falls under my list of albums and songs that can only be listened to between Black Friday and New Year's.

But there are two types of tunes on the album. There are the original pieces and re-workings of existing compositions:

Originals:
4. Linus and Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here
6. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
7. Skating
9. Christmas is Coming

Re-workings:
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
8. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
10. Für Elise
11. The Christmas Song


To the jazz fans out there- how to the re-workings sound to you? Guaraldi throws some jazz breaks into four of those six tracks (1, 2, 3, and 11). Are the re-workings with jazz flourishes admirable for Guaraldi's ability to add those touches or is adding jazz to preexisting pieces not that big an accomplishment? Or do the jazz flourishes sound forced and confined to the song's traditional arrangements?

I could understand how someone would be able to listen to this album any time, given that the compositions themselves are mostly cool jazz, but I'm not one of those people. I specifically associate this album and many of these songs with Christmas and it inevitably ends up being a mood album for me.

Frankly, this is a strange one for me to rate. I ended up giving it a 3.0 but it's probably the strongest 3.0 I can possibly give. I just cannot award it more because it's the most mood-dependent album out there; despite thoroughly enjoying it, I'm not ever sure if I'll ever listen to it again in any non-Christmas context, let alone out of my own accord at all.

Regarding your jazz questions, those are good ones. I personally think the jazz flourishes are pretty cool. I'm not sure I can speak as to how big of an accomplishment they are, but it's clear that Guaraldi was able to make his interpretations of those songs his own (for the most part, with Fur Elise the only exception I think), so that's commendable at least.

My apologies, I didn't mean to derail the discussion. I'll be listening to this album today.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:46 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:36 pm

speedchuck wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 4:45 pm I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

I also just wanted to say I thought it was very interesting and commendable for you to self-analyze what you like in music.

I like to think I can appreciate various types of music, but I have similar things that I gravitate towards (and the converses of those I gravitate against). Interestingly, we don't really share any of these, except perhaps #5 (which is ironically what I like about dream pop as a genre, despite the fact that you personally didn't detect it in Fishmans). I absolutely don't care at all about #1, #2, or #4 (in fact, I think I actually prefer instrumental music to some degree, and I'm all for well-executed music that puts me in a coma as someone who loves ambient, dream pop, and post-rock). I used to care more about #3, but I think it varies with the product these days.

I imagine, as someone who got into music via prog even though I've drifted increasingly from it over time, you and I do have some decent musical taste crossover, but based on what you listed here it makes a lot of sense why our viewpoints of that album diverge so much.

Yeah, at least for a while, Rush was my favorite band. Still rotates in my top five. I hear you like them too. Prog is what really got me into music, and was all I would listen to for a time. But now I've mellowed out, in a different direction than you it seems. I often listen to 'fun' music (call me shallow if you wish), and can, believe it or not, actually withstand some modern top 40 depending on the song.

Moodsetting music that gets to me is rare, and most of the time when it does it's because the music is soundtrack related and I was in a place or doing a thing when I first heard it. But I'll give those albums you linked a shot when I get the time (if I remember).

nutella wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:33 pm @speedchuck you're missing the bonus final track, Make Me A Boat. I recommend finding it. Enjoyed reading your review

I'll have to go find it. :P

Yeah, I started with Rush as well, and although I'm not sure how they stand among my favorites anymore (I suppose I'll find out to some degree when I finally get to them in my current, massive project to rate most of what I've heard over the years as well as some new stuff), I can empathize with all of that. I exhausted the heck out of prog or prog-related myself, then mostly moved onto avant-garde, jazz, electronic, etc. I developed an appreciation for pop along the way as well, but as you note, in a different way than you -- what really attracts me to a piece of music the most if I had to pick just any one thing is probably immersion in a unique atmosphere. It's what led to my ever-increasing love of electronic music, which is certainly my favorite genre these days, again if I had to pick just one. Interestingly, I historically and mostly currently avoid soundtrack stuff; I prefer for the music to create its own journey so to speak.

Sorry to ramble on about all of this; I just think it's fascinating to explore how people fell in love with music and how their musical tastes have developed ever since. Each person's journey of musical discovery is unique and that's what makes it so interesting to discuss I suppose.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 4:45 pm I'm a picky guy when it comes to music. I want one of . . . five? things.
1. Fun to sing with
2. Energetic, driven, springy, idk something that fills my spirit and makes me want to move my legs or rock out
3. Musically intricate and diverse
4. Lyrically moving or plat-focused
5. Mood-setting/nostalgic

I also just wanted to say I thought it was very interesting and commendable for you to self-analyze what you like in music.

I like to think I can appreciate various types of music, but I have similar things that I gravitate towards (and the converses of those I gravitate against). Interestingly, we don't really share any of these, except perhaps #5 (which is ironically what I like about dream pop as a genre, despite the fact that you personally didn't detect it in Fishmans). I absolutely don't care at all about #1, #2, or #4 (in fact, I think I actually prefer instrumental music to some degree, and I'm all for well-executed music that puts me in a coma as someone who loves ambient, dream pop, and post-rock). I used to care more about #3, but I think it varies with the product these days.

I imagine, as someone who got into music via prog even though I've drifted increasingly from it over time, you and I do have some decent musical taste crossover, but based on what you listed here it makes a lot of sense why our viewpoints of that album diverge so much.

That said, now that I think about what you listed above, you may enjoy something else more... such as relatively complicated shoegaze or something like Sweet Trip. Don't mind me. Just rambling.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:24 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 30, 2017 5:21 pm I realized quickly in retrospect that it was probably a poor choice for submission, but I love that album (and was especially obsessed with it at the time we started this thing), and I thought it would be a good introduction to an overlooked band, especially given their transition from dub to dream pop. I don't plan on nominating anything remotely close to that long in the future.

I'll probably do the same then. But I don't resent it. It was interesting looking at a genre I've never seen.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it really, especially since it's such a long album, but I'm glad you stuck it out and appreciated it nonetheless.

My taste is relatively diverse I guess, but Dream Pop is generally a favorite subgenre of mine due to what I hope to gain from music (more on that in a follow-up post). That said, I can admit that the subgenre can be full of artists that sound similar in that they are all trying to evoke a similar experience. However, I would assert that FIshmans occupy a very unique space within it due to their unique progression from a dub band.

If you're curious to learn about it, check out the RYM subgenre description. And if you're willing to give any other album a try, absolutely check out Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins. If I had to pick any one dream pop album that was most representative of the subgenre and of ideal quality, it would be that. It also happens to be one of my favorite albums of all-time and I'd recommend it to anyone any day. I can respect that it may not be everyone's thing, but it's nonetheless the one dream pop album I'd throw at anyone if they only were to hear just one ever.

That said, I don't really care how long the albums are that people submit, as long as it's not anything ridiculous (like 4 hours or something).

I realized quickly in retrospect that it was probably a poor choice for submission, but I love that album (and was especially obsessed with it at the time we started this thing), and I thought it would be a good introduction to an overlooked band, especially given their transition from dub to dream pop. I don't plan on nominating anything remotely close to that long in the future.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2017 9:07 am

Available on YouTube single video or playlist and Spotify

I added a link to a playlist on YouTube for Charlie Brown. The single video cuts out partway through the last bonus track (if you listen that far).

Thanks, G-Man!

I went ahead and updated the first post.

Looking forward to revisiting this album; it's actually been a while since I don't typically listen to much Christmas music if I can avoid it.

Christmas music time now, I presume?

I generally don't like Christmas music at all (understatement), but G-Man nominated one of the few exceptions to that rule for me.

Alright, Drake's Take Care. Random thoughts during listening.

First, this is way too long. That's the major beef I have with it. Half of this stuff could be trimmed easily, probably much more. The songs get ridiculously samey really quickly.

Second, speaking of Kanye, it's at least apparent that this album's production is also influenced by him, and this is certainly commendable. That's the most positive thing I have to say in this album's favor: the production is solid. That said, I'm not generally a fan of the sleak pop rap production founded on The College Dropout and further popularized by albums like this, but it's hard to criticize.

Third, I did actually like some bits of... some of the samples used, most notably the opener. Based on that song it was immediately clear he's influenced by Kanye (but I suppose which pop rap artist isn't?).

Fourth, I hate autotune. Ugh.

Fifth, I have a hard time approaching most of these songs without feeling immediately negatively about them because it was stuff like this that made me think I really didn't like hip hop for years. Perhaps I'm harsher on it than I would be were it not for that. That said, despite still not really enjoying this album, I do suppose there's worse pop rap than a lot of these songs (a few songs though... yeah, they're really bad). At least some props must be given to Drake for some of the samples and decent enough composition structure, even if it does get samey.

But that doesn't change the fact that I just think a good chunk of these songs are filler or worse. Unfortunately the pop rap and contemporary R&B spectrum is one that I just really don't enjoy in general, and this album doesn't prove to be an exception to that. The only exception I've found so far is Kanye, and I'd thought throughout this album that I would rather be listening to his stuff than this.

Lastly, the lyrics, well... yeah. I'm not a lyrics guy so this doesn't really bother me that much, so not worth discussing at length. As much as I ignored them, occasionally they did cause cringe though. I agree with G-Man to an extant; specifically, that hearing swears in general, let alone so many, from Drake feels unnatural and forced.

Ehhhhhhhh... I was admittedly a bit torn here between 1.5 and 2.0 on my rating scale, but in the end I have to give it a 1.5 in part due to its ridiculous length. I started off in 2.5 land on the first song, then it quickly degenerated into 1.5-2.0 for most of the rest of my listen, but in the end I had to go for the former because the middle and end of the album just were an absolute slog to get through.

All of that said, I still appreciate dunya nominating this one, because chances are I wouldn't have given Drake another chance out of my own free will.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:22 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:51 am

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:53 pm As far as more modern hip hop goes, Shabazz Palaces is where it's at. Fucking love them. I'll nominate an album at some point probably.

I'd recommend Billy Woods, too. He's a modern mastermind. I mean he's not brand new, but someone that came out in the early 00s era then disappeared, and came into more prominence I'd say post 2012.
...

Sweet! I'll take a listen once I'm done nerding out with my Tim Hecker discography run today. Thanks dunya.

Hey dunya, thanks for the recs. Enjoyed them. I'll have to check these out more.

I'll get to Drake either later today or tomorrow probably.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:28 pm Since I'm late to the party, and I can surely listen to more than 1 album a week, I'm going to go back from the start at nutella's recommendation and have a listen through past albums.

The Family Crest - Beneath the Brine submitted by @nutella

So I've never heard of The Family Crest before, and I'm not a huge listener of orchestral music which is what the band labels itself as (orchestral indie rock?) so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, but I like to think they have more indie rock in them with little flashes of whatever the hell orchestra is in this sense (I'm going to go with symphonic rock of some sort instead), which brings their music to life. Really frigging enjoyed this, and by the third listen through, I decided I can adequately rate it.

The album infuses a lot of different tecniques and genres I'd say, some jazz vibes on some tracks even, good song writing and quite a few paces in here. Sometimes I get flashes of Brandon Flowers, sometimes some The Decemberists, sometimes a bit of Elvis Costello, sometimes some Paulo Nutini or Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. All of whom I love in different quantities ftr. So many instruments, love the trombone, cello, trumpets, violin and drum use. It's very cool to hear in indie rock music and gives it a refreshing edge. The music feels upbeat and new. Lyrics are very catchy, the whole album is something easy to sing along to in fact, and the lead singer's voice is quite pleasant...clear and easy to listen to without grating on your ears.

I'll give this an easy 4/5.

Glad to see a newcomer going back through past submissions!

Your commentary is pretty insightful; I'd say I find it generally agreeable and it's partly why I liked TFC as well. Curious to see your takes on the others.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:51 am

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:53 pm As far as more modern hip hop goes, Shabazz Palaces is where it's at. Fucking love them. I'll nominate an album at some point probably.

I'd recommend Billy Woods, too. He's a modern mastermind. I mean he's not brand new, but someone that came out in the early 00s era then disappeared, and came into more prominence I'd say post 2012.
...

Sweet! I'll take a listen once I'm done nerding out with my Tim Hecker discography run today. Thanks dunya.

As far as more modern hip hop goes, Shabazz Palaces is where it's at. Fucking love them. I'll nominate an album at some point probably.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:51 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:50 pm

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:47 pm Wyclef and Outkast.

That is all.

Predictable.

Like Rush and Yes. Don't get cute.

I'm just messing; Wyclef and OutKast are cool but I don't like them as much as you do.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:47 pm Wyclef and Outkast.

That is all.

Predictable.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:19 pm

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:13 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:15 pm I think my next hip hop album recommendation will be oldschool, by my favorite rapper ever: Del Tha Funkee Homosapian and my favorite album by him: I Wish My Brother George Was Here.

I'm convinced there's some secret rap and hip hop fans, even if Drake is not everyone's cuppa tea. I honestly wanted to share it because people overlook Take Care and call Drake that annoying "Hotline Bling" rapper (which is a good tune too tbf). He's got amazing flow imo, and I enjoy him immensely, even if he does fall into the rap/hiphop/pop category.

I'm a huge fan of his Deltron 3030 work (well, we won't talk about the comeback album), but that's a solid album too.

Beastie Boys are known to let the beat drop. Just saying.

Beastie Boys are good. As far as old school stuff, I'm more of a fan of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, etc., but Beastie Boys were clearly talented as well and Paul's Boutique in particular is pretty cool.

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:15 pm I think my next hip hop album recommendation will be oldschool, by my favorite rapper ever: Del Tha Funkee Homosapian and my favorite album by him: I Wish My Brother George Was Here.

I'm convinced there's some secret rap and hip hop fans, even if Drake is not everyone's cuppa tea. I honestly wanted to share it because people overlook Take Care and call Drake that annoying "Hotline Bling" rapper (which is a good tune too tbf). He's got amazing flow imo, and I enjoy him immensely, even if he does fall into the rap/hiphop/pop category.

I'm a huge fan of his Deltron 3030 work (well, we won't talk about the comeback album), but that's a solid album too.