MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and
chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.
Ha, Box—just saw 'em last night! More electronics on this one. Dan's got some weird thing he said was called an eWind or something, which is some sort of electronic reed instrument.
Yeah, I like this album much better than New Tones (which I liked much better than the eponymous one). I think Ghost Rock is battling it out with Supreme Balloon and Born Broke (Brotzmann/Uuskyla) to be my favorite record of the year.
Other whole albums listened to lately: Sonny Rollins' Freedom Suite, and David S. Ware's cover of it.
It's an old, regional cd I finally found online. It's called "MSB" by the Michael Stanley Band. I was introduced to the band in the '80s, collected albums (most found in the bargain bins), and I was nostalgic for the songs. Then I found a website that carries the albums, ordered my favorite, and played it over and over before installing it on my iPod.
About a week ago we started talking about Steely Dan and I wanted to play a specific song which I realized I only had on vinyl. So I fired up the ol' turntable, which requires a little switching around of speaker cable, and we listened to some of my awesome stacks of wax like "Aja" and Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story," and "Astral Weeks," until LT negged that because he has this irrational dislike of Van Morrison.
Michael Stanley was all over the media in Cleveland when I was growing up. If memory serves, he simultaneously hosted a classic-rock radio show and an evening local newsmagazine program.
I still listen to tons of records from front to back. Not on vinyl, because I don't have the gear, but albums is how I like to listen to music. Usually, I go on jags where I listen to The Band's second record (the "brown" record) for 2 weeks straight, or All Mod Cons by the Jam, or...Oh man, one of my absolute FAVOURITES is the first Clash record. I really like the context that an album provides. I also really like remembering where in the musical timeline a record falls. The Rheostatics, a recently defunct uber-Canadian band also made great records, that ebbed and flowed wonderfully. The Weakerthans are really good at this as well.
This past weekend, we were at some friends' camp, and they had Bell's satellite service, which provides a number of lame radio flavours. We tried out the 80s, then settled on "Adult Alternative", and a song by starsailor came on. I commented that really, I might be able to dig the song, but that I didn't like the single song, on its own, you know?
Anyway, that's my thing. Since I had a cassette stereo in my car, I would record vinyl to tape and drive around listening to whole albums. I don't think I'll ever be able to get into satellite radio for that reason. I prefer my own dj'ing!
Oh, and how did you like 49'00" Bitter Old Punk? I liked lots of it, but I'm starting to wish Paul would use a studio and a producer again sometime.
I'm an album person, too. I like to think that albums are more than just a collection of songs that happened to be released at the same time, that they are grouped together for some reason. Of course, having started off listening to music on vinyl, that was also the most convenient way to listen, because it was such a pain to flick between albums, so maybe that colours my perception. Back when I was a teenager, that was the "proper" way to listen to music anyway (back when there were often different versions of songs on the album to the "single" versions that got played on the radio).
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love. Still one of my all time favorites.
A friend and I once had a lengthy discussion about "perfect albums", albums that you are compelled to listen to from beginning to end because they are so freakin' fantastic as a single entity. Pink Floyd's "Darkside of the Moon" was one of them, and I think there was a 10cc and a Roxy Music album on the list, but sadly I can't remember them all now.
Having an iPod hasn't altered my desire to listen to entire albums whatsoever. It's made mixes a hell of a lot more thoughtless, but when I'm in the mood for a full album, on it goes, with no difficulty.
According to iTunes, the last album I listened to was Woodbine's Best Before End. I got damn close to finishing Laura Marling's debut album in one sitting, but I had errands to run...
The Into the Wild soundtrack (Eddie Vedder). That was awhile ago, though. I usually listen to podcasts or NPR. I feel all self-conscious now, like this post should be on "stuff white people like."
Current 93 with The Black and Red Menstrual Show - "Christ and the Pale Queens, Mighty in Sorrow"
Current 93 - "Live at Bar Maldoror"
CTI - "European Rendezvous"
I was ripping some of my vinyl.
KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic + Live from Soho (burned onto a single cd)
Feist - Let it Die + The Reminder (burned onto a single cd)
Ben Lee - Ripe & Awake is the New Sleep (burned onto a single cd)
Tommy Tiernan - Something Mental
John Mellencamp - Life, Death, Love and Freedom
Those are the cds in my cd player right now for overnight listening.
The last 3 were The Harvey Girls, Fujiya & Miyagi, and Tegan and Sara. I can't remember names of albums. But all three are stellar. I think the Tegan and Sara album is....So Jealous. The F & M album might be called Transparent Things. I'm pretty much obsessed with it and listen to it morning noon and night every day.
I listened to all four CDs of "Deep Ska" on Saturday.
Pop Levi's "Never Never Love"
Perez Prado's "Havana 3AM/Mambo Mania"
Battles' "Mirrored"
Panda Bear's "Person Pitch"
Love singles, but still love listening to albums as well.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, "Nine Tonight." I wish you asked this question three days ago so I coulda said Magma, "Udu Wudu," and Eideteker woulda been like, "Prog magog!" or something like that, maybe whatever that is in Kobaian: "Zeuhl noszfeuhl!"
I can play mp3s but I usually don't because I like to listen to records straight through, as the artist/producer intended. Some albums this doesn't matter. But take for example Tears for Fears' "The Hurting;" songs on it are nice and all, but the whole work taken together is awesome.
Actually, I just listened to Smithsonian Folkways' "Classic Blues vol. 1" collection, which I don't really count as an album, but tarnation that's a good damn record.
Don't get me wrong, I like mp3s, for chopping the good tracks out of a Booka Shade record, or pulling together a mix from my collection, but even then I listen to the mix start to finish, so the flow doesn't get scrambled.
Hell, sometimes I'll even play a whole album at once, my guitar accompanying my warble: Springsteen's "Nebraska" or Steve Earle's "I Feel Alright." Big chunks of Dwight Yoakam's catalog, too. Then I get to howling and they ain't nothing past that but the blues.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
