Re: What are you listening to right now?

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 09:31

xsanguine wrote:I wonder why kids are trying to rip off Springsteen just now as opposed to years ago... I wonder how long it takes for bands to start ripping off the legends? I mean, these kids, I'm guessing, weren't even alive for Bruce's heydey...

Do our parents really have that much of a stranglehold on us?

probably is somewhat associated to what their parents were listening to when they were growing up. I know my daughter (sorry Forbin) has a slight different taste in music from me, but her iPod is about 75% influenced by music she's been listening to since she was in the womb..

but, yeah, it also goes back to legendary influences. Not too many current solid artists with strong musicianship who are skilled songwriters are riffing on, say, early 80's Culture Club..

Like a subconscious thing?

Go Bears.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-08, 09:38

Robert J Sakimano wrote:
probably is somewhat associated to what their parents were listening to when they were growing up. I know my daughter (sorry Forbin) has a slight different taste in music from me, but her iPod is about 75% influenced by music she's been listening to since she was in the womb..

but, yeah, it also goes back to legendary influences. Not too many current solid artists with strong musicianship who are skilled songwriters are riffing on, say, early 80's Culture Club..

Go Bears.

I don't mean for this to get weird, Bob... but it sounds much like my relationship with my father. Sure, he has an endless amount of music history under his belt... but when I was wearing flannel and smoking pot behind the garage, he was listening to the same shit and while he took me to far too many concerts to count he even went to ones without me (that I woulda went too....*Smashing Pumpkins circa 1991... motherfucker*).

Do you listen to the current artists that your daughter is also listening to and discovering on her own?

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 09:42

xsanguine wrote:

I don't mean for this to get weird, Bob... but it sounds much like my relationship with my father. Sure, he has an endless amount of music history under his belt... but when I was wearing flannel and smoking pot behind the garage, he was listening to the same shit and while he took me to far too many concerts to count he even went to ones without me (that I woulda went too....*Smashing Pumpkins circa 1991... motherfucker*).

Do you listen to the current artists that your daughter is also listening to and discovering on her own?

nah..

she'll refer to a new band that she's listening to, etc - and she'll play me a few of their songs. And they might sound okay - some moreso than others. I've got enough music to listen to to last me to the moon and back - and I understand that it's important that she find her way, too - and develop her own music identity.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-08, 10:04

Robert J Sakimano wrote:
nah..

she'll refer to a new band that she's listening to, etc - and she'll play me a few of their songs. And they might sound okay - some moreso than others. I've got enough music to listen to to last me to the moon and back - and I understand that it's important that she find her way, too - and develop her own music identity.

You seem to listen to some pretty contemporary stuff, though (the last 10 years)...? Is she like listening to One Direction or something?

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-08, 10:07

I tried to get my dad to listen to The Killers but he just isn't "into that kind of stuff"... but he sure as shit cranked Nevermind, Mellon Collie, Ten or any other album I was listening to back in my teenage days.

In between Born To Run, Exile On Main St, and Raw Power... of course.

I guess I just wanted to say I was ripping off Springsteen before it was cool. flower

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 10:24

xsanguine wrote:

You seem to listen to some pretty contemporary stuff, though (the last 10 years)...? Is she like listening to One Direction or something?

What are you listening to right now? - Page 3 502811600

why not listening to Taylor Swift (joking, of course).. she's gotten into some electronica stuff.. certainly not my thing. The other day she was playing a Neutral Milk Hotel song for me on her guitar - again, I know virtually nothing about them..

but, overall, just as some parents feel the need to dress their kids like cheerleaders and drag them to football games, I remember singing the whole Nebraska album to her at night when feeding her a bottle.. good times.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-08, 10:30

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

she's gotten into some electronica stuff.. certainly not my thing.

*shudders* Ew, I know what you mean. Kids these days....

Good on ya for her the guitar thing.. you may have just done alright, Bob.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 10:33

xsanguine wrote:

*shudders* Ew, I know what you mean. Kids these days....

Good on ya for her the guitar thing.. you may have just done alright, Bob.

thanks, man..

I do admit, I was wondering what impact it might have on the poor kid when I was giving her a bottle at 2:00 am singing about Charlie Starkweather (Nebraska), Joe Roberts and his brother, Frankie, laughing and drinkin' (Highway Patrolman), and Johnny 99 begging that the judge sentence him to the death penalty..

Wink

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 10:55

"we learned more from a three minute record, baby, than we ever learned in school"...

truer words have never been spoken...

by Toe 2014-09-08, 11:06

"five generations with an unlocked door and a loaded burglar alarm"

truer words.....

by **Rocinante** 2014-09-08, 13:10

xsanguine wrote:

Yeah, sure, bro...

I have no idea who that is, but I imagine it's a shitty Canadian Band? We don't have shitty bands in America.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-08, 14:51

xsanguine wrote:
I guess I just wanted to say I was ripping off Springsteen before it was cool.

woke up listening to The Hold Steady.... then some Holly Williams.. some Lucero - then you came along and it's been Springsteen the rest of the day.. What are you listening to right now? - Page 3 3493939353

What are you listening to right now? - Page 3 3493939353

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-08, 15:12

Rocinante wrote:

We don't have shitty bands in America.

Thank you.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-13, 04:36

I can't wait to get shit from Roc for this one...

TL;DR - I kinda like country despite it's obvious faults but as someone involved in music professionally I break down what I feel is quality work. Here's two examples...

I've been trying to get back into country... I left that realm in prolly 1992 or 93 or something (really dug Garth Brooks [still the best concert I've been to, to date], Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, stuff like that) and have been firmly implanted into rock since then. Listening to country while driving around Brooklyn gets some pretty interesting looks.

Anywho, about 85% of the stuff is shit... I mean it's awful, pandering to the lowest common pop denominator... but there are artists who surprise me. Keep in mind I don't listen to lyrics, but simply to the timbre of the vocal(s), the melody, and the cadence of the syllable changes... now I say that because when I do sit down to look at the lyrics they're pretty underwhelming if you're into that poetic, metaphorical slant much of rock has taken. While I'm listening to it I'm paying attention to the specifics of the music and can't even really comprehend a vocals, it's all just ma-mi-mo, etc. etc

One thing that stands out is holy shit... Nashville has the best producers and best musicians in the business. If you can't pull off a 4 part harmony, depth of knowledge when it comes to scales (guitarists) and play multiple instruments (as a producer) on the first shot... you have no business trying to get a foot in the door. I've been around music my entire life and the past 10 years in a professional capacity so hearing some of this stuff and how it's produced into a final mix down makes me go cheers

Here's a couple I've liked from that standpoint...

This one broke the golden rule in the most obvious way of not actually writing the word "yeah" into a song... especially not the main chorus... something my dad taught me at the age of 5... but... hey, dad... look where it got that guy! His vocals remind me of a young Randy Travis (huge compliment) and he even kinda looks like him.

I really like the combination of verse and prechorus... and hearing that steel guitar hit that G chord and D on the first and thirds in the prechorus... and again in the chorus. That's what makes U2 songs really stand out, the Edge really knows how to make a chorus sing with one note on delay... and clearly it's probably another day at the office for a Nashville producer. The way the lyric "nodding right along to a song on the radio" syllable changes bounce around is catchy. I got no complaints about this song at all... besides the obvious (lyrics, but it's country, so meh... what ya gonna do). Edit: I guess it's technically not a "prechorus" but just a Verse B... ahh well.

Now this next one is a Tom Petty rip off (could rip off much worse). But I've watched a few live versions and this guy's band is amazing. If I was producing this one... I would have taken the vocals up a fifth octave on the 2nd chorus (what he does in the 3rd chorus B-section) and then on the 3rd Chorus, B-section take it up to where the 2nd harmony is at in that same section and make the backup harmonize above or below that). Again... lyrics... heh

Nashville is just way above what anyone else is putting out there right now, from a professional standpoint... it's a well oiled machine. It all goes in cycles... rock isn't dead, Gene Simmons is just an asshole.

Come at me, bros.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-13, 04:49

tGreenWay wrote:I've got this country song rolling around in my head right now, but it won't stop playing--like it's incomplete or something.

I know that feeling...

by **Rocinante** 2014-09-13, 10:59

I actually like Dwight Yoakam and I admire what Garth Brooks did in the 90s. I thought the Dixie Chicks were talented as fuck and got a raw deal for having an opinion. Good songwriting. Some recent country that was popular and pretty good includes Easton Corbin and Miranda Lambert. Despite most of it being shit, occasionally a really great performer sneaks into commercial country. I also dig some alt country. So there, poopface.

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-13, 11:54

Rocinante wrote:I actually like Dwight Yoakam and I admire what Garth Brooks did in the 90s. I thought the Dixie Chicks were talented as fuck and got a raw deal for having an opinion. Good songwriting. Some recent country that was popular and pretty good includes Easton Corbin and Miranda Lambert. Despite most of it being shit, occasionally a really great performer sneaks into commercial country. I also dig some alt country. So there, poopface.

My major problem with country is all of the songs follow the same pop formula, intro/verse/(pre)chorus/verse/(pre)chorus/bridge/chorus/chorus... and sometimes I'm really itching for a song to be unpredictable, but it never happens. Country music is too big a business to try and fix something that's not broke. But that's where I tip my hat to those hipsters and alt-rock bands.

I'll have to check out some of the new artists you mentioned... I've really only begun this new journey within the last week. So practically every name is new to me except Tim McGraw and Alan Jackson.

Edit: Oh and yes, I thought the Dixie Chicks were pretty good. I also agree with you about their getting a raw deal. They look pretty damn good, in hindsight.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-15, 09:34

Lucinda Williams - Live at The Fillmore..

by LoneWolfSparty 2014-09-15, 09:52

Stryper!! :rockon:

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-16, 10:13

Sturgill Simpson..

that is all.

by **goodbar** 2014-09-16, 10:35

Sturgill Simpson

Hey alright. That's got some Waylon to it.

by **Ass Dan** 2014-09-16, 10:38

Danny brown. Stank pussy smellin like cool ranch doritos

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-16, 10:39

goodbar wrote:

Hey alright. That's got some Waylon to it.

a LOT of Waylon to it..

by **goodbar** 2014-09-16, 10:43

Robert J Sakimano wrote:a LOT of Waylon to it..

lol. yep, in fact when I first queued it up I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-16, 10:45

goodbar wrote:

lol. yep, in fact when I first queued it up I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't.

yeah, you can definitely tell his influences.

check out his response to some idiots who were all in a twist when he said the word {shudder} "goddamn" on Conan..

Take that..

by **xsanguine** 2014-09-20, 02:46

Ugh... so I've been going through the contemporary country stuff... Dustin Lynch sucks ass. Wtf is this wannabe urban-trendy country shite?

He's like the Iggy Azalea of country. Alright, alright, maybe not quite that bad, but strums just as inauthentically.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-09-24, 09:02

listening to a Springsteen bootleg circa 99-00.. has a great version of Darlington County going into Honkytonk Women and then back into Darlington County..

by **NigelUno** 2014-09-24, 09:03

Robert J Sakimano wrote:listening to a Springsteen bootleg circa 99-00.. has a great version of Darlington County going into Honkytonk Women and then back into Darlington County..

Day late to celebrate his birthday.