Love or Hate?

grindy · 12-08-2015, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: Exterminating Angel
Artiste: Alec K. Redfearn and the Seizures
Genre: Folk/Rock
Familiarity: Zero
Recommended by: Grindy

Expectations: Absolutely none. I have no idea what this will be like.

1. Voice to skull: Interesting. Not sure whether good or bad interesting.
2. Isle of swine: Like the accordion, very ethnic. Not so gone on the rest of it though.
3. Rise: More accordion, faster with some good percussion and then it kicks into a kind of rock/rockabilly thing. Hmm. Yeah this one is quite good, almost metal in a way.
4. Elzebet: This is great. Rockin' instrumental with some great guitar and accordion, possibly mellotron too. Crap! Not an instrumental. Well, still great.
5. The picture: Interesting opening on dobro? Banjo? Boogie with a feel of Waits circa Rain Dogs. Excellent guitar solo.
6. Gesualdo: Banjo solo? Glockenspiel; another Waitsy style song.
7. The hole: This is uptempo with a real sense of folk and fun about it. Great, powerful ending.
8. Maria: Good powerful closer, builds up nicely.

End result: It was a good album but I wasn't blown away. I'm unsure if I'd be listening to any more of his material, but not bad.

So, Love or Hate? This can only really be a Like.

You're appretiation of the individual songs was exactly the opposite from what I was expecting.

The instrument in 5 and 6 is a ukulele, all the other tracks just feature accordeon (along with double bass and percussion), but it does sound like other stuff when distorted.

Ilistentoeverything · 12-08-2015, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: "Kenji"
Artiste: Fort Minor
Genre: Hip-hop
Taken from: Rising Tied
Familiarity: Zero
Suggested by: Ilistentoeverything

Expectations: I have no idea: this is the very first rec I've taken from ilistentoeverything, and with a username like that, he or she must have a pretty wide taste in music. I do see that it's a side project of one of the guys from Linkin Park, but never heard them so that doesn't mean much to me, although they don't tend to get too much love here. Also, ilistentoeverything doesn't know me like others do, so he/she may be recommending something that everyone else knows I would hate. Or love. Or not be interested in. So, no preconceptions and no idea what to expect, where are me boots? Let's jump on in!

Nice ringing guitar and then a spoken word story about a guy's father emigrating from Japan. The rap then begins, and it's not bad at all, taking up the story, and it's a powerful, emotional one about the Japanese Americans and how they were treated at the outbreak of World War II, what happened to them when they were finally released. Damn, that was good! Did not expect that. Tears in my eyes, guys. Tears in my eyes.

Conclusion: ****ing brilliant. So emotional, and somehow managing not to spit hatred but still accusation; you can tell the bitterness runs deep. The snippets of conversation with interned Japanese Americans really adds authenticity and humanity to the story.

So, Love or Hate? Well done, ilistentoeverything: your first rec, and your first True Love right off the bat!

Possibility of looking into the album: 90%

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: Von
Artiste: Yoko Kanno feat. Arnor Dan
Genre: Soundtrack
Taken from: Terror in Resonance OST
Familiarity: Zero
Suggested by: Ilistentoeverything

Expectations: Again, not an idea. I guess if you're into videogames or Japanese movies you would know her work, but I don't. Nevertheless, after scoring a direct hit on his first shot, I'm excited to see what ilistentoeverything has for me next.

Beautiful soft piano opening, then the vocal is soft, slightly operatic, with another vocal singing three words: “Winter, summer, converging” which merges really well with the main vocal. Lovely cello now, a real stark fragile beauty about this piece. Sweet descending scale on the violin. I think there's a third voice joining now, as the music becomes a little discordant towards the end, almost all vocals falling away now bar the three-word one as violins take over for the final minute. Gorgeous.

Conclusion: Two out of two so far! Another top rated piece.

So, Love or Hate? And another True Love.

Possibility of looking into the album: 90%

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: Duvet
Artiste: Boa
Genre: Indie
Taken from: Twilight
Familiarity: Zero
Suggested by: Ilistentoeverything

Expectations: Don't know, but a point to bear in mind for everyone: if your rec is a little obscure, or could be confused with a similar-sounding artist, PLEASE point this out. I have just spent time trawling through the discography of the Korean pop artist Boa, only to find that this is an English band. There was no way to know, and given that his last rec was a Japanese artiste I thought I was on the right track. That's time wasted I don't have. So please, make it a little easier for me, huh? I don't want to expire searching the web for obscure bands or artistes you guys have picked for me.

Nice female vocal anyway, with a jangly sort of guitar, nice melody. Pleasant song, but nothing terribly that special I feel.

Conclusion: Yeah it's okay but I'm kind of tempered by the annoyance at how much I had to search for this, to find it's just a pretty generic indie song in the end. Help me out, guys. I can't spend hours looking for your goddamn recs!

So, Love or Hate? Kind of meh, but I'll give it a Like. Barely.

Possibility of looking into the album: 10%

Nice to see that you really liked the first two! Sorry about the 3rd one. I had no idea there was a Korean artist by the same name. haha

Trollheart · 12-08-2015, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilistentoeverything

Nice to see that you really liked the first two! Sorry about the 3rd one. I had no idea there was a Korean artist by the same name. haha

It's no real problem, it was just annoying that I had to take as long as I did just finding out who they were. In future (and this applies to anyone) if your artiste doesn't come up on Wiki or Discogs (or if they're metal, Metal Archives) just throw me a quick few lines or a link so I don't end up wasting my time checking out the wrong one. Thanks.

TechnicLePanther · 12-08-2015, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

It's no real problem, it was just annoying that I had to take as long as I did just finding out who they were. In future (and this applies to anyone) if your artiste doesn't come up on Wiki or Discogs (or if they're metal, Metal Archives) just throw me a quick few lines or a link so I don't end up wasting my time checking out the wrong one. Thanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B4a

Just sayin'.

Trollheart · 12-08-2015, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B4a

Just sayin'.

Yeah that's fine, but if you look there is also a Croatian band, a Russian band and a Korean singer using that name. Figuring out who this one was to refer to was what took the time. I mean, I had to look into discographies, and yer wan from Seoul has bloody hundreds of albums! Many not in English! GAAAHHH!!! And bear in mind this was a TRACK, so I had no idea what album it was from, which meant checking all the tracklists of the Korean won to find ... well, you know what happened.

More pertinent info, is what I'm asking for. Less ambiguity.

The Batlord · 12-08-2015, 06:20 PM

I just Googled "boa duvet" and got the right band in two seconds. Maybe you just suck at this.

Trollheart · 12-08-2015, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I just Googled "boa duvet" and got the right band in two seconds. Maybe you just suck at this.

Don't you have comic books to read?

The Batlord · 12-08-2015, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Don't you have comic books to read?

And searching for "boa duvet" took almost no time from that activity.

Trollheart · 12-09-2015, 06:28 AM

Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Artiste: The Vince Guaraldi Trio
Genre: Christmas music, Jazz
Familiarity: Not with him, but who doesn't know Charlie Brown? And most of it looks like it's standard Christmas songs so ....

1. O Tannenbaum: Gets you into the Christmas spirit right away. Mind you, I can't hear this without hearing “O Whacking Day” from The Simpsons! Course it jazzes right up, but it's okay, still nice. Mind you, this is one of the things that annoys me about jazz. Never seem to know when to shut up and it goes on way too long with what is, basically in all fairness, the same bloody tune just extended into five minutes it needn't have run for. Still, let's not spoil the soon-to-be Christmas spirit...
2. What child is this: Another Christmas standard on piano and bass. Sounds just like “Greensleeves”...
3. My little drum: Not so sure about this one. Bit boring really. Is this “Little drummer boy”? Kind of sounds like it.
4. Linus and Lucy: Okay, now this is very Charlie Brown/Snoopy. It's like the theme or something, isn't it? Brings back some memories for sure.
5. Christmas time is here (instrumental): It's okay, a little boring. Wonder if the sung version will be any better?
6. Christmas time is here (vocal): No it isn't. A children's choir? Give me a break!

7. Skating: God this is so boring!
8. Hark, the herald angels sing: Thinking of becoming Scrooge at this point!

9. Christmas is coming: And back to the Snoopy theme... yawn
10. Fur Elise: Well of course I love this. Who wouldn't? Beethoven at his finest.
11. The Christmas Song: Yeah I like this too. Who doesn't? Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... should have paid that bet! Poor old Chestnut!
12. Greensleeves: And you can't not like this.

End result: An album that mostly achieved a few Likes despite, not because of itself. I honestly question the sense in listening to a Christmas album in November, even if it is now being posted in the correct month I listened to it a lot earlier. This should have been recced much later. That said, most of it bored me and it was only the few standards that stopped it getting all Whites or even Reds. My innate dislike of jazz did not get me off to a good start here, and we kind of went downhill pretty much freewheelin' all the way after that.

So, Love or Hate? As it is, as a whole, all I can give it is a Meh.

Machine · 12-09-2015, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Artiste: The Vince Guaraldi Trio
Genre: Christmas music, Jazz
Familiarity: Not with him, but who doesn't know Charlie Brown? And most of it looks like it's standard Christmas songs so ....

1. O Tannenbaum: Gets you into the Christmas spirit right away. Mind you, I can't hear this without hearing “O Whacking Day” from The Simpsons! Course it jazzes right up, but it's okay, still nice. Mind you, this is one of the things that annoys me about jazz. Never seem to know when to shut up and it goes on way too long with what is, basically in all fairness, the same bloody tune just extended into five minutes it needn't have run for. Still, let's not spoil the soon-to-be Christmas spirit...
2. What child is this: Another Christmas standard on piano and bass. Sounds just like “Greensleeves”...
3. My little drum: Not so sure about this one. Bit boring really. Is this “Little drummer boy”? Kind of sounds like it.
4. Linus and Lucy: Okay, now this is very Charlie Brown/Snoopy. It's like the theme or something, isn't it? Brings back some memories for sure.
5. Christmas time is here (instrumental): It's okay, a little boring. Wonder if the sung version will be any better?
6. Christmas time is here (vocal): No it isn't. A children's choir? Give me a break!

7. Skating: God this is so boring!
8. Hark, the herald angels sing: Thinking of becoming Scrooge at this point!

9. Christmas is coming: And back to the Snoopy theme... yawn
10. Fur Elise: Well of course I love this. Who wouldn't? Beethoven at his finest.
11. The Christmas Song: Yeah I like this too. Who doesn't? Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... should have paid that bet! Poor old Chestnut!
12. Greensleeves: And you can't not like this.

End result: An album that mostly achieved a few Likes despite, not because of itself. I honestly question the sense in listening to a Christmas album in November, even if it is now being posted in the correct month I listened to it a lot earlier. This should have been recced much later. That said, most of it bored me and it was only the few standards that stopped it getting all Whites or even Reds. My innate dislike of jazz did not get me off to a good start here, and we kind of went downhill pretty much freewheelin' all the way after that.

So, Love or Hate? As it is, as a whole, all I can give it is a Meh.

TH have you no heart?

12-09-2015, 06:28 AM	#2279 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas Artiste: The Vince Guaraldi Trio Genre: Christmas music, Jazz Familiarity: Not with him, but who doesn't know Charlie Brown? And most of it looks like it's standard Christmas songs so .... 1. O Tannenbaum: Gets you into the Christmas spirit right away. Mind you, I can't hear this without hearing “O Whacking Day” from The Simpsons! Course it jazzes right up, but it's okay, still nice. Mind you, this is one of the things that annoys me about jazz. Never seem to know when to shut up and it goes on way too long with what is, basically in all fairness, the same bloody tune just extended into five minutes it needn't have run for. Still, let's not spoil the soon-to-be Christmas spirit... 2. What child is this: Another Christmas standard on piano and bass. Sounds just like “Greensleeves”... 3. My little drum: Not so sure about this one. Bit boring really. Is this “Little drummer boy”? Kind of sounds like it. 4. Linus and Lucy: Okay, now this is very Charlie Brown/Snoopy. It's like the theme or something, isn't it? Brings back some memories for sure. 5. Christmas time is here (instrumental): It's okay, a little boring. Wonder if the sung version will be any better? 6. Christmas time is here (vocal): No it isn't. A children's choir? Give me a break! 7. Skating: God this is so boring! 8. Hark, the herald angels sing: Thinking of becoming Scrooge at this point! 9. Christmas is coming: And back to the Snoopy theme... yawn 10. Fur Elise: Well of course I love this. Who wouldn't? Beethoven at his finest. 11. The Christmas Song: Yeah I like this too. Who doesn't? Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... should have paid that bet! Poor old Chestnut! 12. Greensleeves: And you can't not like this. End result: An album that mostly achieved a few Likes despite, not because of itself. I honestly question the sense in listening to a Christmas album in November, even if it is now being posted in the correct month I listened to it a lot earlier. This should have been recced much later. That said, most of it bored me and it was only the few standards that stopped it getting all Whites or even Reds. My innate dislike of jazz did not get me off to a good start here, and we kind of went downhill pretty much freewheelin' all the way after that. So, Love or Hate? As it is, as a whole, all I can give it is a Meh. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018