Distant Music Suggestions and Recommendations
 

[[[-Distant Music Suggestions and Recommendations-]]]

Heya! Welcome to my very first journal, ever. That's right, believe it or not I've never done a journal before! :usehead:

I'm not really the best at reviewing albums or artists but I will get around to doing that once I'm more confident. For now just bear with me, I will be recommending various artists and specific albums. I want to delve into the music that I grew up with and just stuff that I personally dig. If you haven't heard of any artist or album that I mention please look them up, they might be something you'd really enjoy. :D

I'm not really going to follow a theme with this but will have a strong emphasis on Australian artists and albums. I hope you take the time to read and enjoy some of the music that I've loved for years or just recently gotten into.

Album Highlights In Bold
 

This is a great Aussie album that I listened to frequently all through High School. After all these years I can still listen to it from start to finish and be impressed, so I can say it’s aged well for me. The first thing you might notice is how good a writer Paul Dempsey is. His lyrics are astounding, especially on ‘Monsters’ and ‘Twenty Years’. Something For Kate have produced other great albums too, such as: “The Official Fiction” and “Beautiful Sharks” but to date “Echolalia” has been their most successful release. I have a soft spot for this album because of growing up with it but I love “The Official Fiction” just as much. Sometimes I think they sound just a little Radiohead influenced at times, which is definitely not a bad thing at all. I posted a couple of songs from the album for you to listen to as a starter. Hope you like “Echolalia” as much as I still do.

I think you and I have found a fair bit of common ground with our music tastes, DiSTANToblivion (may be something to do with our location ;)) so I definitely look forward to seeing what you'll be putting in this journal!

Thanks heaps! :thumb:
I only hope I can get good at reviewing, because I find it hard to properly... :o:

There will be more to come.

^ Don't worry it'll come to you eventually... good start :thumb:

Nice, I'm sure this will be good.

I hadn't heard Something For Kate before, but those vid's weren't bad. I like how your reviews set up too. Bolding the songs that you think deserve special mention is a great touch really.

Lookin forward to more. :)

Album Highlights In Bold
 

(1993)

1./ Cherub Rock (4:58)
2./ Quiet (3:42)
3./ Today (3:20)
4./ Hummer (5:57)
5./ Rocket (4:07)
6./ Disarm (3:17)
7./ Soma (6:40)
8./ Geek USA (5:14)
9./ Mayonaise (5:49)
10./ Spaceboy (4:29)
11./ Silver**** (8:43)
12./ Sweet Sweet (1:39)
13./ Luna (3:21)

I know that many people have already spoken about this album before, it's very well known in The Smashing Pumpkins discography and arguably their best work. I still wanted to post it though. I don't think there is any other album out there that brings memories back of my childhood quite like Siamese Dream. Right from the start, with 'Cherub Rock' grinding along I get a nostalgic feeling wash over me and I start to remember good times. This was one of the very first albums that I actually brought myself too, until then I had all my albums given to me. The album produced a lot of The Smashing Pumpkins most iconic songs such as 'Today' and 'Disarm'. The first time I ever heard 'Disarm' I knew that I was hearing something special. The song is very emotional, it also got a friend of mine through a dark time he was going through. 'Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness' is the one Pumpkins album that everyone may remember the most. I love that album as well but for me 'Siamese Dream' is the one album I remember. I owe a lot of who I am to this album.

Okay, I don't really think that anyone who knows me on MB would have seen this coming...

So I thought i'd post a little known Aussie band called The Radiators. The Radiators, or 'The Rads' as some people call them, are a pretty old Aussie Pub band that are relatively unheard of. My Dad got me into them when I was younger, he always started me on good stuff. These guys lived local in my area so coming across any of their albums was easy business. That being said I haven't been able to track them down anywhere else.

The Radiators are well known for their awesome live performances and for also still touring constantly to this day. They haven't released any new material for quite a while, I think it's mainly because they love doing live performances so much more than actually recording. That doesn't mean they don't have an extensive back catalogue of albums that are great. Their style is mostly upbeat sing-along rock and roll but they have also released other songs that sound very different to this. I can't find any other videos on them besides these more popular rock and roll songs here. I would love to let you guys hear songs like 'You', 'Room Full Of Diamonds' and 'Hangin' Tree' as those three in particular are vastly different affairs and some of my favourites. The Radiators also done a fantastic cover of The Beatles - 'Revolution' but I can't find anything decent for that either. They aren't afraid of being a little tongue in cheek at times with songs like 'Gimmie Head', one I've posted here (and yes it is what you're thinking).

Well I hope you like what I could provide for you. I hope you enjoy this little hidden gem of a band that I grew up listening to. A band that just makes you feel like having a good time and a few beers as well. Cheers.

The Radiators:yikes: Aussie Pub rock.... it was all so butch.

Your dad and I may be of the same vintage. In my teens I had the pleasure of their live performances a few times times and there was no denying their live energy and audience rapport. They even did a cover of Once Bitten Twice Shy when I caught them once. I was most impressed with that.

After the energy of their live performances the debut album was a considerable let down. So poor and lacking in the same live energy I think that that was the end of any delusions of Rock grandeur.

You say they are still playing. Good on em.

I can't remember whether it was Siamese Dream or Adore, but one of those albums got me turned me from a casual music listener into a Smashing Pumpkin fanboy.

Amazing album.

Yeah... I can't say that I actually brought any albums myself. My dad had them. I have the 25th Anniversary Best Of (which is really good).

I think they just preferred playing live, I was surprised by their other material besides these videos and wish I could've found something like that to post. Ah well. Shocked to find someone on MB that knew them as well hey hahaha...

For me it was Siamese Dream and the song 'Disarm'. Glad to hear that the album had such a big effect on you as well. :D

(2005)

This isn't a band I grew up listening to, but I like them nonetheless. A great Aussie metal band and the first of many metal albums I am going to post. Vanishing Point can go from having a blazing song and follow up with a nice ballad. That sort of leaves me divided; I still don't know if I prefer the lighter side or the heavier side. Both are fantastic regardless. 'Breathe' is such a beautiful song and might be my favourite from this album if it wasn't for 'Season Of Sundays'. Embrace The Silence flows as an album and has reoccurring musical themes throughout that you may notice. Although Youtube audio quality sucks I hope you can enjoy this very underrated Aussie band as much as I do.

Trying my best at an Album Review... :-S
 

(2009)

Okay so I thought I'd change things up just a bit for now. Here is something I've only recently brought but I think needs a mention in this journal. This is Transatlantics new one 'The Whirlwind'... The word 'epic' gets thrown around a lot, it's often misused too. With this album I have to say that it is one time that epic is fully deserving of it's place.

After co-founder of Transatlantic Neal Morse (Spocks Beard) became a born again christian he decided he would venture into christian rock. This unfortunately meant the end of both Spocks Beard and Transatlantic with Morse, however he and other co-founder Mike Portnoy (of Dream Theater) both decided to get back together and form Transatlantic for one more album - 'The Whirlwind'. It was something that Transatlantic fans were longing to hear, intrigued by what the progressive supergroup would produce next...

'The Whirlwind' is an album that loves all of it's former influences and pays homage to them. Bands like Pink Floyd, Rush, Genesis, Led Zepplin and even The Beatles all can be felt throughout it's 77 minute long journey. That's right, 'The Whirlwind' is not an album divided up with various tracks for you to sift through, it is a 77 minute-long song that is best appreciated from start to finish. There are no real breaks in the flow of the album overall and it plays beautifully right from the opening Overture to the stunning Finale. A lot of people would hear the length of the album and be put off initially. I have to say that you really, really need to have an understanding and appreciation for all things Prog before you sit down to take 'The Whirlwind' in. Saying that this one, 77 minute-long masterpiece is to be taken as a whole also makes it hard to pick out a highlight, the whole thing really shines and is a highlight altogether. On my first listen I was blown away (no pun intended) by 'Rose Colored Glasses' and if I was forced to pick only one song to highlight the album I would choose that.

Every band member gets to do what they do best here and are all having fun crafting this amazing nostalgic marvel. Even as 'The Whirlwind' pays tribute to former bands it never feels tied down by their sound, it feels fresh still, just with an oldschool flair. I will give extra kudos to Portnoys drumming on this album (even though he is always fantastic), opening the album the way he does is a great listen.

There is a 2nd Disc in the Special Edition release with new original music and some great covers, so definately check that out as well (and that is a whopper of a disc too, with a length of close to an hour).

So take a an epic, progressive, nostalgic journey into the heart of 'The Whirlwind' and prepare to get blown away...
...and then fly on back to hit repeat :D

9.5/10

nice journal, distant. i decided to check out what you said about siamese dream from the "what band got you into music" thread. people might have to get used to seeing reviews of that album...i will eventually be talking about it in my journal. to this day it goes in my top 5 easily.

though i am slightly disturbed that hummer is not a highlighted track. that song is genius.

I know hey, I didn't highlight it because I've always felt stronger towards liking 'Mayonaise'. If I could I'd highlight the whole album. Keep me posted for when you include it in your journal. :D

Thanks for liking my journal.

So... it's been quite a while since I posted anything in my journal. I call it lack of motivation, or me just being lazy. I'll get right back to highlighting some more Aussie artists and reviewing anything that I find interesting soon. For now I'll post 3 songs by various Aussie talent that I am digging right now:

I will have to delve into this journal a lot more when I get time. I always appreciate people championing their homeland bands especially if they haven't had decent exposure and there are quite a few names I haven't heard before.

I didn`t realize you had a journal on here and like Jack said there are quite a few bands on here that I`ve never heard of, even though I`ve got some Vanishing Point stuff lined up to listen to.

Funnily enough, I was listening to "Siamese Dream" last night and without doubt the album is an icon of the early 1990`s with its wash of noise and delightful melodies all underpinned by Jimmy Chamberlain`s amazing drumming, the group were never the same after he left. I think that "Mellon Collie..." is even superior to this album but without doubt "Siamese Dream" is the most representative of the group.

Thanks man, I'll try my best to stay updated...

I think I'll go into more detail for the next few. I'm going to highlight The Whitlams next, more than likely.

Thanks as well. I agree about Mellon Collie too. It may be a slightly better album overall compared to Siamese Dream but, like you said, it is the most representative of them. Most Pumpkins fans I'd like to think have more memories of Siamese Dream then Mellon Collie. Although '1975' is on Mellon Collie and it's one of the most nostalgic songs anyone will ever hear. Actual most of their songs remind me of past times, even 'Perfect'. Love the Pumpkins. :D

A great Australian band, I've never really delved into their catalogue but I hear enough of it around the place. Favourite songs would go something like - Kate Kelly, No Aphrodisiac, Royal in the Afternoon, Blow Up the Pokies

Ah, The Whitlams! Definitely a great band. A friend told me that they played at Melbourne Zoo a couple of months ago, did you get the chance to go see them or have you caught them live?

They have some great albums that you should definitely look into checking out :thumb:

:( nahh I didn't... it's one band that I've always wanted to really go and see but have never had the chance to. Tim Freedman is such a brillant performer.

I love the Metroid series (yeah a videogame series) and think that it has some of the best music you'll ever hear in a videogame. I've been tracking down quite a few remixes lately and I stumbled across this gem. I hope you like it.