A life unraveled: My musical journey

Black Francis · 04-06-2014, 01:24 PM

As i was saying i got into Skating.
during my skating yrs i experimented with alot genres but not alot of them hit close to heart enough for me to seek these artist, i started to know them for their individual songs not their whole album, i would only buy their cd if i consistently liked them.

So this part is for all the miscellaneous bands i liked at the time.

As you can tell my skating phase was also my punk phase,
Punk was my first rebel yell but at the time i didn't know punk music had a history so i defined it by it's speed, i thought fast paced rock was punk back then i didn't know about The Clash or The Jam, none of them so punk to me felt like a new genre and i imagine that's how it is for anybody who has gone through a punk phase, yea at the time it was great but few ppl are a punk forever, most ppl just like it cause it echoes the rebellion of youth.

Astronomer · 04-06-2014, 11:12 PM

I am enjoying this journal! Kudos and keep it up. I was born in the 80s and well, and as such a child of the 90s, so this takes me back!

I've started following you on Soundcloud. And also your English is better than most native English speakers I've encountered in various parts of the Interwebs so don't stress.

Anyway, am really enjoying the nostalgia.

Black Francis · 04-07-2014, 03:10 PM

Thank you Astronomer

i was starting to think no one was watching this journal, and i got a whole lot of 90' stuff to cover but sadly i can't cover it all. it's too much stuff!

One thing i miss about the 90's is the old shows on MTV, 120 minutes, Alternative Nation, Headbangers ball, MTV raps.

They used to cover the diversity in music, but nowadays MTV is mostly horrible reality shows. here are a couple more of vids from that era i hope you like'em

And i haven't even covered Beck, Stone temple pilots, Alice in chains, dammit there is too many great 90's videos!

Actually, before i fast forward to my punk/skating phase, i should cover 90's R & B, rap and pop because i like that music as well.

Yea, i have to cover that before i move on and it will be an ode to my older sister because she was the one who introduced me to that kind of music.

Black Francis · 04-07-2014, 07:34 PM

I have an older sister named Ingrid who's 10 yrs older than me (40) and i gotta say, my sis was cool as hell while other girls her age were crushing over boy bands like New kidz on the block she was braiding her hair to look like Patra

Instead of boy bands she preferred female singers that exuded confidence like Janet or Salt n pepa

Growin up, this was the kind of music blasting in my house so i HAD to like it cause she would play that sh*t all day
and repetition leads to familiarity and eventually you start liking it.

One group we both liked was TLC and their song creep

She also liked Mariah and Janet alot she was into R & B and really into the Hip hop fashion, i remember her door having a poster of Mary J Blige looking all cool and when she made this song my sis would play it all day!

One thing i learned from my sister, was to not follow fads and find your own kind of music

Astronomer · 04-07-2014, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Francis

Thank you Astronomer

i was starting to think no one was watching this journal, and i got a whole lot of 90' stuff to cover but sadly i can't cover it all. it's too much stuff!

One thing i miss about the 90's is the old shows on MTV, 120 minutes, Alternative Nation, Headbangers ball, MTV raps.

They used to cover the diversity in music, but nowadays MTV is mostly horrible reality shows. here are a couple more of vids from that era i hope you like'em

I grew up in Australia before MTV had really made it here so unfortunately I missed all the cool 90s shows!

By the same it became readily accessible here it was filled with all of those horrible reality shows you speak of!

Black Francis · 04-07-2014, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astronomer

I grew up in Australia before MTV had really made it here so unfortunately I missed all the cool 90s shows!

By the same it became readily accessible here it was filled with all of those horrible reality shows you speak of!

That's a shame, in 120 minutes i saw alot of good bands and Matt pinfield was a great host, i remember when he had Steven tyler on and how he impressed him with his music knowledge.

But that was when Matt became the official host of the show, before that they would have guest host.

this show was like hipster alternative heaven for me, this was before you can download every song ever on the internet aside from articles in magazines this kinda shows was all we had at the time, and i say we because most of my rocker friends here like me grew up watching these shows.

it's a little sad MTV has become a reality network that occasionally plays music, they used to cover all the scenes happening in music, Metal, rap, all of them.

Black Francis · 04-08-2014, 06:21 PM

Discovering punk, led me to discover post punk and i heard a couple of bands i liked but the one i like the most was

The Stranglers

Loved these guys right away, they had simple catchy new wave post punk hooks, and that keyboardist!

Dave greenfield added so much to their signature sound with his elaborated keyboard melodies that surprisingly fit in well with punk

the first time i heard hanging around i was so impressed with the transition from the verse to the chorus, all of the sudden the songs builds up and then he hits with that keyboard

sucks i have a cap limit cause i could go on about how much i love this band, they are on par with the clash and talking heads.
to me, they are THAT good.

If some of you saw the snatch film you probably heard their song Golden brown

For my taste, this band is very consistent and compared to the clash they are so underrated

Black Francis · 04-09-2014, 04:01 PM

Now i gotta be honest,
i luv this band but the only cd i have from them was Mix cd a friend gave to me.
He picked his personal favs and ive gone through the albums and i think he picked the best ones, like this one

Later on in life, i somehow ended with a stranglers Dvd that had all their vids, sadly they're copyright protected so i can't show the original vids but if you liked Nuclear device you should checkout the original video for the song.

To wrap things up, The stranglers is one of the best post punk bands ive heard, their not fast, they're not angry, they just make catchy songs and seriously listen to the keyboards in their songs, i think its amazing,

so if you like that genre seek them out, i doubt you'll be disappointed.

On a related note, i once asked Jackhammer for a band that is similar to them, and he delivered with this

And with that, i end the punk section of this journal. now on to GBV

Black Francis · 04-19-2014, 04:25 PM

Guided by voices - Human amusements at hourly rates

This is a best of cd, GBV has to many songs and albums and most of them aren't worth going into detail but this best of is a good way to get into them seeing it has most of their best songs.

This band is one of my biggest influence on playing guitar and singing, they make really simple songs but the vocals bring them to life, to me this band truly lives up to their name, it's not about showing off your musical prowess it's about finding the perfect vocal hook that completes the song.

But they make so many songs it's actually hard to find the good ones among all the crappy ones this is why i recommend this cd to get into them.

this cd has 32 songs, most of them good, some are classic GBV others are more experimental, the thing about GBV is that their production value changes from CD to CD, some Cd's are low fi others are more professional and better produced.

Black Francis · 04-19-2014, 04:30 PM

I find it's best to measure GBV for the potential in their individual songs, try to hear the rhythm beyond the production value because it's usually a very melodic one.

I'll show you an exmpl of a good song with ****ty production value

Track 8 Echos myron

Now compare that to Track 2 everywhere with helicopter

Sounds way different, no?

That's something i like from them, most of their songs vary from each other yet they all fit as a GBV song.

i should mention for the most part their music is like very mellow alternative and sometimes the guitars aren't even tuned properly.

Track 12 Tractor rape chain

Other times they are beautifully tuned

Track 6 14 cheerleader cold front

imo GBV is one of the best alternative bands ive heard, their songs are easy to learn and they teach you how to find the proper vocals a song needs without having to be the greatest singer

04-06-2014, 01:24 PM	#11 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	As i was saying i got into Skating. during my skating yrs i experimented with alot genres but not alot of them hit close to heart enough for me to seek these artist, i started to know them for their individual songs not their whole album, i would only buy their cd if i consistently liked them. So this part is for all the miscellaneous bands i liked at the time. As you can tell my skating phase was also my punk phase, Punk was my first rebel yell but at the time i didn't know punk music had a history so i defined it by it's speed, i thought fast paced rock was punk back then i didn't know about The Clash or The Jam, none of them so punk to me felt like a new genre and i imagine that's how it is for anybody who has gone through a punk phase, yea at the time it was great but few ppl are a punk forever, most ppl just like it cause it echoes the rebellion of youth. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-07-2014, 03:10 PM	#13 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Thank you Astronomer i was starting to think no one was watching this journal, and i got a whole lot of 90' stuff to cover but sadly i can't cover it all. it's too much stuff! One thing i miss about the 90's is the old shows on MTV, 120 minutes, Alternative Nation, Headbangers ball, MTV raps. They used to cover the diversity in music, but nowadays MTV is mostly horrible reality shows. here are a couple more of vids from that era i hope you like'em And i haven't even covered Beck, Stone temple pilots, Alice in chains, dammit there is too many great 90's videos! Actually, before i fast forward to my punk/skating phase, i should cover 90's R & B, rap and pop because i like that music as well. Yea, i have to cover that before i move on and it will be an ode to my older sister because she was the one who introduced me to that kind of music. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-07-2014, 07:34 PM	#14 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	I have an older sister named Ingrid who's 10 yrs older than me (40) and i gotta say, my sis was cool as hell while other girls her age were crushing over boy bands like New kidz on the block she was braiding her hair to look like Patra Instead of boy bands she preferred female singers that exuded confidence like Janet or Salt n pepa Growin up, this was the kind of music blasting in my house so i HAD to like it cause she would play that sht all day and repetition leads to familiarity and eventually you start liking it. One group we both liked was TLC and their song creep She also liked Mariah and Janet alot she was into R & B and really into the Hip hop fashion, i remember her door having a poster of Mary J Blige looking all cool and when she made this song my sis would play it all day! One thing i learned from my sister, was to not follow fads and find your own kind of music __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-08-2014, 06:21 PM	#17 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Discovering punk, led me to discover post punk and i heard a couple of bands i liked but the one i like the most was The Stranglers Loved these guys right away, they had simple catchy new wave post punk hooks, and that keyboardist! Dave greenfield added so much to their signature sound with his elaborated keyboard melodies that surprisingly fit in well with punk the first time i heard hanging around i was so impressed with the transition from the verse to the chorus, all of the sudden the songs builds up and then he hits with that keyboard sucks i have a cap limit cause i could go on about how much i love this band, they are on par with the clash and talking heads. to me, they are THAT good. If some of you saw the snatch film you probably heard their song Golden brown For my taste, this band is very consistent and compared to the clash they are so underrated __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-09-2014, 04:01 PM	#18 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Now i gotta be honest, i luv this band but the only cd i have from them was Mix cd a friend gave to me. He picked his personal favs and ive gone through the albums and i think he picked the best ones, like this one Later on in life, i somehow ended with a stranglers Dvd that had all their vids, sadly they're copyright protected so i can't show the original vids but if you liked Nuclear device you should checkout the original video for the song. To wrap things up, The stranglers is one of the best post punk bands ive heard, their not fast, they're not angry, they just make catchy songs and seriously listen to the keyboards in their songs, i think its amazing, so if you like that genre seek them out, i doubt you'll be disappointed. On a related note, i once asked Jackhammer for a band that is similar to them, and he delivered with this And with that, i end the punk section of this journal. now on to GBV __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-06-2014, 11:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
Astronomer we are stardust Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 2,894	I am enjoying this journal! Kudos and keep it up. I was born in the 80s and well, and as such a child of the 90s, so this takes me back! I've started following you on Soundcloud. And also your English is better than most native English speakers I've encountered in various parts of the Interwebs so don't stress. Anyway, am really enjoying the nostalgia.

04-19-2014, 04:25 PM	#19 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	Guided by voices - Human amusements at hourly rates This is a best of cd, GBV has to many songs and albums and most of them aren't worth going into detail but this best of is a good way to get into them seeing it has most of their best songs. This band is one of my biggest influence on playing guitar and singing, they make really simple songs but the vocals bring them to life, to me this band truly lives up to their name, it's not about showing off your musical prowess it's about finding the perfect vocal hook that completes the song. But they make so many songs it's actually hard to find the good ones among all the crappy ones this is why i recommend this cd to get into them. this cd has 32 songs, most of them good, some are classic GBV others are more experimental, the thing about GBV is that their production value changes from CD to CD, some Cd's are low fi others are more professional and better produced. __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

04-19-2014, 04:30 PM	#20 (permalink)
Black Francis Out of Place Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: in an abstract house Posts: 4,111	I find it's best to measure GBV for the potential in their individual songs, try to hear the rhythm beyond the production value because it's usually a very melodic one. I'll show you an exmpl of a good song with **ty production value Track 8 Echos myron Now compare that to Track 2 everywhere with helicopter Sounds way different, no? That's something i like from them, most of their songs vary from each other yet they all fit as a GBV song. i should mention for the most part their music is like very mellow alternative and sometimes the guitars aren't even tuned properly. Track 12 Tractor rape chain Other times they are beautifully tuned Track 6 14 cheerleader cold front imo GBV is one of the best alternative bands ive heard, their songs are easy to learn and they teach you how to find the proper vocals a song needs without having to be the greatest singer __________________ "Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A Last edited by Black Francis; 04-21-2014 at 04:33 AM.