Museum Musica

Zhanteimi · 09-13-2018, 07:01 PM

Gotta keep up with these name changes.

Zhanteimi · 09-13-2018, 08:28 PM

0003 Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres
(USA, 2011, avant-garde jazz / spiritual jazz)

This album starts as a paradox, namely as a beautiful cacophony, and the vocals, strong yet broken, rise perfectly out of this sonic storm. Then the violins soar, evoking more familiar emotions and granting the much-needed respite from the opening tempest. There follows a powerful a capella rendition of a slave auction, with all its attendant sexual callousness (the upright bass lead-in is perfect, providing the backbone to the auction bidding chant breakdown). The music swirls on into mournful violins, the sound of a lonely buoy bell, and eerie voices singing in...not-English. This calm doesn't last long, though, for the narrative descends into frightening vocal territory with harrowing cries and groans. The rhythm and phrasing become more tribal in feel. We find out why she cries when she tells the story of her having to buy her own children out of bondage. In the end, this album sounds like a really well-put-together art school project. This avant-garde spiritual jazz is also conscious jazz.

**Frownland** · 09-13-2018, 08:50 PM

Nice. One of the greatest and most expressive albums ever made. My bandmates and I listened to it for the first time together as a jazz record for background music but eventually stopped talking and just listened. Powerful record.

Zhanteimi · 09-13-2018, 09:14 PM

I get that. This album was nominated in an Album Discussion Club I run, and everyone was just amazed by the painful story that unfolded across this harrowing look at slavery.

Neapolitan · 09-13-2018, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhanteimi

.

Good to see you back in the trenches.

Zhanteimi · 09-13-2018, 10:00 PM

Thanks, Nea. I just needed a break to sort shit out inside my own head. But I'm an attention whore at heart, so I had to come back.

***

0004 Gyvata - Su vėjužiu kalbėjau
(Lithuania, 2012, Lithuanian folk / neofolk)

This is one of only two Lithuanian albums in my collection, but based on what I like from my two albums, I want to find time to explore more traditional music from this old country. Maybe something from this list will grab me. The choral female vocals evoke an ethereal, pastoral atmosphere, underpinned by beautiful violins. Overall, however, this strikes me as a teensy-weensy bit inauthentic, so it will probably never rise into the upper echelon of my best folk.

The Batlord · 09-14-2018, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhanteimi

Thanks, Nea. I just needed a break to sort shit out inside my own head. But I'm an attention whore at heart, so I had to come back.

You can't shake a stick at MB without some attention whore wanting to fetch it.

Zhanteimi · 09-16-2018, 12:33 AM

0005 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
(Germany, 1974, Berlin school / progressive electronic)

I'm trying to reimagine a sci-fi / aquatic setting wherein the queen has a thing for her stepson, and when he rejects her, she tells the king his son tried to rape her. The king believes his wife and banishes his son, who soon gets trampled by (sea)horses and dies. If you're sober, you need to bring something of your own to this album to give it claws. On this most recent listen, I just lay back on the sofa and closed my eyes. My three-year-old son joined me, and together we listened in complete silence. It was like an underwater journey with lights flashing in the deep.

Zhanteimi · 09-16-2018, 03:18 PM

0006 Sigur Rós - Kveikur
(Iceland, 2013, post-rock / art rock)

I listened to this when it was first released, and having lost one of its members, the band sounds a bit different on this album. My initial reaction was one of guarded skepticism. I wasn't sure if I liked it, but when I listened to it again, it just happened to be when I was pulling an all-nighter (and no I wasn't studying). I danced to this album harder than I've ever danced in my life outside a live show setting, and the dancing helped me understand and love this album. As a matter of fact, my experience with this album was so profound that I didn't listen to a single piece of music for the next 30 days. I couldn't. The music receptors in my soul were burned out.

Zhanteimi · 09-19-2018, 02:04 AM

0007 Neil Young - On the Beach
(Canada, 1974, folk rock / singer-songwriter / country rock)

I've got a few Neil Young albums in my collection mostly because (a) I like his music well enough, and (b) he is highly regarded. There are a lot of serious music lovers out there who adore this man's music, even going so far as to say he is the voice of a generation and that his albums are the best of their time. I wouldn't go that far, but I do sense there is more to Mr. Young than I've yet discovered. Every once in a while one of his songs really grabs me. The eponymous track on this album does. "I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day." Although this isn't a state of mind I can personally identify with, I know a lot of people who feel this way, so I try to sympathize. As for me, I learned long ago that people just ain't no good. I avoid them whenever possible.

09-13-2018, 07:01 PM	#861 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	Gotta keep up with these name changes. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic

09-13-2018, 08:28 PM	#862 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0003 Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres (USA, 2011, avant-garde jazz / spiritual jazz) This album starts as a paradox, namely as a beautiful cacophony, and the vocals, strong yet broken, rise perfectly out of this sonic storm. Then the violins soar, evoking more familiar emotions and granting the much-needed respite from the opening tempest. There follows a powerful a capella rendition of a slave auction, with all its attendant sexual callousness (the upright bass lead-in is perfect, providing the backbone to the auction bidding chant breakdown). The music swirls on into mournful violins, the sound of a lonely buoy bell, and eerie voices singing in...not-English. This calm doesn't last long, though, for the narrative descends into frightening vocal territory with harrowing cries and groans. The rhythm and phrasing become more tribal in feel. We find out why she cries when she tells the story of her having to buy her own children out of bondage. In the end, this album sounds like a really well-put-together art school project. This avant-garde spiritual jazz is also conscious jazz. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:35 PM.

09-13-2018, 08:50 PM	#863 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Nice. One of the greatest and most expressive albums ever made. My bandmates and I listened to it for the first time together as a jazz record for background music but eventually stopped talking and just listened. Powerful record. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

09-13-2018, 09:14 PM	#864 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	I get that. This album was nominated in an Album Discussion Club I run, and everyone was just amazed by the painful story that unfolded across this harrowing look at slavery. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic

09-13-2018, 10:00 PM	#866 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	Thanks, Nea. I just needed a break to sort shit out inside my own head. But I'm an attention whore at heart, so I had to come back. * 0004 Gyvata** - Su vėjužiu kalbėjau (Lithuania, 2012, Lithuanian folk / neofolk) This is one of only two Lithuanian albums in my collection, but based on what I like from my two albums, I want to find time to explore more traditional music from this old country. Maybe something from this list will grab me. The choral female vocals evoke an ethereal, pastoral atmosphere, underpinned by beautiful violins. Overall, however, this strikes me as a teensy-weensy bit inauthentic, so it will probably never rise into the upper echelon of my best folk. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:35 PM.

09-16-2018, 12:33 AM	#868 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0005 Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (Germany, 1974, Berlin school / progressive electronic) I'm trying to reimagine a sci-fi / aquatic setting wherein the queen has a thing for her stepson, and when he rejects her, she tells the king his son tried to rape her. The king believes his wife and banishes his son, who soon gets trampled by (sea)horses and dies. If you're sober, you need to bring something of your own to this album to give it claws. On this most recent listen, I just lay back on the sofa and closed my eyes. My three-year-old son joined me, and together we listened in complete silence. It was like an underwater journey with lights flashing in the deep. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:35 PM.

09-16-2018, 03:18 PM	#869 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0006 Sigur Rós - Kveikur (Iceland, 2013, post-rock / art rock) I listened to this when it was first released, and having lost one of its members, the band sounds a bit different on this album. My initial reaction was one of guarded skepticism. I wasn't sure if I liked it, but when I listened to it again, it just happened to be when I was pulling an all-nighter (and no I wasn't studying). I danced to this album harder than I've ever danced in my life outside a live show setting, and the dancing helped me understand and love this album. As a matter of fact, my experience with this album was so profound that I didn't listen to a single piece of music for the next 30 days. I couldn't. The music receptors in my soul were burned out. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:35 PM.

09-19-2018, 02:04 AM	#870 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0007 Neil Young - On the Beach (Canada, 1974, folk rock / singer-songwriter / country rock) I've got a few Neil Young albums in my collection mostly because (a) I like his music well enough, and (b) he is highly regarded. There are a lot of serious music lovers out there who adore this man's music, even going so far as to say he is the voice of a generation and that his albums are the best of their time. I wouldn't go that far, but I do sense there is more to Mr. Young than I've yet discovered. Every once in a while one of his songs really grabs me. The eponymous track on this album does. "I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day." Although this isn't a state of mind I can personally identify with, I know a lot of people who feel this way, so I try to sympathize. As for me, I learned long ago that people just ain't no good. I avoid them whenever possible. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:36 PM.