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Underground > Radio & Music >

Restore my passion for music... please

  
  

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Sleeperservice
20:11 / 30.05.02
Learn to play/write music.

I lost interest for a while; sure there was good stuff around, and I still listened to a lot of music but I wasn't 'into it' as much as when I was younger (I'm 35 now). Then I got an 'all-in-one-studio' type program on my PC about a year ago and I've really got back into music again. Sure it takes some effort to learn (relearn in my case, I used to play Clarinet) but it's well worth it. This setup does lend itself to certain types of music but you could learn Guitar, Piano, anything really.

Just an idea.
 
 
Axel Lambert
17:17 / 31.05.02
If you enjoyed Ladytron, you might want to try Adult. (even more synthesizey, and DAMN serious) or The Faint (sad and glorious).
 
 
Axel Lambert
17:31 / 31.05.02
And yeah, I'll second Ed Harcourt and Belle & Sebastian.
 
 
minor 9th
22:47 / 31.05.02
i agree with most of the things being said here. the only thing i could add really is that sometimes when i want to find something new, i'll go to audiogalaxy and download something at random, something which i'd never normally dream of listening to. sometimes i surprise myself and find a real gem. it's great when it happens.
 
 
Annunnaki-9
14:04 / 01.06.02
I'm with SleeperService- when my attention begins to flag, I start studying a new instrument. It allows me a dofferent type of appreciation, from the inside, so-to-speak. You'll begin to gravitate towrds different atrists, at first possibly on a technical level, then comes real enjoyment. Happened to me with Pat Methany- I hated his stuff until I strted trying to play it.

But one clarification. I reject the arguement that only musicians can really, truly appreciate music. The only level musicians have in addition to 'listeners' is technique. But technique can be a segue into listening in a new way.
 
 
gridley
18:03 / 03.06.02
but on the other hand, studied musicians while gaining better appreciation for great technique, usually lose the ability to enjoy crappy music. And if you can't play the old Tom Tom Club records, what use is living....
 
 
Annunnaki-9
17:04 / 06.06.02
I suppose that can be true, but philosophically, can you really, truly enjoy crappy music at all, if it is indeed crappy? And I'm not sure if I ever heard any Tom Tom Club so I can't judge them. Is there a band from the 'eighties called 'the Bon Ton Society?'

Anyway, as I get better, I never loose my love for the basics. I still dig three- no, two chord punk, Neil Young, Iggy Pop, etc... Simple music, not technically complex. It has a quality of primal clarity often lost in the dazzle of proficiency. One of the greatest musical lessons I ever learned was 'Learn to play everything- but for God's sake- DON'T!'
 
 
gridley
21:17 / 11.06.02
Bon Ton Society were a new wave band out of Milwaukee, named for the infamous 1930s African-American society in Washington DC that excluded members whose skin was darker than a paper grocery bag.

Whereas the Tom Tom Club are Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, the rhythm section for the Talking Heads.
 
 
that
22:25 / 11.06.02
Lincoln. 'Mettle'. It kicks arse. I am crap at waxing lyrical about music, so look it up on Amazon and I am sure someone will do a better job of it than I ever could...

I bough the Ed Harcourt cd because of this thread. Me likey.
 
 
Ganesh
16:03 / 27.07.02
Hmm, okay. Finally got around to buying the Flaming Lips' 'The Soft Bulletin' and the Fischerspooner album (are they really the new Sigue Sigue Sputnik? Is that a good or a bad thing?) Listening the former as we speak...
 
 
Seth
17:22 / 27.07.02
Really hope you like The Soft Bulletin, 'Nesh. Recommending records is always nerve-wracking. If you're into it there's an excellent chance you'll like their new one, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
 
 
Ganesh
21:27 / 27.07.02
Hmm. Bit REM-ish in the vocal. Not that instant but sufficiently so to make me put it on again almost immediately afterwards. The second time, I'm appreciating the 'swirliness' a lot more...
 
 
Axel Lambert
19:21 / 28.07.02
REM?? I think the vocals sound like Jon Anderson of Yes.
 
 
Ganesh
19:45 / 28.07.02
I wouldn't know, really.
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
22:58 / 28.07.02
"I guess I have a weakness for pop with 'real' or self-consciously 'British/English' lyrics"

This being the case, you might like to take a listen to this lot

They're called Flying Machine, and they're from Brighton. That's all I know. They haven't been close friends of mine for the past three years, and I've most certainly never provided graphics and web design for them.
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
11:28 / 29.07.02
Yeah, and I never went to school with them and Andy didn't break my walkman when I was 15. Bastard.

Was it a good gig last week BTW?
 
 
theskunkymonkey
13:25 / 29.07.02
Go and by the debut album by The Coral - before the hype puts you off. Really is THAT good. Reminds me of... Love, Teardrop Explodes and the theme to Captain Pugwash!
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
18:43 / 29.07.02
Oh, how easily I'm rumbled.

Ahem. I hear it was a good gig. Apparently we, erm, I mean they were just the ticket...
 
 
theskunkymonkey
12:52 / 30.07.02
Should clarify, Pugwash/Teardrop/Love combo, is only the first track Spanish Main...
Lyric 'We're setting sail, heading for the Spanish Main'
AWESOME!!! In a nautical styleeee!
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
11:08 / 31.07.02
Hmmm, obvious piratical tendencies there...

"Oh, it's fun to charter an accountant,
And sail on the wide accountant- sea..."
 
 
Wrecks City-Zen
21:58 / 31.07.02
Ganesh-

I went through the same loss a few years ago. The one thing I can suggest when you have lost your passion for music... start making your own. Seriously! As many can tell you, it becomes one of the most liberating experiences, even if it is just some remix! Don't know if you are interested but I thought I'd toss er in there.
 
 
Margin Walker
22:40 / 31.07.02
Hmm, I've never been big on Brit Pop, but I think you might like You Am I, G. Hopefully Rothkoid will back me up on this one. They're an Aussie band that mixes Britpop with American power pop influences like Big Star. They also get compared to The Jam & The Who quite a bit, if you're looking for some point of reference. I really like "Hourly, Daily" and like what I've heard of "#4 Record" so far. Here's a pretty thorough website on the band: http://www.youami.com.au
 
 
pointless and uncalled for
00:01 / 02.08.02
So what is it that has made you feel like you're trying too hard?

Try cruising some less chainstore record shops, like the ones on Brewer Street and see if you hear something that catches your ear, even a little bit. Ask what it is and then buy it. I've landed some great albums that way.

But then again, would you take the advice of someone deeply in love with the two voices of Shakira. Gotta love the redheaded, punk latino "No Creo" action. Can't understand a word, voice is captivating.
 
 
Ganesh
23:44 / 28.02.03
Thought I'd revisit this thread because I finally (yeah, I know) discovered The Streets and am going through that 'still slightly irritated by the accent but well on the way to loving it' stage. It occurred to me that this thread was really quite successful in introducing me to stuff I might not otherwise have explored - most notably Fischerspooner and the wonderful Flaming Lips.

So... let's try this again. What else d'you reckon I'd enjoy? Past or present - just don't suggest I actually make it...
 
 
Jack Fear
00:14 / 01.03.03
Richard Thompson.

Singer/songwriter, guitar-based, distinctly English in voice and lyrical concerns. A long and checkered career. Coming out of the folk tradition, but in many ways the proto-Morrissey (except, you know, the bit about being young and good-looking)—lovelorn, class-conscious, mordant, bittersweet, often blackly funny.

In fact, I burned you a disk of his stuff months ago, but this thread was lost to thread churn...

If you're interested, PM me with a postal address...
 
 
Ganesh
00:55 / 01.03.03
Will do. I'm a little less paranoid about addresses these days...
 
 
The Falcon
02:30 / 01.03.03
If you do end up fully liking The Streets, or even if not, I'd highly recommend Roots Manuva for some idiosyncratic UK hip-hop.

'S better'n The Streets, which I like.
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
06:56 / 01.03.03
Damn! In belated props to Margin Walker, let me go YES! to You Am I. But only two albums in particular: Hi-Fi Way and Hourly, Daily. All else - particularly later albums - is inessential or, in extreme cases, shit. Hi-Fi Way is the album with which I brought Loomis into the light. It's possibly their best; Aussie, with just enough windmilly Who-ey goodness to keep it workin'. Try it.
 
 
A
12:43 / 01.03.03
You Am I's first album Sound As Ever is also pretty freakin' good, in my opinion. It doesn't have as much of a rock'n'roll feel as later albums, but it's still mighty fine. I think Rothkoid's right about the later albums, though. It seems to me that You Am I have gotten a little too good at apeing their influences, and they've lost a lot of what made them great as a result.
 
 
Seth
13:38 / 01.03.03
It's well on the way to its ten year anniversary now, but I'd really recommend Aphex Twin's Richard D James album. It's one of the all-time classic pure pop records: every tune is short, accessable, with beautiful melodies, carried by the energy of some of the best drum programming ever recorded. It's instant and rewards repeated listens. Plus it's clearly the blueprint for most of the best current chart pop. You'll probably be able to pick up a cheap copy now, too.
 
 
Shrug
16:13 / 02.03.03
Has anyone ever listened to dEUS I'd recommend dEUS "Worst Case Scenario", I'd hasten to call them indie but you know that is what some people would categorise them as.
Or possibly if you like something a bit more raw Lolita Storm "GFSU", or some AtariTeenageRiot.
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
21:26 / 02.03.03
Count Adam: true dat. I love Sound As Ever's rawness (and the Coprolalia EP is pretty good, too) - it was the first thing of theirs I heard - but in terms of songwriting, the second album's way ahead. I do think now, though, that Tim's a bit too "married a model and have kids and get free amps from Fender and free guitars from Piers Crocker" to be writing "life's kinda shit, but maybe I'll be OK - in Newtown" songs, y'know? It all rings a little hollow, now.

Not that I'm bitter that David Lane got that second guitarist job instead of me. Not one bit.
 
 
A
23:58 / 02.03.03
I second MatterArising's championing of the wonderful Lolita Storm. G.F.S.U. kicks more arse than an arse-kicking machine stuck on "high". I'd say they sound vaguely like a cross between X-Ray Spex and Atari Teenage Riot, for the uninitiated. does anyone know if they're ever going to put out another album?
 
 
the Cynical Avenger
00:46 / 03.03.03
hiyas ganesh, haven't heard from you in a while (ignoring your pals at f2b and c+f i see) but try this on for size.
 
 
A
02:09 / 03.03.03
I just re-read Ganesh's original post in this thread and, judging by the bands mentioned therein, I'd recommend German/French electropop duo Stereo Total.
 
  

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