What music are you listening to?

[Skummy]

I don't have nearly enough Taj Mahal Travellers - they were namedropped to me around the same time as LRD, and Speed, Glue & Shinki, but I just never got round to picking up more than a couple of tracks. Japanese music is a real treasure trove, though, so I'm sure I'll go back to that one.

Of that other list, Nurse With Wound and Current 93 are two more I need to look more into; everything I've heard by either I find absolutely incredible. Current 93 did a version of "Dandy In The Underworld" with Sebastian Horsley, which I only heard shortly after Sebastian died, and I just found it to be one of the most haunting, heartbreaking pieces of music I've ever heard, under the circumstances.

Scott Walker is one of my all-time favourites, of course.

[METALMAN]

Speaking of which - I finally got Tilt. I love the drift, so I'm optimistic.

[SRN]

I don't have nearly enough Taj Mahal Travellers - they were namedropped to me around the same time as LRD, and Speed, Glue & Shinki, but I just never got round to picking up more than a couple of tracks. Japanese music is a real treasure trove, though, so I'm sure I'll go back to that one.

Of that other list, Nurse With Wound and Current 93 are two more I need to look more into; everything I've heard by either I find absolutely incredible. Current 93 did a version of "Dandy In The Underworld" with Sebastian Horsley, which I only heard shortly after Sebastian died, and I just found it to be one of the most haunting, heartbreaking pieces of music I've ever heard, under the circumstances.

Scott Walker is one of my all-time favourites, of course.

Although I still haven't gotten around to listening to Nurse With Wound, I will gladly drop some stuff from Current 93; get a hold of "Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain". It is a just fright, angst and general spookiness bearing down on you, quaintly accompanied by folk tunes with the sudden bang of distortion that just throws you into this nightmare world. Sort of like Scott Walker's "The Drift"; were the diving violins replaced by distorted guitars. I also liked that album, by the way. I liked it a lot. I will definitely have to check out "Tilt" and "Climate of Hunter" as well. Concerning the Taj Mahal Travellers, the only thing I've heard from them yet is their first recording, "July 15, 1972".

Which you should totally hear as well; as of this post, I am booting up the split release they did with LRD, "Oz Days Live", which I can't wait to hear.

[METALMAN]

brilliant.

[METALMAN]

I listened to La Mer by Debussy tonight. It's amaaaaaaazing.

[SRN]

I actually have that on the "to-listen" list as well! Might give it a listen after I am done with Fall of Efrafa. Just took up their trilogy of records again, tonight. I knew they were based on some sort of heroic epic but I honestly never knew that it based on Watership Down; a book that I have never read, only seen the animated series of as a child. I guess I better get to reading the book.

Oh, Fall of Efrafa are sludge metal/post hardcore band by the way; they've billed themselves as "Atmospheric Post Hardcore" which I think is... actually quite a well-defined description of their music.

[Evis]

[SRN]

Skummy, you need to listen to Oz Days Live.

Because it is such a weird composition for a live record. You have a rockabilly tributes, a Beatles cover, soft ballads, then Taj Mahal Travellers and then to finish Les Rallizes Dénudés does this almost Sunn O)))-like opening to their performance and then just busts out stuff that could've been taken right out of a Velvet Underground album. Seriously, this album is both amazing and so confusing at the same time.

[Skummy]

Skummy, you need to listen to Oz Days Live.

Because it is such a weird composition for a live record. You have a rockabilly tributes, a Beatles cover, soft ballads, then Taj Mahal Travellers and then to finish Les Rallizes Dénudés does this almost Sunn O)))-like opening to their performance and then just busts out stuff that could've been taken right out of a Velvet Underground album. Seriously, this album is both amazing and so confusing at the same time.

That's what I love about Japanese music - I was having this conversation recently with the guy who owns the record shop where I used to work. Because, in the '60s and the '70s, all they got from American and British music scenes was the music itself, they were never subjected to its cultural significance, so were never affected by creative taboos, or this idea that if you like Band A, you can't possibly listen to Band B, or if you're a certain kind of person you can listen to one style of music but not another. They just heard it all, and threw anything they liked all in there together, without seeing any problem with it. So even early '60s Group Sounds stuff can go from faux-first album Beatles pop, into a fuzzy, messy guitar solo, back to where it started, and no one would bat an eyelid. It's fantastic.

Will definitely check that out, though.

[Damian WayLNKe]

Just found my new favorite music video

[SRN]

So, I felt like some death metal today. Haven't indulged in that genre for quite some time so I immediately hit up Immolation's "Close To A World Below" which, if you are a death metal fan, you should listen to lots of times. Because it is a great album. Also hit up some Demigod and Demilich, both from Finland, both amazing albums. And then I found out that Demilich are actually releasing new stuff! After almost twenty years! And that makes me happy.

[Jimmy]

Snakadaktal are brilliant and everyone should listen to them.

[SRN]

Alright, in stark contrast to yesterday (where it was windy and cold), today is nice, sunny and hot. And thus it is time for some Beach Boys!

[Damian WayLNKe]

Just preordered Jack White's album. Can't wait

[KONGO]

Mobb Deep's The Infamous. Yes.

[METALMAN]

I've been listening to the Anthology of American Folk Music. Obviously, given the nature of the subject a lot of the songs are pretty threadbare or uninventive, but as a historical document it's absolutely fascinatibg.

[KONGO]

Karp/Rye Coalition split. I need to listen to more Rye Coalition. I already know Karp is the tits.

[Skummy]

I've got a ton of Rye Coalition stuff somewhere - mostly cassette rips, and other such stuff that's apparently quite hard to come by. I've barely listened to it, and don't know a damn thing about the band, so I don't know how true the apparent rarity of it all is, but I'll have to take a look at exactly what I've got...

[KONGO]

If you have this Karp/Rye Coalition split, you need to listen to it now. Especially if it's the version with eight tracks.

[SRN]

So, because I know both Skummy and metalman know their music and have good taste (well, besides the Cher Lloyd thing in metalmand's case), I sat down and listened to Frank Sinatra's "Only the Lonely" and "Watertown". Firstly because I felt I needed something that I had never listened to before and also because I have been listening to mostly Cobalt and Swans this last week or so, so I wanted something new. And man, was I pleasantly surprised. I doubt I'll ever get into his more swing-based releases but these "Only the Lonely" and "Watertown" sit just right with me.

So thanks, Skummy and metalman.