The beat marches on...
 

Portishead: Portishead--Some turd from one of my previous jobs took my live CD...bastard! In any case, this is a great (and overlooked...at least Stateside) CD. Beth Gibbons's voice is haunting. While the "trip-hop" sound is still present from their first record, Dummy, this record has more of a smoky jazz feel to it.

Radio Iodine: Tiny Warnings--Not to take away from the great Frank Zappa, but this is probably one of the best bands that nobody has heard of. A mid-90s take on guitar-based industrial. Two female vocalists. Produced by John Fryar (Depeche Mode, Stabbing Westward). I remember when their major-label debut came out in the summer of 1997...I was so hopeful of another St. Louis band breaking out into the big time. Unfortunately, they broke up a short time later.

Machines of Loving Grace: Concentration--A friend of mine, who knew I was a fan of Skinny Puppy and Ministry, recommended these guys back in late 1993. Great CD...don't know what happened to them after Gilt came out in 1995.

What about the old favorites...

(emphasis on the word 'old')

I've been paritial to Strauss (all of them), Debussy, and Tchosfsky (mangled name).

Any other waltzing fools (Strauss fans) out there...?

Sadly, I own no classical CDs, although I like various classical works. The closest I have to a classic composition is Depeche Mode's version of "Moonlight Sonata."

For some reason, I want a copy of Gershwin's "An American in Paris."

I'm afraid my classical CDs are pretty dusty. I will put Mozarts piano sonatas on when the mood strikes.

This morning its wall to wall Cowboy Junkies,... at least until the Mrs gets sick of it.

"Progressive Rock"
 

Dream Theater

These guys are (mostly) from NYC... and quite good. A full metal band, very lush and lyrical. www.dreamtheater.net

Pearl Jam

album="Yield" right now. PJ has always had lyrics that made sense to me, even those I don't like.

Pink Floyd

"Dark Side of the Moon"!

...and yeah, if you get the feeling that lyrics are important...

Now that you mention it, I really like the Gershwin tune....

An excellent choice....

(Thanks)

sa

Re: "Progressive Rock"
 

I haven't listened to them in years, but I used to dig them. A good prog rock band in the vein of Rush.

Around early 1992, my group of friends in high school would toss around all these "new bands" we were hearing about.

One friend: "Man, you have to check out this band Nirvana! They're really loud...and you can't understand their words!"

Me: "Oh man, check out this band Soundgarden! The lead singer just wails!"

Another friend: "You have got to hear this band Pearl Jam...they're like the next Zeppelin!"

Ah...those were good times.

I remember buying that CD...it was CD #200 in my collection as a matter of fact. I used to love listening to that CD half-crocked.

Their greatest hits collection was #2 on the US albums chart this week...after Miss Spears and in front of the King of Pop. Not bad for a band that hasn't put out a studio record in 6 years, and is considered a "dinosaur band" by some. Bah!

Because you have to have tunes on a roadtrip...
 

Most of the stuff I took has been in regular rotation on my CD player lately...

Anthrax: Sound of White Noise
Jamiroquai: A Funk Odyssey
The Reverend Horton Heat: Holy Roller
Terence Trent D'Arby: Vibrator
Depeche Mode: The Singles 81>85 (note: The re-released 1998 version)
Depeche Mode: Exciter
Ozomatli: Embrace the Chaos
A Perfect Circle: Mer de Noms
Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses
Earth Wind & Fire: Greatest Hits
Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

What's funny is, we have shitty stereos at home. I mean, they're okay, but nothing that I'd write home to my mom about. But I was really impressed with how good some of them sounded on the car stereo. I really need to get the car stereo in our own car fixed now...

Oysterhead!

Why was I not copied on the memo! Holy Christ on a sandwich, they're on HBO right now, Stewart Copeland [ex-Police and all-around genius], Les Claypool [Primus] and Trey Anastasio [Phish]. As a power trio. Oh this is just too much!

You know...they were mentioned on "Providence" last night...long story, but I distinctly remember the kids listening to Oysterhead.

These are in the stereo now:

Cold - 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage

Tenacious D - self-title

Kottonmouth Kings - Hidden Stash II: The Kream of the Krop

Santana - Supernatural

Staind - Dysfunction

If you took up my earlier recommendation and listened to Kottonmouth's debut album, pick up HS2. It's pretty damn good.

Pimpingly,

~Mike

alright. here it is. i am listening to

Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II

yes, yes. didn't everyone forget about guns n' roses?

well, these are two damn fine albums. Use Your Illusion I is more hard-rock oriented - a good album to listen to on a drive or when you're pissed off. Use Your Illusion II is more melodic and mature; great album any time.

Current song: Perfect Crime.

awwwwwwwwwwwwwww yeah. :)

P.S. - I think Nirvana killed GN'R. Whatchoo think?

I strongly disagree. GnR could have easily survived the Grunge Revolt, as Van Halen, Megadeth, Metallica, and Pantera did. Axl self-destructed...basically got rid of the entire band. Still can't settle on a lineup. Got a reported $10 million advance to make "Chinese Democracy"...and Lord knows if we'll ever see that record.

Although, I really think it started with the 1991 riot in St. Louis...

Really like Axles cover of that Bond tune. GnR should have weathered grunge.

Last night, I slipped Joe Jacksons Live in New York into the cd player. Had to grab the wife, Fools in Love etc.. This is my first cd of Joes but I've got some good stuff on vinyl sitting oh so quietly in a box, in a corner of an old granary, an old rodent infested granary .... That is just wrong.

Ah, my friend. "Ah".

One could argue that Axl's self-destructive nature really fleshed itself out as he realized that Guns N' Roses' popularity was slipping due to the onslaught of grunge. The riot was definitely a big thing. I was only 10 or 11 at the time, so I remember very little of the specifics (and will go read up on them now), but they definitely could have weathered that had they continued to produce quality music.

I think the biggest problem was the departure of Izzy Stradlin. Besides writing &singing the best Guns N' Roses song ever (14 Years, if you're curious :) ), he was, simply, a staple of the band. He might not have been as visible as Slash or Axl, but he was equally important. The best songwriter for the band, a good singer anyway, good rhythm guitars... losing him was a tremendous blow.

I really think this all started though with Nirvana and grunge music in general. GN'R was at the top of the world and saw it being taken from them. Shit, Metallica wasn't even as big as GN'R in '91. Axl realized they were in for a big fall and hit the bottom.

That's my opinion, anyway.

P.S. - Tony and I owning the boards today. What's up with that?