Sugar's Journey into the Unknown

Arya Stark · 03-01-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

Oh yeah, do you remember what I recommended for you? I don't remember.

Rush?
And something else.
And something else.
=D

boo boo · 03-02-2010, 11:01 PM

I've probably recommended Yes (the band I can never shut up about on this forum) as well then.

Anyway, for modern prog I'd recommend some of these.

Ritual - The Hemulic Voluntary Band: Swedish prog band with a heavy 70s prog influence but they have a very unique sound of their own, especially vocally.
Beardfish - Sleeping in Traffic: Part one: Another swedish group, they sound a LOT like 70s Yes and Genesis at times, with the exception of the vocals, which are really good and kinda sort of Jeff Buckley-ish.
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia: Their most assessible album and one of their most diverse, there's a little bit of everything in this record.
Frost* - Milliontown: I'm not a big fan of the so called neo prog movement but this is a major exception to the rule. The heavy use of synths, soft piano work, Steve Vai-ish guitar solos and raspy vocals make this an aqquired taste for some. But then again, most of the music I love is an aqquired taste, lol.
Battles - Mirrored: Now here's a band that actually has some hipster cred. Associated with math rock, but they sound more kin to Gentle Giant and Magma then they do to Slint or Polvo.
The Mars Volta - De-Loused In The Comatorium: Not much to say about this one, it's a pretty obvious choice. For the most well known modern prog group, they're more inaccessible than the other artists I've mentioned, so if you never heard them they're pretty freaking hard to describe.

If you like any of these then I'll recommend you some older stuff.

Arya Stark · 03-03-2010, 10:08 AM

I'll look into it. [=
Thanks, Boo.

Arya Stark · 03-03-2010, 09:40 PM

I actually think I need to review things differently, take a different view.
I'm sure most people are going to say that this is obvious, but it's not something I noticed until just now.
When I listen to the album for the sake of reviewing, I'm unnecessarily critical.
When I listen just to listen, I have a completely different outlook.
+81 recommended me a bunch of albums and sent them all to me over my winter break and I was able to listen to them on the way back to school.
Had I listened to them with intention to review, I wouldn't have felt the same way as i do now.
Instead, I just played them all on a playlist as I rode home. I closed my eyes and jsut enjoyed what I was listening to. I was able to pick out favourite songs, songs that I'd probably skip, and songs I'm glad he chose for me.
I don't know how I'm going to review for now on, but I definitely need a different way to go about this.

So here's a question for anyone who feels like answering:

How do you review albums, and how would you suggest I review them?

Arya Stark · 03-19-2010, 11:19 AM

A few mini-reviews while I'm here. The links are the ones I like the most.
And don't expect to see a lot of the change on last.fm if you follow me. I don't always keep it open, and I listen to a lot of music off of the computer.
And updates.

My music taste has not changed, but has instead expanded to music that I wish I'd found earlier.
It's music I always would have been interested in, I can appreciate good music, but it's music that was introduced to me through other sources, or a good majority of it was.
[Mostly mojopinuk and +81, but I'm not sure if my reviews today will show that]

Carissa's Wierd - Beginner's Comp (Dr. Seussicide) Did I spell that right?
This band probably shares the most similarities with the bands I listened to at first, which might be why I was drawn to them so quickly. But there's something about them, something about the music, that's different. I think it just might have substance, unlike most of the bands I'd loved before.

Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself (My friend Phil)
This album was given to me for my birthday. Not the physical albums, though, he just transferred the music from one of his accounts to my Zune. So after a couple of days, it left my mind, never to return until Rachel and Sami (my suitemates) played a couple of her songs, reminding me that I owned two of her albums, and during a study session at the library, I chose to listen to some more of her music. Lately, I've been a big fan of her, following her on Twitter and such. The link is the song Headlock, the first one on the album.

The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (+81)
+81 sent me a bunch of albums at the end of one of my breaks so that I could have something to listen to on my way back. Of all of the bands, I'd say this one is the one I liked the most. It's definitely not a band I would have listened to on my own. I wanted to tell +81 what I thought of all of the music he suggested, and I listened to each of the albums on the 13-hour ride home. I don't really know what to say about this band or this album other than the fact that it was probably the first step I took towards really expanding my music taste.

That's what I have for now. ;D

Arya Stark · 03-22-2010, 12:22 PM

Under the Influence of Giants - Under the Influence of Giants

Listening to this band right now with Rachel. We're both loving it.
Intense, but not overwhelming.
Nothing that's too much to handle.
That might be my favourite part of the album so far.
Aside from the mallet instruments. <3
The singer is easily able to change his voice to fit the mood of the song.
I thought all of the songs would be in falsetto, but they aren't.
The simplicity of it all draws me in, makes me want to listen to each song again after it's finished.
I could study while I listen, maybe even sleep to some of the tracks.

It's reminiscent of another band I can't quite put my finger on.
Or the other band shares some components.
It reminds me of something my dad might want to hear. I'm going to see what he thinks.
Talented band.

I don't even know who sent me this album, so I can't thank them. >.> EDIT: Found who it was!! It was Anteater for the Weekly Trade Post!

I know my review writing sucks. I can do better. Sorry guys. xD

music_phantom13 · 03-23-2010, 09:26 PM

Wow I completely lost track of this thread, you definitely need to listen to Frou Frou immediately if you like Imogen Heap. It's the trip-hop band she was with before she went solo. If you're interested I'll send some your way. And good call with The Unicorns

one of my favorites.

Arya Stark · 03-23-2010, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_phantom13

Wow I completely lost track of this thread, you definitely need to listen to Frou Frou immediately if you like Imogen Heap. It's the trip-hop band she was with before she went solo. If you're interested I'll send some your way. And good call with The Unicorns

one of my favorites.

I think a friend of mine listens to Frou Frou. [=
Do you recommend anything specific?
Thank you for being one of the only ones to follow my thread. You have good feedback.

music_phantom13 · 03-23-2010, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwwSugar

I think a friend of mine listens to Frou Frou. [=
Do you recommend anything specific?
Thank you for being one of the only ones to follow my thread. You have good feedback.

No problem at all, I'm always happy to see a good thread around. I'll try to keep up

As for Frou Frou, song wise I would recommend Must Be Dreaming (probably their most popular), Let Go, Breathe In, and Psychobabble. I think there's only one album, Details, all the songs are worth checking out; if you don't like trip-hop don't let that scare you away because it's really not like anything else I've heard. And while I'm here since they're both your threads, by Les Discrets I would suggest Songs For Mountains, Septembre et ses dernieres pensees, and Une Matinee d'Hiver. Maybe not quite as good as Amesoeurs and Alcest (in my eyes) but still some damn good music.

Arya Stark · 03-23-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_phantom13

No problem at all, I'm always happy to see a good thread around. I'll try to keep up

As for Frou Frou, song wise I would recommend Must Be Dreaming (probably their most popular), Let Go, Breathe In, and Psychobabble. I think there's only one album, Details, all the songs are worth checking out; if you don't like trip-hop don't let that scare you away because it's really not like anything else I've heard. And while I'm here since they're both your threads, by Les Discrets I would suggest Songs For Mountains, Septembre et ses dernieres pensees, and Une Matinee d'Hiver. Maybe not quite as good as Amesoeurs and Alcest (in my eyes) but still some damn good music.

Ohh, thank you so much. [=
I'm glad you like my thread.
I'll go and look up the music and write what I think here when I'm done procrastinating this homework I have to do.

03-23-2010, 09:26 PM	#97 (permalink)
music_phantom13 Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 942	Wow I completely lost track of this thread, you definitely need to listen to Frou Frou immediately if you like Imogen Heap. It's the trip-hop band she was with before she went solo. If you're interested I'll send some your way. And good call with The Unicorns one of my favorites.