What y'all listening to?

[sonyc 5,492]

Thanks Purple (I have no reactions available today). I think it's natural that we have a reference point in our music interests which aligns to our age  Yet, I'm not sure I agree with any period being the best. A lot of music borrows from the past (like those posts of how much modern pop and rock songs borrow from Vivaldi, Bach etc in their chord progressions and structure). Anyway, wasn't 1971 the wonder year!!😉 Online and a couple of TV programmes suggest it was!

 

I feel I'm still 'growing' musically (though Mrs S sometimes suggests it's a midlife crisis) and I find lots of stuff I never knew about or like you (I'm sure only at times), it's because I had simply dismissed some artists the first time. I've reappraised so many artists these last couple of years. And I've listened to jazz, neo classical, ambient, world music and found something special in all. Still cannot get to grips with opera though!

 

It often strikes me as strange that music is so personal and we often listen in isolation as its for the moment only ....and yet on here, folk can share something and music becomes so universal, archetypal even. 

 

I think there must be a book thread that would be fascinating. Yet, it would be a slow old thread wouldn't it, whilst posters read a new book and appraised it!

Edited July 28, 2020 by sonyc

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

Agree with most of that, sonyc. Apart from jazz! Opera I understand, and I have seen very little but one of my guilty secrets is that I like, up to a point, Wagner, and I did see a production of Tristan und Isolde a couple of years back, and it did have a real grandeur and emotion to it.

[sonyc 5,492]

I will have to just take the plunge then sometime Purple, hold my breath and go to see an opera. Feels dirty even writing this. Maybe a live performance will be better though. 

I have a version of T & I (on cassette!)

[Herman 9,716]

We'll have to sort out a short list of classic jazz albums for Purple to try out. 

[sonyc 5,492]

4 minutes ago, Herman said:

We'll have to sort out a short list of classic jazz albums for Purple to try out. 

Haha, but should be on solid ground if they are from the 1960s😉

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

6 minutes ago, Herman said:

We'll have to sort out a short list of classic jazz albums for Purple to try out. 

 

6 minutes ago, Herman said:

We'll have to sort out a short list of classic jazz albums for Purple to try out. 

I would vote Tory before I willingly listened to jazz...

[Herman 9,716]

7 hours ago, sonyc said:

Haha, but should be on solid ground if they are from the 1960s😉

He's in luck. All the greatest jazz albums come from the late 50s to the mid 60s in my humble opinion. 😀

[sonyc 5,492]

Indeed. '59 was the best year I believe 🙂

[Herman 9,716]

A short list of classic jazz for anyone wanting to dip their toe into the massive pool. 

Miles Davis  Sketches of Spain. 

Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong  The Great Summit. 

Charles Mingus. Ah Um. 

Art Blakey  Moanin'. 

Jimmy Smith  The Sermon. 

 

[sonyc 5,492]

[The Raptor 1,199]

Jazz is such a broad term. Theres such a variety.  Not in a jazz mood tho but 'll definitely come back to this when I am.

Tonight however it's a 90s punky vibe from.me. I guess I'm annoyed I have to work tomorrow!

 

 

[Herman 9,716]

Cancelled this year obviously but listening to that selection I'm sure you'd like the Slamdunk Festival, held in the beautiful Hatfield House park. (Also in Leeds somewhere.)

https://loudwire.com/slam-dunk-festival-2020-lineup/

[The Raptor 1,199]

24 minutes ago, Herman said:

Cancelled this year obviously but listening to that selection I'm sure you'd like the Slamdunk Festival, held in the beautiful Hatfield House park. (Also in Leeds somewhere.)

https://loudwire.com/slam-dunk-festival-2020-lineup/

YES! We went a couple of years ago in Leeds. I felt old and thought for the first time that my festival days were a thing of he past (I'm 42) but quickly just got drunk and realised that alot of the bands were even older! I'd definitely go again.

[Nuff Said 5,089]

On 29/07/2020 at 07:10, sonyc said:

Indeed. '59 was the best year I believe 🙂

My interest in jazz has being growing recently, evolving from my previous long-term position that there will never be a better (jazz) album than Kind of Blue to listening more widely. It's a fertile genre at the moment, with some really diverse music being made. These aren't all recent, but for anyone who's jazz-curious (obviously not Purple!), you might enjoy these:

 

• Let's Get Lost by Chet Baker. Such a voice, and a fascinating back story, movie star looks when younger but died a heroin addict.
• Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. Jazz harp, yes there is such a thing. Trippy and hippy
• Inspiration by Alina Bzhezhinska. More jazz harp! But contemporary this time.
• We Out Here by the Ezra Collective and others, contemporary new British jazz
• Songs: The Art of the Trio by Brad Mehldau - covers of non-jazz tracks, I love Exit Music for a Film on this
• Below the Baseline by Ernest Ranglin, funky, reggae-tinged stuff
• A Charlie Brown Christmas by The Vince Guaraldi Trio - makes you feel like you're Nigella Lawson
• The Mage by Greg Foat, my current favourite, the title track is awesome

Edited August 1, 2020 by Nuff Said

[FenwayFrank 2,456]

I don’t listen to a lot of jazz but will check out the albums listed on here. I do like Jimmy Smith, Roland Kirk and the album by Kenny Burrel and Stanley Turrentine that I’ve had and enjoyed for years

 

[sonyc 5,492]

3 hours ago, Nuff Said said:

My interest in jazz has being growing recently, evolving from my previous long-term position that there will never be a better (jazz) album than Kind of Blue to listening more widely. It's a fertile genre at the moment, with some really diverse music being made. These aren't all recent, but for anyone who's jazz-curious (obviously not Purple!), you might enjoy these:

 

• Let's Get Lost by Chet Baker. Such a voice, and a fascinating back story, movie star looks when younger but died a heroin addict.
• Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. Jazz harp, yes there is such a thing. Trippy and hippy
• Inspiration by Alina Bzhezhinska. More jazz harp! But contemporary this time.
• We Out Here by the Ezra Collective and others, contemporary new British jazz
• Songs: The Art of the Trio by Brad Mehldau - covers of non-jazz tracks, I love Exit Music for a Film on this
• Below the Baseline by Ernest Ranglin, funky, reggae-tinged stuff
• A Charlie Brown Christmas by The Vince Guaraldi Trio - makes you feel like you're Nigella Lawson
• The Mage by Greg Foat, my current favourite, the title track is awesome

Thanks for these recommendations Nuff Said. I have just listened to The Mage and it's got a nice soul to it. Working through your others.

I've included a few tracks below from my small collection jazz-wise.

Yousef Lateef....just sweet! 1962. Very accessible even for jazz doubters.

Michel Herr 1978 with Bill Frisell

(Do check out "Sans Blues Thank You" on the same album...I couldn't find it as a link tonight)

Oliver Nelson (may have posted before but so good it's worth a second one) ...1961

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by sonyc

[Herman 9,716]

Oliver Nelson was the guy I was struggling to remember in my recent jolly to a record shop.Set up a list on my phone for the future.👍

[FenwayFrank 2,456]

1 hour ago, Herman said:

Oliver Nelson was the guy I was struggling to remember in my recent jolly to a record shop.Set up a list on my phone for the future.👍

It’s when you can’t remember what records you’re looking for or you find a nice album but can’t remember if you’ve already got it isn’t it ?

[Herman 9,716]

I've got two Nils Frahm albums on my shelf. Same album bought from the same shop a few months apart.😳

The worst one was hearing something on 6 and thinking "what is this dreadful music?" ,or words to that effect, and quickly finding out it was something I had just bought. 😀

[Nuff Said 5,089]

1 hour ago, FenwayFrank said:

It’s when you can’t remember what records you’re looking for or you find a nice album but can’t remember if you’ve already got it isn’t it ?

Record shop blindness I used to call it. Walk in and my mind would immediately go blank. Although those who know me might say that’s not just in record shops these days.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Currently 

“Music from before the storm” by Daughter. Seems appropriate at the moment. I found them from the theme music to Altered Carbon.

[FenwayFrank 2,456]

I don’t know how local you all are but the guy at Holt Vinyl Vault was doing free post to NR postcodes, he brought my purchase round to my house as it wasn’t too far for him.

[Nuff Said 5,089]

Judging from a few posts on here, am I right to say most of you are listening to vinyl? I have to say I don’t get the vinyl thing, I’m old enough to have been there the first time and it’s cumbersome, extremely vulnerable and prone to static, dust and scratches ruining the listening experience. I do occasionally listen to the vinyl I own but give me CD or hi-res streaming pretty much every time if I have the choice. I get that album sleeves are hard to beat as something nice to look at, but I want to hear the music as close as possible to the original, any visual enjoyment is a distant second. Each to their own though.

 

@sonyc Enjoying some Oliver Nelson right now!

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

On 28/07/2020 at 23:56, sonyc said:

I will have to just take the plunge then sometime Purple, hold my breath and go to see an opera. Feels dirty even writing this. Maybe a live performance will be better though. 

I have a version of T & I (on cassette!)

Not sure I would honestly recommend Wagner in the flesh. Tristan takes about four hours, with two intermissions. I would recommend a Mahler symphony if there are ever orchestral performances back. Any of them really, but the 2nd, the 3rd and the 8th particularly.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

1 minute ago, Nuff Said said:

Judging from a few posts on here, am I right to say most of you are listening to vinyl? I have to say I don’t get the vinyl thing, I’m old enough to have been there the first time and it’s cumbersome, extremely vulnerable and prone to static, dust and scratches ruining the listening experience. I do occasionally listen to the vinyl I own but give me CD or hi-res streaming pretty much every time if I have the choice. I get that album sleeves are hard to beat as something nice to look at, but I want to hear the music as close as possible to the original, any visual enjoyment is a distant second. Each to their own though.

 

@sonyc Enjoying some Oliver Nelson right now!

Can't speak for others but I do have all my old vinyls records, and listen to them quite often. I only have Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl, for example, and stuff from the sixties, such as the Best of the Lovin' Spoonful. And I have quite a few cassettes, including a weird compilation a friend taped for me of obscure football songs, with such classics as 'Firhill For Thrills' (Partick Thistle), 'The Finn Harp Song', and 'Fantastico' (Leyton Orient). But mainly is it CDs.

[Herman 9,716]

Yeah, CDs here too. Mostly for ease, I can listen to them in my car and the quality of sound is good. I still have my old vinyl from when I was a youngster, unfortunately my taste was metal, metal and more metal back then. I'll buy the odd vinyl now and then but the price of new ones is off putting, over £20 for one, so I'll carry on the same way until CDs become obsolete.

[sonyc 5,492]

54 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Judging from a few posts on here, am I right to say most of you are listening to vinyl? I have to say I don’t get the vinyl thing, I’m old enough to have been there the first time and it’s cumbersome, extremely vulnerable and prone to static, dust and scratches ruining the listening experience. I do occasionally listen to the vinyl I own but give me CD or hi-res streaming pretty much every time if I have the choice. I get that album sleeves are hard to beat as something nice to look at, but I want to hear the music as close as possible to the original, any visual enjoyment is a distant second. Each to their own though.

 

@sonyc Enjoying some Oliver Nelson right now!

Have kept all my vinyls but they're mostly the 1970s and up to about 1990 given my age. Quality is variable and I agree about the effort, yet the experience of holding the album and reading all the liner and sleeve notes cannot be matched with a CD. Somehow the sound too is warmer on a vinyl.

I have found myself move almost completely to streaming services (some paid but mostly the free versions) and played either through a Bluetooth speaker but mostly headphones. The car doesn't have a CD so it's now all synched through Bluetooth too.

My sons also stream. They think CDs (and DVDs) are so old hat! 

[sonyc 5,492]

Speaking of vinyls...here are two bands who employed Roger Dean for their artwork covers. 1970s prog influences ....very hippy...

And two from TV Personalities a post punk band... Underrated and some passion-filled lyrics. The first about all the fear around the red button and nuclear war...guessing 1984 ish.

 

[Van wink 2,994]

happened to be on tv again last night

[Nuff Said 5,089]

1 hour ago, PurpleCanary said:

Can't speak for others but I do have all my old vinyls records, and listen to them quite often. I only have Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl, for example, and stuff from the sixties, such as the Best of the Lovin' Spoonful. And I have quite a few cassettes, including a weird compilation a friend taped for me of obscure football songs, with such classics as 'Firhill For Thrills' (Partick Thistle), 'The Finn Harp Song', and 'Fantastico' (Leyton Orient). But mainly is it CDs.

Dark Side of the Moon is one of my comparison albums because I know it so well. When I finally replaced the speakers that my two year old daughter poked her fingers into the tweeters of twenty years ago, one of the first things I did was to play my vinyl copy, then my CD, then Spotify high resolution to see if it actually was possible to tell the difference, or was I just fooling myself. Luckily I could (as I’ve said, vinyl was spoilt by the surface noise as I’ve owned this copy for nearly forty years! God, now I feel old).