What are you listening to? (merged)

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I'm on a massive 1990's kick, playing some "vintage" Smashing Pumpkins (anything pre-MCIS), Radiohead (The Bends & OK Computer), and even some Counting Crows (Recovering the Satellites & August and Everything after). Great stuff. "Siamese Dream" is one of the greatest albums ever and i'll have words with anybody who goes against that.

You'll get no argument from me on that. I first heard them with Gish, so I quite like that album as well, but too many of the songs on that one sound the same (I Am One, Siva, and Bury Me seem to have very similar riffs). Mellon Collie has a lot of good tunes, but I think in trying to create an epic 2-CD concept album, there ended up being some inconsistency. Adore went a different direction without Jimmy. Machina was a bit of a return to form, but not as consistent as the earlier albums.

Does anybody else have different music tastes in the winter? I'm finding that as the temps get colder, I resort to older music in my collection, especially that which feels kind of "cold" or whatnot. IE- "OK Computer" in all its chaotic glory.

I've never noticed any changes in seasonal tastes, other than Christmas tunes.

I happened to see a couple live songs by Kinski on Comcast On Demand, so I put in their CD Alpine Static and listened a couple times last week. A good instrumental album. Something fans of Sonic Youth might like.

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

You'll get no argument from me on that. I first heard them with Gish, so I quite like that album as well, but too many of the songs on that one sound the same (I Am One, Siva, and Bury Me seem to have very similar riffs). Mellon Collie has a lot of good tunes, but I think in trying to create an epic 2-CD concept album, there ended up being some inconsistency. Adore went a different direction without Jimmy. Machina was a bit of a return to form, but not as consistent as the earlier albums.

Yeah, that's my only gripe with "Gish" is that a lot of the songs are similar. To this day, I still love "I am One", "Rhinoceres" and "Crush." All of those are great tunes and "Rhinoceres" is a Pumpkins masterpiece. I have lots of love for "Mellon Collie" and to me, I can't think of one really bad track. There are songs I don't care for ("Tales of a Scorched Earth" comes to mind), but it's one of the few discs I can listen to the whole thing and be content. And I will defend "Adore" till my dying breath; that album was leagues ahead of it's time. I loved it. and "Machina" was a good disc, but it gets too much flack. I saw them on this tour (their last one) and it was awesome. Plus, I got my "Mayonaise" for the closing tune of the night. I think at that moment, I knew they were splitting.

But I digress.

Listening to a copy of Radiohead's show from June 5th of this year in Boston. Very good set! I'm really loving some of these new tracks. The one track, "15 Step" has a very "Idioteque" feel to it and "Arpeggi" is a fantastic tune. I've always been a fan of "Big Ideas, Don't Get any" or as it's sometimes called: "Nude" but i'm not sure if i dig the new sound. The old version I loved in 1999 had more guitar, the organ and xylophone with it and this new version has lots of those removed. Bummer. However, they did stick to some old classics such "Fake Plastic Trees", the new & improved "Kid A" and "Planet FREAKIN' Telex." I really can't wait for their next CD.

[Jayspawn]

The new Beatles album "Love" from their musical in Las Vegas comes out in a few weeks. I'm curious as to how its gonna sound. Paul McCartney has a new tour album coming out also. I know that'll sound great as I was there.

[dindae]

Picked up a few albums last week

The Lemonheads - The Lemonheads I really liked the Lemonheads back in the day but their last album wasn't too hot and Evan's solo album did nothing for me. This album was a nice return to his older sound. It is not on the same level as It's a Shame about Ray or Come on Feel the Lemonheads but I would put it on par with Lovey.

The Killers - Sam's Town This is probably one of my favorite newer bands. While I don't think this album is as good as their first it is still a good album. If you have the option I would pick up the Best Buy version with the bonus single since the two songs on there are good as well.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - Deja Vu Great classic album its amazing how truly great music never gets old. I find that my appreciation for them drop quickly after this album unfortunately.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

The Killers seem all right, but I'm having trouble getting into new music these days. I guess my attention span is getting shorter and I'm not willing to spend money on something that doesn't win me over quickly. I really like the song "Smile Like You Mean It" and purchased it from iTunes. "Somebody Told Me" is good too. When I was hearing "Mr. Brightside" on Music Choice a lot, I didn't care for it. Listening to a clip on iTunes now, it seems better. I'd probably enjoy the album, but I don't listen to music like I used to.

I was always one who enjoyed albums more than just singles. I enjoyed hearing an entire album with the highs and the lows. While waiting for my favorite songs, I would come to appreciate the other songs on the album as well. Usually, I didn't find too many low points anyway. A good album usually was consistent and the track order usually was such that the album had a good flow to it.

Now that I mainly listen to music on my computer, I rarely listen to an entire CD anymore. Heck, sometimes I don't even listen to an entire song. Plus, most of the songs on my computer are low quality so that I can put them on my internet station and also take up less space on my computer. The bright side to that is that when I take time to listen to the actual CD, I'll enjoy it a lot more.

[DarkArtist]

The Hum of an extremely loud Computer. I think this thing dates back to when the first computer rolled off the drawing boards.

[dindae]

The Killers seem all right, but I'm having trouble getting into new music these days. I guess my attention span is getting shorter and I'm not willing to spend money on something that doesn't win me over quickly. I really like the song "Smile Like You Mean It" and purchased it from iTunes. "Somebody Told Me" is good too. When I was hearing "Mr. Brightside" on Music Choice a lot, I didn't care for it. Listening to a clip on iTunes now, it seems better. I'd probably enjoy the album, but I don't listen to music like I used to.

I was always one who enjoyed albums more than just singles. I enjoyed hearing an entire album with the highs and the lows. While waiting for my favorite songs, I would come to appreciate the other songs on the album as well. Usually, I didn't find too many low points anyway. A good album usually was consistent and the track order usually was such that the album had a good flow to it.

Now that I mainly listen to music on my computer, I rarely listen to an entire CD anymore. Heck, sometimes I don't even listen to an entire song. Plus, most of the songs on my computer are low quality so that I can put them on my internet station and also take up less space on my computer. The bright side to that is that when I take time to listen to the actual CD, I'll enjoy it a lot more.

I find getting into new groups a challenge as well. I don't know if it is due to the fact that I own so much music that it hard to get into anything new because I've heard it all before or that bands aren't as good as they once were. I think that a lot of bands struggle to find "their sound". Most bands aren't given the chance to evolve before they are tossed to the curb. If that was done as the norm in the old days there would be so many classic bands that would never have seen the light of day or been dumped after they failed to get a hit on their third album.

I listen mainly to albums as well. But when I'm listening to my computer or my Ipod I will throw it on shuffle.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I hear a lot of stuff that I like, but I'm less likely to buy based on a good song or two anymore. Before, I would buy a CD and give it a listen. Sometimes the first listen would impress me, even from one of my favorite bands. I'd eventually become more familiar with it and would enjoy it more.

Now, I'll hear a song and I'll check out the artist. I'll listen to some sound clips on iTunes or something, but often I won't be as impressed with the whole thing as I am with the first song I heard. In the past, I might have bought the album and come to like it. Now I have excuses not to buy it, such as not wanting to spend the money. These days, I often have more of an interest in trying to get older stuff that I've liked for a long time.

I've created a "Wish List" playlist on iTunes, consisting of a lot of songs, both new and old, that I've found on iTunes. So, I can at least listen to 30 seconds of a lot of great tunes. After my initial buying spree when I first had access to the iTunes store, I've not bought anything in a while. I'm unsure of which songs on the playlist I should get first, because if I feel that I might like the whole album, I'd prefer to get the album rather than just a downloaded track or two. So, I have to choose songs from albums that I'm unlikely to want.

[abell748]

Since the day it came out, Iron Maiden's new one "A Matter of Life and Death" has rarely been out of the cd player. It is solid and reminds us that they can still kick butt since their 1980 debut record. It also features a really cool Tim Bradstreet cover.

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

I had the urge to bust out some live Phish this morning; the live two disc set, "A Live One." Probably one of my favorite versions of "The Squirming Coil" with the 7 minute piano jam at the end; gorgeous.