What Are You Listening To?

Mighty AC · November 23, 2012

I'm always in search of new (to me) and great music. Tell us what you're listening to, why you connect with it, etc. Provide links to songs or lyrics where possible.

I've always been a fan of the great Canadian band,The Tea Party. As I write this the song playing is "Lament" by the lead singer of that band from a solo project, Jeff Martin. In this version he cuts into "I am stretched on your grave", a 17th century Irish Poem. I can't find the album version on YouTube:

Mumford and Sons is a phenomenal band and very popular. "Dust Bowl Dance" is good on the album version but it is OUTSTANDING live. Check out the video:

Mighty AC · November 23, 2012

Question: How do I prevent the [Media] tags from being added to YouTube links?

November 23, 2012

My new project. I should have this down by the time I retire.

November 23, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UPNOkJmLpc

I like Melissa McClelland...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1SVLhfDpbE

This is going to be my favourite thread...

Mighty AC · November 23, 2012

My new project. I should have this down by the time I retire.

Incredible...love it!

November 23, 2012

Incredible...love it!

Rereading my post. I better make it clear. That's not me. I just want to learn it from watching where his fingers go.

Edited November 23, 2012 by bcsapper

November 23, 2012

Could have done with ten more minutes of that Mumford and Sons song. I have the CD somewhere...

Edited November 23, 2012 by bcsapper

WIP · November 23, 2012

I'm always in search of new (to me) and great music. Tell us what you're listening to, why you connect with it, etc. Provide links to songs or lyrics where possible.

I'm long past the age where it's typical to want to hear new music...especially new and different sounding music, but occasionally I come across something that really gets my attention. I should point out that what I call "new" might be 20 years old....just after the time I stopped following new music. An example would be a song I kept hearing as bumper music on a podcast of the Shannyn Moore talk show, and decided to look it up. You may already know this one: Pictures Of You, by The Cure. I decided to pick a live version recorded in 1991, instead of the crappy music video for studio recording. It's a good live performance, and, I've noticed that ever since I discovered Youtube, I prefer concert videos:

I've always been a fan of the great Canadian band,The Tea Party. As I write this the song playing is "Lament" by the lead singer of that band from a solo project, Jeff Martin. In this version he cuts into "I am stretched on your grave", a 17th century Irish Poem. I can't find the album version on YouTube:

Mumford and Sons is a phenomenal band and very popular. "Dust Bowl Dance" is good on the album version but it is OUTSTANDING live. Check out the video:

I also liked the Tea Party when they first came on the scene, maybe because they reminded me of the progressive rock that I was especially keen on back in the 70's...when some rock bands were trying to reach a little higher....make more complex music, and songs about bigger issues than just getting laid. I was a little surprised and disappointed that they never really caught on in a big way. I liked the way the Tea Party was going a little bit beyond the typical rock sound to incorporate Eastern music and what is either religious or esoteric mystical themes, depending on how you interpret them. They seemed to me to be a throwback to some of those prog rock bands of the 70's for that reason.

If you like Mumford and Sons, and the way they try to work with roots music, I would suggest giving a listen to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who base their sound on traditional Negro string band music made long before the era of rock n' roll. I first heard them on a podcast of the NPR music show: All Songs Considered. They show that the Appalachian folk weren't the only ones playing banjos and fiddles back in the old days:

Edited November 23, 2012 by WIP

November 23, 2012

I'll have to listen to that set tomorrow as it's so long. It sounds like it's right up my street from listening to the first couple of minutes.

Here's a couple by Reverend Peyton:

You have to join this one at about 2:00 for the song "Plainfield Blues" It's worth the effort.

This one's a lot of fun too.

Mighty AC · November 23, 2012

I'm long past the age where it's typical to want to hear new music...especially new and different sounding music, but occasionally I come across something that really gets my attention. I should point out that what I call "new" might be 20 years old....just after the time I stopped following new music.[/Quote] I hear you, when I speak of new music, I usually mean new to me. Pictures Of You is a great song and thanks for introducing me to the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

RB · November 23, 2012

listening to the new Metrix and the new Dragonette - i like i like

playing adele 21 - i like

Mighty AC · November 28, 2012

I dig Metric and Adele has a simply amazing voice. I've never heard of Dragonette. I will look for some of their stuff.

Peter F · November 28, 2012

cybercoma · November 28, 2012

If you're into this kind of alternative stuff, check out Alt-J. Their album was editor's choice on iTunes recently, so it was only $6.93. The whole album has a nice variety of sound without being disjointed.

Here's a sample:

Mighty AC · November 28, 2012

I like the Alt-J and Heart Pirate songs. They made me feel like listening to Of Monsters And Men:

Peter F · November 28, 2012

oooo...i like that

wyly · November 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRlXausKdiQ

Mighty AC · November 29, 2012

How have I never heard of her. Damn, that was good! As a talentless, but avid fan of music I am loving the suggestions.

I'm working very late so just for fun:

cybercoma · November 29, 2012

These days I stream a lot of music from http://www.songza.com

They have a concierge feature that gives you specific playlists for the time of day and activity that you're doing.

You can also just browse the playlists to find stuff you're interested in.

If you have a smartphone the app is fantastic.

WIP · November 29, 2012

I like Lissie! I'll have to see what else she's done.

I want to go back in time....about 30 years ago, when I was still up on all the new music. One that I really connected with...while almost nobody else I knew did was Big Country. They suffered a fate worse than being ignored and living in obscurity with a core fan base -- instead, one of the first songs they wrote "In A Big Country" became a ridiculously overplayed hit from that debut album...and almost nothing else they ever did got played on this side of the Pond!

I always considered the closing track (Porrohman)of their debut album - The Crossing, to be their best work. I'm a fan of guitar work, and this song shows one of the best blends of double lead guitars of any guitar band around. And, as usual, I prefer concert videos....I'm not sure if one of those horrible music videos was ever made for this song anyway.....regardless, here's Big Country, in their prime, Live at The Barrowlands in 1983: