The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 5/12/2014 at 09:16pm

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Howdie, all.

Wingnut had a great idea when he created a thread, the GZR Movie Club, for movie lovers. Going right behind him... cough... I created this thread so we can discuss music.

The album I chose to open this thread is called Testimony, and is, in my opinion, Neal Morse's masterwork. For those who don't know who Morse is, he was the brain behind the most respected progressive rock band in recent memory, Spock's Beard. Their first album The Light (1995), was considered one of the greatest prog releases in years. In the following years, Morse and company created some of the most inventive rock albums ever recorded.

Years later, Morse teamed up with all star drummer Mike Portnoy (former Dream Theater). Together they composed two records which would be compared to prog classics, such as Selling England By The Pound (Genesis), and In Court With The Crimson King (King Crimson).

In 2002, Morse's daughter, Jayda, had been diagnosed as having a hole in her heart that required open-heart surgery. However, before Jayda received surgery, the hole disappeared following a church service in which Morse's wife and others prayed for God's healing. Morse left Spock's Beard in 2003, and now dedicates his music to The Lord.

Testimony is the work of a poet who had never been in love prior to its conception. The album tells Morse's story, from his nights of heavy drinking and drugs, reaching for the stars, 'till the most important moment of his life: Meeting God.

With his new found inspiration, he wrote a prog rock masterpiece. His best work.

Review by Thom Jurek (Allmusic Guide):
This is where it all opens up and changes. Neal Morse is the former frontman of Spock's Beard, the California prog rock monolith. While not his first solo effort, Testimony it is easily his most compelling and provocative. Testimony is a concept album based around Morse's personal testimonial of his life before and after encountering his center, Jesus Christ. Before any of you reach for the mouse button to click off, it might be worth reading a little further to find out why this is musically one of the more engaging progressive rock records in particular and rock & roll albums in general this year. Morse's vision is still one that is sophisticated and sprawling. His attention to detail is even greater and he brings so many elements into his mix that it will make the punters' heads spin. Here, folk, prog, classical, and beautiful singing and arrangements entwine with a challenging, moving, and provocative story. Conceptually, Testimony is divided into five parts over two CDs. Disc one features a gorgeous overture and elements of Laurel Canyon rock that are contrasted with gargantuan tracks loaded with keyboards and strings as the story moves from looking over a life spent in innocence and then loneliness and darkness. Disc two concentrates on the time period after conversion, with themes of transformation, surrender, willingness, and beatitude as well as struggling with doubt -- only to persevere in the wealth and mystery that come with discovering meaning in life.
Production-wise, Testimony is seamless, full of fantastic dynamics and dramatic layering of instruments, voices, and "ambiences." Really, if Brian Wilson were into the big rock & roll business, the textured nuances found here would suit him fine, even if the screaming guitars and progressive jazz horn charts wouldn't. There are many guests on Morse's album: Kerry Livgren, Mike Portnoy, Aaron Marshall, Pamela Ward, Terry White, and Rich Mouser just to name a few. The bottom line is this: Testimony is, as a modern rock & roll album, a solid and engaging work that wears its heart firmly on its sleeve and dwells not in clever ambiguities, but in passion and pathos. As a "Christian rock" record, it lays the land for the kind of aesthetic excellence that should go into a project that uses the gospel as its inspiration. There are no tired clichés, no dumbed-down messages, and no fake exuberance for the praise crowd. The CCM industry will have a hard time co-opting this one because it not only doesn't suck, it reveals just how artistically bankrupt some of their productions really are. This deserves to be heard by fans of Marillion, Yes, ELP, early Genesis, and yes, fans of Spock's Beard. Actually, it deserves to be heard by anyone interested in the power of great music. Sadly, our current critical and cultural climate -- in the media especially -- is too far gone in creating personality cults and endless narcissistic self-referencing to take a record like this very seriously as art. That's too bad; it's our loss.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

wingnut

Last Edited: 5/13/2014 at 12:01pm

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I will give this a listen, but I feel I have to put it out there that I'm not much of a prog fan. I think there's a place for pure musicianship in my listening diet, but I prefer song craft and emotion over the demonstration of skill. It's rare for the two tacts to meet.

I'm currently just getting into the new Pixies album "Indie Cindy." that's kind of my speed.

Edit: Oh, and cool thread idea! Emoticon

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 5/13/2014 at 05:07pm

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Love Pixies, @Pete. I'm gonna check it out for sure. But, in your opinion, how well does it play, compared to their classic albums?

And about Neal Morse's testimony. Believe me, you don't have to be a prog fan to enjoy the album. It's a beautifully deep and emotional listen. I make the critic's words my own:
"This deserves to be heard by fans of Marillion, Yes, ELP, early Genesis, and yes, fans of Spock's Beard. Actually, it deserves to be heard by anyone interested in the power of great music. Sadly, our current critical and cultural climate -- in the media especially -- is too far gone in creating personality cults and endless narcissistic self-referencing to take a record like this very seriously as art. That's too bad; it's our loss."

Give this one try.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

wingnut

5/14/2014 at 02:36pm

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A lot of reviewers seem to be flummoxed by the notion that an iconic rock band can basically go nearly 25 years between records and not release something that is EXACTLY THE SAME as those classic albums that transformed alt rock at the time. I think the record is a solid B. It could have been a reasonable successor to Trump la Monde. It takes a few listens but the album is a nice rock record. Excellent for a bunch of guys in real rock geezerdom.

Also listening right now to the new Black Keys record. It's another collaboration with Dangermouse, I guess. It takes the band down slightly more psychedelic roads than they've been on in the past. Less ballsy rock, which I'm not exactly thrilled by. I like the idea that they are trying new stuff, but I'd have preferred a little more gut and bile. A little more ass kick.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

endcev

5/14/2014 at 03:30pm

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Dear Sir,
Can I join the clan GZR
I really want to join a clan GRZ

Re: The GZR Jukebox

sccooke

5/15/2014 at 01:03am

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endcev wrote:Dear Sir,
Can I join the clan GZR
I really want to join a clan GRZ

Read the "protect your lawn" section and put in a true application there. In reply to endcev

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

5/15/2014 at 01:44pm

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@Pete, interesting you mentioned Trompe Le Monde. Even though most critics seem to hold Surfer Rosa and Doolittle as their masterworks, Trompe (as a whole) is my favorite Pixies album.

Just downloaded Indie Cindy. I'll tell you my impressions of it after a couple of spins.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 5/15/2014 at 09:15pm

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(Listening to Indie Cindy as I write this post) Before listening to the album, I went through a few of their previous works, not for comparison purposes, but to get that classic Pixies vibe. The thing I had in mind, after listening to it once, was how dark it is. I'm not saying it's a dark album, but it has a darker feel to it. I'd say it is partially due to the production. Don't get me wrong, this is still a Pixies record. It has most elements which made them who they were, but it seems something was left out of the equation, in my opinion. The absence of Kim Deal may have something to do with it. To me, it's like her voice added a youthful aura to the music, and I think that's what I missed the most. The sound is still there, although I was eager to hear some of the screaming Francis used to do (Debaser-style - hehe), which never came. That's understandable, since he's no longer in his twenties, nor thirties, and that's definitely noticeable in his voice. At times, I would think someone else was singing. With all that said, the album kind of grows on you. As you said, it's not an immediate album, and it does require a few listens to digest it. So far, I'd give it a C-. But this may change drastically as I continue to listen to it. Let's see how well it holds after a week or so. Anyway, It's good to see they've managed to maintain their signature sound, for the most part, even without original members.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

wingnut

5/20/2014 at 01:38pm

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For me, Kim Deal's contributions are overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like Deal, but she was little more than a backup singer and an average bass player. What gets short shrift all the time is the sound of Joey Santiago, without which there'd really be no Pixies sound. His approach to lead and rhythm guitar is his own. It sounds like him and no one else. People even seem to forget that "Where is My Mind" is a folk song without Santiago's great whining lead and explosive chorus part.

Indie Cindy for me is another chance to hear Black and Santiago work together. And that alone is cause for celebration. And, unlike a lot of other rock bands who will reunite and stink up a studio for a month -- Soundgarden for example -- The Pixies are 10 years into a reunion that has the band playing very tight. These guys might not be 20, but they know each other. And you can hear that loud and clear in these songs. They're perfectly arranged -- nothing is overdone, no note is wasted. Production is expensive, but not wasted. The songs all further advance the aesthetic of what the Pixies began to mature into for Trump La Monde -- a well-oiled machine of a rock band.

Is it as groundbreaking as Surfer Rosa? No. But it doesn't have to be. It's a very good rock record by one of the best rock bands ever. A solid B+

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 5/20/2014 at 04:56pm

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wingnut wrote:For me, Kim Deal's contributions are overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like Deal, but she was little more than a backup singer and an average bass player. What gets short shrift all the time is the sound of Joey Santiago, without which there'd really be no Pixies sound. His approach to lead and rhythm guitar is his own. It sounds like him and no one else. People even seem to forget that "Where is My Mind" is a folk song without Santiago's great whining lead and explosive chorus part.

Indie Cindy for me is another chance to hear Black and Santiago work together. And that alone is cause for celebration. And, unlike a lot of other rock bands who will reunite and stink up a studio for a month -- Soundgarden for example -- The Pixies are 10 years into a reunion that has the band playing very tight. These guys might not be 20, but they know each other. And you can hear that loud and clear in these songs. They're perfectly arranged -- nothing is overdone, no note is wasted. Production is expensive, but not wasted. The songs all further advance the aesthetic of what the Pixies began to mature into for Trump La Monde -- a well-oiled machine of a rock band.

Is it as groundbreaking as Surfer Rosa? No. But it doesn't have to be. It's a very good rock record by one of the best rock bands ever. A solid B+

Kim is definitely overrated as a bass player, couldn't agree more, but her voice just added something to the mix. It's like Van Halen without Michael Anthony - not an outstanding bass player, but his backup singing added dimension to the sound. But their core sound remains the same, as I mentioned, which is quite an achievement on its own. In reply to wingnut

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

5/24/2014 at 04:03pm

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About a week into the Indie Cindy experiment. Solid rock album. I must have skipped Blue Eyed Hexe when I said there weren't any of Black's screams, although it reminded me a lot of Brian Johnson's. Haha. Go figure. We all perceive things differently. The opener What Goes Boom could've been a b-side off of the Doolittle album. I knew it was the kind of album which would grow on me, as I mentioned. Definitely a B.

At the first, my thoughts were similar to those of this reviewer, from the All Music Guide. I still agree with some of his views, though:

Unlike the slew of legendary acts -- including My Bloody Valentine, Boards of Canada, and Daft Punk -- who surprised fans with new albums in 2013, Pixies emerged from their lengthy recording hiatus more cautiously. By releasing a series of EPs that were eventually collected as Indie Cindy for 2014's Record Store Day, the band eased fans into their new material -- and, perhaps, gave them time to lower their expectations. Indie Cindy may be most notable for illustrating the pitfalls genre-defining artists face when attempting a comeback: Pixies had such an impact on how indie rock sounded in their wake that upon their return, it's almost inevitable that they sound like they're aping themselves. It doesn't help that the band's first new material in almost a quarter-century is also the first without founding bassist Kim Deal (her insistent eighth notes are mimicked by session player Ding). However, her absence is the least of Indie Cindy's problems. "Bagboy," the reunited band's first single, features a collision of drum machines and surreal spoken word that suggests a failed collaboration between David Lynch and LCD Soundsystem -- but at least it shows some creativity. It's more worrying that much of Indie Cindy feels like it was written to fit specific niches: "Blue Eyed Hexe," a "U-Mass"-like rocker, proves Black Francis' scream is still spine-tingling, but the song plods. Even if the album just isn't as nimble as the best work from Pixies or Frank Black, it feels like what the band would be doing two decades on from their peak even if they hadn't taken a break. Aside from "Snakes," which tempers the biblical post-punk of their early work into something resigned instead of vengeful, most of these songs continue the sci-fi riff rock of the band's later albums and Francis' first two solo albums (producer Gil Norton even suggested that the bandmembers pretend that they'd spent their hiatus touring in outer space). "What Goes Boom" sounds like a beefier version of "Alec Eiffel," while "Indie Cindy"'s mix of shouty, stream-of-consciousness verses and dreamy interludes recalls Frank Black's "Los Angeles" more than his Pixies work. The least contrived songs are the best: "Magdalena" creates tension between its heavy guitars and soft vocals in a way that's less expected than the band's famed loud-quiet-loud dynamics. Meanwhile, "Greens and Blues" combines the album's spacy motif with heartfelt songwriting and lyrical guitar work from Joey Santiago, who also helps elevate "Jaime Bravo" and "Ring the Bell." Still, there's no escaping that Indie Cindy is an odd return. It plays more like a collection of B-sides than a true album, and it's laced with goodbyes and a sense of sadness that feel more like closure than catching up. Arguably, it fares better as a decent Frank Black album than an anticlimactic Pixies album, and fans who can appreciate that these songs don't diminish the legacy of the band's previous music will probably enjoy it the most.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

wingnut

6/04/2014 at 01:52pm

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All these reviews suffer from this idea that band should stop working and just be placed in a museum, never to be allowed to work again, even when that work is in the same medium. It's as if band's aren't makers of music but rather narratives, in which their career is the story -- and it's important that the story end the way we like it. No other artist in any other art form I can think of has to deal with the same thing. Stephen King keeps writing horror novels. Yadda Yadda. So Indie Cindy songs sound like other Pixies songs.... Yeah. Same band. What did you (the reviewers) expect? To me it sounds like a perfect rock record for a band of fellas in or approaching their 50s. Their working in a form they pioneered but one that is also not currently in style. SO it could sound dated, though I think it's a sound that's authentic.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 6/04/2014 at 03:01pm

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LOL, Pete. 100% agreed. As a band they are entitled to do whatever they want. Even if it were to release a terrible record, which is definitely not the case here.

Continuing on the come back subject, I've been listening to Primus a lot this week, and had the opportunity to listen to their 2011 album Green Naugahyde, for the first time. Sounds like the good old Primus to me. Just the right amount of craziness/weirdness, technicality, and all the other shenanigans we came to expect from the band. Just getting acquainted with the album, but, like Indie Cindy, sounds like a keeper.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

boywunda

Last Edited: 6/26/2014 at 03:00pm

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Boywunda’s History of Music

Early Years
As I grew up, I was surrounded by classic rock. Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Stones, KISS, etc.. My parents reminded me that on road trips, I’d always request Smoke on the Water, as Deep purple was my favorite. They also told me that when they had parties, I'm come down stairs, survey the people, then curl up in front of the speakers and fall asleep. Lol. As I grew a bit older, Michael Jackson’s Thriller became popular, and “Beat It” became my favorite track. Then more time went by and I started loving the blues type music my parents listened to. Stevie Ray Vaughan and even Colin James. Mainly because my brother’s name was Colin. But all of this was music that my parents listened to and I hadn’t really defined my specific music tastes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUwEIt9ez7M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU0MF8pwktg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gngNfieMJe8

Elementary School Years
In elementary school, probably around grade 4, I developed a liking to the 80s hair bands. Def Leopard lead the charge. Hysteria was by far my favorite album and to this day, I still love it. But also loved Warrant, Skid Row, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi. Also liked a bit of the harder stuff, like Iron Maiden and Metallica and Megadeath, with a bit of Judas priest thrown in. So that took me through grade 5 and 6. Then I moved and joined a different school. Music tastes were totally different. Everyone was listening to rap, hip hop, pop music. The likes of MC Hammer and Bobby Brown and Vanilla Ice ruled. I got into it a bit, more to “fit in”, but I still kept my hair long and secretly played Def leopard over and over again. But some of the music everyone else listened to started to sink in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIB9Y4OFPs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jpf-eC-Xlk

Junior High / High School
As the taste of music that surrounded my friend’s changed, so did mine. I found myself gravitating towards rap and hip hop more. So I’d listen to a lot of west coast rap. NWA, Snoop, Dre, Easy E, Tupac. Then gravitated towards East Coast, Biggie, Puff daddy and then I came across WuTang. Damn, now I really found something that I loved. And what I found that I loved the most was the beat. RZA’s beats were amazing. While their lyrical flow was also amazing, it was the inventive beats that I really loved. But for a short while, the love of hip hop was interrupted by the 90s grunge. Pearl jam and Nirvana started spreading more and more and I really liked that sound too. Pearl jam’s Ten is still one of my all time favorite albums. So now I started listening to rock more and more. So my daily music tastes changed quite a bit. Some days I was a little bit rock and roll and some days rap and sometimes even pop. Pop music played on the radio, the junior high girls loved it and as such so did I….cause I loved the junior high girls. In high school, rap and hip hop kind of took over again. But I focused more on the beat, than the lyrics. Some dance music started releasing too. Tracks like “Higher State of Consciousness” by Josh Wink and Prodigy’s “Poison” and the emergence of Daft Punk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM4jmjhYH_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpQmFfdYFzY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9gWA491H4U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih2gxLqR7HM

Finding Dance Music
So I started smoking pot in high school, and I loved getting stoned and listening to music. Mostly it involved listening to rap and hip hop and getting lost in the beat. But then dance music started evolving. Artists like Prodigy and Chemical Brothers and even Euro artists like Scooter started floating around and I loved the sound. For some weird reason Daft Punk didn’t catch on right away. But one day on a channel called MuchMusic here in Canada, the video for Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” came on. I had never heard the song and the guy with a dog head was pretty cool. But what I couldn’t get over was the beat. That catchy hook that repeated over and over was simply amazing. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It made me think…it’s sounds like this that attract me to rap/hip hop. I think I’ve found what I really like. So I found their “Homework” CD and bought it. Started listening to everything and instantly fell in love. I found that they even had the harder styles that I related to Chemical Brothers, in their songs like Rollin and Scratchin and Burnin. But Indo Silver Club was the track that I kept on going back to. To this day, it’s still my favorite track. The way the temp changes so smoothly, the infectious head bobbing, with a huge smile on my face. Love it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgxOHyz0yKU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmi60Bd4jSs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpq7kJgjyGk

U4ia Dance Club
I graduated high school and started going to dance clubs around Winnipeg. There was one club called U4ia. This club played all sorts of dance music. Music that I never knew existed. I’d run up to the DJ booth almost every track and ask the name, write it down then go home, open up Napster or Kazzaa and search for them. Once found I’d browse the library of the person I found it from and find all sorts of other music. I started finding sub-genre’s of dance music. House, Trance, Drum and Bass. I pretty much liked it all. Shortly after Daft Punk released their second album - Discovery. When I first listened to it, I kind of wrote it off. It wasn’t aligning with my current taste of music that I just found. And for many years I barely gave it much thought. My biggest regret to be honest.

While I still did pay attention to rock and rap and pop, dance music is what I loved and I owe a lot of it to the U4ia dance club.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fowjH9Ap9ro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajjWE9XPqTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LTi7H9WLNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzmG_HvDbBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBxNFWjuwg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ssuOkDZ7M

2000s
As the 2000s went by, my love for electronic music evolved. I went from House, to Hard House, to Drum n Bass, to Jungle, back to House, then French house, then electro house, then back to Drum n Bass, then even back to rap and hip hop. The 2000s were a bit of a blur, due to lots of drugs and alcohol, but it’s safe to say that my music tastes are to this day very similar to what I was listening to in the 2000s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHQWdl-jKeI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQ6J0cEiJU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3PsT5Hynfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lW64Wg24s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSWrepLjTKc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcE733DLUa8

Also some Daft Punk influenced artists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc2kfz_3QSU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzWLUQizz8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcAk1fVTt-g

Current Music Favorites
For the longest time, I had considered Daft Punk to be my favorite artist/band, mainly because Homewark was my favorite album. When I heard that Daft punk was releasing a new album, I got all excited, and FINALLy went back and re-listened to their other albums - Discovery and Human After All. Holy shit was my mind blown when I listened to Discovery years later. In my now more matured opinion, Discovery is by far the best album I have ever listened to. Front to back, the story they tell is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjC7dctw7LU

Digital Love being the highlight for me. As it incorporates House, pop, rock altogether.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOngRDVtEQI

Their Random Access Memories album is also amazing. How they used all live instruments to record every song heard on the ablum, work with classic producers like Georgio Morodor, Niles Rogers to make an incredible album that deserves the grammy they won this year!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZS96GvlvE0

Currently, I’m listening to a lot of Diplo, Knife party, Mord Fustang, Boody Beetroots, that type of electronic music. But every week or so, I’ll make sure to listen to Daft Punk Homework and Discovery front to back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKaL7WL-onI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcejLp72iCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxrSCksdPOI

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

Last Edited: 6/26/2014 at 10:19pm

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@Wunda,that's quite the music journey, my friend. Mine is more like a time machine, since I started going back further, and further to find the music I really loved. Once I got there, I started moving forward to contemplate how it has morphed over the years.

I love rock in general, from very light to the most extreme types. However, classic hard and progressive rock are, by far, my favorite. I never get tired of it.

I had a vast record selection, which I sold a few years back. Interestingly, the only thing I couldn't part ways with was my Bob Dylan collection. I just love that stuff. Go figure.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

wingnut

6/30/2014 at 04:37pm

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Some interesting stuff Wunda. I, too, have gone through lots of phases... but it's more like I get momentarily fixated on something and listen to the hell out of it. I've spent time woodshedding classic jazz and bluegrass. I've listened to nearly everything except new country, which, I'll just stop there.

High school for me was about discovering a lot of the more adventurous pre-grunge alternative stuff out there in like 90, 91. Big albums for me were RHCP's Mothers Milk, Janes Addiction's Ritual de lo Habitual, Fishbone's The Reality of My Surroundings, Smashing Pumpkins' Gish, Primus' Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese... I was really into playing bass and loved the up-front rhythm sections these bands featured (except for the Pumpkins). In 92 when I was a senior in HS, every day seemed to see a new record release that was mind blowing. Started to appreciate indie rock, songwriting from Pavement to Sebadoh, etc. Still love those bands and that sound.

Re: The GZR Jukebox

havemercy

Last Edited: 7/01/2014 at 12:26am

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I've been listening to Mastodon's new cut, Once more 'round the sun. Here is a link "High Road" video-
Your text to link here...

Mastodon has some cool videos. Here's one for the road if you liked the other....

Your text to link here...

Re: The GZR Jukebox

havemercy

7/01/2014 at 09:57am

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Oh yeah... There's always this twisted mastodon video. Explains the effects of a solar eclipse on the felt-and-vinyl residents of a puppet town in a mister Rogers style story telling- Your text to link here...

Re: The GZR Jukebox

unisol

7/01/2014 at 05:26pm

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I have quite similar history with music as Boywunda. Emoticon

I've born at '83 so my music taste started to develop around early 90's, At home i got my share of mom's and her douche boyfriend's taste, lots of rock and prog. Sometimes after school i used to dig their collection and play some vinyls which had cool looking covers, laughs. From those days i remember Led Zeppeling being my favourite, another which i liked to listen a lot was The Doors, probably because of the amazing keyboard solo from Ray at the song Light My Fire. Around '93 or '94 we moved out to another flat where we had opportunity to watch cable tv, i was blown away when MTV channel popped to the screen while i was tuning in my 14" mini television. Didn't take long and i was begging money from mom to buy albums from Nirvana, Faith No More and Alice In Chains. Those were my one of my favourites back in the days.

Heart Shaped Box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0SitRwy8
Cuckoo For Caca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCyMilBrC34
Would?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nco_kh8xJDs

Despite i was into grunge and hard rock, i got to listen some electronic music meanwhile waiting "the next" song from MTV, especially during the mornings just before leaving to school. When electronic music came slightly more popular and mates at school started to talk about some of the tracks playing on MTV, i started to get interested as well. First track i remember to like was No Good (which is pretty damned good track still at the present day) from The Prodigy, another ones i liked from them were Poison and Firestarter. I remember one of my close relatives go to rave parties around mid 90's, of course i asked as a kid that is The Prodigy any good and the answer was yes, apparently The Prodigy was widely played at the rave scene. Back in those days i got some good tips from this guy, he also used to borrow me some good records that was being played at the underground parties. Aside to The Prodigy i started listen other artists who produced electronic music, such as Underworld and The Chemical Brothers.

No Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJvT6ruolA
Poison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mej5wS7viw
Firestarter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw
Born Slippy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlLWFa1b1Bc
Setting Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5NX1FC-7-w

One thing that played a role in my journey deeper into the world of electronic music was the Wipeout game series for Playstation which i played with my mates a lot, those games contained lots of great electronic tracks from various artists. Eventually i got quite deep with electronic music and started to discover slightly more underground artists, to name few: 808 State, LFO and The Future Sound of London.

Flow Coma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49P4GUA4AIY
We Are Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkqYMp-hWus
We Have Explosive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uur0g9Hb5wI

It was sometimes cool to take a break from harsh sounding electronic tracks to more relaxed trip hop. The Future Sound of London had quite many chilly tracks with hip hop'ish touch, those tracks worked for me and i started to search similar sounding artists. To name few, Dj Shadow, Dj Krush and Massive Attack.

Fixed Income: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuCTxhSAi7s
Duality ft. Dj Shadow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbzTEPLd1mg (i get chicken skin at after the track goes past 4 minutes)
Black Milk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li-adM-qOwI

Aside to these more underground'ish artist i did listen some of the mainstream artists as well, like Daft Punk and their first album Homework which i bought as well. Emoticon

As the years has passed i've discovered a lot of new genres and listened various artists, depends on the mood pretty much. Sometimes i listen country, sometimes harsh techno, in in general i tend to listen more electronic stuff because yo can always find some new interesting elements and experiments. I don't prefer any style of music over another, but lately i've been listening a lot of drum and bass, especially the experimental side. Again few ones for example.

Human Thinking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SucQD9HUP1o
Mystery Spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSSu6eOCQqk
Morphy & The Untouchables - Tread This Land : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsatCyk_Bmw (more like straight dub perhaps)

That's it for now! Maybe i throw more later, about experiences of composing electronic music myself over the years. Emoticon

Re: The GZR Jukebox

brazuka

7/01/2014 at 10:21pm

Quote

Unisol, the only type of electronic music I still listen to from time to time is Trip Hop. Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky are great. It goes without saying it's also great music to listen to in the company of your significant other. My lady loves it.