Approximately the complete works of Yellow Magic Orchestra, who started as three classically-trained musicians messing with these new “synthesizer” things in the 1970s, wanted to make music that combined Western pop with older Japanese music and proceeded to invent large slabs of synthpop and what became J-pop. They’re the band Ryuchi Sakamoto came from. The studio stuff sounds slightly dated but is still pretty good, and musically important; the live stuff still sounds fresh IMO.
Bizarre, aggressive, and ridiculously creative music. I’m fascinated by musicians that manage to be simultaneously reckless and focused, though I should expect nothing less from any project that includes the drummer from Hella.
A husband and wife songwriting duo from mid-70′s Spain. Arab-influenced singing, technically spectacular guitar, and quite progressive compositions that expand, rather than abandon the traditional flamenco forms. PM me for a copy of their first album, it’s nearly impossible to find these days and is soul splittingly beautiful.
I’ve recently spent a bunch of time listening to Canadian goth rock band The Birthday Massacre, and I think it’s pretty safe to call them my current musical obsession. Warning, most of their appeal is based around atmosphere and tone, which some people can have a hard time relating to. As one reviewer put it:
So what does The Birthday Massacre actually sound like? My best way of describing it would be: imagine yourself in your childhood waking at night with a vaguely moonlit doll shaped figure standing before you, leading you to a hidden door in the corner your bedroom, where you go through a narrow tunnel and enter a mystical gothic wonderland, illuminated only by a purple mystical light and otherwise coated in shadows. It’s alluring yet scary. The reason why I describe it with a lack of technical terms is that I find The Birthday Massacre’s force being the atmosphere they are able to conjure.
To illustrate, consider “Leaving Tonight”, the lead song from their newest album, Hide And Seek, which I like to describe as the catchiest song about dead children ever. It’s not immediately obvious what the song is about, and many people listen through it several times before realizing, but the band has confirmed this interpretation in interviews. Context: the lead singer, Chibi, is noted for having an obsession with the true crime genre, and while writting the album, encountered a specific story about a vannished child from 20 years ago that stuck in her head to the point where she started having dreams about it. So, she wrote this song, which manages to perfectly convey this feeling, in that its both absolutely horrifying once you know what it’s about, and also impossible to stop listening to.
’Nother heads up: their new album, while being both their darkest and subtles work to date (which is saying that they’ve come quite a long way, considering that they started their career with songs about bashing people’s heads in), is also probably their least immediately accessible. I myself initially dismissed it as their worst album so far, until I started reading interviews from the band explaining a lot of the context.
If you’re interested in checking out their music, first start by watching the music videos for “Blue, Looking Glass and In The Dark (the band initially formed out of an art school, and it shows). Then, to get a good overview of their early work, listen/watch the live album/concert video Show And Tell, which contains all the best songs from their first three albums (and can be viewed here). If you like that, consider checking out their subsequent albums, Pins And Needles and Hide And Seek. Then, you can go back and see what you missed on the first three albums: Nothing And Nowhere, Violet and Walking With Strangers.
Music Thread
Approximately the complete works of Yellow Magic Orchestra, who started as three classically-trained musicians messing with these new “synthesizer” things in the 1970s, wanted to make music that combined Western pop with older Japanese music and proceeded to invent large slabs of synthpop and what became J-pop. They’re the band Ryuchi Sakamoto came from. The studio stuff sounds slightly dated but is still pretty good, and musically important; the live stuff still sounds fresh IMO.
The only hard rock you’ll ever need:
Clutch Songs: The Regulator, The Mob Goes Wild Albums: Blast Tyrant
Psychedelic trance, for studying, falling asleep, staying awake, daydreaming (unfortunately will not cause you to be able to fly):
Shpongle Songs: The Dorset Perception, Ineffable Mysteries, Around the World in a Tea Daze, Invisible Man in a Fluorescent Suit Albums: Are You Shpongled, Tales of the Inexpressable
I saw Clutch with Motorhead a few years ago, I was very impressed.
Death Grips—Hip hop/punk/noise
Bizarre, aggressive, and ridiculously creative music. I’m fascinated by musicians that manage to be simultaneously reckless and focused, though I should expect nothing less from any project that includes the drummer from Hella.
Songs: Hunger Games, Takyon Full Albums: Exmilitary, The Money Store, No Love Deep Web
Lola y Manuel—Flamenco
A husband and wife songwriting duo from mid-70′s Spain. Arab-influenced singing, technically spectacular guitar, and quite progressive compositions that expand, rather than abandon the traditional flamenco forms. PM me for a copy of their first album, it’s nearly impossible to find these days and is soul splittingly beautiful.
Songs: Sangre Gitana y Mora, Nuevo Dia
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Synthesizers and guitars, mostly.
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Haha, a bit of a drive yea.
I’ve recently spent a bunch of time listening to Canadian goth rock band The Birthday Massacre, and I think it’s pretty safe to call them my current musical obsession. Warning, most of their appeal is based around atmosphere and tone, which some people can have a hard time relating to. As one reviewer put it:
To illustrate, consider “Leaving Tonight”, the lead song from their newest album, Hide And Seek, which I like to describe as the catchiest song about dead children ever. It’s not immediately obvious what the song is about, and many people listen through it several times before realizing, but the band has confirmed this interpretation in interviews. Context: the lead singer, Chibi, is noted for having an obsession with the true crime genre, and while writting the album, encountered a specific story about a vannished child from 20 years ago that stuck in her head to the point where she started having dreams about it. So, she wrote this song, which manages to perfectly convey this feeling, in that its both absolutely horrifying once you know what it’s about, and also impossible to stop listening to.
’Nother heads up: their new album, while being both their darkest and subtles work to date (which is saying that they’ve come quite a long way, considering that they started their career with songs about bashing people’s heads in), is also probably their least immediately accessible. I myself initially dismissed it as their worst album so far, until I started reading interviews from the band explaining a lot of the context.
If you’re interested in checking out their music, first start by watching the music videos for “Blue, Looking Glass and In The Dark (the band initially formed out of an art school, and it shows). Then, to get a good overview of their early work, listen/watch the live album/concert video Show And Tell, which contains all the best songs from their first three albums (and can be viewed here). If you like that, consider checking out their subsequent albums, Pins And Needles and Hide And Seek. Then, you can go back and see what you missed on the first three albums: Nothing And Nowhere, Violet and Walking With Strangers.