Music talk Thread

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Oh man. Willie doing heavy Zevon. I really loved his cover of Beck’s Lost Cause on this album too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KQRRkETe1sQ

[pioneer98]

Just love the 80s glam of this one

[pioneer98]

I have been listening to Magdalena Bay since their 2021 album dropped. It's surreal to see an indie band I've been following on the internet for 3+ years land on Jimmy Kimmel, especially with all the weird artsy [expletive] they do. Their new album Imaginal Disk is so good that it's working its way into the mainstream by brute force. This song is not even the best one, maybe not in the top 5! But it may have the big hook that snags more people, so I get why they chose it as the lead single. The album is meant to be listened to straight through, which is an incredibly rare thing in 2024. They are influenced by prog rock and also mentioned Radiohead. There might be a place or two where I can hear a little Radiohead, but it's more the structure of the album. The way it's put together reminds me of OK Computer, but this is a longer album than that one.

[pioneer98]

This is a candidate for best song on that album, but hard to say if I'd put it at #1 because there's so many others that are really good.

[haltz]

Harvila is back with his podcast doing the 2000s. I was afraid he'd go to the 80s--which is mostly terrible or I'm allergic to.

I enjoy his ambles into the subject matter. The first two were The Killers (who--to my note above--get dangerously synthy) and Amy Winehouse.

I hope you gave great thought to the phantom dick, as I did.

Seriously though, Harvilla is awesome. I have now listened to maybe every episode of his Songs that Explain the 90s podcast, and he's just a great storyteller to put the music in context in a warm and humorous manner.

(btw, did you know he grew up in Eureka, MO? I dm'd with him a bit over the years. He's exactly my age, and there's a non-zero chance I would've played little league against him)

Amazing that you might get an MF Doom tangent in a The Killers episode. I'm enjoying this one even more than the 90s series, which probably makes sense given that the 2000s take me from ages 17-27.

I also didn't know I was in the minority liking most of that first MGMT album, not just the big three songs.

Anyway, the second half conversations are still a little tough to listen to at times with someone giving insufferable hot takes and Rob saying yeeaaahh over and over again, but the main chunk of every episode is just terrific.

[heyzeus]

Harvila is back with his podcast doing the 2000s. I was afraid he'd go to the 80s--which is mostly terrible or I'm allergic to.

I enjoy his ambles into the subject matter. The first two were The Killers (who--to my note above--get dangerously synthy) and Amy Winehouse.

I hope you gave great thought to the phantom dick, as I did.

Seriously though, Harvilla is awesome. I have now listened to maybe every episode of his Songs that Explain the 90s podcast, and he's just a great storyteller to put the music in context in a warm and humorous manner.

(btw, did you know he grew up in Eureka, MO? I dm'd with him a bit over the years. He's exactly my age, and there's a non-zero chance I would've played little league against him)

Amazing that you might get an MF Doom tangent in a The Killers episode. I'm enjoying this one even more than the 90s series, which probably makes sense given that the 2000s take me from ages 17-27.

I also didn't know I was in the minority liking most of that first MGMT album, not just the big three songs.

Anyway, the second half conversations are still a little tough to listen to at times with someone giving insufferable hot takes and Rob saying yeeaaahh over and over again, but the main chunk of every episode is just terrific.

My rule of thumb is if it's a song I enjoy, I'll listen to the interview portion. It's usually good for a few good observations and jokes. If it's a song I don't care about, I probably skip it.

(Side note, if you haven't listened to the 90s episode on REM's "Nightswimming," go back and do so. For the first and last time, Rob picked a guest who absolutely loathed the subject song. It was mystifying. And we weren't talking about, like, the Macarena there - it's literally one of the most critically and fan beloved songs in the rock/pop canon.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Rob’s windup is like the best thing in podcasting. I just think he needs better guests. He’s not a good interviewer. But better guests more thoughtfully selected would make it better. Also, I can’t stand the Bandsplain lady, babe. Personally, I think it should most often be musicians their take is at least based on process and direct impact.

Thank God he’s back too. Because I don’t have the stomach for Ezra Klein and such these days.


Elsewhere…

I’ve watched plenty of YouTube. And I’ve listened to some songs dozens or hundreds of times from three years ago or thirty. And I’m realizing that some of them have interesting music videos I’ve never seen or thought to look for ever since I turned MTV off in 2002.

https://youtu.be/DrHd3nkCIz4


Lastly…

I don’t know how judgey I should be getting with my kids for watching video games on YouTube. I watched TRL most days which was 60% commercials and 40% forgettable pop music that I didn’t even care for, mostly. You know, or Limp Bizkit.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

When I was a kid I had a problematic in hindsight aversion to Fiona Apple. I don’t think I ever listened to When the Pawn until the last couple weeks. I can’t turn it off now. I effing love it.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Broad brushing the term here, but “Indie” rock turned to the 80s in like 07 and has never moved on. Get to the 90s already, sad cool kids.

I tried Mk.Gee. Interesting stuff. I like it. His 80s are more of the Bruce Hornsby kind that Bon Iver channels—and which I can stomach, fortunately. You can also clearly hear the Kanye influence in production.


OK. But actually the 90s are all over the place. Someone posted Fontaines DC—those guys dress like a XTREME (please note absence of first ‘e’, that’s how extreme) commercial for Surge.

[heyzeus]

Broad brushing the term here, but “Indie” rock turned to the 80s in like 07 and has never moved on. Get to the 90s already, sad cool kids.

I tried Mk.Gee. Interesting stuff. I like it. His 80s are more of the Bruce Hornsby kind that Bon Iver channels—and which I can stomach, fortunately. You can also clearly hear the Kanye influence in production.


OK. But actually the 90s are all over the place. Someone posted Fontaines DC—those guys dress like a XTREME (please note absence of first ‘e’, that’s how extreme) commercial for Surge.

I don't know who this band is or what they sound like but I already hate them.