Music Hurdles

Jakob wrote:

Speaking of tapes... http://www.makeamixa.com/

Now if that thing actually played in a deck I would've ordered it without batting my eye!

Perhaps the ultimate music nerd hurdle? Sci-fi and prog and a musical? I can imagine this is either the most perfect rock album, or worst, ever depending on who you are.

One that I grew up with Jakob. I Love WOTW. I went a while back to see the stage show and was blown away by it!

But, not wanting to create a hurdle for you, I'm NOT going to tell you that you'll love it. I suspect that you may not!!

Jakob wrote:

Perhaps the ultimate music nerd hurdle? Sci-fi and prog and a musical? I can imagine this is either the most perfect rock album, or worst, ever depending on who you are.

I finally got to listen to this last month, and I liked it. It reminds me of a lot of the orchestral/synthesizer/electric music that came out of the 80s. Kinda like if Mannheim Steamroller did Phantom of the Opera.

Oh, I hurdled that years ago. I used to buy the record whenever I found it at thrift stores so I could pass it on to people. I was more wondering if it was hurdle for other people.

Its most definately NOT a hurdle in the UK. It was something from my parents generation that seemed to appeal to all of us as kids. I don't think I can recall anyone from school that hadn't heard it or didn't like it. At the sellout show I went to, I was surprised at the number of kids there. I expected people my Dads age. I expected people like me in thier 30's. I did NOT expect the large ammount of Emo kids. Looks like it still has its appeal here in the UK!

I am beginning to get the feeling that 60's-70's singers with moderate to heavy English accents are a hurdle for me. I listened to Their Satanic Majesties Request last night, and I enjoyed everything a lot except for the singing, which made me cringe. I have the same problem with about half of The Beatles songs. Now, had everything been sung by, say, The Beach Boys, I would have no such issue. I don't have the problem with many newer English bands.

Bear Police wrote:I am beginning to get the feeling that 60's-70's singers with moderate to heavy English accents are a hurdle for me. I listened to Their Satanic Majesties Request last night, and I enjoyed everything a lot except for the singing, which made me cringe. I have the same problem with about half of The Beatles songs. Now, had everything been sung by, say, The Beach Boys, I would have no such issue. I don't have the problem with many newer English bands.

That is an interesting one considering the amount of current English bands with singers who sing in their own thick accents but (maybe) write inferior songs to the Stones and Fab Four. Why do you reckon it is? And do you like the earlier rock'n'roll and r'n'b Stones where Mick was trying to sound black and American?

Actually, I had to look into this to respond to a thread on Simply Syndicated, and I have come to the conclusion that not only can I not get into English bands before the late 70s, I also have difficulty with the bands that have emerged this past decade. There are exceptions though, of course.

Yeah that makes much more sense to me BP, there's been a resurgence (since The Libertines I'm guessing, or maybe even inspired by The Streets) of brit rock band vocalists holding the accents right up front loud and proud. I find it doesn't effect me either way, if the song itself stands up the accent doesn't matter.

For me there is a definite Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney hurdle that makes me dislike those bands/songs. Has nothing to do with the accents. I hear what you're saying about Brit bands in the last ten years. It's weird, 80 Brits were/are some of my most beloved sounds. But Blur/Oasis onward I find a lot of those bands grating. I didn't like Buzzcocks either though, so perhaps it's just the shouty/snotty vocal I dislike -- in any nation's accent perhaps? Though I do like The Jam who seem to equally have inspired that sound. And John Lydon/Mick Jones never bothered me. Whoever sang for the Yardbirds did. Weird. I guess I pick and choose on this hurdle.

Indie music is a massive hurdle for me. I know there is some totally brilliant stuff, like Modest Mouse and Black Angels, but so much of it is just wet, monotonous shite with twangy guitars and singers with their dickhead regional accents, posers who want to sell out at the first possible opportunity.
I find with this hurdle that it is best to find the stuff for yourself. I picked up Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes because I liked the funky cover art, but If I had read the reviews I would have had no interest at all in listening to their music.

Indie rock (my once main genre) becomes more of a hurdle for me every year. Oddly, the overrated Modest Mouse are one of my most loathed old school American indie bands and who I usually cite as being what's wrong with indie rock these days. I hold them responsible for all the Death Cabs and Wolf Parades out there. Maybe even the Arcade Fires.

I've never listened to Arcade Fire, but your post there reminded me that I wanted to, so I've just brought the album Funeral, and I quite like what I've heard so far. Thanks for that Jakob!

As for Modest Mouse, well Good News is just one of the ten greatest albums ever and I wont hear otherwise.

I weep for the youth.

I'll go sit in my rocking chair and listen to Sebadoh and Pavement now...

Indie-Rock is on and off with me . There's always a time in the week where I enjoy a 'Wolf-Parade' or 'Modest mouse' song. Some if it is undeniably mediocre but there's usually something to be found and occasionally even a brilliant album. Lately I've been listening to a lot of folk ,shoegaze and electronic music . I like Black Moth super rainbow a lot a the moment. I'm also on a Bob Dylan binge.

Jakob wrote:I weep for the youth.

I'll go sit in my rocking chair and listen to Sebadoh and Pavement now...

I love these bands .. especially Pavement. His solo work is pretty good too.

Do you know Slint?

Even terrible shoegaze is amazing. BEST. GENRE. EVAR.

Jakob, what exactly is your problem With Modest Mouse? And I am aware that your reply post may leave me weeping.

I just find them boring, contrived and watered-down. Plus the guy's voice vaguely annoys me. Bur that's just my subjective opinion. Keep on enjoying them by all means!

I could see how one would find that voice annoying, but I don't think its any more grating than Black Francis. I just see the album Good News For People Who Love Bad News as one of the albums that really got me interested in music. That album, along with Queen is Dead and Ok Computer, and maybe White Light/White Heat made me want to learn more about music. I have a sort of block that I am way behind on music and I am quite up on films, and so I wonder if it will be worth it to invest in one and not the other. I need to find a balance, but I'm afraid that it requires more time.

I love me some Malkmus, not so much the Mod Mouse. One of my favourite gigs was seeing Steve with the Jicks a few years ago. I never got to see Pavement live though.

I liked shoegaze rock when I first discovered it, and NZ has a fairly big tradition of it (almost all of our music was "indie" until about ten years ago when genuinely commercial sounding bands started popping up), but it became more of a hurdle for me as I began to prefer a more direct live performance. The vibe when a singer on stage seems to be staying too much within themselves, or that they're projecting any kind of performance shyness or self-consciousness, doesn't do anything for me anymore, and I think that's mostly because I struggled with it myself for a long time and projected my own on-stage insecurity onto bands I watched.

It even runs as far as vocalists who sing too much with their eyes closed or who, when they play on TV shows, immediately turn away from the audience to face the drummer when the song's done. They're things that most people probably wouldn't even notice but they bug me because they remind me of me and because they suggest a lack of desire to connect with the audience, which for me is the whole point of performing. So I much prefer performers who are, not confrontational necessarily, but who front nonetheless, and who like to look the audience in the eye and project belief in their art and ability and a sense of either fearlessness, or of a willingness to face the fear that's so natural to being on stage. I only started to enjoy playing live once I started fronting and opening myself up to the crowd.

And I don't hold anything against guys and gals who prefer to play their whole sets with their heads down and/or eyes closed and project shyness, because I know exactly why and I've felt that urge too, and it can be super-uncomfortable and powerful. I just have trouble connecting with them these days as an audience member, and that's the hurdle I've been discovering.

Hayden_Bloom wrote:I could see how one would find that voice annoying, but I don't think its any more grating than Black Francis. I just see the album Good News For People Who Love Bad News as one of the albums that really got me interested in music. That album, along with Queen is Dead and Ok Computer, and maybe White Light/White Heat made me want to learn more about music. I have a sort of block that I am way behind on music and I am quite up on films, and so I wonder if it will be worth it to invest in one and not the other. I need to find a balance, but I'm afraid that it requires more time.

I don' find Francis grating at all. More like... divine. Modest Mouse certainly gets props for being a gateway band. They're the first inide band a lot of people like. And sometimes indie rock for people who don't like indie rock. And that's fine. But for me, they'll always be the Coldplay of the indie scene. There's certianly nothing wrong with liking them at all. And if they lead the way to White Light/White Heat for you, then that's an awesome thing. Just don't sneak them onto my iPod.

Interesting Hurdle. I never thought of it in that way. I see maybe one gig a year due to the difficult trajectory I have to go through when wanting to reach a venue by public transport (Leave before 22:00 too). Well I did go to the jazz-bar for a while but I have no friends who are into that so I gave up.. I wish I could see more gigs.

Bucho. Yeah the whole "shoegaze" stage persona is horrible. I had no need to see MBV when they played here last year. When I see a band play live, I want to see them spit blood and fracture something (literally or musically). I want to see some fire.

I don't go to a lot of shows.