Post a controversial music opinion

My wife and I were just talking about this. Half of me thinks/hopes that the trailer is the six or seven best bits of the movie, as many trailers are. If so, there's
a sense in which I've already seen the movie. So I don't need to arrange a babysitter. (But I will probably watch it once it's on a streaming service.) I watch basically all music documentaries and biopics, regardless of my feelings about the artist. I also almost always read the half-baked autobiography, if it ends up in front of me (midway through Dave Stewart's, btw).

B-b-but have you seen the Lee Morgan doc?

I havent heard anything Hubbard did post-Red Clay so this notion that he’s some shitty sellout is news to me

You need to hear Straight Life! It's just as good as Red Clay and features George Benson at his very best

After that, it's a steep decline

To defend Benson against charges of sell-out-ism, he was a child virtuoso who cut his teeth with Jack McDuff and, iirc, a bit of Miles. But the time Breezin' came out he was, what, 30? And had been playing professionally and prolifically for a decade. As a friend and were saying the other day, what else did he have to prove?

Queen ... I still don't think I've made it through an entire album, but like their hits when I hear them, which puts them on par, to my mind, with the Doors.

Give Me the Night is one of the eighties' best albums.

I don't hear musical theater in Roxy Music at all, even on their first couple albums. Bryan Ferry's self-dramatizing streak isn't the same as musical theater.

I agree, I think early (first 5) Roxy is so anarchic and awesomely confrontational/abrasive, and not in a theatrical way. That is, Bowie clearly put a lot of thought into his presentation, sometimes too much, and while Roxy obv. did, too, it never seemed like it.

Two words: 'Bitter Sweet'.

queen listening project next year on ilx

otm

Give Me the Night is one of the eighties' best albums.

The title track is one of my most failsafe floor-fillers; I hadn't appreciated its all-time greatness until this year. "Love X Love" isn't far behind, either.

Best Quincy Jones production of the '80s, too.

I don't hear musical theater in Roxy Music at all, even on their first couple albums. Bryan Ferry's self-dramatizing streak isn't the same as musical theater.

― You like queer? I like queer. Still like queer. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, October 27, 2018 9:12 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I was gonna say, I don't remotely get any kind of theater-kid vibe from Ferry.

i don't hear it in t. rex either

St. Anger is Metallica's best album

Highly controversial!

That drum sound is amazing, I have no idea what everyone is talking about. I think I like it because it has the same production style as the Pumpkins when they go metal: super dry, very Sabbathy, vocals high & dry in the mix. I find Hetfield's performances really compelling. Fucking great lyrics too. "I'm madly in anger with you." "My lifestyle determines my deathstyle." Come on!! That shit rules. I like some of the songs on Ride the Lightning better but the production on all of the 80s records sucks.

Madness “started ska”.

Well those are certainly some words you guys posted on the internet

When a vocal critic of Phil Collins '80s gated drum sound praises the drum sound on St. Anger it isn't actually controversial, just fucking stupid.

fb isn't alone on this one; when I interviewed Tyshawn Sorey (avant-garde jazz drummer) for The Wire I played him a track from St. Anger and he loved the drum sound - said it was his favorite thing about the record.

lol that's tight

The drum sound isn't the problem with St Anger

Yeah, really.

What is it then?

The songs are just boring

Okay, thanks. Good thing I never listened to it

Yeah, the songs are poorly put together and way too long. That said, it's not as bad as people (including me!) said at the time. In hindsight, it's a decent try, and having watched the documentary, I understand why they (particularly Hetfield) made it. They/he had no other choice. In fact, I wrote about it last month for Stereogum, in the context of a 10th anniversary look at Death Magnetic.

More often than not, Emmylou Harris' harmony vocals are distracting.

Don't get me wrong: I think she's terrific and I've probably listened to Wrecking Ball six thousand times. But I feel like her voice is too distinctive to blend or something.

When a vocal critic of Phil Collins '80s gated drum sound praises the drum sound on St. Anger it isn't actually controversial, just fucking stupid.

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Sunday, October 28, 2018 12:04 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

welcome back 😈

unperson otm
I kinda wish I liked St Anger more

More often than not, Emmylou Harris' harmony vocals are distracting.

Don't get me wrong: I think she's terrific and I've probably listened to Wrecking Ball six thousand times. But I feel like her voice is too distinctive to blend or something.

― Paul Ponzi, Sunday,

uh the opposite! She's a zero as a lead singer, immaculate as harmonizer.

Have you heard the Parton-Harris-Ronstadt Trio? A wondrous record.

Discipline is better played, better written and far more exciting than Remain in Light.

I definitely like it more. Idk if I even have an opinion on "better played" or "better written".

is there some connection between those albums?

Adrian Belew

i'll go w/the album where he's not allowed to sing

I kinda wish I liked St Anger more

― Greta Van Fleek (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, October 28, 2018 5:06 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

Beyond just Adrian Belew, I'd say Discipline is highly influenced by Talking Heads overall. I like RIL better, but both are classic.

i'll go w/the album where he's not allowed to sing

This x1000. I can tolerate Belew making the occasional squiggly noise in the margins, but anytime he's allowed to take a dominant role on a song (by anybody), things go straight into the ditch.

Fear of Music, Remain in Light, and Speaking in Tongues are each > Discipline, but Discipline, Beat, & Three of a Perfect Pair are each > Talking Heads before 1979 or after 1984.

Belew isn't a terrible singer in the sense that he ruins otherwise great songs, but I think one needs to delve into deeper cuts like "Heartbeat" and "Waiting Man" before he adds to them. Byrne/Belew/Colin Hay were sort of an early 80s trio tthat even constricted, neurotic voices like mine could be expressive.

^ that taught me that even..

i actually find Belew's voice kind of beautiful when he's singing and not squawking on stuff like "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Matte Kudasai"; the ones Sanpaku lists are definitely good examples. I realize it's my own issue but Byrne just annoys the heck out of me or leaves me cold a lot of the time.

I think Belew is a guitar genius so he can sing however and whatever he wants

Leo Kottke is very much in the same boat here

Kottke's vox are so bad

yeah

Ha, I always skip the "singing" side of The Best.