Listen to an album you've never heard by an artist you never listen to and then tell us about it!

Side 2 of "Soon Over Babaluma" is the best music in the world.

jamming Saw Delight now and yeah its super fun, probably would be considered a classic if by most other bands. but I gotta say what's with Can going from having state-of-the-art production even when we know their equipment wasn't all that advanced to sounding like they were recording in a shoebox

I mean check out the bass/drum interplay in Animal Waves - Holger would never play like that so Jaki almost never plays as frenzied as he does here

Anyone want to recommend me something? Genres I know next-to-nothing about and am intrigued by: country, krautrock, drum and bass, yacht rock

xp pretty sure “Animal Waves” became my go to when I want to a long Can track. Wonderful genre-jumping exercise.

I can recommend plenty of drum & bass but not sure which *album* to start with, you'd be much better off with tracks or mixes

A.R. & Machines - Die Grüne Reise is the krautrock record that got me rolling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb4ERB8SRmM

I would start with the canonical artists - Can, Neu!, Faust, maybe Amon Duul II, for a more rock approach. Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Cluster for the electronic end of things.

Krautrock is such a useless term though, especially these days.

Anyone want to recommend me something? Genres I know next-to-nothing about and am intrigued by: country, krautrock, drum and bass, yacht rock

― a hoy hoy

For Country: Dillard & Clark, Waylon Jennings and Tony Joe White

I’m actually not that well versed in Country music and I don’t pay much attention to lyrics which is one of the main points of Country music. So someone else might recommend you better things. I just really vibe with those three.

For albums

Dillard & Clark - The Fantastic Expedition
Waylon Jennings - Ramblin Man (but he was on a roll in the 70’s, you can easily pick any other)
Tony Joe White - this is a hard one… he doesn’t have a “great album” but there’s a brilliant pair of songs in mostly every album from him… he’s more of a swamp rock/country hybrid so maybe not what you’re looking for.

Krautrock is such a useless term though, especially these days.

yea it's kinda funny none of the big Krautrock groups really sound alike at all, even the ones which share members. I think on one side there's the cosmic freakout/hard rock stuff and on another there's the 'motorik' sound. but Can is sort of a blend of the two, they're like an alien funk band I guess. then you have all the synthesizer stuff by Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. hell I've even heard of Nektar referred to as Krautrock. I guess you can call anything Krautrock so long as it's from Germany.

however there is one album which I think encapsulates all of this - Tarot by Walter Wegmuller. you really wanna go off the deep end, give that a shot.

I would start with Faust IV

Ironically, Nektar were British! Although they were formed in Germany to be fair so maybe it counts...?

outside of the fact that what they do is clearly progressive rock, yeah

I'd never call it the best, but I think of the first Agitation Free record as a basic "starter"-type Krautrock record that touches on a lot of the styles and trends that other groups explored more thoroughly.

I believe the only drum-and-bass album I've heard is Malice in Wonderland by Rufige Kru (Goldie) and it didn't do me any harm.

A.R. & Machines - Die Grüne Reise
Dillard & Clark - The Fantastic Expedition
Waylon Jennings - Ramblin Man
Malice in Wonderland by Rufige Kru
Faust IV

Will give all of these a go over the coming week, cheers.

Also yeah I know drum & bass isn't an album genre but it is one I wanted to dip my toe in the water of, and I was already on the thread.

You see, to me, Agitation Free are very West Coast US jam band influenced - not so much the first album but the second definitely.

one thing I really do want is stuff that sounds like the first track on the debut Ash Ra Tempel album

Can are undoubtedly the band that touch most bases.

A hoy hoy, I recommend Photek's Form & Function, it's a bit of an outlier but that's what blew my head off as a kid.

Think a good starter D&B mix might be Kemistry & Storm - DJ Kicks from 1999 - though plenty has happened in the last quarter century too.

I listened to Powerslave by Iron Maiden. don't think that band is for me tbh. songs were too long, and I was expecting to at least like some riffs or something, but it was mostly pretty plodding and I expected it to rock a lot harder than it did. I thought Aces High was OK but that was about it

if anyone on this board hasn't heard shiina ringo you should listen to her first three albums and report back

Was thinking of trying out something Peter Hammill related since a frieds was going off on IG with Hammill memes. Suggestions on where to start welcome.

don't think that band is for me tbh. songs were too long, and I was expecting to at least like some riffs or something, but it was mostly pretty plodding and I expected it to rock a lot harder than it did.

This is me, except I listened to their first six albums, plus the lyrics are like Peter Hammill for twelve-year-olds.

um I had no idea there were Hammill memes on IG

my starting point was VDGG's H to He Who Am the Only One, which I think is probably their most accessible one (other than the debut which ain't *really* Van der Graaf Generator). from there probably Godbluff or Still Life. Pawn Hearts is often pointed to as their masterpiece but you really gotta be a proghead to appreciate that one.

i found h to he who am the only one to be a good vdgg gateway

Peter Hammill, "The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage".

I actually think "Pawn Hearts" IS the one to start with!

I added the DJ Kicks and the first ringo on spotify (it has a cover that looks like a politician surrounded by press) to my playlist to listen to this week. F&F wasn't on spotify and im too lazy to search for it.

re: dnb mixes, i grabbed speed limit 140 bpm+ three: the joint bc its thread got bumped recently and it is delirium-inducing

I heard Pawn Hearts first and appreciated it but didn't go any further for a long while because its weirdness is extreme. If someone is prejudiced against prog-rock styles then one of the later solo records like Sitting Targets might be a good entree.

someone who hasn't listened to a new hip-hop album this decade should listen to playboi carti's whole lotta red plz

― the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili),

is there any way for me to stream/listen to this aside from Spotify? youtube maybe? ads are fine.

I'm prejudiced against prog rock styles so its weirdness was a positive!

Cool, will go with H to He Who Am the Only One to start with then see from there. Thanks. Honestly don't know much about the artist at all despite having heard there name since I was a kid.

Listened to these two jazz poetry LPs from 1958

https://i.imgur.com/IV4Iu58.png

Kenneth Patchen Reads His Poetry with the Chamber Jazz Sextet

https://i.imgur.com/vcqKD1J.png

The Weary Blues With Langston Hughes

If you like jazz poetry (and it turns out that I do) then both come recommended.

sleeve, you can listen on youtube at this link

So I listened to Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream

I'm a prog fan from, oh, way back, but I've never properly listened to most of the modern stylists in this seemingly evergreen genre. It seems you have to hear Porcupine Tree to know 21st century prog, and I'm not prepared to listen to Spock's Beard again, so here we are.

I was expecting something like Pink Floyd meets 80s-era Peter Gabriel meets 80s-era Rush. With maybe a dash of Talk Talk/Sylvian/Blue Nile. And...that's what they sound like! So maybe I have heard them? Anyway, sorry but this music is really dull and safe. It's Radiohead prog. It's the over-used yet descriptive 'prog-lite'. I don't like it. It's as if the purpose of this band was to excise all the madness from the 70s version of the genre and replace it with slick, worthy sincerity. Also it all seems to be in 4/4 time, and what kind of prog record is that? And the lyrics are really bad and cheesy, although nowhere near as bad as Marillion's. But at least (early) Marillion were prepared to look stupid if they had to.

In the interests of balance I'll say there were a few moments that were listenable enough. The last track was actually pretty nice. But it all sounds like the prog phase Jeff Buckley never got to have. It's the wild, idiotic creativity of Yes and Genesis ironed out into singer-songwriter conventions dressed up as art-rock. This is not a band that would dare fall flat on their face doing a "Tales from Topographic Oceans" or "Works Vol. 1". I just let the music drift into the background after a while, which is not something anyone's ever said about Van der Graaf Generator.

So that's me ripping Steven Wilson a new one, sorry Steve and ilx PT fans.

I'm prejudiced against prog rock styles so its weirdness was a positive!

― Tom D (the first British Asian ILXor) (Tom D.), Tuesday, March 26, 2024 10:06 AM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

the guy in town who normally DJs the prog nights around here talked about this once, when you get random people in who don't know the music they rarely ask about Yes or Genesis or ELP but whenever he plays VdGG that's when people come up and go "what the hell is this??"

I kinda like Porcupine Tree but everything you say is valid. it irons out the kinks in prog in a way that eliminates a lot of what makes it exciting and fun. and imo you've got one of their better records. I'm curious if I should continue on with Wilson's solo career, didn't find much to like in his first one but The Raven That Refused to Sing is pretty good

there are definitely some cool 21st Century prog bands around - Wobbler are pretty amazing if you want stuff that sounds like peak-era Yes, Echolyn are incredible songwriters, Frost* I think are the ones who really do take the King Crimson sound into the modern era, etc.

i listewned to all the Nosound records on Kscope and they are very porcupine tree but they can be very soothing in a contemplative way. there are no memorable songs though. which was always my problem with post-radiohead lite prog bands. pretty music but...that's it.

Anathema - one of my very favorite 90s bands - turned in to one of those Kscope bands and I haven't heard their latest albums but i would love it if someone listened to JUDGEMENT, Anathema's 1999 album. i love it beyond reason but people can be honest here. if you hated it that would be fine as long as i get some good reasons why!
and if you want to go deeper into Pink Floyd territory you could listen to their next album from 2001 A Fine Day To Exit. i love that one as well. but Judgement is really special to me. I've just never known anyone who told me how they felt about it!

https://i.discogs.com/01KEHasy_g-aYLQE6tbytIZLuWJDXkUAPuYHhN2Bm48/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE1NDQ0/NTktMTM4Mjk5MzUx/OS00MDE5LmpwZWc.jpeg

Today by Galaxie 500
Probably not my first attempt, but the singer and guitar have captured my attention this time. I don't know if it is the expression of frailty, the patiently built atmosphere, the floating aerial notes, the distant but unmistakable emanations of punk. What used to be mundane is now an interesting stylistic in-between (indie / shoegaze / soft rock / proto-punk). Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste is striking.

I didn't much like the Wilson/Porcupine Tree records I heard because they had to overcome his bland, inexpressive voice.

Nabozo, keep going with Galaxie 500 i think they just get stronger as they go.

agree 100%

I've heard VDGG being described before as "progressive prog"

my wife calls VDGG “Dennis Nielsen music”