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

He was a fan of ABBA I think?

i suggested h to he as a starting point because "killer" is the closest thing they have to something like a "21st century schizoid man," which maybe could've seen play on adventurous fm radio stations

(xp) O Superman was his favourite, I believe.

I have given it a listen, and enjoyed it. Gonna listen on better headphones on my walk home and write my impressions after that. wasn't quite what I expected.

that would make "House With No Door" their "I Talk to the Wind" which checks out I think

Going to share my listening list for 1959 on here and see if anyone else has any suggestions, sorry for slight-offtopicness

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14ipusKOC0qky4lLzYmv8j9MhmGpEd3r-

Ok, try again

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14ipusKOC0qky4lLzYmv8j9MhmGpEd3r-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107624448279953434522&rtpof=true&sd=true

Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home

I don't think I've ever listened to a whole Dylan album before. I used to be wholly uninterested because it seemed music for people who really like lyrics, although these days I appreciate him a lot more *in theory* after hearing lots of Dylanheads talk about him on podcasts, and there are a few songs I like.

I absolutely love the stomping, swinging mid-tempo country shuffles with the 2-step basslines on this. Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm (so sick), Outlaw Blues, Bob Dylan's 115th Dream. So funky! I'm going to assume there's nothing this funky in his catalog until Gotta Serve Somebody. So much better than a slow blues shuffle.

Also it's just a really cool sounding record, especially the full band tracks. It's kinda nice to listen to this just as a record, without all the cultural baggage from when people really seemed to care a lot about 'Bob Dylan.'

Visions of Joanna is pretty funky…

(h)

jesus, "Ah Um", "Blues And Roots" and "Dynasty" are ALL from 1959?? damn, Mingus.

(xps)

Tombstone Blues?

xposts

Some more 1959 jazz records --

Thelonious Monk - Alone in San Francisco
Donald Byrd - Byrd in Hand
Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Paul Chambers - Go!
Johnny Griffin - Way Out!
Milt Jackson & John Coltrane - Bags & Trane

Long Distance Operator and Yazoo Street Scandal off the Basement Tapes are both pretty funky, but that's the Band i guess

…Which brings up Planet Waves… “Tough Mama” (and others) are hella funky

I wouldn't really call John Wesley Harding funky, but a lot of the songs on there have pretty tight grooves for such a stripped down, acoustic-leaning album.

xp here's a few 1959 tracks I like that I didn't see on there

Ronnie Dawson - Rockin' Bones
Jeff Daniels - Switch Blade Sam
Little Richard - She Knows How To Rock
Jackie DeShannon - Trouble
Esquerita - She Left Me Crying

Jordan, would love to read a thread where you listen to Dylan albums. You frequently come at classic albums from interesting angles.

Would love to hear what you think of the next the next record - if you like Maggie's Farm, you probably will also like Tombstone Blues.

Long Distance Operator and Yazoo Street Scandal off the Basement Tapes are both pretty funky, but that's the Band i guess

Yeah those are great, especially the latter. Super New Orleans feel. I guess that's why everyone loves Levon Helm. Never heard them before, the Band are another huge blind spot for me.

xp haha thank you, maybe I will (or I'll just keep going here).

Thanks Jordan/CP! - have added those to the end (except the Little Richard as it's an archive release, he was in one of his evangelical preacher phases in '59 and I'm still trying to go by recording date if possible)

Btw re: Bringing It All Back Home, I meant to add that Mr. Tambourine Man is clearly the worst song on the record. :)

:-0

aww, I love Mr. Tambourine Man