All ILM posters are liars
― jmm, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:12 (five years ago) link
I feel like the Eagles worm has been turning for years now, but still no one is ready to say the Eagles are good. Until now folks. The Eagles are Pretty Good
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, September 7, 2018 1:03 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I have a constantly running loop of that lebowski clip in my head, but never more than last night when I was in a duane reade after hell commute that was playing take it easy
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
jmm otm
― Evan, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:14 (five years ago) link
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, September 7, 2018 10:03 AM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
"i can't tell you why" is an amazing song but i can't join you here just yet
― princess of hell (BradNelson), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:15 (five years ago) link
the eagles are good
i can't tell you why is really good
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:36 (five years ago) link
other eagles songs i like: hotel california, new kid in town, try and love again, take it easy, peaceful easy feeling, witchy woman
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:38 (five years ago) link
The High Llamas were (are?) a million times better than their 'parents', the Beach Boys.
― Daniel Giraffe, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:49 (five years ago) link
that's not controversial, it's just wrong
― Οὖτις, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:50 (five years ago) link
the only good Beach Boy was/is Mike Love.
― omar little, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:51 (five years ago) link
High Llamas relationship to the Beach Boys was always tangential at best (and related to a very brief period/narrow slice of their catalog) and was way over-emphasized in their press materials.
I would take even the low points of M.I.U. over the High Llamas tbh
― Οὖτις, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:52 (five years ago) link
No artist at all has a "New Jersey" - a huge event album that ultimately feels a bit hollow & signals a career decline
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:53 (five years ago) link
You could say that about any band that has the opportunity to develop someone else's idea further, if it works for you.
xps
― Evan, Friday, 7 September 2018 17:53 (five years ago) link
There are a bunch of good Eagles songs. Every one of them was released as a single, so a compilation is all you need. There's not one Eagles album worth listening to all the way through. The Long Run comes closest.
The Beach Boys have, like, two good songs ("Good Vibrations" and "Don't Worry Baby"), and I could happily go the rest of my life without hearing either one of them ever again.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:53 (five years ago) link
Can't think of any.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:54 (five years ago) link
Black metal sucks. Even the "good" stuff is bad enough that it's worth handing the whole genre over to the Nazis and walking away. Let 'em have it.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 7 September 2018 17:56 (five years ago) link
Does it have to be a controversial opinion that we actually hold or are we allowed to just say something we think might wind people up?
― Daniel Giraffe, Friday, 7 September 2018 18:00 (five years ago) link
Saying a band or genre you don't like sucks isn't controversial or even a wind-up tbh.
― everything, Friday, 7 September 2018 18:01 (five years ago) link
that late-90s Brian Wilson worship was so tiresome
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:03 (five years ago) link
Counterpoint: at a Silver Jews show, D. Berman did a sneering routine of saying, "What's the big deal with Brian Wilson? He's so overrated," etc.; which was equally annoying.
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:05 (five years ago) link
It could have been John Prine who wrote "Margaritaville."
― Pesto Mindset (Eazy), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:09 (five years ago) link
Here's an (actually held) controversial opinion: while I've been into the Silver Jews since I first ran across "The Arizona Record" (filed under Pavement on a rack), and I think they have some terrific records, I also think Berman is significantly overvalued as a lyricist by most fans. He has some good one-liners, but his lyrics tend to be strings of "clever" non-sequiturs that only sometimes land. He's seen as some kind of rock poet.
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:10 (five years ago) link
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, September 7, 2018 10:03 AM
We have a daily listening thread that'll prove you wrong.
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:16 (five years ago) link
you could make a dud list for most anybody
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, 7 September 2018 18:18 (five years ago) link
i remember Howard Stern once had a guy on who claimed it was ok to drink your own urine and he did it daily, so they had the guy pee in a cup and drink it to prove it. it was pretty clear he was not very used to drinking his own urine.
― omar little, Friday, 7 September 2018 18:18 (five years ago) link
music is a fine hobbie for kids and teenagers but should be outgrown (outside of casual interest) early in adulthood
― flopson, Friday, 7 September 2018 19:17 (five years ago) link
yes
99% of the music criticism on ILM is actually bad sociology
― the late great, Friday, 7 September 2018 19:23 (five years ago) link
There's music for adults and music for children/teenagers. Many adults refuse to a) admit this and b) learn the difference.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 7 September 2018 19:23 (five years ago) link
apollonian >>> dionysian
― the late great, Friday, 7 September 2018 19:27 (five years ago) link
xp - rude
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 19:38 (five years ago) link
90% of piano ballads suck
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 7 September 2018 19:38 (five years ago) link
I heard "Take It to the Limit" on the radio last night and man that song sounds great, I'm pro-Eagles now
― crüt, Friday, 7 September 2018 19:40 (five years ago) link
This is very, very good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqhYXLVYQJ8
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 7 September 2018 19:45 (five years ago) link
controversial opinion: randy meisner sings "take it to the limit" better than etta james
― crüt, Friday, 7 September 2018 19:47 (five years ago) link
Retro soul covers of rock songs (Charles Bradley's version of Black Sabbath's "Changes" comes immediately to mind) frequently suck, and are mostly championed by people who don't want to be seen liking the original version.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 7 September 2018 19:51 (five years ago) link
we definitely need another one of these threads
lots of opinions about people here instead of music what a surprise
― brimstead, Friday, 7 September 2018 20:47 (five years ago) link
*falls off high horse into trough of metallica blackened whiskey*
Probably not controversial, but have just realised that most of the music I don't really get, from The Eagles and Steely Dan through to 80s hardcore punk, yacht rock, hair metal, grunge and most of the US indie music of the last 25 years, it's all straight white American guys with guitars.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:02 (five years ago) link
Kenny G and Chuck Mangione are the two most influential and important jazz artists of the 20th century and it isn't close.
― kornrulez6969, Friday, 7 September 2018 21:05 (five years ago) link
Yeah, but only if you consider 'important' and 'influential' to be synonyms.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:07 (five years ago) link
xxp humblebrag much, lol
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:08 (five years ago) link
didn't mean it that way, honest! I listen to a lot of music by straight non-American white guys with guitars for example.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:14 (five years ago) link
man i love Steely Dan so much
― brimstead, Friday, 7 September 2018 21:15 (five years ago) link
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, September 7, 2018 5:02 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
agreed 100%, but I've known this basically all my life
― aloha darkness my old friend (katherine), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:16 (five years ago) link
three chords and the truth, that's all you really need
― strong deutan (rip van wanko), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:17 (five years ago) link
that's a quote about classic country songwriting, tbf
― stan in the place where you work (morrisp), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:28 (five years ago) link
Joy Division was the best band of all times. In the early days of ILM this was less controversial, I think.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:30 (five years ago) link
what is "yacht rock"
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:32 (five years ago) link
http://www.yachtrock.com/yacht-or-nyacht-jay-gradient/
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 7 September 2018 21:48 (five years ago) link
iirc early ilm was full of very clever ppl saying ian curtis sounded like kermit the frog and that their lyrics were bad. it would prob be hard to find a single "challenging opinion" that hasn't been aired on ilm at least once over the years.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Friday, 7 September 2018 22:03 (five years ago) link
there's always a dumber take
― guardians of the gums: i am tooth (voodoo chili), Friday, 7 September 2018 22:11 (five years ago) link
i like the way harpsichord makes you prance on your toes, i feel ever so fancy.
― ... 2024-- there's one clear winner! (Hunt3r), Friday, 8 March 2024 06:26 (three weeks ago) link
the whole soft-loud thing that the pianoforte does
That is literally what pianoforte means, of course. I have an uncle who plays the harpsichord rather well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7ddjZNxUQ
― alpaca lips now (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 8 March 2024 07:35 (three weeks ago) link
rather well indeed haha
rather jealous, would love to be able to sit down at a harpsichord and just kill it
tried to find a cool live clip of never never gonna give you up but they are all too fast and do not contain the harpsichord riff, wtf Barry White, how are you gonna record the nastiest harpsichord ever and then just skip it live
― Florin Cuchares, Saturday, 9 March 2024 03:27 (two weeks ago) link
Was there ever even a prog rock band that took a harpsichord on tour? Maybe the Savage Rose?
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 9 March 2024 03:29 (two weeks ago) link
mostly just electric piano with harpsichord setting probably.
― scott seward, Saturday, 9 March 2024 04:13 (two weeks ago) link
one of my very favorite 60s band used the rock-si-chord to great effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfVmk_RliOY
― scott seward, Saturday, 9 March 2024 04:19 (two weeks ago) link
that band is holy to me. i met one of them once (craig anderton) - he was great friends and musical partners with my friend linda cohen who also recorded for poppy records - and i could barely speak to him. he couldn't believe i knew his music. it was like meeting a beatle!
― scott seward, Saturday, 9 March 2024 04:23 (two weeks ago) link
I dont know that band or song yet, look forward to learning.
― ... 2024-- there's one clear winner! (Hunt3r), Saturday, 9 March 2024 04:29 (two weeks ago) link
from the whole baroque pop time, to me the big name is michael brown on the first left banke album... maybe there's harpsichord stuff that's even more classic, but from my knowledge that first left banke album is considered the goat. i actually like the second left banke album after michael brown left better, but i'm weird like that
― Kate (rushomancy), Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:23 (two weeks ago) link
Not at all, second album is great!
― man in suit and red tie raising his fist (Tom D.), Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:28 (two weeks ago) link
not controversial but harpsichords are a fvck to keep in tune if yr just moving them across a room, let alone going on tour with them
― mark s, Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:37 (two weeks ago) link
i tried to tune a guitar the other day and it was ... embarrassing. guess that's what happens when you stop playing for 20 years.
― Swen, Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:39 (two weeks ago) link
Just treat the guitar like a harpsichord - never move it across the room
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:58 (two weeks ago) link
Harpsichords are really difficult to mic up, too. I don’t love them outside of the context of Baroque music, at this point
― a hyperlink to the past (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 9 March 2024 12:59 (two weeks ago) link
what is the controversy level of reminding people that the piano is a percussion instrument?
― Swen, Saturday, 9 March 2024 13:08 (two weeks ago) link
https://i0.wp.com/chicagoreader.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cage_photo_001.jpg
― mark s, Saturday, 9 March 2024 13:11 (two weeks ago) link
Are clavinets that difficult to keep in tune? It’s like a descendent or cousin isnt it?
― ... 2024-- there's one clear winner! (Hunt3r), Saturday, 9 March 2024 16:10 (two weeks ago) link
Much easier, ime. Harpsichords, traditionally, are made entirely of wood... you can handily lift one on one's own without a second pair of hands. An adjustment in humidity or temperature in a room will cause the wood to expand or contract, requiring a complete re-tune. Clavinets in comparison are really stable. When I was young I played clavinet with a band on a months-long tour and don't remember ever needing to tune it.
My father owned a harpsichord, made by a guy out on the West Coast named Simon Sabathil. He was known for making experimental models of harpsichords... iirc he made one entirely of aluminium, another entirely of glass. I would later learn from harpischord-makers of the more historical variety that Sabathil harpsichords were widely derided. My only experience with one was my father's. I liked it for one reason only, the keybed was piano-scale, instead of the smaller traditional harpsichord-scale, so I didn't need to adjust my technique to play it. It had a heavy metal structural bar (I think it was aluminium, but it might as well have been iron), and required two people to lift it, it was very heavy.
I played one gig with it, in 2006 I believe, and it fell so out of tune by the time the room had filled that it was effectively unplayable. My friend had a studio down the street, and after the gig, we drunkenly decided to move the harpsichord ourselves. It was winter, and the sidewalks were icy. My friend, walking backwards with the tail end, slipped and fell and the harpsichord hit him full on the chest. He was fine, but the whole experience just soured me on ever using the instrument in a live setting again.
Harpsichords use items called "jacks", they sit on top of the key and rise upward to pluck the string with a small plectrum called a "quill". Traditionally, the tiny jacks are made of heavy wood, and the quill is made of hardened leather. The Sabathil did not have wooden jacks or leather quills, they were all plastic and light and unreliable. My harpsichord-maker friends offered to replace my jacks for me with good wooden ones, but I was sour on the thing. I lent the Sabathil to a band who wanted to record with it and never saw it again.
Recording things like harpsichord (or harp) is very tricky, you need the right microphones. I love harp, and have used harpsichord recently on some film stuff, and I bought a couple of active ribbon mics specifically so I can record these instruments. These mics aren't useful for much else except certain pitched percussion (they're reasonably good on marimba, for example).
― a hyperlink to the past (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 9 March 2024 16:37 (two weeks ago) link
I'm listening to La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano 81 X 25, 6:17:50 - 11:18:59 PM NYC right now and his just intonation tuning makes it sound kinda harpsichord-like to my ear.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Saturday, 9 March 2024 20:05 (two weeks ago) link
strings do have a way of sounding good live, methinks
― Swen, Saturday, 9 March 2024 21:14 (two weeks ago) link
i don't have the right magenta lighting in my apt to do that album justice xp
― A street taco cart named Des'ree (Deflatormouse), Saturday, 9 March 2024 21:34 (two weeks ago) link
i actually listened to patt of it on the 7 train a few weeks ago and unfortunately it assumed a cloying indie flick soundtrack quality with those visuals but it was still too mesmerizing to switch it off
― A street taco cart named Des'ree (Deflatormouse), Saturday, 9 March 2024 21:43 (two weeks ago) link
I just looked up tickets to a Dwight Yoakam show I was thinking about going to — $105 for a general admission lawn spot. And for that I have to put up with the Mavericks, too. Sorry, no thanks.
― It was on a accident (hardcore dilettante), Sunday, 10 March 2024 03:10 (two weeks ago) link