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Modified Bear

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Posts posted by Modified Bear

    Fake Plastic Trees

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    The last time I saw Radiohead, in 2006, FPT was the one big song I was really hoping for, having been lucky enough to see just about all of my other favorites performed on different occasions. It was kind of an off night for the band, sound wasn't great and they seemed to not be hearing themselves (Thom sang "No Surprises" in a completely different key than what the band was playing)... then FPT started and it was MAGIC. Brilliantly played, and the moment I heard everyone talking about after the show.

     

    IMHO Radiohead is the best band in the world today on record, and Wilco is the best live act hands down (I saw Wilco play the very same venue a year later and where RH had faltered they kicked MAJOR ass). But when the 'head is on, they are ON, and FPT is one of those songs where things just click live in a way I can't quite put into words.

     

    By the way, the proper LP rankings:

     

    1. OK Computer

    2. The Bends

    3. Kid A

    4. In Rainbows

    5. Hail to the Thief

    6. Amnesiac

    7. Pablo Honey

    R.E.M. - ACCELERATE

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    So all the fuss over R.E.M. learning to "rock" again and writing songs under 3 minutes, and it turns out the best song is "Sing for the Submarine," a midtempo waltz that clocks in at 5 minutes. Ha.

     

    I generally agree that this is a solid album, no more, no less (after two listens anyway). Certainly nowhere near as actively awful as Around the Sun, but still very slight compared to the IRS years.

    Favorite/Best Lo-Fi/Home-Recorded albums

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Tell me more.

     

    http://www.elfboyz.com/polu.html

     

    Googled it and it looks like the whole album's still on the band's site. I stumbled across this once a few years ago, I don't even remember how. I know absolutely nothing about the band, and I think it's probably better that way. Don't know if I can explain the appeal really -- it isn't really "good," but I still listen to it every once in a while and continue to find it oddly captivating.

    Top 20 favorite final albums

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Don't forget about the Velvet Underground's SQUEEZE -- technically it's their last album, much as everyone would love to forget that.

     

    1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

    2. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

    3. The Beatles - Abbey Road (should probably be Let It Be, but there's at least an argument for it)

    4. Nirvana - In Utero

    5. Joy Division - Closer

    6. Elliott Smith - From a Basement on a Hill

    7. The Police - Synchronicity

    8. The Sex Pistols - Nevermind The Bollocks

    9. Nick Drake - Pink Moon

    10. Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

    11. H

    Top 20 SECOND Albums

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Beck's Second Album was One Foot in The Grave I believe and Nirvana's second was Insecticide???

     

    I took some liberties with the Beck one, since One Foot in the Grave and Stereopathetic Soulmanure are often considered "unofficial releases"

     

    But as far as Nirvana goes, a) Inscesticide isn't an album it's a rarities compilation and B) it came out after Nevermind anyway

    Top 20 SECOND Albums

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    1. Radiohead - The Bends

    2. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea

    3. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

    4. Nirvana Nevermind

    5. The Beatles - With the Beatles

    6. The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight

    7. Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

    8. Pixies - Doolittle

    9. Eels - Electro-Shock Blues

    10. Beck - Odelay

    11. Wilco - Being There

    12. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model

    13. Super Furry Animals - Radiator

    14. Joy Division - Closer

    15. Nick Lowe - Labour of Lust

    16. Fiona Apple - When the Pawn...

    17. Squeeze - Cool for Cats

    18. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food

    19. R.E.M. - Reckoning

    20. Bjork - Post

     

    Now there's a list I can stand by.

    R.E.M. Supernatural Superserious-Stream

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I think it's funny that for the past 4 or 5 years we've talked how over-polished and bland and wussy that R.E.M has become....now they put out a single that's a little raw and dirty and imperfect, and some don't seem happy about THAT.

     

     

     

    You all kill me.

     

     

    I like the song. Welcome back R.E.M.!

     

    See if it WAS all raw and dirty sounding, that'd be something. R.E.M.'s Crazy Horse album. But this single DOES sound over-polished and produced all slick and loud, which is why Stipe's vocal track sounds a little off to me. If it was a more lo-fi live take with the entire band, the vocals would probably fit better.

     

    Don't get me wrong though -- I definitely like the song.

    R.E.M. Supernatural Superserious-Stream

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Agreed, good pop song, ugly production, etc.

     

    The thing that stands out to me though is Stipe's messy vocal performance. Here's a guy who's known to strive for perfection in his studio singing performances -- even the vocals on the otherwise horrible Around the Sun were great -- so this is kind of a weird change. I know this is the quickest R.E.M. has recorded a record in 20 years, but was this really the best take? Is Stipe starting to show his age/effects of years of smoking on the ol' vocal cords?

    New New Pornographers dates

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I dunno. The niece from Immaculate Machine is very good. But, you're right no one could fill in for Bejar.

     

    Still, whatever one usually gets from this band is typically superb.

     

    They still do Bejar songs even without him... I've seen them three times, and I swear the one Dan-free show had more Bejar songs in it than the other two put together

    your top 10 favorite records

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    1. Radiohead - OK Computer

    2. The Clash - London Calling

    3. The Beatles - Revolver

    4. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps

    5. Squeeze - East Side Story

    6. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

    7. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home

    8. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

    9. Eels - Electro-shock Blues

    10. Blur - Parklife

     

    Even though R.E.M. doesn't crack the list they get the award for strongest catalog for the whole of their 80s material (Chronic Town, Murmur, Reckoning, Fables, Lifes Rich Pageant, Document, Green).

    Underrated Records

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Squeeze - Sweets from a Stranger

    on iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore...28&s=143441

     

    This album takes a lot of flak even from those Squeeze fans who are still around, mostly because it marked a big shift from their previous upbeat, power pop stuff. This record is absolutely soaked in booze, paranoia, depression... but the band's trademark wit and soul is still there. I get new things out of this album every time I hear it, there's a level of depth to it that's somewhat lacking on the band's more popular LPs.

     

    Also, "Black Coffee In Bed" is a freaking amazing song.

    Wilco on Connecticut radio?

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    Those of you in the Hartford, CT area probably know that the radio market around here is a total abyss... many, many stations 100% devoted to utter crap. Back in the mid-late nineties, when I was in middle school, there was an alternative rock station called radio 104 that played its share of Stone Temple Pilots but also introduced my young mind to some quality stuff like Beck and Radiohead... but inevitably that became "Power 104," yet another hip hop station.

     

    But here, long after I'd given up on CT radio, I find out they're bringing the alternative format back to 104.1 FM. I flip it on more out of curiosity than high expectations, and indeed they're playing the expected quantity of Dave Matthews and Korn. But somehow, in between, there's White Stripes' "Icky Thump," Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers," and... "Pot Kettle Black"! I never expected in a million years to hear something off YHF on a Hartford radio station.

     

    So those of you who are from around here, let's lobby these guys to keep up the good work and try to load some more Wilco onto their playlist. This could last a week and go back to rap for all I know, but I'm going to try to enjoy this while it lasts.

     

    http://www.1041music.com/

    Radiohead- In Rainbows

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Can't I love both SBS and IR?

     

    Because right now I do... SBS turned out to be quite the grower, and IR hit me like a brick on the first spin, and I don't really have a negative thing to say about either at the moment...

     

    ...oh wait, forgot about "Shake It Off." Nevermind, In Rainbows wins.

    Radiohead- In Rainbows

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Let's all keep in mind that you can legally get this from Radiohead 100% FREE... if you plug zeros into the price field, it doesn't even ask you for a credit card #. So no reason to complain, and kind of silly to look for it using filesharing programs...

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