Wild Frank
-
Content Count
733 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Wild Frank
-
-
Don't know too much about BPB but love M. Ward and Lambchop. I would definitely recommend checking out 'Nixon' and 'Damaged' by Lambchop. 'Is a Woman' is also great, if somewhat sparce. Lambchop are a great 'album' band. The albums I have mentioned are really great for siting down with and listening to in their entirety (glass of wine goes well with Lambchop!!).
In terms of M. Ward, its all good. I would probably start with 'Transistor Radio' as it has a lot of his best songs on (Paul's Song, 'Hi-Fi' etc). transfiguration of Vincent' is really good too. Obviously 'Hold Time' is his most recent and has some great tunes on but, in my opinion, is not as good as Transfiguration and Transistor. His second album 'End of Amnesia' is a bit of an underrated gem.
I have never really got into Bonny Prince Billy so would also appreciate some recommendations. I listen to one album 'The Letting Go' which really didn't do it for me. I didn't like the female vocals at all. Is that album a good indicator of his work in general?
-
I think both are relevant, today. They might not be in their "prime", but I don't think that really matters. Socially I think they both have something to say, whether it be through their music, causes, or interviews.
Even Dlyan admits he can't write songs they way he used to. Below is a segment from his 60 Minutes interview with the late great Ed Bradley.
That kind of hits the nail of the head I suppose. I like the line "I did it once, and I can do other things now. But, I can't do that." I've just been listening to 'Love and Theft' and it does have some really strong songs on it. As mentioned earlier in the thread you gotta love 'Po Boy'.
-
not to harp on this, but I listen to stuff that is relevant to me. Anything Bob Dylan does is relevant to me. Objective relevance to the real world is not relevant to me. Unless I am arguing with my buddies over beers or posting on this message bd.
And, fwiw, not even Bob Dylan in his "prime" could have written a song like Not Dark Yet. I think Dylan, in some ways, is as good as if not better than he's ever been. (in some ways).
That's a good point.
-
yeah, i wouldn't disagree with that. but not listening to newer stuff from an older artist because it doesn't stand up to their previous work seems weird to me. of course it won't be like the music they were making in their prime. unless it's truly horrible (like rod stewart's work post 1980)
I still listen to and enjoy them, but I don't think, in the cases of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, the recent work is a good as their sixties/seventies output. I think you just listen to them on different terms. Its the same in all forms of art I suppose. I look forward to, and enjoy, each new Woody Allen movie when it comes out, but they never seem to reach the greatness of 'Annie Hall' or 'Manhatten' for example. In contrast, when a new Tom Waits or Nick Cave (or Wilco!) album comes out I listen to it with a feeling that these are artists still very much on the top of their game.
-
You are not the only one...I listen to artist who are relevant and others who aren't. Whatever music I listen to is just music I like no matter what category it falls into.
I think you can do both. I don't care what category artists fall into and listen to all sorts of music, irrespective of reputation, releventness or 'hip-ness'. However, I do think you can also discuss the merits of artists as well and comment on how they fit into the history of rock etc.
I like 'Love and Theft', 'Modern Times' and, as I mentioned, recent Van Morrison albums, but in terms of quality they are lesser works of these great artists.
-
Greendale would be in my top 10 Neil records of all time.
I might have to re-visited 'Greendale'. It did nothing for me when first listened to it. My favourite Neil Young albums have to be 'On The Beach', 'Tonight's The Night' and 'Ragged Glory'. I also like 'Broken Arrow' but the last track ruins that album for me.
On a related issue, the new Archives Volume 1 looks like, in my opinion, a massive let down.
-
With Dylan and Neil Young both putting out new records in the coming weeks I was wondering about people's views on who of the 'big boys' are still cutting it in 2009. I love Neil Young, but I don't think he has put out a truly great album for many, many years (Sleeps with Angels..or possibly Silver and Gold). Dylan's last three efforts have been significantly better (Time Out of Mind is great) but do they stack up against his greatest efforts of the sixties and seventies?.
The only guy I think that is really putting out top quality albums that are still creative, vital and comparable to anything in his past is Tom Waits. I'm not sure if anyone here would put Tom in the same league as the other two but he has been on a major run of classic albums for some time. And the recent albums are still relevant and not just a major artist 'winding down'. Toms still got something to say, perhaps more so than ever. 'Real Gone' was a pretty radical album.
Van Morrison is an interesting one. He could put out 'good' albums in his sleep. However, whilst recent efforts have be fine and enjoyable, they have been far from the classic efforts of the seventies (and eighties).
A special shout out to Nick Cave as well who seems to be aspiring to the aforementioned artists and is really on a creative hot streak as well at the moment.
I suppose the questions is two-fold. Who do you consider the most important artists of the past fifty years (what about Bowie? Springsteen?).....and who is still on the top of his game.
-
I'm gonna stick up for this album. It has some great songs on it. 'Bowl of Oranges', 'Method Acting', 'Make War' and 'Nothing Gets Crossed Out' are all top-draw. There are a couple of whiney moments, such as 'Waste of Paint' but overall I think it holds up quite well. Probably would get more love if it was edited down a bit. Sometimes 70 minutes of Conor Oberst is too much to take in any one siting!!. In general he does seem to get a lot of stick but if you look at his whole catalogue there's a lot of really good songs in there.
-
Well, I don't claim to be a Neil scholar or anything just a fan, but doesn't Neil hate this album and most critics consider that band incarnation to not be up to par? Isn't the main reason for most of the accolades due to the scarcity of the album and fan lure? Whatever it is I like the album. Also, I was not trying to make any comparisons to FITR and TFA, just the fact that they both seem to have critics on both sides of the fence.
Also, I don't care what anyone says, the album is down and dirty and I like it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion folks.
You're probably right on that to a degree. I'm probably guilty on that charge. I agree the playing on the album is sloppy, and Neil is known to have problems with it. That said, it is a great album, definately in his top five.
-
i actually like the 'songs' on LOW, but the production is terrible. the song drifter would make an awesome acoustic powerhouse in the vein of hitchhiker i think.
Doesn't that album have 'touch the night' on it? If not for the shocking 80s production that song could have been a major addition to Neils catalogue. The album artwork sucks too.
-
Neil's set from last night.
Mr. Soul / When You Dance, I Can Really Love / Are You Ready For The Country? / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere / Spirit Road / Barstool Blues / Words / Cinnamon Girl / Mother Earth / Change Your Mind / The Needle And The Damage Done / Lost In Space / The Ways Of Love / Goin' Back / Heart Of Gold / Old Man / Speakin' Out / Tonight's The Night / Albuquerque / World On A String / Hit The Road / Get Behind The Wheel / Just Singing A Song // Love And Only Love
true to form, the dude put's out probably his worst album and then plays a set like this! gonna have to get a copy of this show. lost in space, ways of love, goin' back, change your mind...awesome!
That is an amazing set list. I always loved 'Change Your Mind'. 'Barstool Blues' is another underplayed favourite. The only downside is the three new songs towards the end of the set. That's a strange way to pace a show. They should have been near the start of the set. I'm loving the four Tonights The Night tracks in a row!!
-
I like the album. Down and dirty. Maybe the fact that I'm from Michigan helped me appreciate the car theme. Thought it was cheesy at first but it grew on my.
Completely digging Fuel Line.
I also like his shitty videos. I've always been known as a Neil Young fluffer though. I actually like Time Fades Away.
I thought everyone liked Time Fades Away?. This is one of his recognised classics. I actually love the fact it's not readily available and not out of CD. Gives it even more mystic status.
-
There's a new documentary titled 'Tremendous Dynamite' up on the Eels Myspace page. It's a half hour documentary on the making of the new album, 'Hombre Lobo', due out in a couple of months. I've not checked it out yet (Myspace is Blocked at work
) but it sounds interesting. -
my apologies if this has been done before, but i'm just getting into the jayhawks (i've had rainy day music for a while and always enjoyed it, but never got any of their other albums) and the related side/solo projects.... and was wondering if some longtime fans could help me put together a list of their favorite jayhawks tunes
my top 3 so far..... save it for a rainy day, i'm gonna make you love me, all the right reasons
what are your favorites??
My personal favourite album is 'Sound of Lies', the first album after Mark Olsen departed. Songs like 'Trouble', 'Up to You', 'Sound of Lies' 'Dying On The Vine' are beautiful. 'Hollywood Town Hall' is obviously chocked full of great songs and is the best place to start. Great band, but not enough 'grit' and 'experimentation' for my liking. I always following the Jayhawks and Wilco from the early days but the latter went down the 'YHF' route and Jayhawks went down the more 'twee' route with 'Rainy Day Music'.
-
Wow, this looks very interesting. Can't figure out how David Lynch figures in but it looks like Black Francis is involved!
I know Lynch has done quite a bit of music himself. He had a album out a couple of years ago, called 'bluebob', which was very industrial and atmospheirc (as you would expect). I woundn't be suprised if his contribution related to the album artwork though. If you look at the artwork for the first Sparklehorse album (Vivadixie......) it is quite influenced by Lynch. This whole project does look very interesting though. I loved the last Sparklehorse record, although it did seem to get some negative press at the time. If I recall, Dangermouse produced a fair few of those tracks aswell.
-
Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece. This is a lovely album and one that always gets overlooked in Van's catalogue. Its a real autumnal album, siting by the fireside, glass of wine etc.
-
Tom Waits - Heart of Saturday Night.
Neil Young - On the Beach/Tonights the Night.
Mercury Rev - Deserters Songs
Genesis - the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway!!
Decemberists - The hazards of Love
M. Ward - Transistor Radio
-
Not sure if there are any Sparklehorse fans out there. They are my favourite band, bar none. They (or he) have been pretty quiet for a few years now but, by the looks of this article on Paste, thats about to change. New project with Dangermouse, featuring Flaming Lips, Iggy pop and David Lynch!!. Looks amazing. Really can't wait for this one.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009...-posse-for.html
-
'Saved' is actually not a bad album. There are a couple of great songs, like 'Pressing On'. Personally, my favouorite Dyaln album is a live one: 'Hard Rain'. It has so much energy and is really agressive and punk-ish. 'Idiot Wind' off Hard Rain is so epic and angsty. I would say 'Highway 61' is the best album, but I listened to it so much when I stated getting into Dylan 10-15 years ago.
-
I don't tend to shuffle on my i-pod much. I have 4,000 tunes on it, but over 500 of those are Bob Dylan. So on shuffle Mr. Dylan seems to come on every twenty minutes or so. I really think I should edit down the Dylan section of my i-pod. There are tracks he's done that are extreamly poor that are on there for completist purposes only. On the plus side, it did pull up 'Grant Lee Buffalo' yesterday, which I hadn't listen to for a while. Great Band.
-
My daughter's favorite has always been "Magazine Called Sunset".
That song always reminds me off when my first child was born. There's a bit in the 'I am trying to break your heart' DVD where Jeff is playing with his kids which I always liked. So when I had a son I always thought of that moment. Similarly, there is another bit of that DVD where Jeff's kids are sliding around on the venue floor whilst the band are on-stage soundchecking 'Pieholden Suite'. Always loved that bit too. Back on subject, my boys don't really listen to Wilco.....but stick some 'Eels' on and they go crazy!!
-
How about:
M. Ward: Well-Tempered Claviar (Although credit should really go to Bach I suppose)
Faith No More: Woodpeckers From Mars
Tom Waits: Russian Dance!
-
I'm having an incredibly difficult time getting into this album. I've listened to it about 6 times, and I can't remember one singular song from the album. Not one.
Then again, I loved Piq and Crane, so take it with a grain of salt.
'The wanting comes in waves' and 'The Rake Song' were the most immediate songs. 'Hazards IV' is also really beautiful. I do agree that the rest kind of merge into each other, but...it does grow on you.
-
I'm loving this album. It does take four or five listens through to really start to appreciate it, and many more to really love it. It is a total 'prog-fest', the likes of which I haven't heard for many years. There are bits of 'Yes', 'Jethro Tull' and 'Genesis' all through it. There are a couple of moments (the accoustic interlude and the kids singing) that reminds me of 'Supper's Ready' by 'Genesis'. It think the last twenty minutes or so are amazing but the start of the record is not as strong and may put off the casual listener. I can see reviewers putting it on and drawing an opinion based on the first few tracks, which are comparibly weak.
I not sure where it stands in relation there other efforts (I love Crane Wife personally; its proggy and catchy at the same time) but I don't think I've heard a better record this year (So far).
p.s. I'm looking forward to the Decemberists hopefully returning to the U.K some time this year. I saw them in Wolverhampton in 2007 and it was the show when Colin kept leaving the stage (I assumed he was sick) and the show finished really early. At one point he left the stage and left the band to improvise for about ten minutes. They even played 'You Are My Sunshine', which was surreal!! The day after the show they cancelled the rest of the U.K tour and I believe there were further cancellations back in the U.S.
Lambchop, Bonnie "Prince" Billy or M Ward?
in Someone Else's Song
Posted
Nixon is a great album but I feel the last two tracks don't quite fit in with the feel of the record. If you take those two off, the first eight songs would make the best album in the world, ever. I agree with your comment that each one has its own character. I absolutely love Damaged but it doesn't seem to get as much love as other albums. The new one OHio is also pretty good, although not up there with Nixon/Is A Woman/Damaged.
They also put out a really good live DVD last year called 'No such silence' which is a great watch and a good introduction to the band. I believe it was only available online. There was a very interesting documentary on the disc.
As an aside, one thing I really like about Kurt Wagner is that he is a really good 'swearer'. Some of the profanity on the Lambchop records is strangly appealing. That may be childish but I do like some rudeness on my records, especially from a voice like Kurt's.